Friday, March 13, 2026 (Court Day #913)

I got invited to play at 5 p.m. at Skypark. Initially, I didn’t think I was going to be able to pull it off, but then things lined up at work. It would be me, lefty Ben David, Mauricio, and Mike Cattivera.

I did get delayed a little bit and I texted the rest of our foursome to let them know that I would be about 10 minutes late. It was absolutely beautiful and sunny in Santa Cruz but as I drove into Scotts Valley, it was overcast. But I don’t mind the clouds when playing pickleball, it keeps the sun out of your eyes. Those clouds didn’t mean that it was cool however, it was still a warm 73°F.

Game 1
Mike and I won the first game 11-4.

Game 2
Ben and I were up 10-4. We slipped a little but still won 11-8.

Game 3
Mauricio and I were the first serving team, but never got the serve back and 0-11. That was a slaughter.

Game 4
After that, we wanted redemption, but we lost again, 2-11.

In my those two games paired with Mauricio, the losses were not entirely his fault. I was also not playing as well in those games.

Game 5
Mike and I won 11-3.

Games Won:
Mike 4, Andrew 3, Ben 3, Mauricio 0. Mike had 4 games against Mauricio, Ben and I each had 3. This was not Mauricio’s best outing.

More Games

Here things got switched up. Ben and Mauricio took off. Talkative lefty Michael was off on another court with Ashley drilling. We invited them over to play.

Mike and I lost 9-11 to Michael and Ashley. 

Then lost again 6-11.

We were up 8-4 in the third game but also lost that one 8-11. There was no question that we were being outplayed by Ashley and Michael tonight.

We wrapped things up at 7:40 p.m.

And?

Lefty Michael was absolutely on fire tonight. He played absolutely the best I’ve ever seen him play.

Ashley is very nonchalant playing. He looks like he’s playing so casually, but he is extremely effective in his shots. Plus it doesn’t hurt that he’s over 6 foot and he is able to reach a lot of balls easily.

I have to tip my hat to Ashley, he’s a better player than I am.

Saturday, March 14, 2026 (No Play)

This is a pretty amazing rally. The thing about high-level sports, is how the pros make it look so easy. It’s kind of interesting to watch this rally and think about how often you would normally see mistakes at the lower levels. Crosscourt dinks into the net, slams where the ball does not come back, drives they sail too long, unsuccessful serves, and more. Not in this one.

Fundraiser

Mauricio and his wife Shaye were key in hosting a fundraiser tonight to benefit a local robotics club for county high school students. My wife wanted to stay home, but I opted to attend. There were a smattering of pickleball people there, including Frabrizio and Jessie as well as little Linda (Linda Samaha). Also there was my former student Mary Youngdale and her husband Erik. (I’m looking forward to playing with Erik’s mom sometime, she’s supposed to be a really good player in SoCal.) Jessie, aside from being an attorney, is also a belly dancer and she did one whole dance with a sword on her head! Impressive!

Jessie dancing up at the front of the room.

Number of days on a court: 913
Number of total hours: 3,417
Number of paid coaching hours: 203.5

To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.