Wednesday, November 7, 2018 (Court Day #220)
I arrived at Derby Park a few minutes to 9. It was sunny and a little chilly, but it’s been warm during the day and it would get warm today also.
The day begins. Dave (red) and Mike take on Barb and a woman I don’t know. Diane and her husband John P. set up another net.
After one game mid-morning, walking off the court, Grita said, “You are Eric are tough. You are both getting better and better.” Nice to hear.
Stuart was kind of funny. In a game where we were winning as partners, he was slathering praise: “I don’t know why you aren’t a 5.0. Your shot selection is excellent and your court positioning is excellent.” But we played in another game not long after when we were behind. Granted, I tried a tricky and ill-advised backhand slice drive that failed—six inches too low and into the net—but he was giving me a hard time for not being at the net. I told him, “They were about to hit the ball, I was split-stepping.” It’s in Stuart’s nature to be loud and corrective if the game isn’t going the right way. He’s very competitive and has an extremely consisistent drop shot. I can’t remember if I mentioned it before, but recently he gave me a hard time for being near the centerline close to his side. I’ll accept it when I’m wrong, but in that particular instance, I was not. I tersely pointed out with a smile, “I was tracking. The ball was over there!” pointing to his side of the court—he then acknowledged that I was right. Without tracking, it leaves a big hole between partners. Holes that I’ve taken advantage of myself against opponents. There’s no question that I have aspects of my game that need lots of improvement and I do appreciate suggestions that I can apply.
There were 2-3 shots today where I was hitting on the move and messed up. Either sailing past the baseline or a short shot that I ran up and hit it into the net. Move, set, hit. Move, set, hit. Hitting while moving is asking for trouble. Sometimes, it’s absolutely unavoidable, but other times, it’s just a bad choice.
The sun was a big issue today. Chris and I were playing against Grita and Stuart and they were lobbing over and over again since Chris and I were facing the sun. It was annoying but effective, taking the lead and winning the game.
When I play games against better players, typically at Brommer or in tournaments, the margin for error gets smaller. A tiny bit too high, they take advantage. A little out of position, they take advantage. A little too shallow, they take advantage. The key is reducing the “little toos”!
I am getting better at applying topspin on lower shots while I’m at the net. That’s a skill that is coming along. It makes the ball go down and stay down.
By noon, I was dragging. Chris and I were playing a last game against Grita and Olga. After a couple errant points, I turned to Chris and told him, “I think I’m past my expiration date.” He and I did win, but we both made it harder than it should have been.
I checked the time as I walked off the court. 12:22, past time to go.
Later in the day, I noticed that my back is sore. Yep, no question that that is caused by pickleball!
Number of days on a court: 220
Number of total hours: 603.5
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