Author: andrewlenz (Page 323 of 331)

Easter Sunday, April 16, 2017 (Court Day #15)

Being that I have no kids at home, I went to an Easter Vigil service, and our annual big extended family gathering isn’t until mid-afternoon today, pickleball fit right in!

I got to the courts at just about 9 a.m. under overcast skies. Rain was expect to start around noon according to my wife—she can put weather forecasters to shame! One game was underway already between Dave Allenbaugh and a few other people, two of which I’d never seen before. A couple other nets were already set up and Maree and her husband Mark were warming up at one. I asked if I could join them and jumped in on Mark’s side of the net.

I rotated around playing games with Maree and Mark, Eric, Bruce and his wife Janet, Tom S., Paule, Ted, Tom (visor Tom), Mara, Eric’s friend Rick, and others. I sat out one game on the bench alone. We never did get around setting up the sixth net today—quite the rarity. I think we did top out about 23 players mid-morning, instead of the 30-40 we typically get. Even Jerry Louis and the Longs didn’t come. But, hey, it’s a major holiday after all.

While we were partners in a match, Bruce pulled off a great around-the-post shot. Rick asked, “Is that legal? Doesn’t it have to go over the net?” Yep, legal, and no, it doesn’t have to pass over the airspace above the net. It doesn’t even have to go above the level of the top of the net. Bruce’s shot was maybe 18″ above the ground when it entered our opponents’ side of the court. Unreturnable. Point.

A woman quietly appeared on the bench around 11 a.m. After a few minutes, Dave checked on her. She said she invited by Eric to check out pickleball. When Eric finished up his game, he and some regulars introduced her to the sport.

Rick—who I hadn’t previously met in person—was having a hard time with his serve early in the day and Tom and I worked with him on it for about 10 minutes. By the end of the morning, Rick had it solidly down and only missed one serve in the last match I played with him. (I had a game where I missed two of my serves. Gag. Unheard of.)

My Achilles’ heel continues to be getting a drop over then net when I’m running up to return a dink/drop. I far too frequently simply don’t hit it hard enough and the ball drops into the net. This happened probably ten times today.

While I did get another serving ace today—shallow, low, topspin, outside corner—it was a “blah” day. It didn’t feel like a good performance. Half my close shots were out. I made a lot of unforced errors. I wasn’t focused enough. I need to pick my target for each shot. I’m not doing that. And I need to develop consistently reliable higher-percentage shots.

The rain started in earnest about 12:10 in the middle of a game of Eric and myself against Ted and Rick. We braved a few more points then pulled the plug.

I came home to a couple of hot cross buns—well, hot after I microwaved them! Yum.

Crazy Good Rally

Someone mentioned a video on the pickleball group Facebook page yesterday. I looked it up on YouTube, and sure enough, it didn’t disappoint! It was the Gold Medal match at the USAPA Nationals VIII from November, six months ago. Wes Gabrielsen and Kyle Yates against Daniel Moore and Matt Staub—all fantastic players. (Daniel Moore is Scott Moore’s son. Scott is coming to Santa Cruz to do workshops in mid-June, though it’ll probably be overkill for me at this point to go to his workshops given the price, over $300 for a 3-day “bootcamp”. There is a $90 3-hour minicamp option. But, now that I’ve actually looked, I’m going to be out of town around then anyway, so it’s moot.)

I just have to watch in awe. They are just so consistently excellent. I keep things in perspective when someone says I’m pretty good or playing well. Those guys in the video are great compared to me and I’m great compared to a toaster oven.

Number of days on a court: 15
Number of total hours: 43

Thursday, April 13, 2017 (Court Day #14)

Setting up the nets at Skypark in Scotts Valley

I was hoping to play pickleball yesterday morning, but it was perfect storm of bad staffing. My (subordinate) manager was off, my other opener had her last day Saturday last week, and my third opener couldn’t make it in due to complications of a broken foot. Technically, I could have one of two other people open, but neither was in a position to manage the business in my absence. That’s the bad news. The good news is it was pouring rain and I couldn’t have played anyway! Ha!

I left work today about 15 minutes before closing, raced home, skipped dinner and headed out to the courts in Scotts Valley. I got there at 6:10 or so, just as Eric and Ted were walking from Ted’s car to the entrance of the courts. I joined them. Nets were just being removed from the big lock box and we each helped carry in nets and balls, then helped set up the nets. This process of setting up nets and taking them down is becoming routine. I’m becoming an old hand at it.

I played a number of assorted games with Karen (not Long), Mark and his wife Maree, Eric, Ted, and Marie. Maree can be a bit of self-admitted ball hog sometimes, so that’s an adjustment going into a game with her as well as readjusting afterward with the next partner—which in this instance was Colleen.

Colleen

I partnered up with Colleen to play against Eric and Ted. I’d never met Colleen before. She is a very good player. Probably the second best woman player that I’ve seen behind Karen Long. Colleen makes us look good. We won our first game something like 11-7, then had a rematch later against Eric and Ted and beat them 11-2. She’s one of those players that avoids mistakes and can volley and dink well. She also was able to return some slams that I set up by hitting too high over the net. I did have one nifty return myself where I hit the ball back from low and behind me while still facing forward—and it even was a good shot just over the net that dropped into the kitchen. I’ll take those when they come!

Stuart

I finally got to match up with Stuart, who’s a very good player. I got my first experience of “hit it to the weaker player”—I got a lot of action! Colleen and Ted took us down pretty handily—it was a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio in points! Stuart missed a few shots, but I think it was because he was lulled into sleep and was surprised when the ball actually came to him! Ted can hit with a lot of spin. There were a few serves where I was unable to get a good return on them. Better lighting would have helped—to better see the rotation of the ball—but a good player still has to adjust to whatever the environment happens to be at game time.

We wrapped up the evening and I was back in my car at about 9:10. My supportive wife was half asleep recuperating for another day in her 1st grade classroom tomorrow. She’s happy that I’m getting exercise.

Number of days on a court: 14
Number of hours: 40

Monday, April 10, 2017

At some point, I’m going to need to do some drills. Playing is great, but it’s harder to practice specific techniques in a game situation. I’m not sure when that will come, drilling is something best done with a partner. Maybe John P.

The Drop

I do need serious work on my drops. Sometimes I can pull one off just fine, but it’s not consistent and frequently ends up in the net. I found a video with Wes Gabrielsen that was helpful getting my mind wrapped around the concept:

And another video with Sarah Ansboury. (By the way, I’ve watched a number of matches that Sarah has played in. She is a machine. Amazing and consistent execution.)

Pickleball Class!

Jerry Louis, the tournament player who brought pickleball to the city of Santa Cruz, announced yesterday that he will be holding a $75 class on three consecutive Tuesdays in June then will be repeating the class in July. The class is titled “Pickleball – Advanced Tactics & Strategy“. I asked Eric if he wanted to do it but he told me he was going to check to see if his long-time friend Ted was going to take the class. I got an email from Eric that Ted said yes. Since the class was limited to an even number (8) I figured I’d sign up for June with a partner or not since I’d have to end up with one regardless. Still, I wrote to John P. to see if he’d be interested in being my partner for the class and John signed right up.

The class description is as follows:
“This class is designed for experienced players who play tournaments or want to raise the level of their social play. You will learn tactics and strategies of partner play, partner coordination for optimal defensive court coverage, gaining (or losing) an advantage during the first three shots, how to adjust to different competitor styles of play, pre-match on court warm-up practices, shot selection and service options as well as understanding the referee’s duties and your responsibilities during matches. There is a $10 materials fee due to the instructor at the first class meeting.”

I’m looking forward to the class, but it still a good two months away! I’ll have just about double my current experience by then!

Number of days on a court: 13 (still)
Number of hours: 37 (still)