Tuesday, January 24, 2023. (Court Day #576)
What I left work and arrived at Skypark at 6:40 p.m. The truth is, I was debating going tonight or not. My right wrist has been problematic enough that I brought a wrist support with me to work yesterday, although I ended up not wearing it. Tonight, it turns out, was a mistake. I really should’ve rested my wrist. By the end of the session, certain shots were painful. Backhands were particularly problematic both in terms for pain and lack of power as a result.
Cleaning Clocks
When I arrived, Binh was there playing in a game with Avery, Evan (an Asian UCSC student), and Shawnte. Avery stepped out afterward and Binh and I played against Shawnte and Evan. In the first game, we got our clocks cleaned 11-1. We did a rubber match and we lost that one 11-4. We played a third and final game and we were up in that game, winning 7-2. But, they came back and won 11-7 after a 9 point run. At least the last game was respectable in terms of final score.
In that last game, I tried to really dial in and felt I did a decent job of focusing. The better your opponents, the margin for your shots gets slimmer and slimmer. You can’t just go on autopilot. You have to reduce your “cushion” and keep the ball low and as uncomfortable as possible for the guys across the net. Strong opponents take advantage of a ball that’s just high enough to attack—and it’s not a wild attack, it’s a ball that will be difficult to handle due to speed and/or placement.
Newbies
The numbers weren’t right for me to get into a game with other regular players since there are not enough waiting. But there were some unfamiliar faces across the courts. There is a woman named Anna, who is there with her 20-something son Adrian and Adrian’s girlfriend Hannah. I played two games with them, the first one left-handed. Adrian and Hannah are beginners. Hannah was somewhat better but still a novice skill level. Those two games were my community service for the day!
Ouch.
I went on to play a game with David and his girlfriend Minori and also Mike (Colin‘s dad). We played a couple of games with that grouping, Minori and me partnering. Then Mike stepped out and Tim F. stepped in for two or three games. Minori and I played together for all of those games. We lost every game. David hit a hard shot that hit the tips of my fingers of my paddle hand. That was a new experience after nearly 6 years of pickleball. Two hours later, those three finger tips were still tingling and sore with any pressure.
I play a game with Aaron against Paul W. and tall Mike. That was the game that really pushed my wrist over the edge. It was really hurting. That game wrapped up at 9:24 p.m. just before the lights clicked off.
I headed home and iced my wrist.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023 (No Play)
In the news over the past week, tennis greats Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and Michael Chang will battle it out on a pickleball court in Florida on April 2 for a $1 million prize! They are calling it the Pickleball Slam and it’s arranged by Horizon Sports & Experiences (HS&E).
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/19/tennis/pickleball-pickle-slam-tennis-greats-intl-spt/index.html
This one, I’d like to see. The bugger is that I’ll be a trade show that weekend. I hope it’ll be recorded.
Thursday, January 26, 2023 (No Play)
My right wrist is still hurting me, so no pickleball tonight.
Judi, one of my coworkers sent me an email early Tuesday morning and reminded me today about it. It’s an article about the Willowbrook courts out in Aptos and a pickleball event fundraiser hosted last year by the Capitola-Aptos Rotary Club.
Saturday, January 28, 2023 (No Play)
With getting PT for my right knee and my wrist hurting, I figure it’s time for a break. I lined up Ted and Eric to open and coordinate Derby Park tomorrow for me. Too bad, tomorrow would exactly be my 6-year anniversary of pickleball, January 29, 2017 – January 29, 2023.
Sunday, January 29, 2023 (No Play)
I invited my son Nicholas to come over and watch the 49ers play the Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. Originally, I was planning to leave Derby early and have someone close for me, but with my wrist hurting I didn’t play at all. Ted called me and asked me to bring down the blower battery. When I got there, he blew off the damp courts and I helped towel them off until he was done with the blower then I headed home.
I did share with some long-timers that today is my “pickleball birthday”. Ted said he was surprised it has been six years already. Ted and Eric started at the same time he said—actually a couple of months before me. Eric had immediately injured himself when he started playing those six years ago and was out for a couple of months, so he and I effectively started at the same time.
NFL Stars and Pickleball
Nicholas shared a video on YouTube where active NFL center Jason Kelce and his brother NFL tight end Travis Kelce host the Chief’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is Travis’ teammate. About 40 minutes in, they start discussing pickleball for a couple of minutes. (There is some foul language, so not for kids.)
Oh, and the 49ers’ starting quarterback (their 3rd string) knocked out of the NFC Championship game, there was a bad call that gave the Eagles a touchdown early in the game, and the Niners went on to lose by a wide margin. Teams tend to lose when they don’t have a functional offense!
Wednesday, February 1, 2023 (No Play)
Today, NFL quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement (which he did last year). What does the Wall Street Journal use as a headline? “Tom Brady Is (Finally) Ready for Pickleball.”
Of course, there was news months ago of Tom Brady becoming an owner of a team in Major League Pickleball.
Sunday, February 5, 2023 (No Play)
It rained this morning and with no consistent sun, so I canceled club play at Derby Park. Good thing too, it rained off and on all day. It was strange too. Sun, rain, sun, rain, sun, rain.
I pulled the trigger and registered for the 2023 Zin 2 Win Tournament in Templeton. It’s the one that Binh invited me to be his partner and we’ll be playing Men’s Doubles on March 19. My wife Kristen is going to a play with my daughter Charlotte (who will be home for Spring Break from medical school) on that same Sunday and with Oliver our corgi recovering from spine surgery—thank goodness for doggy insurance!—she was a bit concerned about both of us being out of town on the same day. I’m sure we’ll figure it out. As far as the tournament, there are a few things I need to trust. That my right knee and right wrist will be playable. That there isn’t some emergency with the dogs. At least being on a Sunday, there shouldn’t be any work conflicts.
Wrist Brace
I got my wrist brace today. As much as I hate Amazon and try to support local businesses, I couldn’t find what I was looking for in town. So the 2-pack I ordered came today. These are the ones that Larry had recommended back in July last year.
Tuesday, February 7, 2023 (No Play)
Jordan Briones came out with a new podcast this week. “Briones Pickleball Podcast” can be found on Apple Podcasts and elsewhere. I’ve been listening in bit and pieces. It’s over an hour. I did turn it to 1.25x speed since Jordan and his second host are leisurely speakers. The first episode was mostly about Jordan and his co-host talking about their friendship then on to specifics about certain pro players who they know. Not must of value to a non-pro player . . . I suspect future episodes will be more apropos.
Injuries
My wrist is improving. It’s still not 100%. I’m going to give it at least until Thursday to heal.
I have my first PT knee “class” tonight at 5 p.m. at Precision PT.
Friday, February 10, 2023 (No Play)
My sister in law texted my wife and me. She saw an article in the New York Times about a pickleball dress.
Here’s the article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/style/pickleball-clothing-apparel-brands.html
I found the company’s web page for it:
https://normakamali.com/products/sleeveless-pickleball-mini-dress-neon-green-kk1233pl982968?vw=women
Not that I have plans anytime soon to wear a dress!
Trophy
For work, I needed to stop by the local trophy shop, Brink’s. Of course, I asked about pickleball trophies. The owner said some were recently released and went on to say that his wife has been playing some pickleball. He enthusiastically dug out a catalog and looked up a couple of pages that he then shared.
Who knows, maybe appropriate for our new league.
Saturday, February 11, 2023 (No Play)
A couple of days ago, Maria posted in the Santa Cruz Pickleball Facebook group asking for a coach for her two young children. I’ve been thinking of doing some “official” coaching for a while. (I coach newbies all the time as a site coordinator.) We wrote back and forth and then last night, Maria messaged me a saying I was a go as their coaching. Now we just need to work out a start date.
Other League
Today, Larry texted me inviting me to join his league. He said I’d have to play two matches a week. Between work, injuries, and demands of the SCALPEL league too, I didn’t feel that I could commit. But I did tell him to let me know about the next go-around.
Tennis vs. Pickleball
This video got shared and I couldn’t help but watch a lot of it. Granted, I sped through sections.
I’ll admit that some of the comments posted to the video annoyed the heck out of me. They were talking smack about pickleball athletes. John Isner is 6’10”. Jack Sock is 6’3”. Anna Leigh Waters is 5’6”. Jessie Irvine is 5’8”. Those guys did not just walk onto this pickleball court for the first time and play this game. While the ball and court function to “level the playing field” in pickleball, men and women are generally not equal. (I say “generally“, since, for example, the top female pickleball pros would kick my butt!) Men typically have more power and are, on average, taller and have a longer reach. If you put top male pickleball pros against female tennis pros (with pickleball training like Isner and Sock) into a game together, I have little doubt that the males would handily win. Would tennis players be talking smack then too?
I greatly respect the venerable game of tennis and the elite level of play given its age acceptance around the globe and the prize money involved. I’ll readily admit that it’s an easier transition from tennis to pickleball than from pickleball to tennis. That doesn’t mean that pickleball players aren’t worthy athletes or aren’t skilled. Heck, Ben Johns drills five hours a day from what I hear.
Anyway, I could go on. Obviously, I’m a bit defensive about my favorite sport!
Number of days on a court: 576
Number of total hours: 2,563
To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.
Leave a Reply