Tuesday, July 18, 2017

I’ve decided to bite the bullet and pay my $20 to join the national pickleball association.

AndrewUSAPAcard

Now, I’m a card-carrying member. I guess I’m serious about pickleball! (And, yes, I subtly defaced the QR code too.)

Wednesday, July 19, 2017 (Court Day #46)

I arrived at Derby Park at about 9:10 a.m. Alan was setting up nets and six people were warming up as I arrived. It was overcast and 57 degrees, but it’d burn off and get nice as the morning went on.

I overheard someone asking, “Where is Linda?” “She’s at Brommer.” Ah. Segregation has begun, it appears. And I get it. Stronger players want to play with stronger players. Jerry is still coming to Derby—he’s sticking it out with us lowly players. Being selfish, I’d love to rotate into games with better players now and then when they need a fourth (4th player to be able to play a game). It’s helpful to get a gauge on how I’m doing.

In the very first game, I pulled a muscle in my back at the lower right. Ouch. (Making a left turn in my car on my way home later hurt!) It’s hard to say how much it affected my game today, but I didn’t play my best. My play was much improved in my last two games over my first two games.

I need to continue to work on focus. Clearly picking my serve spots, for instance. I am doing that to a degree, but not 100% of the time. I had a few unreturnable serves today. Hitting to backhands, watching if the receiver is lined up too far to the right or left, cutting the corner of the service court. On the other hand, I had a few out. A couple long, one over the center line . . . and one that only God knows where it was going. Those wild ones are evidence that I’m not mentally focused and picking a precise target.

Another thing to work on is tightening up my drop shots. Yes, not all are getting over. But of the ones that get over, not all cannot be volleyed—some are getting returned out of the air which is what we are seeking to avoid. That said, just because a ball is volleyed doesn’t mean that it’s a good volley. Still, one wants the ball to land in the first half of the kitchen with a low bounce. Work to do.

With less people at the courts today, there was less waiting for games. Not that the wait is all that long typically anyway.

Oh, I had a first today. I served once in a game with my eyes closed! Yes, I got it in. Easily.

I finished play right about noon. Given that I short-changed myself time-wise recently, I’m fudging 10 minutes and giving myself 3 full hours on my court time accumulation.

Number of days on a court: 46
Number of total hours: 133.5