Author: andrewlenz (Page 86 of 327)

Tuesday, July 30, 2024 (Court Day #695)

Today was the second day of my jury duty obligation. We were back at 10:30 a.m. for the first witness. After an hour, there was an issue with the next witness and we were released for two hours with instructions to return by 1:30 p.m.

By 3:30 p.m, we heard from the second witness and also heard the closing arguments. It was a very quick trial regarding battery and claimed self-defense. The verdict was obvious to all of us jurors and we were out of the deliberation room and back in the courtroom less than 15 minutes. After the verdict of guilty was rendered and the judge thanked us for our service, the prosecuting attorney invited us to chat outside the courtroom about the case.

Four of us stuck around and answered questions about the presentation of the evidence and the oral arguments. As everyone was turning to leave, I asked the attorney if Eric Seib was working today. When his face lit up and he said, “Yes!”, I told him Eric is a friend of mine. The attorney said his name is Angel Martinez and I told him that Eric plays bagpipes. Angel thought this was the greatest thing ever.

Angel and his female coworker took me up to the D.A. offices and retrieved Eric for me. While still in the back, when Eric was told something about “bagpipes”, he asked, “Is that Andrew?” (Yeah, we know each other!) Eric took me back into the “Authorized Personnel Only” offices. Jeff Rosell, the County D.A., stopped and said hello. We’ve done picture framing for Jeff over the years at work and Jeff and I are not strangers. Jeff said he was off to a Stray Cats concert tonight and thanked me for my service on a jury.

Eric and I caught up then make loose arrangements to try and meet up sometime in the next few weeks for lunch.

I returned to work and finished out my day.

I was looking forward to serving in a different kind of court! (Get it?)

Skypark

I was at the Skypark courts at 6:30 p.m. with my car reading 81°F. Toasty.

First Game

My first game was René and me against Francis and Fabrizio. I went in with zero warm up. They went up 2-0 with a lot of back and forth of sideouts, but then they never scored again.

Tristan

Tristan was back tonight. I found out that he signed up René and myself to play with him and Kai. Tristan said, “You can play with me.” René dropped 2-3 of Tristan’s serves into the net. I know from recent experience just how strong his serves are. I was able to return all of his last week, but it was not easy. Tristan and I went on to win that game 11-4. I was playing quite well, with the exception of a few rallies . . . ones where you kick yourself afterward for picking a dumb shot to make!

Busy

Tonight was one of the busiest nights that I’ve seen with the boatload of people waiting. The thing is, I know most of players by name and can carry on conversations with most of them and that helps pass the time well.

Ofer thought that Tristan and Kai were brothers. I walked up to Kai and asked him, “So, how long have you and Tristan been brothers?” He chuckled and said they’ve been friends since the third grade.

Darkness Game

Lights went out at 8:30 p.m. I was in the middle of the game with Rachael against Larry and Mike O’Brien’s son, Colin. Being we already are a month past the longest day of the year, it was already somewhat dark when the lights went out.
Rachel and Larry decided to move our game from the far end to the court nearest the gate where there is single light mounted. Even there however, it was still pretty dark so Larry decided he no longer wanted to play—I don’t blame him because the only eye protection he had was the sunglasses which he was wearing, but those made it even darker.

Rachel brought ice cream bars for everyone to celebrate Colin’s birthday this week. Unfortunately, my present to him was an overhead to the groin. It’s quite amusing to everyone except for Colin. Poor guy, Rachel and I were doubled over laughing. He did get me back a little bit later, I was messing around and returning every serve with a high return in the dark and Colin hit one back high and I either swung and missed it completely or the ball just spun away far enough that I couldn’t even try to reach it. Regardless, Rachel was in hysterics!

After the lights went out, people hung out and talked for a while. Paul Winn brought his latest batch of his homebrewed beer . . . he said it was an apricot sour with wheat and barley and a very little hops. I’m not a sour beer kind of guy, but it was good.

Overgrip Problem

In a game when René and I were playing against Spencer and Mo, the overgrip on my paddle started shifting so the wrapping was irregular and, for some reason, it was getting sticky up around the tape at the top. I held my paddle in the best of the two possible directions for comfort. Between games I did my best to peel off the tape and I rewrap it from the point where it started to get wonky. I need to redo the overgrip completely.

It was well after 9 p.m. when I was in my car and on my way home. I had a warm fuzzy feeling . . . no, not from the 5 ounces of beer sampling, it was from the camaraderie of our playing community. The ones that stick around until the end are a very nice group of folks.

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Thursday, August 1, 2024 (No Play)

The following was shared on social media this week and attributed to pro player Collin Johns, the brother of Ben Johns. As clarified in Collin’s statement included further below, these private comments were cobbled together and shared without his permission.

I despise MLP for a variety of reasons.

1. A top player like Ben is handicapped for being the best by having bottom tier players on his team. That’s the equivalent of taxing the very wealthy who worked hard to be wealthy, to the point of having to work harder than the average person to come out ahead. It’s unfair to penalize him like that.
2. The scoring system is designed to allow inferior players to keep the scoreline close and steal matches they don’t deserve to win. The advantage of returning outweighs how much better a team or player is. This keeps the scoreline close no matter what and the freeze allows the inferior team during the match to catch up arbitrarily. The scoring system is extremely dumb. Just because a system is widely used doesn’t make it a good one. A proper scoring system should give the better team a legitimate chance to demonstrate why they are better. If the underdog performs better under those conditions that day, they deserve to win. But not just because they stayed close and caught up at the end because of the freeze.
3. It is portrayed as a “team effort” even though the results clearly hinge on certain matches where you personally have no control over the outcome. In theory, Ben and I could’ve won every single one of our matches but with our women going 0 and NINE to start the season, we have no ability to do more than offset that. As good as Ben is, he can’t play more than two matches and four points at a time in a DB. He is at the mercy of the rest of his “team” that are the bottom tier of available players. It’s a “team” yes. But with certain players carrying the bulk of the load to lift up players who aren’t actually pulling their weight.
4. Singles might be exciting but it is not the focus of many top players. It is suddenly deemed important for some reason and made to be a big part of the event. I say that as someone who is very capable in singles. I am personally fine playing four singles points at a time. But I don’t believe it should be as important as it is.
5. Players, owners, GMs, and fans are permitted to behave in the worst ways at MLP. It’s part of the culture. You can scream, stare down, finger wag, taunt, cheat, and use pretty much any bush league tactics you want with very little risk of repercussions. It’s an accepted part of MLP. As someone who values a level of sportsmanship, I hate this part of it. It brings out the worst in people, and players who are normally quarterfinal level suddenly act like tough guy jackasses just because they have a better supporting cast than another top player. AL’s on court behavior was shameful against us. So it isn’t just lower tier players. It is a long list of guilty parties. This makes MLP unenjoyable to me and others who have similar views.
6. The venue selection is grossly unprofessional. This week was in a remote area of SLC at a facility without adequate spacing around the courts and horrendous lighting. The lighting is just so wrong. The Picklr literally put un-diffused lighting directly down the middle of the courts. Meaning direct LED lighting down the sight lines of the courts. This is absurd and grossly unprofessional to have players play a pro event in those conditions. Ben already has an issue with indoor lighting and this week was completely unworkable. You can’t compete if you can’t see the ball properly. Also, the last cumulative season event in DC was downright dangerous with where it was at, with no lights to finish matches within time constraints. The venue selection process is completely unprofessional by MLP.
7. MLP just signed a ball contract with Vulcan. I’m aware they were under pressure to follow PPA on that. However, when it comes to standards for the players, this is a downright wrong. The quality of the ball affects the quality of play significantly which is unfair to the players and the fans. We don’t practice hard to perfect shots that no longer matter because the ball doesn’t bounce. And I don’t want to hear it is the same for everyone. It isn’t. The worse players benefit more because it is less about skill and more about luck. Pickleball also loses when our “top players” routinely whiff the ball. I’m sure that looks really good on ESPN when we can barely make contact. It’s infuriating and unprofessional.
8. Paddle testing in DC was an unmitigated disaster. Not only do we have standards that are completely out of control, we can’t even rely on the testing equipment used to be consistent. This general issue is as much a problem at PPAs so it isn’t regulated to just MLP.

I am aware that there are many staff members who work hard to make MLP happen and fans who like going to the events. However, if MLP is asking for professional effort on the part of the players, they need to be held to the same standard. And the above factors are legitimate grievances. Particularly the ones that are unprofessional standards like the venue and the ball. If they want to pay us to stay home so be it. But we worked to receive a contract that includes being paid for “team events”. We will fulfill our contract duties and sign paddles and go chase the Vulcan ball around on court if necessary. But don’t expect us to enjoy doing it.

Ok, so there’s that.

Now Collin’s Response:

Here is the statement from Collin on Friday on his Instagram account:

“The list of grievances allegedly written by me and currently being shared is based on a number of texts that were privately shared in casual conversation. I never made any official communication or sent any emails to MLP. My opinions were reframed and forwarded to MLP without my consent, then subsequently leaked to the general public, which was never my intention. I fully admit that, like all people, I occasionally communicate my thoughts and ideas to friends and family, but the fact that my words were taken out of context, misrepresented, and released publicly is unfair and extremely frustrating. It is my duty to address concerns with MLP directly and privately as a catalyst to drive positive change within the sport that I want to see succeed. I appreciate the opportunity to compete in pickleball in any capacity, and any perceived diminishment to the sport of pickleball caused by this series of events is something that is regrettable. The list of complaints shared across the internet is not indicative of how I would choose to express myself.”

There’s some talk of an upset ex-girlfriend leaking the texts. Who knows.

Number of days on a court: 695
Number of total hours: 2,910
Number of paid coaching hours: 60.5

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

Sunday, July 28, 2024 (Court Day #694)

Today was the day of the locally-famous annual Wharf to Wharf race. I dropped off my son and wife along with two friends near the race course shortly after 8 a.m. and then I drove to Derby Park for what would be my last time opening as the regular Sunday Site Coordinator.

I noticed that there was a new paddle holder added on the fence to provide organization to waiting players. That’s new since I was last at Derby two weeks ago. (Barb covered for me last weekend when I had a lot of relatives in town.)

Vacant Courts

I arrived to Derby at about 8:15 a.m. then messed around on empty courts trying some different serving techniques. Lester and his wife showed up and started dinking on a separate court. Not long after, a regular asked me to warm up with him and I told him that I could until Brian showed up. I would need to show Brian the ropes since it would be his first day is the new site coordinator.

Pass Off

The warm-up lasted about five minutes then I met with Brian, handed off my bin key, the battery charger and battery, and gave him some ins and outs about running Derby Park. Next time, when blowing off the courts, he’ll know to start with the worst areas first since the battery can run out!

Games

I got into a couple of games. I was not playing my best. I was playing against Brandon and woman in my second game with Adrian as my partner. Adrian was far from warmed up. Adrian missed at least three or four serves and was also hitting balls into the net or out. I was not that I was perfect myself, but our opponents liked to hit to Adrian in that game. Brandon got erne off of me. Good job, Brandon! Brandon has his long arms that come with a 6-foot guy. It makes a little bit easier to get those erne shots. He was being very aggressive on the court poaching and generally creeping past the middle.

I checked the time after that second game and it was 9:45 a.m. I figured it was time to head to Brommer Park.

I left Derby in the experienced hands of Val and Ted to guide Brian. There was a decent chance that Rick might appear later to also provide support to the new guy.

New Chapter Opens

As I was on the freeway at 9:57 a.m., it was overcast and 61°F. I pulled into Bromer Park and there were conveniently a handful of parking spots available.

As I walked up to the courts, there were two temporary courts either empty or had only two people on them.

I played a completely unmemorable game. Then Drew came in and asked if I’d warm up with him. Then we played with out-of town visitors Bill and his wife. They were unknowns, so we split them. Yeah, they are 3.0 players. I made an effort to hit more to Drew.

I play just ok initially, but as the morning wore on, my play got better and better.

Over the course of the two hours that I was there, I got into a bunch of good games. Marco, Dan Dewey, Ofer, Jason… it was great.

I played with Jason against Kim and Dieter. Initially, that game was close then we pulled away to win.

Yes, I could see getting used to playing on Sundays at Brommer.

I do need to be more patient when playing with better players. Speedups sometimes work but often they don’t unless they are precisely placed.

There is a guy named William there who—I was told by Ofer—is a very, very good player. He was in a game with Sean and Oscar and Kiko. Evan was there too.

Stuart Howell (part of the local OG) had moved out of state but was back visiting. I played a game against him and a game with him. These days, there’s no question that I’m the stronger player, Stuart isn’t a spring chicken anymore and has had his share of injuries over the years. Though in the second game with Stuart as my partner, I messed up the first few rallies. When I mentioned my failures, Marco said, “You were on fire in that last game.”

I left the courts at 11:59 a.m., I had to get home, eat, change and get to Skypark to teach my two afternoon pickleball classes.

As I left, Jason said, “We’ll let you come back on Sundays!”

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Monday, July 29, 2024 (No Play)

Paddle Testing

More USA Pickleball paddle testing, this time testing the “grip” of a paddle face:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-BiEUSteMb

Smack Down

A local player, Terri L., snapped a shot of this sign placed by the County of Santa Cruz at Highland Park:
“PLEASE DO NOT MARK OR STRIPE TENNIS COURTS FOR PICKLE BALL.”
…with additional instructions to contact the county with questions.

I know Jackie, on the SCPC board, has been investigating making pickleball available at those courts at Highland Park. Apparently, the courts there are not in the best shape and not used frequently for tennis.

Jury Duty

I got called in for jury duty. I showed up at 12:30 p.m. and sat in the assembly room with about 70 people. We were shown a couple of videos then were given some verbal explanations about logistics.

They then moved us through security and into a courtroom (“Department 2”) for jury selection. I started in the gallery, but my name along with some others were called to replace individuals who were excused. One woman—claiming to be a professor—who was being really annoying and trying to weasel out of her civic duty, was told she could go. There were some eye-rolls going on after she left!

I was sitting in jury box during the selection process and we had to state where we lived, what our occupation was, as well as if we had a significant other and what that person did for a living.
I said I was a retail store manager and my wife is a first grade teacher.
The amiable judge—who is filling in from Tulare county due to a shortage—said, “Let’s give that business a plug, where do you work?”
I said, “Lenz Arts.”
At that, spontaneous applause burst from the benches full of dozens of prospective jurors. Wow! It was amazing and humbling!
During a break later in the process, a woman came up, smiled, and shared, “That was the best moment of this experience!”
How could I not agree? It’s great to know our family business is appreciated!

In the end, I was selected to be one of the 12 jurors, even after sharing my friendship with various police officials and D.A.’s office employees, and that I went through the local Citizens’ Police Academy. They had time for opening arguments then released us until 10:30 the next morning.

Blast from the Past

I did a search for that Santa Cruz PD program—apostrophe, no apostrophe?—and found a photo promoting the Citizens’ Police Academy (CPA) in 2017. The photo is of my group in 2016, just a few months before I started playing pickleball:

Number of days on a court: 694
Number of total hours: 2,907.5
Number of paid coaching hours: 58.5

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

Saturday, July 27, 2024 (Court Day #693)

I told my staff yesterday afternoon that I was going to take the morning off today. It was overcast and 63°F when I arrived at Brommer Park. There was a breeze, but it was quite light, so just about perfect pickleball weather.

When I pulled in at 9:26 a.m., there were that half a dozen parking spots, so parking was easy. The courts were hopping. 

There was a new guy named Tristan visiting from Colorado. We get distant visitors now and then. Often visiting family. I have no idea why Tristan was in town.

Eric, Mauricio, Jordan

I played with a hispanic guy, Eric (I’d never met him before) and we beat Mauricio and Jordan 11-2. It was their first game.

We played a rubber match and Eric and I lost 7-11.

And we lost the next game at 8–11.

They were close back-and-forth games. Jordan was playing very well.

Dieter, Shawnte, Katy

I got into a game with Dieter—after Eric had to leave—against Shawnte and Katy. We lost the first game in lopsided fashion. I think we were down 7–1 then came back to make it more of a game. But we still lost.

We won the second game and then the four of us decided to play one more.

Dieter and I lost the last/third game 9–11. That game was very much a close one with lots of service switches. I was intentionally trying to hit most of my shots with Shawnte.

It was a great morning. But the exception of the first game, all the games were challenging and fun. And I was playing reasonably well.

I left at 12:15 p.m. Home, eat, shower, then to work.

Number of days on a court: 693
Number of total hours: 2,905
Number of paid coaching hours: 55.5

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