In my last post, I mentioned how odd it was that everyone left well before the noon hour. I emailed Dave Allenbaugh, the organizer of the Santa Cruz Pickleball Club and he promptly responded with: “I was at Derby and we actually finished after 12:00. I bet you didn’t reset your watch for the spring time change.”

Duh! I forgot to reset the dash clock in my car! I left at 12:20, not 11:20! (It’s corrected now!)

Aches and Pains

On the flip side, the good news with me playing longer than initially thought is that I wasn’t very fatigued even after a good 3 hours of play. Maybe I’m building some pickleball stamina. I can say that I’m still getting sore though. Lower back and . . . ah . . . er . . . butt muscles as well! Hopefully, this improvement will continue to improve with time, that is, I’ll get less sore with each outing.

Double Hits and the Rules

I’d heard different accounts of the rule for unintentionally hitting a ball twice with your paddle while in one swing motion, so Dave suggested that I look at the official rules. Here’s the pertinent rule from the INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PICKLEBALL (IFP) OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT RULEBOOK (Last Revised: June 1, 2015):

“12.A.  Carry and Double Hits. Balls can unintentionally be hit twice or “carried”, but this must be during a continuous, single-direction stroke. If the stroke is not continuous, not single-direction, or if it is a definite second push, the hit is illegal. (revised April 1, 2011)”

So, while double hits are generally illegal, there is an exception which applies to the instance I experienced. I’ve only run into it once, maybe twice, in the however many hundreds of shots I’ve made in the roughly 12-13 hours of play I’ve had so far. It’s a pretty rare circumstance. I’m still at a loss as to exactly why it happens, but the ball manages to do it. It’s a rapid fire “tap-tap” when it occurs—but it’s perfectly legal as long as the hitter isn’t trying to pull a fast one!

Paddles

I was reading a website that had a long page of interview after interview with well-known pickleball players. I did a screenshot on my iPad so I could refer to it later. In one interview, the player (Scott Clayson) said of his preferred paddle: “…it has durability so it lasts longer than some other paddles I’ve used in the past.” That paddle is the Paddletek Graphite Tempest. I could try a bunch of different paddles, but I’m thinking of just starting with a good one that’ll hold up. I figure I’ll get used to whatever I have. But I’m going to wait a while longer before I pull the trigger.

Some Advice

Tom, (the elder, not the younger) whom I played with early yesterday, shared with me a tip. He said that he noticed that I tend to be moving sometimes when I hit the ball versus stationary. He said, “When they hit the ball, you should stop and get ready with your feet apart. It’s called a ‘split step’.” After all the reading I’d done, I already knew what a split step was. And I’d read the advice about stopping before hitting the ball.

Now, call me arrogant or whatever, but I’m not yet convinced that I have to follow this advice. And maybe I’m wrong and will change my mind with time. I can’t say. But I currently believe it’s possible to properly control the ball even when hitting while moving. It’s simply hand-eye coordination. Yes, it adds a level of complexity. I’d readily admit that. It’s easier to hit the ball correctly when you don’t have a human body velocity variable in the equation. On the other hand, if you can master it, you’ll have an easier time both getting to the ball and being in the proper position for the next shot.

I think I’ll get a second opinion. Mark Renneson of Third Shot Sports is always inviting people to contact him with questions. I’m going to email him, what the heck.

Player Ratings

I talked about this before, but I’m wondering if my self-evaluated rating of a 3.5 player is correct. Based on the IFP ratings, I must be a 3.5 player. I easily meet all those criteria. I can safely say I’m not a 4.0 player yet.

Here are the 4.0 criteria (with how it applies to me in bold):

• Consistent and dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both forehand and backhand shots.  More or less. About half a dozen times in a game, a shot will go somewhere I don’t want it to—a wide passing shot, a dink into the net, and a dink or an upward volley that go too high.
• Reliable serves, lobs, overheads, approach shots and volleys and can use spin shots with some success.  Not so much spin shots. And lobs are probably effective about one-third of the time. Overheads are at least 90% reliable. Approaches and volleys are not always perfect, but more reliable than not. 
• Occasionally can force errors when serving. I’ve done this only once. I’ll still have a bad serve once every few games.
• Rallies may be lost due to impatience.  I’ve been commended by my patience on the court.
• Uses the dink shot and drop shots to slow down or change the pace of the game. I’ve won points on my drop shots, so probably ok here.
• Demonstrates 3rd shot strategies – drop shots, lobs, and fast-paced ground strokes. I still need work here, such as making sure I always hit to the back player!
• Aggressive net play and teamwork in doubles is evident. This is a work in progress. Aggressive net play? Check. Teamwork, I’m now tracking with the ball and being aware of where my partner is in terms of distance from the net. There’s more work to be done on the strategy of getting opponents out of position.
• Fully understands the rules of the game and can play by them. Pretty much, though I stepped into the kitchen yesterday after hit a shot into my opponent’s chest. No one noticed, but the called the fault on myself. I’m an honest guy.

So, definitely not 4.0 yet. More practice needed.

A Little Levity

Yesterday, while Eric and I were playing against Tom and Ileana, it was Tom’s turn to serve. Unfortunately, when I hit the ball nonchelantly over the net, it went a little wide and Tom had to jog after it. A bit embarrassed, I proclaimed, “See Tom run!” Laughing and not to be outdone, Tom responded, “See Andrew lose!” Followed by, “See Tom cry!”

Tom and Ileana did lose, but Tom held himself together and didn’t cry. We were having too much of a good time.

Sunday, March 12, 2017 (Court Day #5)

What a beautiful day! Less than a week ago, I was in Salt Lake City for work understanding for the first time why the Titanic survivors would have died so quickly due to hypothermia. And that was just walking half a block from the downtown trolley stop! I’m a California boy to my soul and am quite accustomed to warm weather. I got that today, topping out in the mid to high 70s. Spring is approaching.

For some reason, I had hesitation moving from my warm bed to pickleball. Most likely it was a combination of the spring time change (up an hour earlier) and being on the tail end of a cold. But up and out I went . . . I’d later regret my choice of a black T-shirt!

At The Court

I arrived about 10 minutes after the published start time of 9 a.m. and walking to the courts, it was so quiet, I was wondering if I missed an email of the session being canceled. But, as I got closer, I could make out bright baseball caps through the black mesh covering the chain link fence enclosing the courts.

There were about half a dozen people already there and nets for five of the six courts were set up.

I found some people to play with and so began the day. After we played as a doubles team, Tom S. (a tall older man with white hair) shared with me that I should always hit to the opposing player who is back, not the player at the net. I knew that. The trick is taking what I’ve read and watched and incorporating it into my game. Moving from theoretical to practical. THINKING and not just playing. Something to work on.

Know Your Court!

It was today that I ended up on my back for the first time. There was a ball that I really had to sprint for behind the baseline and while I returned that shot over the net, the concrete was slippery in the shade (the courts flooded numerous times over the winter) and down I went. The bummer is that my returned shot was also returned . . . right back onto my—open—side of the court that I could not cover well from the ground! Alas. A hazard of the venue.

Teaming Up

Eric, the fellow who had asked for my contact information for possible mid-week games, arrived a bit later. We’d play with or against each other for the remainder of the morning. We first played against a couple of formidable women and I was expecting us to get trounced, but we went on to win the game. Eric is a better player than I am, but I’m not too far off. We each will make occasional unforced errors in a game—returns into the net, lobs that are too deep, passing shots that sail wide.

One of the experienced players pointed out that the two of us need to be more aggressive getting up to the kitchen. He said we did very well at the net, but we have to be there to take advantage of that.

Tom L. and Ileana, the young couple, appeared later on and Eric and I joined up with them and played four games, rotating partners. Tom is an obviously stronger player than Ileana; Tom is more or less on par with Eric and me. The three of them are all really fun to play with.

At one point, Ileana said, “You are improving.” I hope so. I know I still have long way to progress in my game. Games are excellent for experience, but dedicated practice time spent adding spins to serves, experimenting with things you wouldn’t in an actual game is invaluable. Maybe John and I can get together sometime for just practice. (John was not at the court today and my wife later explained that he was almost certainly off at the sailing regatta at Lake Merritt in Oakland.)

Surprisingly, the courts emptied by shortly after 11 a.m. Eric, Tom, Ileana and I were the next to last court to wrap it up for the day. I was back in my car and heading home by 11:20. A far cry from the day where I was playing until after 1 p.m. I’m not sure what the dynamic was, but maybe the hotter weather wore down the group early.

I will say that I wasn’t near as tired. I like being next to dead on my feet and willing myself to continue playing. Maybe next time, more people will stick around later. 2 hours isn’t quite enough!

With this post, I’m now caught up to date, instead of after the fact. Onward!

Some of you may recognize my blog entry title as a play on a famous show tune from . . . I think it was “Oklahoma!” . . . regardless, there’s a point to the title. While airflow  is a rare concern when playing pickleball indoors, outdoors is another story!

(Ok, I broke down and looked it up. The song is from “Paint Your Wagon”, not “Oklahoma!” The film version of “Paint Your Wagon” is perhaps best known for its early appearance of actor Clint Eastwood—one of the few things I recall about it.)

A breeze can be enough to turn a solid serve a foot inside the centerline into a service fault 3″ outside the centerline. It happened to me my last time out! I served, the ball looked just fine initially then drifted to my right landing just outside the service box. My initial thought was, “What the heck?” Then I noticed the breeze. Duh. The slower the ball and the longer it is in the air, the more effect the wind has. Lobs can be particularly susceptible—you have little power and high long arc.

My friend John is an avid sailor. (A good one too.) He sails small boats where being aware of the wind is perhaps even more important than larger ones. During my first visit to the pickleball court, between points John said, “Feel that? The wind is coming from the left.” Not unusual for a sailor. It’s like saying, “It’s warm today.” BUT, realizing weeks later, this was not idle talk. It was a warning.

The lesson? If you are outside, pay attention to the breeze. If you aren’t good determining the direction of the wind, keep a thin light foot-long ribbon in your pocket to whip out when needed. Maybe hit a thrift store and buy and old cassette tape and you’ll have a lifetime supply! In sailing, these ribbons are called “telltails” and they do tell the tale of wind direction.

Oh, and don’t fall into the trap of assuming the wind direction is constant. It can shift from north to east to north again several times within a game. Just be aware—like a sailor!