Author: andrewlenz (Page 41 of 327)

Thursday, July 17, 2025 (Court Day #831)

I walked into Skypark at 6:49 p.m. It was busy enough that I’d had to park down the street and around the corner. 

I got into some mostly unmemorable games.

Later, Frabrizio and I played against Kirby and Mauricio. We lost the first game, but won the second, which finished up at 8:50 p.m. in the gathering gloom. (The lights still go off at 8:30 p.m. except Friday and Saturday nights which continue for an extra hour.)

And?

I’m still hitting out balls and speeding up at bad times. Better decisions and more patience.

I was tired and also not happy with my play. I did get three points in a row when my serves were returned into the net in that last game. 

Fun stuff!

One thing that was kind of neat tonight, was I had my first completely blind ATP. I was teamed up with David against the very talkative, newish guy, Michael, and Kirby. David was on my right and Michael was across from me. Kirby hit an excellent crosscourt shot toward my left. I ran to get it and with my back to the net, hit a backhand ATP for a winner. I’ve hit numerous ATPs over the years, it was the first one I ever hit with a net nowhere in my vision. I turned around just soon enough to see my shot land deep in the court behind Michael. Part skill, part luck!

Jamie Foxx’s House

Celebrity actor Jamie Foxx has pickleball on his property:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DK193XQx7tO/

Number of days on a court: 831
Number of total hours: 3,232
Number of paid coaching hours: 150.5

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

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 (Court Day #830)

Weather-wise, it was a weird day today that started out chilly and foggy, and then got sunny and nice and then got foggy again.

I made a quick departure after work. It was odd, I could feel very slight mist falling on my skin as I walked out of work. About halfway in my drive, the sun broke through the clouds and it was 63°F in Scotts Valley.

As I drove, I was hoping that my rebound from poor play would continue. I’ve been playing a bit closer to my normal self the past week. My two-week-long regression was no fun.

My right knee has been feeling better the past week, however, today it has been a little bit sore.

Skypark

I walked into the courts at 6:35 p.m. and it was hopping.

Gabe and I played against young Zach and lefty Adam. We were down 1-3, but came back and won 11-3. (Yes, that’s a 10-0 run.)

I spent the entire evening rotating through games with Gabe, Zach, and Adam. We played a number of games with Gabe and myself paired up then we switched things up and Adam and I paired up together. The games were fairly even and back-and-forth. Gabe has gotten better. He’s a 3.5 these days.

And?

I was not happy with my play tonight. While I didn’t play terribly, I wasn’t dialed in. Just too many mistakes here and there. I hit the white tape a couple of times, two of the three lobs that I hit were slammed back for winners, a few of my drop shots weren’t even close to being successful.

Number of days on a court: 830
Number of total hours: 3,230
Number of paid coaching hours: 150.5

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

Monday, July 14, 2025 (Court Day #829)

With it being such an action-packed weekend, I was exhausted last night and was asleep before 10 p.m., which is unusual for me. I woke up about 3:30 a.m. and listened to podcast for about 30 to 40 minutes before I fell back asleep. I was awake again just about 8 a.m.

It wasn’t too long after that this Mark Dettle, president of the pickleball club, texted me and told me that he was dealing with a family emergency and might not be able to make our monthly board meeting today. He asked me to run the meeting if he didn’t arrive. I agreed. He also let me know that Spencer had resigned from the board, which is a total bummer because Spencer was organizing the summer training sessions for our members. Now, we (the board) are going to have to scramble a bit.

Brommer Park

I had to park down the street since the lot was full and I was walking into Brommer Park a few minutes before 10 a.m. Being a club day, it meant signing up on the dry-erase board. People were still signing up in a single color, regardless of skill, since it wasn’t 10 a.m. yet.

Games

My first game was paired with tall Andy against little Linda and Bruce. We lost. It was a case of which one of us, Bruce or me, had the stronger partner.

Now that it was after 10 a.m., the various skill colors came out. Black for novice, Green for Intermediate, Red for Advanced, and Blue for 4.0+.

I signed up in blue. I ended up in a game with Connie against a man about my height with short-cropped blond hair named Kris and Andrea, a regular. Andrea and I won 11-2. They were not in the right color.

The next game was Andrea and me again versus Kris and a woman named Laura from out of town and Kris again. Andrea and I won 11-3.

Manda and I won 11-5 vs. bat glasses Chris and Kris. Kris got respectable after warming up. He was rough in the first games I played with him, but now he was playing better.

I played well this morning. I made some shots that surprised myself!

I was debating playing one more game. The board meetings are scheduled to start at 12:15 p.m.

I opted to do one more game and was hoping it would be a quick one… but not so much. An English woman, Val, and I played against JP and little Linda. We won 11-8, in a back and forth game.

SCPC Meeting

It was 12:20 p.m. when we were done. I grabbed my backpack and walked the 40 feet to the alternative table by the court gate where we’d be meeting. (There was a group over in our regular spot with the newer tables.)

More Games

We finished our board meeting at 1:47 p.m. and a few of us decided to play. Mike Sullivan and I played against Jackie and Ken, a regular. After the game, we rotated partners and I was paired with Ken. Ken was funny, “Can you carry a 229 pound player on your back?”

The answer was yes, apparently. Regardless of the partner rotation, I won every game with Jackie and Mike and Ken.

Last game of the day was Hugh and myself against Brian and Ken Smith. (Ken Smith is good friends with one of my regular customers at work, Jim Potterton.) I rarely see Ken but he obviously comes from a lot of tennis background. He is really strong with his compact backhand shots, angles, and his low drives over the net. Those were really good games.

I wrapped up play a few minutes after 4 p.m.

Aside from the very first game of the day and maybe a little bit of the second—which were kind of funky—I felt that I played quite well today.

Las Vegas Courts

Las Vegas received a $12 million federal grant to build a pickleball complex of 30 courts:
https://www.usaspending.gov/award/ASST_NON_L23AC00014_1422

Here is a Vegas news channel story on the project:
https://news3lv.com/news/local/las-vegas-pickleball-project-sparks-debate-over-federal-spending
In the video, Kentucky senator Rand Paul says that he’s played pickleball, but then goes on saying that the government shouldn’t “be in the pickleball business.” I disagree. If what he says is true, then all the public tennis courts, baseball fields, soccer fields, and skate parks should all removed and turned into something else since the government should not be in the tennis, baseball, soccer or skating business. Right?

Number of days on a court: 829
Number of total hours: 3,228
Number of paid coaching hours: 150.5

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