It was kind of chilly this morning. It was overcast and misting light droplets onto my windshield. It was 57°F. Almost cold enough for me to consider bringing a sweatshirt.
HS Reunion
Last night, the 1984 graduating class of Harbor High School had to small reunion at Fast Eddy’s Billiards in Capitola. While it’s been around since 1976, I’d never been there. They have an upstairs loft area and it was reserved for us. Patrick Smith—who was the one of the main organizers, if not the main organizer—is friends with the owner who gave Patrick a deal. The 1984 class invited the class before and the class after which is why I was there. I was in the class of ’85.
Two pickleball regulars were there, Rachel—who was in my class—and Sycha, who also came although she’s from the class one year younger than Rachel and me. There are about 30 people there. I was kind of surprised that Patrick Smith said that he remembered me. (He and I were the only two still sporting two full heads of dark hair!) We played football together in high school although with him being a year ahead of me, we very much traveled in different circles. I definitely remembered Patrick, although everyone called him Pat back in those days. Patrick prefers the long form of his name, just like I prefer my name. My high school coaches called me “Andy” regardless, so those who knew me from sports in high school still call me “Andy”.
Brommer
With the weather being not quite as nice, there was even more parking than normal and only four of the eight courts had games going on them.
My first series of games were lopsided and not particularly challenging.
Aaron & Kim B., Jordan
Tall Lefty Aaron B. arrived with his wife and introduced her to Jordan and myself. Her name is Kim and she comes from a tennis background. Kim played pretty well considering that I’d never seen her around before. She was still the weakest player on the court, but not a slouch by any means.
Jordan and I played several games against Aaron and Kim.
We won the first game in a decisive fashion.
The second game was a little closer 11–8.
Then we played a third game, which was not our best. Jordan was missing a lot of his serves for some reason… a mild form of the yips. We lost that one.
We went to play one last game as a group before I had to leave. Jordan dialed his serves back in and we won this one 11–6.
Those were good games.
I checked the time and it was 11:56 a.m. It was time for me to go home and get ready for teaching.
Classes
I had my first day of my new classes today. It was pretty routine. But I will comment on one thing. One of my beginning students, Josh, seemed a bit distant or disinterested at points during my class when I was talking and I was a bit concerned that he didn’t see any value in my class. However, at the end of the class he started applauding. You never know!
I suppose that another feather in my cap is the fact that one of my students, Tommy, who lives in Carmel and took my Beginner class, signed up and is taking my Advanced Beginner class. That shows that he felt that he got good learning value out of his initial class with me and is again willing to drive about an hour to take my next class, then later spend another hour driving home. That’s really something.
Monday, September 30, 2024 (No Play)
Ben Stiller
Last week, it was announced the comedic actor Ben Stiller will be starring in an producing a pickleball-themed film called “The Dink.” Former tennis star Andy Roddick will also appear in the film.
Fall is definitely arriving. As I left work at 6:45 p.m., the clouds on the eastern horizon were already pink and the sky towards the sun was a bit yellow. It’s getting darker earlier and earlier. I’d have no need for the sunglasses packed this morning.
Yesterday, I picked up my daughter at the airport. She’s visiting for a few days before heading back to her medical school studies. I invited her to come play.
Tennis Elbow Strap
This afternoon, I redid the Jerry-rigged customization to my forearm tennis elbow strap—my extra padding has gotten a bit nasty and flattened over the last few years—but then promptly left it on my desk at work. Oh, well! (I added thin strip of foam running parallel to my forearm on the inside of the top of the Band-It strap. This applies more pressure right where it is needed.)
The back of my right hand is still nagging me a little bit, primarily just with certain motions.
Skypark
The evening temperature was very comfortable, it had been a warm day.
There were two cars which parked on the street in a fashion which took up two spots each. Grrrr. Come on people!
With giving my hand a rest and schedule conflicts, it had been two weeks since I’d been at Skypark evening play.
I arrived at Skypark and the first time in as long as I can remember, not all the nets are set up at this late of a time. It was already just before 7 p.m. There was only one person waiting, and that was Marquis wearing what looked like a blanket over his shoulders. I kidded that he was ready to “leap over tall buildings” with his “cape.” He said he was cold. It didn’t seem cool to me, but he said that he got all sweaty and then when he stopped moving around, he got cold. It was sunset, after all.
There weren’t any games tonight for me which were truly challenging, but I had an entertaining time in all of them.
Games with Charlotte
Around 7:30 p.m. or so, my daughter Charlotte and her boyfriend Aidan arrived. They waited for me to finish the game that I was in and then Charlotte and I got into a game with Scott and a woman who see around now and then who goes by Katie or KK. I took it a little bit easier on KK, but not easy on Scott. Charlotte and I ended up winning the game. Later, Charlotte shared that she’s been playing about once a week in Tucson. Good for her.
Ethan’s Back
When we came off after that game, it turned out Ethan – who is back in town visiting from San Luis Obispo – and Caitlin were waiting to play with me. Ethan said he didn’t think he would have been back so soon.
Aidan had jumped into a different game, so Charlotte and I played against Ethan and Caitlin.
It was fun. Ethan was taking it very easy on my daughter Charlotte and I was taking it very easy on Caitlin. It took a number of sideouts before any points were scored since Ethan and I were both trying to keep the rallies going for the most part. Later in the game, he would occasionally rip a more serious shot. There was one where Ethan had served to me, it was very shallow and angled to the right. It took me everything I had to get to the ball and get it back over the net. I ended up in the fence which was next to our court—though I was able to get back into the rally. After the rally was done, Ethan said, “I thought I had you on that serve.” Charlotte and I “won” that game, but it wasn’t a true battle.
Bench Warmer
I sat out the next game to let Charlotte and Aidan play against Ethan and Caitlin. Charlotte and Aidan are both 26—actually, he might be just under 26—and Caitlin and Ethan are both about 22, having both just graduated from UC Santa Cruz.
I talked to a blonde-haired woman named Chris on the bench for a few minutes while waiting.
Last Game
One of the games broke up and there was still 11 minutes left of lights. I convinced a few to play whatever game we could with the remaining light. I teamed up with lefty Mike against Dr. David and retiring Mike. My partner was the weakest player on the court and retiring Mike was the second best player on the court after me. Our first game went very quickly with my team only scoring a few points. Since it went so fast, we had time to start a second game. We switch sides and the outcome was on a trajectory for the same result when the lights clicked out… I think it was 2–10 with my partner Mike serving. The serve just passed right over the net court when the lights clicked off.
There was no “after party” and everybody took off pretty quickly once the lights went out. I stowed a net bag into the bin and locked it up. Someone has to be responsible, right?
It was nice to see Ethan tonight.
As we walked out; Charlotte said, “It was pretty busy tonight.” I told her that actually this was a pretty light evening. We didn’t need the white board and waits were short.
Saturday, September 28, 2024 (No Play)
The news is circulating the last day or so that youngster Anna Leigh Waters—the reigning #1 women’s player in the world—is on track to make more than $3 million dollars this year, making her the highest-paid pickleball player on the planet. Considering that she won’t even turn 18 until January, she’s doing pretty well!
Anna Leigh Waters
New Permanent Courts
Cabrillo, the local junior college, converted some dual-striped courts to permanent pickleball courts in recent months. I haven’t been out there since it has been done, but I believe it could be as many as 8 permanent courts. You do have to pay for parking and the courts are reserved at certain times during the week for classes, but there’s a fair amount of time for public access.
Currently the classes use the courts at these times: Monday – Thursday: 11:15 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. Tuesday & Thursday: 1:30 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. Monday & Wednesday: 10:00 a.m. – 11:05 a.m.
Number of days on a court: 719 Number of total hours: 2,967.5 Number of paid coaching hours: 75.5
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I had woken up shortly after 6 a.m., but then eventually fallen back asleep. I dreamt it that it was the first serve of a game. My two opponents were chatting with each other for an extended period on their baseline, and when I looked away for a moment, the server served the ball at me as a Nasty Nelson, hitting me. I was mad and though I complained, they switched places took the point anyway. When they were about to serve, I told them I was done playing and simply walked off the court. In the dream, I was angry. It was very odd. I’ve never walked off in the middle of a game. Not once in nearly 8 years. My only time is now in a dream!
This morning, lying in bed, my right knee was bothering me a little bit. And while driving to Brommer I felt a very mild stinging to the inside of my right knee. Also when I tossed something onto a dresser, the back of my right hand had a short twinge of mild pain. But it had been a week since I last played. “I’m playin’!”
Driving
When I left my house it was 57°F and overcast. My wife had said, “It’s not going to be a very sunny day today for your pickleball.“ In fact, as I drove, there were some very light sprinkles on my windshield. It was very light and dried in seconds as I continued on my way.
Brommer
I arrived at Brommer at 9:19 a.m. Parking was easy.
For my first game, I played with Richard—who used to play regularly at Derby Park, but I hadn’t seen in at least a couple of years—against Marilee (I had to ask her name) and Ed. We won 11-2. It was short rallies. I did make one mistake and that was it. I played an extremely clean game.
Cassidy and I played against René and Jordan. It was not Cassidy’s best game. She had some really fast serves, but missed maybe a third of them as well as some other shots. We lost.
I teamed up with JP against Monda and René. This was a stronger all-around game. JP and I were up 8-3, but ended up losing 11-8. Crazy. They went on an 8-0 run! Ouch!
The clouds had burned off and it was getting quite warm. I don’t sweat particularly easily, but a perspiration sheen could be seen on my arms.
Toward the end of my session, Sean Lynch invited me into a game with Danny and Kiko, “Do you have your paddle in the rack yet?” Such a bummer, I really, really wanted to get into that game, but I’d already committed to a group with René and, yes, my paddle was already up. Arg. Ah, well. I was tempted to bail out, but it would leave my group scrambling to try and find a fourth. Next time!
Last Game
My last game was lefty Greg and me against a woman named Deb and a tall man named Alessandro. I’d never met either of them. Deb is a banger. Alessandro is a strong all-around player.
We lost badly. While they were targeting Greg, I did get shots. There was one where I was on the right where they drove a hard shot from the baseline and like against player last Sunday, I knocked the ball off the court for a winner.
There was another, when I was on the right, when Alessandro drove a shot down the right sideline and got me. With our backhands in the middle, I was covering a little more to the center instead of the sideline and he got me. Alessandro can really rip shots.
Deb. One of those players who typically initially get underestimated.
My last game finished up about 2 p.m. I could’ve stayed longer and gotten into some more games, but the mix of players were starting to get questionable. Many of the strongest players were gone. Also, after nearly 5 hours of play, I was getting kind of tired. My right knee was bothering me a bit more and I could feel a muscle in my right forearm. It felt like a very mild charley horse.
I checked my phone when I was about to leave Brommer and I saw that my brother John was asking if there was time for us to play pickleball in the afternoon. Then he called me while I was on my way home. He was thinking that I was going to be in Scotts Valley teaching today, but this weekend was a gap week, with my new classes starting next weekend. Another time.
Shoes
Exactly six years ago tomorrow, Jennifer Lucore, senior pro player, commented on an Instagram photo of the very worn soles of my court shoes saying, “Tip, Work on not having as much wear on you heels. Wear pattern on balls of your feet – great!” I wore the crap out of those shoes! I guess you could say in my defense that those were not high performance court shoes, those were Costco tennis-style shoes.
Anyway. Here is the state of my current shoes, Fila. (I’ve been rotating with a pair of Skechers pickleball shoes too.)
Much more worn on the balls of my feet. Jennifer would be proud!
Monday, September 23, 2024 (No Play)
When I got home for lunch today, I found a box from Selkirk on my front porch.
I opened it and sure enough, it contained four brand new Nexus paddles. The faces are surprisingly gritty. I was expecting something a bit smoother for an entry-level paddle.
Each paddle pre-marked with a $49.99 price tag on the plastic sleeve. Fortunately, I got them for much less than that…
…especially since my upcoming private group coaching gig was canceled this morning!
Last week, I had pointed out by email to my potential client that playing in a backyard court at 7 a.m. could have two possible issues. One, sunrise will be at 7:06 a.m. that day next month. (I checked.) Two, they are in a neighborhood and the neighbors might not be too keen about a group of a dozen or so people cheering each other on that early in the morning.
I like to plan ahead!
Today, sure enough, she emailed and let me know that there is a noise ordinance that would be in effect before 8 a.m. so she had to cancel my coaching services. It would have been fun, but it would have been very early for a night owl like me and extra money would be nice, but it the lack of it won’t put me on the street.
Still, having extra paddles around will be helpful to loan to beginners at my classes who invariably show up with no paddle! I have a couple of wood ones provided by Rec.us, but I’d only wish them on an enemy!
Tuesday, September 24, 2024 (No Play)
This reel popped up on Instagram. At Cupertino Memorial Park, which is a mere 30-40 minutes north of me, has a fancy digital system that they use to alert waiting players that a court is open. (Hey, it is the Silicon Valley after all!)
Each net has a remote on one post that a player presses once the game is done. A sound goes off and a light flashes indicating which court is now open. Fancy.
Paddle Promotion
Gherkin Pickleball has been looking for ways to promote its paddles. They are sending me a paddle to share with my students. They have unique silicone edging available on some of their paddles. I think that’s kind of nifty. But they are revamping this edging so they couldn’t send me one of those paddles, but they are sending me a standard edging paddle.
Based in Utah, a fellow named Scotty reached out to me to help promote their brand of paddes, Erne. I dropped them a note asking if they were still interesting in promoting their paddles and I can share a paddle with students if they are interested. I kind of doubt I’ll hear back, but maybe.
Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and husband of tennis icon Serena Williams, says that pickleball can’t be a real sport since none of its highlight videos have gone viral.
He’s wrong, of course. Numerous pickleball videos have literally millions upon millions of views.
Nationals? Worlds?
So, the PPA on November 3-10, are holding what they are calling the World Championships. What weird is that Christian Alshon is claiming on Instagram: “Formerly known as Nationals, ‘Worlds’ is coming up in Dallas in less than two months!!” Nationals has always been run by USA Pickleball (formerly called the “USAPA”). Nationals are taking place November 9-17 in Mesa, Arizona this year. It seems that the PPA is continuing to try and go almost head-to-head with the USAP with the tournaments overlapping by two days. Last year, for only one year, USAP and the PPA combined forces and ran Nationals. Apparently, the partnership worked so well, they decided not to do it again. (Yes, that’s sarcasm.) Of course, the PPA has also launched their own pickleball “governing body” to replace the USAP, so there is that small issue.
Number of days on a court: 718 Number of total hours: 2,966 Number of paid coaching hours: 75.5
To start at the beginning of this blog click on “1st Post” in the menu above.
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