Author: andrewlenz (Page 195 of 329)

Sunday, June 6, 2021 (Court Day #382)

I dropped off my daughter at work a few minutes after 9 a.m. It was misting, requiring periodic windshield wipers. As I drove on the freeway to Brommer Park, it got a little heavier—maybe enough to consider actual rain—then stopped. I figured there’d be at least a few diehards out playing, but when I arrived, there were only two cars in the lot and . . . yep, as I looped around, no one on the courts, which were a bit wet. Bummer. I simply pulled around without stopping and headed home.

I worked on some things at home then around 11, figured I’d give Derby Park—closer to my house—a shot. As I pulled onto the street, I saw Tom S. leaving. We greeted each other with a smile then I asked if there were still players. He said there were. I arrived inside the gate at 11:30. As I drove by I saw Alan C. and Robin L. leaving.

There were 14 players, surprisingly, I knew only two of them. There was a bunch of younger women—20s and 30s, it seemed. An unusually large number were heavier-set—maybe a weight loss group? Pickleball is good, low-impact, fun exercise. They appeared to be all newish players with high balls and lots of errant shots.

The two players on the courts that I recognized were Maria, who would often play in Scotts valley, and Tom M. Maria was partnered with a short woman named Sherry and Tom with an Asian man named Larry. As I watched their game in the hopes of jumping in after, it became apparent that Larry and Sherry were playing the best. I’d consider them all 3.0 level players.

When their game ended, I asked if I could play. Maria kindly offered me her spot. I joined with Sherry to take on Larry and Tom M. We started slow but then ran away to win 11-6. Sherry is a lefty’s I am playing right now.

Sherry asked if I’m actually a natural righty. I told her, yes. Tom said, “You would consider yourself ambidextrous by now.” Even with a six month layoff for COVID, I’m approaching two years of playing lefty.

Tom M. sat out and I played with Maria against Sherry and Larry. Maria wasn’t playing as well as I’d seen her play in the past. We lost that one.

Tom was ready to go and it was his net. It was kind of him to just watch and let us play that one more game.

I got in about an hour. I’ll always take what I can get!

Number of days on a court: 382
Number of total hours: 1,084

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

Friday, June 4, 2021 (Court Day #381)

I arranged a game tonight at 6:45 p.m. I arrived at Skypark in Scotts Valley straight from work at about 6:35. There were a boatload of tennis players and three unknown pickleball players on a court. On another court, Oleg and Olga were warming up. I joined in. Soon Kristin arrived and not long after was Adrian.

Adrian sat out the first game. Oleg decided to play the whole evening left-handed. Oleg is a strong player so that help even things up a bit. We rotated through partners.

A tall younger man, Brandon, wandered over from another court and asked if he could play with us. He quietly said that he was better than the players than he’d been playing with. (It turned out that Brandon’s a lower intermediate player, I’d put him at a 3.0.) Adrian told Brandon, “Ask him.” Adrian was pointing to me. Oh, yeah. I organized the gathering. I let Brandon play.

It’s interesting sitting and watching through a full game. Watching a volley rally, I couldn’t help but think, “Hit the ball down!” It seemed too many shots were going back either level or higher than how they came across when there were opportunities to hit the ball down. If you can get your opponent to volley upward, that is when winning shots become available.

Brandon left as soon as it was his turn to sit out a game.

Oleg’s frustration with his left-handed play was obvious, but he wasn’t playing poorly. But I can 100% understand and relate firsthand to his feelings about a shot he knows he could have made right-handed. It is indeed frustrating.

Kristin explained she had a hike to do the next day and left around 8 p.m.

At 8:40 p.m., having just finished a game, Oleg was done. I was ready to play another few games, but it is what it is. We were treated to a beautiful sunset. In a couple of weeks, it will be the longest day of the year, then we will be on to shorter days and darker nights.

As with most outings for me playing lefty, it was a mix of really nice shots and frustrating shots. But it was an enjoyable evening.

Oh, I should mention, this is post 403. A few posts ago, I hit 400. The 400 that I am actually looking forward to is 400 outings. That should happen in the next few months.

Number of days on a court: 381
Number of total hours: 1,083

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

Monday, May 31, 2021 (Court Day #380)

With my wife wanted me to install a gopher trap this morning, I arrived at Brommer Park about 9:15 to sunny skies and busy courts.

The most comical moment today was Alan finally testing out my Players Rogue 2 paddle that he’s been wanting to try, while I tried his. We both hated them and switched back to our own paddles then went on to come from behind and win against Leslie and Juls. What didn’t I like about Alan’s paddle? Weight, weight distribution (longer paddle), too much bounce (more power, less control). Could I get used to it? Sure, just as I’m sure he’d get used to mine.

I played through a variety of games over the course of the morning.

A familiar man arrived as little after noon. “Hi, Andrew.” Shoot. I’ve obviously met him but I couldn’t recall his name nor the circumstances. We got into a game and he mentioned to the others that today was his third day out. His name was Doug. Ah. Ding, ding! I’d taken him from sitting on the wall to the first time on a pickleball court warming up here 8 days ago on Sunday.

And it turns out Paul was the name of the man who I thought was coaching yesterday. He was merely introducing his daughter and fiancé to pickleball. He was visiting from somewhere but grew up here and may be moving permanently back. Paul is a good intermediate player.

I ended up playing with Tony against Paul and Doug. Tony, a tall, fit man whom I’d never seen before. He was sporting a Cabrillo College basketball polo shirt. He said he’d been playing for about 7 months. I looked him up and found this:
https://athletics.cabrillo.edu/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20200302idzh21

After a game, Tony said, “If you are playing left-handed, you must be pretty good right-handed.” I said, “I’m a solid 3.5 playing right-handed.” He looked at me somewhat blanky. Later, I figured that he probably didn’t have any reference for what that meant. Regardless, very pleasant fellow. We talked him into two more games after he said he should go home to keep his wife happy.

Doug, as I anticipated after I played with him the first time, is doing really well for his third time out. Sure, there are some strategy things that I shared with him after our last game—being patient and waiting for an attackable shot, for one.

At 1:27 p.m., it was time to head home and the “honey do” list!

Number of days on a court: 380
Number of total hours: 1,081

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