Author: andrewlenz (Page 206 of 329)

Monday, June 22, 2020 (Court Day #351)

Binh texted me last night and requested an 8:30 start at Brommer Park. I was a few minutes late, but there was plenty of room. As a weekday, there were significantly less people than yesterday.

Binh, Josh, Dan and I played games together for at least an hour before we started rotating in and out other players.

To fill one of the vacant courts came a family. A dad, a mom, and a 20-something daughter. They were relative newbies. (Hmmm. Rereading this later, I realize that that was a pun!)

Wayne had brought a box of donuts. That’s a good way to endear yourself to others—food!

A tall man with white hair and his wife—probably late 50s—drilled a bit on a court by themselves. One of our group invited him to play with us. His name is John and he and his wife are from the Central Valley somewhere. They came for a few days to escape the heat, they said. John played with Chris and Binh and I were the opponents. John held his own. We played two games and I think Binh and I lost both close games. Maybe we won the first, I don’t remember. I was the “mistake maker” for our team. I held my tongue and didn’t tell John nor his wife that I’m playing left-handed. There was nothing to gain. I might never see them again.

The last game was with the dad of family group, George is his name, and Dave Cox against Binh and me. Binh and I took a quick lead—George want near as strong of a player as the other fresh face (John)—then we got lazy and let them get closer. Then we wrapped up the game. George was a perfect example of a less experienced player trying to be too fancy with spins and tricky shots than just getting the ball over the net. He hit a few shots into the net or out of bounds that way.

Like yesterday, at the end of the session, we were down to seven players on the courts and with no one to fill out an other game, it was time to head out. 12:25 p.m.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2020 (No Play)

Well, aside from chronic tennis elbow and right ankle that has not fully recovered from getting rolled at least two years ago, I tweaked my right knee—going up and down stairs is painful—and also pulled my left hamstring a bit. Also my left triceps is sore; that hasn’t been an issue at all, surprising since that has been my paddle arm and has been betting more use than ever since I’m naturally a righty.

Number of days on a court: 351
Number of total hours: 988

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Sunday, June 21, 2020 (Court Day #350)

I didn’t even try Derby Park and went right to Brommer this morning. I arrived at 9:15. (My hunch was right, Dave Allenbaugh later said he’d gone there and found no one.) The courts were overflowing with lots of people waiting. There was a group of four tennis players using the tennis court, so we couldn’t set up any temporary nets there. (Given there still is no official SCPC club play, club nets are out of the question—only personal nets brought by players.)

I had taken my chances showing up without prior arrangement of partners, but I was able to rotate into games. With the number of people and only four courts, there was some waiting involved . . . much like what happens when there are 50 people and 8 courts.

Games were fun. I wasn’t playing fantastic and there wasn’t much memorable in the day.

We were down to seven players on the courts and with no one to fill out an other game, it was time to head out. 11:50 a.m.

Number of days on a court: 350
Number of total hours: 984.5

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Monday, June 15, 2020 (Court Day #349)

After I asked, Binh arranged some players to come to Brommer Park this morning.

I arrived at 9:15 and all courts were full and Binh, Chris and Josh (older Josh) were sitting on the brick wall. “We couldn’t hold a court,” subtly admonished Binh. He was right, of course, I should have been there sooner . . . but with having to be at work for 10:30 opening (COVID hours), there hasn’t been any incentive to get up early lately.

Dean later set up a temporary net for about an hour, then took it down.

Today was a day that I would like to flush. I played really well yesterday, but today was garbage.

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Wednesday, June 17, 2020 (No Play)

So, on Monday night, I ordered some Black Ice Cooling packs for my elbow. This recovery is taking forever. It’s been over 18 months since this tennis elbow injury struck. The Black Ice packs can be placed directly on skin without discomfort or damage. It’s coming with two packs, I may keep one at work and one at home.

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Thursday, June 18, 2020 (No Play)

I came home from work and found a small box on my dining room table. Yep, the Black Ice Cooling packs.

I cooled the packs, one in the freezer and one in the refrigerator. As the directions said, the freezer was too cold without letting the pack sit out first. So it let it sit out for about ten minutes to let the hard spots inside the pack melt. The Velcro strap seemed really long—long enough to maybe allow it to go around my waist. Regardless, it was long enough to easily wrap twice around my elbow. Maybe it’s designed to accommodate sumo wrestlers as well as a normal sized person like me. Dunno. It seemed to work fine. After an hour, I swapped the pack for the one in the fridge. I need to work on adjusting the tension so it’s balanced between slipping and not digging into my arm. Bending at my elbow to type at my computer was not entirely comfortable as the edge dug into my skin some.

I really want to play with my right arm. I’m getting anxious to return to right-handed play. I know that it may be another year or two—or even never. But I want to take what steps I can to make it happen.

And my USAPA membership renewal came today via email. Between COVID and not being able to play right-handed, I’m hesitant. It is only $20, so it’s not like it’s a ton of money, but if it makes no difference… I’ll give it a few days.

Number of days on a court: 349
Number of total hours: 982

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