Author: andrewlenz (Page 162 of 329)

Tuesday, March 22, 2022 (Court Day #479)

I got to Skypark at 7:10 p.m. The courts were lightly attended once again. When I mentioned it, someone said that now that it’s light in the evening, people are playing at Brommer Park instead. Maybe so, but it was lighter attendance the week before the time change too.

My first game was with three unfamiliar players. One, a tall fellow, is named Andrew. I ended up switching to my left hand midway through the game. These were 2.5/3.0 players.

Better games

I did get some good games in. I have to give kudos to Paul W. tonight. There was a high ball where I had a fantastic slam opportunity about head height that I took full advantage of. I hit the ball very hard down in the space between Paul and his partner. Paul and I were both on the right. But Paul was able to reach out with his long right arm and get the ball back over the net in the direction of my partner. I was really impressed. I was fully expecting that rally to be over. Of the players I regularly play against, at least 49 out of 50 would not be able to return my slam successfully. Nice work, Paul!

Overall, I was not thrilled with my play tonight. I should start keeping track of errors that I need to correct.

Wednesday, March 23, 2022 (No Play)

Mark Renneson put out a pointess but amusing 9 minute video.

Number of days on a court: 479
Number of total hours: 2,270.5

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Sunday, March 20, 2022 (Court Day #478)

Today, was the first day of spring, though I wouldn’t realize that until much later. It rained yesterday and last night I asked Rick Abend—who lives two blocks from Derby Park—to check the courts at 8:15 today to see if they were dry. He gave me the ‘all clear’ at 8:02 a.m. It was a beautiful day today though it did get breezy in the early afternoon.

I was playing very well today. I had a few games where I made only 2-3 errors for the entire game. I can confidently say I was the strongest player there.

Stronger

But then Barb J. arrived at the same time as Rob A. , the firefighter and my one-time tournament partner. Barb has an extremely strong tennis background and Rob is always formidable. After Eric and I finished up a couple of games out of sync with Barb and Rob, we opted to wait for them to finish their game in progress. Rob and Barb were split both partnered with weaker players to make their game more balanced. And it was—their game went on and on! But after about 10-15 minutes, we got them.

Eric and I took a several point lead over Rob and Barb. But then it felt like my game imploded. I hit shots long or too high. Eric tightened up his game but my game went from strong to frustrating. We lost 11-8 after they went on a run.

Barb had to go, so then Eric and I played a game against Rob and a weaker intermediate woman and we won 11-1 or 11-2. Not a surprise.

Then we played three games against Rob and Adrian. We lost every single game. So frustrating. I didn’t feel like I was playing poorly, but it just wasn’t good enough. I suppose it might have been how Bryan felt when he and his partner played against Kyle Yates and Ben Johns a few years ago. You just aren’t up to snuff. This was the first time when I felt that there was a solid gap between Rob and me . . . often he’d be “off” and I’d be “on”. I didn’t feel like I was off. I just wasn’t a strong enough player.

The Lesson

I have to hand it to Rob. I lost nearly two years of training by having to play left-handed due to tennis elbow. Rob, as a firefighter, gets time at work to play and also get to play on his days off as well. He’s progressed and earned his stripes in the advanced group at Brommer Park. Kudos.

Mid-afternoon, March 22, 2022 (No Play Yet)

Barb stopped by my work this afternoon. We talked about pickleball, of course. She said, “We just squeaked by you,” referring to her game paired with Rob against Eric and me. She said she’s working back into playing due to a shoulder issue and it can be frustrating at times for her.

Number of days on a court: 478
Number of total hours: 2,268

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Thursday, March 17, 2022 (Court Day #477) – St. Patrick’s Day

I arrived at Skypark about 6:40 p.m. after work. I took the last spot in the lot.

Things were busier than Tuesday, but that’s not saying much. It was still a light group. I cycled through assorted games. Nothing of great note.

There were a couple of new guys, Daryl and Barry. Mid to late 50s, I guess. Daryl and Barry are decent 3.0 level players, but provide a good game. Those were fun. Daryl said he’d played years ago in Washington State but then took years off and is now getting back into it.

Matt and Paul’s friend Aaron is coming along. The three of us played a few games. Aaron used to be complete cannon fodder, but he’s getting better. Maybe still a 2.5, but could be a low 3.0. It’s nice to see guys improve.

That’s the thing. Everyone wants a good game. That’s why better players will give tips to weaker players. They want weaker players to get better. The stronger the local field of players, the more good games you’ll get.

Number of days on a court: 477
Number of total hours: 2,263.5

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