Thursday, May 8, 2025 (Court Day #800)
I received emails from Franklin Sports and also Rallie Pickleball informing me that my deliveries would be coming tomorrow. It couldn’t be timed any better with the new ball machine and the balls for that machine coming on the same day. Included in the Rallie email was a link to their owner’s manual. The manual includes an admonishment to read it before trying to use the machine. I’ll definitely do that!
Skypark
When I arrived at Skypark after work, I was warming up when I noticed Spencer coming through the gate. I ran over to my backpack and pulled out the Owl Silent Storm paddle for him to try. He and I had already talked about it before, so I didn’t leave my warmup people alone for too long.
Games
In my first game, tall, lefty Brenden Zimmer and I played together and lost 0-11 to David L. and Gabe. It was a complete mess.
However, we did win the rematch 11-6. Redemption!
Midway through the evening I could see that Spencer was playing with his own Owl paddle and not the one that I’ve given him to try. That told me something right there.
Ouch
In one game, David ran up and drove a shallow ball right at me that hit my chin. It was in an awkward spot and I was in the midst of rotating my paddle when the ball flew by it and to my face. (My chin was also hit by Marco on Tuesday, but that was off the edge of my paddle.)
On the court next to the last game I was playing, Max drove a shot and hit Mike O’Brien in the eye. It was another instance of frequent reminders why I wear eye protection. Mike immediately stopped playing, doubled over, then wandered around assessing any damage. It turned out he was ok. Bullet dodged.
And?
I played a mix of games tonight, none of which were with all strong players. As always, a mix for at least one or two players Barry of the 3.0 or 3.5 level players.
I played in a variety of games that included David, Manda, Quentin, John (the young guy who is friend with Gabi), Max, Mauricio, Brendan Zimmer.
Owl Paddle
At the end of the evening, asked Spencer about my new Owl paddle. He told me that he didn’t like the weight of it. I told him that it seemed top heavy and he agreed. He did say the surface was very plush and that one could probably get crazy spin with that paddle.
As I walked to my car as the lights clicked off at 8:30 p.m., I could still see a little glimmer of light on the horizon. Next month will be the summer equinox with the longest day of the year.
My car thermometer was reading 70° when I left Skypark. I was definitely sweaty and sticky.
It wasn’t until later that it occurred to me that I’d hit 800 outings of pickleball. A big milestone!
Friday, May 8, 2025. (No play)
Today, sure enough, as the tracking predicted, the Rallie ball machine and the 100 Franklin balls deliveries appeared today. The balls came before I got home for lunch. The box was smaller than I had originally estimated.
I got a notice a bit later about the ball machine delivery that included a photo.
My wife let me know that the box was heavy and she moved it into the garage.
I started reading the digital version of the manual and noticed a number of minor errors and inconsistencies. I emailed Eric Benson, the owner of Rallie Pickleball, about it offering an exchange of my services editing in exchange for some unspecified future compensation, maybe an accessory or subscription at no charge.
Third Shot Analysis
A Reddit user by the name of SanguineSpring shared some analysis of third shots across various skill levels:
I’m a data nerd, so I always find those interesting.
Here’s his analysis about drives versus drops in general:
Saturday, May 10, 2025. (No play)
Eric from Rallie got back to me and said he was busy with family activities but would like to take me up on my offer to edit his manual and we’d connect more about it soon.
Star Wars Connection
More Jedi pickleball:
|https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJOaeFbzSLs/
Number of days on a court: 800
Number of total hours: 3,145
Number of paid coaching hours: 135.5
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