Thursday, February 22, 2018 (Court Day #128)

John P. texted me yesterday asking if I could be a fourth in a private game today from 9-11 a.m. I mulled it over, considering work obligations, then said, “Count me in.”

I arrived at Brommer Street Park at 9 a.m. John and Barb S. were there—little Barb with short gray hair. (Not tall Barb nor former tennis pro Barb.) Tom S. showed up about 5 minutes after I did. It was cold, low 40s. John was wearing gloves and Tom put his on not long after we started playing. I had none to wear, or I might have put on some myself!

After one early game, Tom S. said, “Your placement is very good.”

It got quite blustery as the morning progressed. It was one of the most windy days I’ve played on. The ball would periodically drop short or blow sideways. It was an interesting dynamic. And the wind was shifty to boot, sometimes changing directions between serves.

We rotated partners around. It didn’t matter what team I played on, I didn’t lose a game all morning. Some were more lopsided than others, but there was a clear pattern.

Afterward, John said, “You’ve made the jump, my friend.”

For all the kind words, I made mistakes. I missed three serves in one game—and that only halfway through the game! (As John, my partner in that game pointed it out after the third miss.) I cleaned that up simply by being more careful. I returned a couple of high balls that would have otherwise landed out. I hit two slams that would likely have been winners into the net instead. Some of my drop shots were too high. But on the bright side, if I hit any drop shots into the net, it was only one or two all morning and it was into the white tape.

I didn’t feel like I played great, but I did play well. I’m getting more consistent.

Ankle

Tom, the retired ER doctor, asked about the ankle. After I told him, he said, “That’s taking too long.” He asked if I’d been icing it before and after play. Uh, no, but he suggested it a few weeks ago. He said it’s possible that little bits of bone might have been pulled off at the time of the injury, but he didn’t express much concern about that. Regardless, I did ice my ankle when I got home.

Tournament

I’d emailed Eric this morning to see how he was doing. He said he was actually getting worse, not better. That just goes to show why this year’s flu is so nasty. I told John that he was officially on as my partner for Saturday. I stuck out my hand, “Partner” and he shook it. Then he gave me $30 to cover the entry fee—Eric hadn’t reimbursed me yet—and $5 toward gas. John and I made arrangements and I’ll be picking him up at 7 a.m. at his house. I emailed Brian of Livermore to let him know that John would be my partner instead of Eric and Brian confirmed. Time is getting close!

Ha! Fool me once…

I got an email this afternoon from The Club in Los Gatos. They are the ones that held the oddball “arena pickleball” tournament last year that Eric and I played in. They are offering another such “play the ball off the walls” tournament. Super nice people, but I’m going to give that offer a solid “miss”!

Times Two?

I was debating playing at Scotts Valley again tonight, but Sharyl sent out a message saying it was canceled due to rain. It was raining earlier, so that makes complete sense. Dilemma solved!

Number of days on a court: 128
Number of total hours: 363.5

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