Author: andrewlenz (Page 161 of 329)

Thursday, March 31, 2022 (Court Day #482)

A post was made online by Jim Kloss today at 2 p.m. pacific time:

NEW AND IMPROVED UTPR IS ON THE WAY!
As many of you know, the serious defects with the UTPR have been discussed, at length. After a long delay, USAP finally decided to take action and get it fixed. To that end, a committee was formed to review all available information and to recommend a fix. The committee was made up of 7 people; 3 from USAP, 3 people who had a data/math/IT focus, and me. I considered my job was to represent players — pros, and tournament players, but mainly the vast majority of players who care about ratings, i.e., club players.

We met by zoom call over the course of several months. Reviewed data and information on ratings in other sports and other pickleball ratings. We found the UTPR was not alone is having what we considered serious defects. The committee believed that equally there were problems with the WPR and DUPR.
What we came up with will hopefully be well accepted. Some of the features we want to add:

1. A more stable algorithm. As many of us had suspected the current UTPR is subject to wild swings. The more results you have the more stable your rating.
2. A rating algorithm that takes into account score. Losing 11-9, 11-9 is just not the same as losing 11-0, 11-0.
3. Preserving separate ratings for men and women. Unlike tennis, pickleball events are uniformly separated by age and gender. We do not believe pickleball players want ageless/genderless events to dominate. We found a pickleball algorithm that lumps men and women of all ages together is an inaccurate system. For example, one of our data guys found that the DUPR universal system is even LESS accurate than the current UTPR.
4. In an effort to cut down on sandbagging, the algorithm would not have new players affect the ratings of other players in the system until they have played 5+ matches. In other words, if a sandbagger signs up for 3.5 and wins easily, it would not affect their opponents’ ratings. Obviously, the preferred method would be for people not to sandbag, but at least this way, it will not harm others’ ratings. To my knowledge, no other rating system offers anything to help with sandbagging.
5. A rating system that takes into account the ball is usually hit to the weaker player. Again, I don’t believe any other rating system has this feature, even though we all know this is how the game is played.
6. No use of non-tournament results. I love rec/club/league play; but it isn’t tournament play and is not reliable data.
7. A separate non-tournament skill rating that people can obtain who do not regularly play tournaments. They can take this rating and be accurately placed in their local club or league, or they can use it when they travel — you show up at the local club/park to play, you can fit right in to the correct group. This is the feature I am most proud of. 90% of players who want a rating are not regular tournament players. We need a system that fits their needs.

There are some other features but those are the highlights. The committee recommendations now go to the USAP board. The board will hopefully have the good sense not to mess with a good thing and let the new and improved UTPR go forward. Also, I think it will get renamed, as “UTPR” is not exactly popular. I wanted to call it the Statistically Uniform Pickleball Rating Definitely Unique Pickleball Rating, or SUPR DUPR. But I don’t think it will be adopted. Oh well, can’t win them all. I hope everyone gives the new system, whenever it comes out, a fair shot. I welcome all comments and suggestions on what should be the best pickleball rating system out there.

Good news for us pickleball players!

Skypark

I arrived at Skypark at 6:45 p.m. It’s light much later now after the time change, so I had a number of games before it got dark.

I was in a game against much weaker players. Casey, standing on the other side of the court next to my game, called over, ”Andrew! What’s your score?” The game was in was nearing the end. Casey waited and I was shorty in a game against Casey and his dad Tim. Casey is playing very well. Tim is not flashy but is very consistent. Where Tim lacks speed and length compared to a quite tall Casey, Casey doesn’t! Casey is getting very good very fast. He’s a natural athlete, a reason why he got drafted into Major League Baseball. Tim’s consistency and Casey’s reach make for a formidable pair. They play well. A good team to play against and hone skills—I lost every game I played against them tonight… that said, I wasn’t playing solo, but my partners were in the mix.

Lights clicked off at 9:30 p.m.

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Friday, April 1, 2022 (No Play)

How could I let April Fool’s Day pass without posting something in the Pickleball Forum group?

Number of days on a court: 482
Number of total hours: 2,277.5

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Tuesday, March 29, 2022 (Court Day #481)

News happened yesterday…

I had to work late so I didn’t arrive to Skypark in Scotts Valley until about 7:20 p.m. When I arrived there wasn’t all that many players, and I ended up having to wait a little bit before I was able to get into a game with Tim against a couple of other players. I started out shockingly and frustratingly poorly, I kept missing shots inexplicably. It was horrible and perplexing. But is the game went on, I did gradually start putting together a respectable game. Tim and I did go on to win.

Later on in the evening, a group of young men arrived. It turns out most of them are UCSC undergrads. There was Ryan, Francisco, Alfred, and TK.

Paul W. and I played a game against Ryan and Francisco. We won. The game was 10 to 0 but then they scored a couple of points before we finished off the game and went 11 to 2. The outcome was not a surprise. Francisco said that he’s been playing only a month. However, Francisco played OK, although not as good as Ryan. I’d say Ryan is a solid 3.0 player.

We headed out when the lights clicked off at 9:30. Nothing of great note tonight. No stellar play, no injuries.

I guess I can say ”boys” in as title since my son is 25!

Number of days on a court: 481
Number of total hours: 2,275

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

Thursay, March 24, 2022 (Court Day #480)

My right elbow where the bones meet was bothering me all day. Even driving home at lunch hurt some. This is very worrisome. I haven’t experienced this many months now. I hope it’s a fluke and gets better quickly. Scary.

Skypark

Arrived at Sky Park about 7 p.m. It was a light crowd and parking was easy. But a few more people were there than Tuesday. There were five courts set up and busy.

I had to wait about 10 minutes before I was able to get into a game, but my first game was a good one with Tim against Matt S. (retired firefighter) and John, whose girlfriend is Robin. 

They asked if I wanted to warm up and Matt even came to the net expecting me to dink. Tim tried to convince me to take at least 2-3 warmup shots. I turned them down and went right into a game. 

Tim and I clobbered Matt and John—I think they scored just one point. We went on to play a second game and the result was similar, though they scored a few points the second game.

The Compliment

During the first game, Matt S. paid me a supreme compliment. I hit forehand drive from my position at the left of Tim, and the ball rocketed with topspin about two inches over the net between Matt and John. Matt could barely get a paddle on it and my drive was a winner. Matt, in hilarious frustration, with a smile, unleashed a very brief expletive laden rant which included calling me a “m****r f*****g c**k s****r. Tim and I just looked at each other and I doubled up in laugher! Matt’s a good guy. Swears like a sailor, but has a heart of gold.

I got into a series of games with Scott as my partner against Matt and Paul (they have a tournament on Sunday if it doesn’t get rained out) and a game against Randy and Daryl whom I’ve played against once before. Scott and I handily beat Daryl and Randy by a 2:1 margin—good game, but after a few points the result was not in doubt.

Server?

At the start of one game, I asked Matt and Paul who their regular first server is. They looked at each other and Matt said that they didn’t have one. I told them they need to pick player to always be their starting server. There are a few reasons for this but the main one is it always allows the pairing to know where they should be for a given score. After I made that suggestion, Paul was always their starting server.

We finished our last game with a few minutes to spare and the lights clicked off at 9:30. Paul, Matt, Scott and I talked about drilling, tournaments, and other pickleball things until 9:53.

For all the aching leading up to my play tonight, my elbow didn’t bother me a bit.

Tonight, I felt I played really well. My play sagged a bit the last few games, but I was quite delighted with my play prior to that.

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Sunday, March 27, 2022 (No Play)

There was enough rain last night to keep the Derby courts wet enough to prevent club play, so I had to cancel it, unfortunately. Later, I texted Eric S. about drilling but he said he was heading home after he had played anyway. He said at 10 a.m. only one court was completely dry—hence, I made a good call—but they did mostly dry out by 11 a.m.

Paul and Matt

Just before 7 p.m., it started to rain as predicted this week. I texted Matt B. to see how Paul W. and he did at their tournament in Sunnyvale. He said it was really windy—I’d though of them when I experienced that here in Santa Cruz—but they’d won four games and lost three. I was expecting them to do better, but they must have had some strong competition. It must have been a large tournament. I’m looking forward to hearing more when I see them next.

Briones Analysis

Jordon Briones recently shared some of his pro games at a recent tournament. I remember watching part of it and recognizing the shot selection errors … or at least not what I would do and the result was bad for his side. (It’s easier to see the shots to make when you are not playing yourself!) Well, Jordon posted a new video breaking down a doubles game shot by shot. It’s nearly an hour, so I didn’t watch all of it (yet?), but still interesting.

One thing he pointed out (at 14m43s) was always ready ready for the attack. This hits home. A week ago, Rob attacked a ball hitting it right at me and winning the point. He told me, “I saw your paddle was down.” I was not ready for an attack.

Jordan went on, saying if you are going to attack a ball below the net and hit it at your opponent’s ”dominant side”—that is, create a chicken wing scenario. Something for me to work on!

Number of days on a court: 480
Number of total hours: 2,273

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