Tuesday, February 24, 2026 (Court Day #904)
For once, I really did leave work a little bit early, and I was on my way to Scotts Valley before 6 p.m. It was 63° and overcast with rain looming in the forecast. According to my wife this morning, I might be able to play tonight since rain was originally projected to start about 4 p.m. but that start time was continuing to push out.
When I checked again this afternoon, it was showing a steep climb in the likelihood of rain at 9 p.m. and not much earlier. Hopefully, that would manifest affect itself in reality since the court lights will be off by then.
Teaching
The last spot in my Beginner class was filled this afternoon meaning that both of my classes starting on Sunday are now completely sold out. This is good for me, both in terms of getting the maximum compensation for my time, as well as not having unbalanced pairs, which is problematic. When I have to fill in during drills for a missing student, it makes it more difficult for me to get around and really coach properly.
On My Way
A change, it was still light outside as I drove. And the time change is coming in a couple of weeks, which means I have to get up an hour earlier, but also means we will have light in the evenings, which will be a nice plus.
As I drove into the Skypark neighborhood, there were so few cars parked on the streets coming in that I literally checked my phone to make sure that it was Tuesday! When I got to the parking lot for the courts, there were plenty of spaces and I picked the best spot very closest to the gate. It seems that the threat of rain kept people away.
Skypark
The courts weren’t full and Paul Winn was also an odd man out, so I warmed up with him until we gained two partners to play. I played with a woman named Jen against Paul and a woman named Blake. (Both of whom I’d never met.) I overheard Blake and Jen talking, and Blake plays in Kristin Long‘s women’s league. I would say Jen and Blake are both high 3.0 level players.
I played with a low-level regular, Linda, against Heidi (who’s on the Scotts Valley Parks & Rec commission) and Jens.
Game of the night: Alec and I lost to Spencer and Marquis 7-11. Alec and I were ahead 6–4 at one point, but we couldn’t hold onto the lead. Later, Mike asked how we had done against Spencer and Marquis and when I told him the score, he made an approving noise and said, “That’s respectable!” though I know we got at least one free(ish) point off of Spencer because I overheard him telling Marquis that he was trying some particular shot.
Ashley, Alec, Mike
Alec and I played a game against Mike “Beefcake” O’Brien and Ashley. Ashley has always been one of those names that can be used with males and females, though seems a trend in my lifetime has been towards use with females. In any case, this Ashley, who has been coming to the courts for a number of years, is unabashedly a 6-foot-plus guy. I played against Ashley on Sunday and he played really well. Mike was the least strong player of the group and I figured Ashley would be a good pairing with him to balance the teams.
While I figured that Alec and I would win this game, it was much closer than I was expecting. They came back from being down and made a game of it.
I have to say that Ashley is—by far—the most deceptive player I’ve seen with regard to his shots. For instance, Alec popped up a couple of balls while I Ashley and I were both on the left side of the court. Each time, Ashley looked like he was going to hit those shots to the middle, but at the last second he turned his paddle inside out and hit a passing shot down the line off to my left for a winner. This is just an example. There were other shots too, and the same thing had been happening on Sunday as well. It doesn’t hurt that he’s over 6 foot and has a long wingspan. Honestly, I’m jealous of Ashley deception skills. It’s a talent that I would really like to develop for myself!
The last two games were with Thad (Mike’s friend) against Alec and Mike. We found ourselves down by quite a bit. Thad was missing a lot of shots. He said that he was tired, and that I totally understand. By this time, it was 8 p.m. after a long day. We came back surprisingly and made a close game of it.
We switched sides for what would be the last game of the night. This time, it was more lopsided in their favor.
And?
I felt so-so about my play tonight.
Number of days on a court: 904
Number of total hours: 3,395.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 197.5
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