Tuesday, October 29, 2024 (Court Day #734)
It seems that fall has finally arrived. It is chilly enough yesterday that I broke out my jacket to wear to work.
I left work early and dropped off some paperwork with my parents. My sister Diane was there helping my mom go through old papers and deciding which ones to shred.
As I drove away from my parents’ home, I spotted Drew throwing a football to little boy across the street from his house. I figure he must’ve just been playing with the neighborhood kids. I don’t think they are related to him at all.
Scotts Valley
As I arrived in Scotts Valley at 6 p.m., the sun could no longer be seen over the hills and it was 63°F.
Pretty much this entire evening I felt that I was playing very poorly. I was not happy.
But the games that made the entire evening worth it was when I teamed up with David L. against Dave Ryan and Jay. Those great games to end the evening.
I did a beautiful drop shot off Dave’s very deep lob, but I was trying to get back from the fence and Dave simply dinked the ball short over the net for a winner. I should have probably lobbed deep back.
My drop shots weren’t too bad, Jay hit two of my crosscourt drop shots into the net.
Dave was serving very well. I returned one of his serves beyond the baseline, then my partner David did the same thing, another serve was perfectly right down the middle and the best I could do is return that ball into the net. Dave did get greedy and spun a serve at the sideline to my backhand, but it landed out by a few inches.
I was feeling my right knee in that last game. Shots were pushing angles and speed. It was great to be challenged.
3,000 Hours!
It wasn’t until long after I left that I realized that tonight I hit 3,000 hours at courts. That’s with regularly working 6-days a week. I’m sure retired folks or pro players can hit that in no time. 10 hours a week would be 520 hours a year and 6 years would be 3,120. I’m basically at 7 years, 9 months of playing, or 7 3/4 (7.75) years. 3000 divided by 7.75 = 387 hours per year or 7.44 hours per week or 1.06 hours per day. That includes long breaks when I had shoulder surgery and knee surgery and much reduced play during the pandemic. Not to bad, an hour per day on average. With waiting to play, that might translate to 45-50 minutes of actual play time per day.
Funny
Ever have a rally where you are at a big disadvantage? Use this handy device!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBtev0Ug1BW/
Now, you can have a ball roll onto your court just in time, every time!
Biggest Tournament Ever?
2023 USA Pickleball Nationals had 3,367 players. The U.S. Open this year had 3,074 players. USAP Nationals this year is expecting 2,400 players. The World Championship (PPA) had 3,234 players registered with one week of registration left and they are projecting that they’ll crack 3,500 participants making it the biggest pickleball tournament ever. Yep. Pickleball is growing.
Pickleball Entertainment Coming Again to TV
More folks are trying to cash in on the pickleball explosion…
Celebrity Pickleball Series ‘The Wager,’ Hosted by Jason Kennedy, to Begin Streaming Later This Year
https://variety.com/2024/sports/columns/celebrity-pickleball-series-the-wager-1236189805
“Episodes feature Kennedy and his pickleball partner, PPA pro Wes Burrows, as they compete against film, television and sports stars, including Taylor Lautner, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Shawn Johnson, Rande Gerber, Presley Gerber, Kit Hoover, Austin North, Johnny Lowe, Chandler Parsons, Bill Rancic, Colton Underwood, Golden Tate, David Dobrik and Eric Decker.”
Is it bad that I don’t recognize a single name in that list of celebrities?
Anna Leigh Waters
Interesting and detailed video about the current women’s #1 player in the world.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024 (No Play)
The Dink did a survey. Assuming the survey is truly representative of what’s out there, there was one shock to me.
I’m surprised that any group is still using Dura Fast 40 balls at all, let alone 1 in 20. They break like crazy. The Franklin X has been around for a few years now and is enmeshed with a solid head start. The Vulcan has only been around about a year, as has the Chuck and the S1. The Vulcan has a reputation—or at least initial reputation—of getting out of round quickly, so while it’s the official ball of the PPA ($$$), amateur players have been slow to adopt it… they have a choice, unlike the PPA pros.
Thursday, October 31, 2024 (No Play)
For the last 5-10 years, on Halloween, my wife and I have gone over to her former master teacher’s house for chili and cookies and to hang out. Marion didn’t make cookies this year, but we enjoyed chili while chatting and watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with them. The visit meant missing pickleball at Skypark tonight, but this would give a recovery break to my knee and my neck.
Friday, November 1, 2024 (No Play)
My sister-in-law Liz invited Nicholas—who is in town for an appointment—and me to a glow-in-the-dark pickleball event in San Carlos one week from today. We both agreed to join Liz.
She was complaining to her sister Kristen (my wife) that her husband Steve was telling Liz they were losing because of her. One thing, she was not coming up to the kitchen line. She said she’s afraid of getting hit with the ball. I told her it’s a lightweight ball and won’t hurt much… just make sure to protect your eyes.
Injury
My knee is feeling better, so that’s a plus.
Doppelgänger
Sean McElhaney is known for wearing outrageous attire, especially at parties. I stumbled upon a look-alike online and just had to share it with the local group.
Yep, Sean responded by posting a photo of himself in his own sleeveless pink and bright colors top and shorts!
Number of days on a court: 734
Number of total hours: 3,000
Number of paid coaching hours: 87.5
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