Author: andrewlenz (Page 21 of 327)

Tuesday, January 13, 2026 (Court Day #891)

So, voice to text decided that “Skypark” really meant “scary part.” So funny!

It has been a bit of a meat grinder at work for the past month. One of my buyers has been on vacation for five weeks, and to top that off, I’ve had at least one person out sick—and sometimes two or three—on any given day. I’ve had maybe one or two days with a full complement of staff in the past month and a half. Today, for example, I was missing two.

I dropped my brother Matt off at my parents’ house after work, hung out for a little bit, then made my way to Scotts Valley in the dark and nippy 55°F evening. I was tempted just to turn around and go home, but—as typical—I could use the exercise.

Skypark

When I arrived, I found one parking spot in the lot. I was thankful for that.

One of the courts opened up and I asked Ahbi if he wanted to warm up with me. After a few minutes, Matt and Paul finish up with the game and join joined us. Matt and I teamed up.

Games

Matt and I found ourselves down 3-8 in that game, but then came back and tied up 10-10 but then we went on to lose 11-13.

We switched sides and play it again, but this time it was Matt and I who won a close game. We switch sides and played a rubber match. This time it was a lopsided win in their favor, 11-5.

We switched sides again, and played the fourth game this time Matt and I won 11-3.

We played the fifth game this time Matt and I lost.

It was at this point that Matt pointed out that all of us had only won on the same side of the court, that is, with our backs against the fence. A funny coincidence.

We switched sides and played one last game to squeeze in what we could before the lights clicked off. True to form, Matt and I were ahead 5-4 and I had just gotten the serve back when the lights clicked off.

It was so weird how the games went. Most were lopsided. It just goes to show the effect of momentum, I suppose.

And?

I felt generally ok about my play. Not delighted, but also not dejected. I hit the white tape two or three times, served once into the net, and once, when an opponent popped up a shot, I angled it too wide and it landed out by about 2 feet. I was trying to hit that ball and a very sharp angle. I got jammed with a few chicken wings tonight.

It was a fun evening. Matt, Paul, and Ahbi are all entertaining to play with.

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Wednesday, January 14, 2026 (No Play)

I tell my students that it’s not necessary to always serve hard and fast and that it’s more important to have the serves land deep. Case in point, #1 women’s player in the world, Anna Leigh Waters, is demonstrating that exact same thing in this clip. High arching serves, but deep:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTd-o8ejzo2

In rec play, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen such serves throw off the receiver’s timing and the ball was returned into the net!

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Thursday, January 15, 2026 (No Play)

Speaking of hitting high shots into the net, it happens to the best of us!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTjPKOqjJAa

High School Varsity Pickleball?

Crossroads, a high school varsity in Los Angeles, has been pushing to make pickleball a varsity sport:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DTgIHdSAaWR

I did an A.I. inquiry and got this back:
“Yes, students from Crossroads School in Santa Monica, led by twins Boone and Ford Casady, along with Samantha Leeds and Hannah Carey, founded the L.A. High School Pickleball League to establish pickleball as a varsity sport, creating a framework for other schools and securing early recognition, with plans to become a CIF-sanctioned activity by the 2026-27 school year.”

Here’s their Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/lahspb_league/

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Friday, January 16, 2026 (No Play)

Yesterday, Carmel finalized the ban of pickleball in their city, making it a misdemeanor to be caught playing. It formally goes into effect in 30 days, though pickleball has been banned there on a temporary basis already.

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Saturday, January 17, 2026 (No Play)

Host on late night television, Jimmy Fallon, talked about Anna Leigh Waters new Nike sponsorship on the Tonight Show. Fallon said he likes to play padel, but then his band leader said that he prefers pickleball instead, which lead to an amusing interaction:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DTl-oxyDlOU

Reality TV Pickleball

This week, the first episode of the pickleball reality TV show—Pickleball Kingdom Paddle Battle—dropped on YouTube:

Number of days on a court: 891
Number of total hours: 3,365.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 188.5

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

Monday, January 12, 2026 (Court Day #890)

Today is our monthly board meeting for the Santa Cruz Pickleball Club, however, today is a little bit special and that’s the official Annual General Meeting where we will be voting on officers and bylaws plus briefing the entire membership on what’s going on with the club. Of course, we email out news to members on a regular basis, but this is a chance for live feedback back-and-forth.

Since the club currently has no secretary, and that was a role I was filling before, I jumped back into that role when the last one quit unexpectedly. That means I’m responsible for getting the agenda together for the meeting. I was so busy with the first day of pickleball classes yesterday that I didn’t even think to prep the agenda. My life has been very busy lately. I did get the agenda done and printed out, took the dog for a walk, then headed for Brommer.

It was 55°F and a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky.

Brommer Park

Between club play and free pizza for those who RSVP-ed for the AGM, I was expecting parking to be a fiasco. But when I arrived at 10:20 a.m., someone drove off just as I arrived, so I was able to grab that parking spot. I was very thankful!

My first game, without hardly any warm-up, was a meat grinder against Dave Ryan and Mo. Mo, I can handle, but going up against a warmed-up Dave in my first game with little warm up on my part was a recipe for disaster. I was teamed up with River and River was not playing his best game either. He hit a few shots wide, some long, some to the net. His very first hit was a return of serve that was out giving our opponents a point. My own play was far from stellar and we got toasted in this game.

Kitchen Fault

During a game later, on a court next to ours, I noticed that during a rally, a guy (whom I didn’t know) pushed off from his foot just inside the kitchen to volley a lob over his head. A fault. No one called it. I didn’t say anything. Peanut gallery calls are not allowed nor did I feel like going through the work of telling him later.

Last Game

For last game of the day, I teamed up with Dave Cox against tall lefty Greg and JP—not the most balanced combination, but Dave wanted to play with me. Before the game started, Dave suggested that we have the strategy of intentionally hitting every shot to our opponents’ backhands and also not speeding up any shots that are below the net. The idea was to get really easily into a soft game, but also make our opponents uncomfortable. It was an interesting game dynamic. Dave and I won big, 11-3, as would probably be expected.

Once we were done tapping paddles, I immediately jogged to the far end of the courts to get my backpack and get over to the picnic area for the AGM. The AGM went fine. A few people snuck over and ate pizza then left instead of staying for the meeting. The exchange was ‘we feed you, you stay and participate in the meeting’, not ‘let’s provide pizza to people who can just go home and eat!’

New Pro Sponsorship

It was announced today that Anna Leigh Waters has signed with Nike. So, she’s now sponsored by Franklin and Nike. I’m not a fan of Nike and haven’t purchased any Nike products for a very long time and still won’t. I’ve seen too many instances of ‘profits over principles’ with them.

Number of days on a court: 890
Number of total hours: 3,363.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 188.5

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

Sunday, January 11, 2026 (Court Day #889)

It was sunny with only traces of clouds, though it was a brisk 50°F.

Brommer

I pulled into Brommer Park at 9:08 a.m. into a nearly full parking lot and the courts themselves were full.

I cycled through various games with Rick, René, and Mike Sullivan.

The last game was Navi and myself against Rick and René. We won 11–6.

I checked the time 11:48 a.m. It was time to go.

As I was leaving, Rick commented, “Nice fast hands today, Andrew.” Dan Dewey, who was sitting a few feet away and overheard, exclaimed, “Today? Every day!” And then he added, “Don’t speed up on Andrew!”

It was a 63° when I left, I was sweating. I think playing in 50° overcast weather is the ideal for pickleball.

Teaching

I met my new students today. One, Kirby—who is only living in the area for a month or two—shared with me, “People around the club speak very highly of you.” I smiled more broadly and told him, “That’s nice to hear.” I don’t know if he was asking around about my personality, skills, or coaching ability, or all three. Regardless, it made my day.

After class, my son Nicholas—who came to balance pairs—and I practiced, playing out points in a hybrid skinny singles/singles scenario. We didn’t keep track of points. It was good practice for both of us, but especially Nicholas when it came to returning my hard serves. Being that he mostly plays in a class scenario, the hardest serves he’s going to have to typically handle will be for other students which limits difficulty.

Number of days on a court: 889
Number of total hours: 3,361.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 188.5

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