Thursday, April 20, 2017 (Court Day #17)
I arrived in Scotts Valley about 6:20. I was surprised and a bit worried when I easily found a parking place. “Is there no pickleball tonight?” But I spied some activity through the netted fence at the far end of the courts.
Mark and Maree were helping move temporary nets from the locker to the courts. Cheryl, the Scotts Valley organizer, was there. I offered, “Do you have another of those that needs to be carried in?” The answer, of course, was yes, though we ended up only setting up four nets instead of the regular six.
I met and played against and with a tall woman named Kris. Very pleasant person. She said that pickleball offers a great escape by offering time away from the worries of the world. It’s easy to forget about everything else and just have fun. Kris brought these neon pickleballs marked “top”—easier to see but an adjustment due to their extra bounce. Janet and I swapped them out for regular balls after a few minutes of use with the newbies.
The Newbies
So, the woman Eric had invited on Sunday came back for a second day of pickleball. Her name is Jeanne and she brought a friend, Marie. (Yep, another Marie to add to the Marie and Maree!) I could relate, being that I just started playing less than three months ago, so I spent some time along with Janet helping the two of them learn the rules and practice some basic skills. Paying it forward. Then we played a game. Jeanne seems a natural, but Marie caught on pretty quickly too. I yelled over to Eric that he’d regret the day he invited her (Jeanne)!
We maxed out the evening with 18 players, including the two newbies. A lighter crowd.
Proof that pickleball is exercise. Not me, I barely sweat!
Half the lights turned off and wouldn’t be revived, unfortunately, so we all moved the four nets to under the working lights, but it was still quirkily dim.
One notable thing was me hitting a drive shot with lots of intentional spin. Worked well too. The return ended up in the net even against a solid player, Sue. And likely I was a bit overconfident on the paper plate serving target. I haven’t tried it yet, but I now suspect it might be a touch too small for me to be reliably hit!
Oh, and Janet mentioned she’d read this blog and recognized the obsession. Takes one to know one. I’d given the URL to Bruce when he stopped in to work to shop for some oil paints, telling him he could read about himself! Janet mentioned a location with backboards that was good for practice, “like your garage.” The sad thing is I’ve only used my garage setup a few times. Though I guess the happy thing is that it’s because I’m either playing games or sore from playing games!
We wrapped things up about 9:10, after my game of Bruce and me taking on his wife Janet and Eric’s longtime friend Ted. Janet has been improving dramatically. Bruce and I had to work hard for our win.
Number of days on a court: 17
Number of total hours: 49.5
I’m late to discover your blog, but you’re doing a great job of documenting our nascent, local passion. I wish I had noted my own number of hours and days on the court. I’m still using the excuse that I have a job and can only play on weekends and the one night of the week when there is organized play.