In my last post, I mentioned how odd it was that everyone left well before the noon hour. I emailed Dave Allenbaugh, the organizer of the Santa Cruz Pickleball Club and he promptly responded with: “I was at Derby and we actually finished after 12:00. I bet you didn’t reset your watch for the spring time change.”

Duh! I forgot to reset the dash clock in my car! I left at 12:20, not 11:20! (It’s corrected now!)

Aches and Pains

On the flip side, the good news with me playing longer than initially thought is that I wasn’t very fatigued even after a good 3 hours of play. Maybe I’m building some pickleball stamina. I can say that I’m still getting sore though. Lower back and . . . ah . . . er . . . butt muscles as well! Hopefully, this improvement will continue to improve with time, that is, I’ll get less sore with each outing.

Double Hits and the Rules

I’d heard different accounts of the rule for unintentionally hitting a ball twice with your paddle while in one swing motion, so Dave suggested that I look at the official rules. Here’s the pertinent rule from the INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PICKLEBALL (IFP) OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT RULEBOOK (Last Revised: June 1, 2015):

“12.A.  Carry and Double Hits. Balls can unintentionally be hit twice or “carried”, but this must be during a continuous, single-direction stroke. If the stroke is not continuous, not single-direction, or if it is a definite second push, the hit is illegal. (revised April 1, 2011)”

So, while double hits are generally illegal, there is an exception which applies to the instance I experienced. I’ve only run into it once, maybe twice, in the however many hundreds of shots I’ve made in the roughly 12-13 hours of play I’ve had so far. It’s a pretty rare circumstance. I’m still at a loss as to exactly why it happens, but the ball manages to do it. It’s a rapid fire “tap-tap” when it occurs—but it’s perfectly legal as long as the hitter isn’t trying to pull a fast one!

Paddles

I was reading a website that had a long page of interview after interview with well-known pickleball players. I did a screenshot on my iPad so I could refer to it later. In one interview, the player (Scott Clayson) said of his preferred paddle: “…it has durability so it lasts longer than some other paddles I’ve used in the past.” That paddle is the Paddletek Graphite Tempest. I could try a bunch of different paddles, but I’m thinking of just starting with a good one that’ll hold up. I figure I’ll get used to whatever I have. But I’m going to wait a while longer before I pull the trigger.

PaddletekTempest

Some Advice

Tom, (the elder, not the younger) whom I played with early yesterday, shared with me a tip. He said that he noticed that I tend to be moving sometimes when I hit the ball versus stationary. He said, “When they hit the ball, you should stop and get ready with your feet apart. It’s called a ‘split step’.” After all the reading I’d done, I already knew what a split step was. And I’d read the advice about stopping before hitting the ball.

Now, call me arrogant or whatever, but I’m not yet convinced that I have to follow this advice. And maybe I’m wrong and will change my mind with time. I can’t say. But I currently believe it’s possible to properly control the ball even when hitting while moving. It’s simply hand-eye coordination. Yes, it adds a level of complexity. I’d readily admit that. It’s easier to hit the ball correctly when you don’t have a human body velocity variable in the equation. On the other hand, if you can master it, you’ll have an easier time both getting to the ball and being in the proper position for the next shot.

I think I’ll get a second opinion. Mark Renneson of Third Shot Sports is always inviting people to contact him with questions. I’m going to email him, what the heck.

Player Ratings

I talked about this before, but I’m wondering if my self-evaluated rating of a 3.5 player is correct. Based on the IFP ratings, I must be a 3.5 player. I easily meet all those criteria. I can safely say I’m not a 4.0 player yet.

Here are the 4.0 criteria (with how it applies to me in bold):

  • Consistent and dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both forehand and backhand shots.  More or less. About half a dozen times in a game, a shot will go somewhere I don’t want it to—a wide passing shot, a dink into the net, and a dink or an upward volley that go too high.
  • Reliable serves, lobs, overheads, approach shots and volleys and can use spin shots with some success.  Not so much spin shots. And lobs are probably effective about one-third of the time. Overheads are at least 90% reliable. Approaches and volleys are not always perfect, but more reliable than not. 
  • Occasionally can force errors when serving. I’ve done this only once. I’ll still have a bad serve once every few games.
  • Rallies may be lost due to impatience.  I’ve been commended by my patience on the court.
  • Uses the dink shot and drop shots to slow down or change the pace of the game. I’ve won points on my drop shots, so probably ok here.
  • Demonstrates 3rd shot strategies – drop shots, lobs, and fast-paced ground strokes. I still need work here, such as making sure I always hit to the back player!
  • Aggressive net play and teamwork in doubles is evident. This is a work in progress. Aggressive net play? Check. Teamwork, I’m now tracking with the ball and being aware of where my partner is in terms of distance from the net. There’s more work to be done on the strategy of getting opponents out of position.
  • Fully understands the rules of the game and can play by them. Pretty much, though I stepped into the kitchen yesterday after hit a shot into my opponent’s chest. No one noticed, but the called the fault on myself. I’m an honest guy.

So, definitely not 4.0 yet. More practice needed.

A Little Levity

Yesterday, while Eric and I were playing against Tom and Ileana, it was Tom’s turn to serve. Unfortunately, when I hit the ball nonchelantly over the net, it went a little wide and Tom had to jog after it. A bit embarrassed, I proclaimed, “See Tom run!” Laughing and not to be outdone, Tom responded, “See Andrew lose!” Followed by, “See Tom cry!”

Tom and Ileana did lose, but Tom held himself together and didn’t cry. We were having too much of a good time.