Author: andrewlenz (Page 160 of 329)

Sunday, April 17, 2022 (Court Day #485)

Today was my first day playing in almost 2 weeks. Between traveling for a trade show for work in Orlando, Florida, and other assorted obligations, I hadn’t played for 12 days. I initially hoped to squeeze in pickleball on my trip to the eastern seaboard, however it was jam-packed for work with no chunks of free time—in fact, my flight home was scheduled for less than 2 hours after the close of the show. (With one of my staff leaving for vacation the next day, I wasn’t going to spend an extra day in Florida just to play pickleball!)

Derby

It was 46°F when I was about to leave my house, so I grabbed a sweatshirt. A visitor was walking in ahead of me and when I went to set up the courts, he helped. By 10 o’clock, all the clouds had burned off though it was still a bit chilly. It was really great pickleball weather aside from the fact that it got breezy later.

Newbies

We had four happy newbies in their 20s come today. They had never played pickleball before and hadn’t watched any videos or read anything online, so they were starting from scratch. There was James, TJ, Nancy, and Olivia. They are all UCSC graduates, except for Nancy, who is a Cornell grad. While waiting for the game I had signed up for, I explained to them the basic rules and strategies and since there were only three club paddles to loan out, I loaned Olivia my Paddletek paddle. I got a couple of balls and had them volley back and forth to each other outside the fencing to get used to the paddles and a ball.

When I went to play my game, I offered that they should watch and see how it’s played. I did warn them, “We’re advanced intermediate players, so don’t freak out with how we play.” (TJ later said that he had played pickleball in high school but it wasn’t anything like what he saw in my game with Adrian, Allen, and Wai. He said they were more goofing around in comparison.) They watched until our game shifted to a further court—as we do at Derby during club play—then the newbies left. Of course, I was worried. Did they give up? It turns out, they just were outside the gate somewhere, not quitting before they start.

When their box came up at about 11:30, I stood to the side of the net and watched them play two games against each other, giving them advice along the way. In the midst of one game, TJ said, “Thanks for your patience.” They very much seem to enjoy themselves, when I said I hoped they would be coming back in the future, they said, “Oh yeah, definitely!”

We have a Easter gathering today had my brother’s house with extended family and some of his friends starting at 12:30, so at noon I found someone to close the courts for me . . . Tom M. was willing to do it.

Rain is predicted for this week, we’ll see.

Monday, April 18, 2022 (No Play)

It rained tonight. Even with a shorter amount of playing yesterday, and nearly all easier games, my body is a bit sore. My right glute in particular. Ah, the trials of a 2-week layoff!

Number of days on a court: 485
Number of total hours: 2,286.5

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Tuesday, April 5, 2022 (Court Day #484)

I arrived at Skypark after work at about 6:40. I snagged that last parking place. This was a good sign—it’s been a bit light on attendance lately. As I approached the gate, firefighter Matt and his wife Carolyn were leaving, “It’s a bit clique-ish in there.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to break into games. They just want to keep playing with their own groups.”
I don’t typically hear that, but I can believe it happens.

Matt B. was walking in behind me. His friend Paul was hitting around with a woman named Marianne. Soon, the four of us were in a game. ”Which one of you is the best player?” Paul and Matt answered in unison, ”Andrew.” Marianne turned to me, ”You didn’t dispute that… I’ll play with you.” I did warn her that it’d take me a few games to get warmed up. Names were shared. Marianne exclaimed, ”You are all apostles!”

John and his wife Peggy arrived about 7:10. Matt, Paul, and I played 3-4 games with Peggy. I played with Peggy to help balance things a bit.

Challenging Games

Later, we got some strong games, with me playing with Scott against Matt and Paul. Those were fun. I recorded two games with my sports video device. The battery died part-way through the first game I tried to record, but I was able to catch the entirety of the next game.

Part of Game 1:

Game 2:

I asked Matt the time. “9:21.” Not enough time for another game, unfortunately.

I honestly felt good about my play . . . until I watched the video. Ugh. Depressing. It makes me wonder about my other games where I felt solid about my play. Bleh. I need to record more games!

Number of days on a court: 484
Number of total hours: 2,283.5

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Sunday, April 3, 2022 (Court Day #483)

I got a late start today. When I checked the temperature at home, it was 48°, a bit chilly, so I grabbed a sweatshirt—which is something that I rarely do when I’m going to play pickleball.

When I arrived at Derby Park under overcast skies at about five minutes before opening at 9 a.m., Tom Sherwood was the only one there. Tom offered to help me set up which he did. Shortly after, there was a woman named Cathy—a fairly new, but regular—who brought a friend named Mike. Mike works at Apple and is also a anesthesiologist. I’d put Mike in his early 60s. Today was Mike’s second day out playing pickleball. We warmed up with him, then I played a game left-handed with Cathy, Mike, and Ted.

There wasn’t enough players for another game, so I drilled with Mike a little bit, giving him some tips along the way.

Later on, I got into some good games with Charles and Jason as well as Rick and his girlfriend Renee. Charles wasn’t playing his best today.

As I was stowing club gear and getting ready to leave, Ted told me that I had played very well. I felt I had played ok. It was 12:51 when I actually left . . . I had let a group finish their game before I took down their—the last—net.

The shot of the day, I’d have to say was playing against firefighter Matt S. and Charles. Charles—across the net and to my left—hit a sharp crosscourt dink. I scrambled to my right and fired a low hard ATP drive in the direction of Matt’s left knee. He was unable to handle it and the rally was over. It was satisfying since I hit that shot hard!

Number of days on a court: 483
Number of total hours: 2,281

To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.