Game Analysis

A few things to note about this video first. Eric (dark) and I (light) are on the left. John P. and Dave A. (red) are on the right. This is not the best game for Eric. Missing three shots to start the game is not typical. The wind is significant and affected the ball on occasion.

Things to watch for:

At 1:58, I hit the fourth shot as a drive directly at John. This is a mistake. I should have dropped it. As it is, John smacked it back out near my left shoulder and I couldn’t get my paddle in position in time. 2-0.

At 2:17, Eric has made the same mistake twice, that is, not dinking the ball. John smacks it back easily between us. 3-0.

At 2:40, I make a nice drop from the sideline and got into position at the kitchen line.

You can hear the wind gusting at 3:25.

At 3:45, Eric hits the ball too high and John smacks it between us for the third time. 3-0.

At 4:10, John hit it too high and I turn the tables, smacking it between John and Dave. John, being polite, says, “My bad.” (To Dave.) Then to me, “Nice shot.”

At 4:52, I hit a third shot drop into the net. Was it the wind’s fault as Eric gentlemanly suggests? I doubt it. I think I just hit a crappy drop shot!

At 5:02, Eric suggests we go to more of a “drive game” because of the wind. I agree, being down 3-0, we should try something different. It works some, we win the next point.

6:06 starts a good rally which ends when John pops up a drive I make at the net followed by me slamming the ball for a winner. What’s funny about this point is that I hit the return fairly hard but it only makes it partway back to the baseline! Wind in action!

By 6:55, we’re tied up at 3-3. Of the three points we scored, two were from obvious errors each by Dave and John, both hitting one in to the net. Those weren’t quite as much from our new strategy as just unforced errors.

7:40, Eric pops up another one that John slams between us. (Hmmm. Deja vu.)

If you want to see something funny, watch me courteously hit the ball over the net to the server so he can serve. Except the ball lands in the net! Wind!

My most miserable and embarrassing shot of the game comes at 8:58 when I return Dave’s easy serve into the net. Duh.

Hey! “5-4-1.” We’re leading! Then 6-4.

At 9:23, I do a rotten lob that falls far short in the wind and John hits it back at Eric’s feet.

John is a funny guy. At 9:42, he holds up his paddle to prevent the serve for a while. Catching his breath! Ha ha!

10:02. Yeah, that’s the time I smack the ball into the net. Rats.

At 10:36, Eric stretches and makes a great hit back at Dave’s feet for a winner.

At 10:54, you can see where the “drive every shot” strategy is failing. I hit the ball near John’s head and he . . . smacks it between Eric and me for a winner.

11:05, I serve. 7-4-2. We win the point when John hits it just right of the sideline. A discussion ensues when I forget that I served and toss the ball to Eric to serve. But we got it right. 8-4-2.

At 12:27, John make a fantastic lob—in the wind, no less—over my head for a winner. 5-8-1.

At 12:46, the “drive strategy” fails again. I hit it directly to John and I didn’t get my paddle reset fast enough to properly return his hit. Point for them. 6-8-1.

13:07. Another embarrassing return. I attempt a high deep return but it sails left of the court by a wide margin. Ugh. 7-8-1.

13:22. Another “drive strategy” failure. John slams the ball between us. Again. 8-8-1.

At 13:55, I just make a completely boneheaded shot. The idea is correct, angled off the court, but the execution is bad. 9-8-1.

Four points in a row on bad decisions by me. I should have abandoned the “drive strategy” a long time previous.

14:14 starts a nice rally with me sticking with the soft game once it had already started—John made a nice third shot drop. Patience. Eric and I won that one when Dave hit it into the net.

14:48. My drop shot drops. Yeah. Into the net. Grrrrr. 10-8-1.

16:03. I attempt to lob between John and Dave. John jumps up and slams the ball at Eric’s left toe. Game. 11-8-1. Comeback. Drat.

Another Game

Here’s partial game that took place immediately before the above game. My performance is better in this one. I lamely hit a ball into the net as I approach it, I have a serve that blows a bit long (the wind is at my back for the entire game), and I have two high returns that sail long. I have a couple drops that aren’t quite low enough, though those don’t end the point. I do have a great cross-court fifth shot drop (at 8:11) from the baseline into the first half of the kitchen—if only I could do that all the time! Eric and I won 11-5. (And John and Dave are far stronger players than this video shows.)

 

Now for Something Completely Different

There was a contest on the Facebook pickleball group with the Aspen Kern (who runs it) offering a prize for the best favorite movies. Most answers included real movies. Bah. No fun in that. I offered my own list:

My favorites:

Gone With the Paddle
The Wizard of Dinks
The Kitchenline Redemption
To Kill a Poacher
Citizen Pickle
It’s a Pickleball Life
One Flew over the Pickleball Net
Poach Fiction
Been-Hurt
Dr. Pickleball or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Lob
2017: A Court Odyssey
Kitchen Driver
A.P. – The Around the Post
A Courtline Named Kitchen
It Happened One Game
The Adventures of Robbin’ Poacher
All Quiet on the Western Service Court
Mr. Smith goes to Nationals
Raging Banger
Drop Runner
Returner without a Serve
A Smash is Born
Easy Dinker
Who’s Afraid of Lucy Kovalova?
The Treasure of the Backhand Volley

Of course, I didn’t win. I never win any of those Facebook contests. Aspen uses tea leaves or dice to figure out the winners.

Number of days on a court: 43 (still)
Number of total hours: 123.5 (still)