I’m still dealing with varying degrees of plantar fasciitis in my left foot. And my right knee continues to be mildly painful here and there.
Derby Park
It was overcast and in the low 60s.
I arrived at the court at Derby Park a little bit before 10 a.m. It was a club day, so we were using the dry-erase board to sign up for courts.
I played with a lot of players today who I didn’t know. As the sport continues to grow, there are more and more players whom I don’t know. Especially at venues and/times that I don’t frequent often.
Games
In my first game, I was paired with Rob and me against Laurent and Pat. We won 11-3.
Then Pat and I won 11-5 versus Rob and Jesse.
It was 10:45 a.m. at this point and there was a bit of a wait between games.
Pat and I lost 8-11 against Rob and Arno.
My last game was with a man named Ford against Pat and Sean McElhaney. We lost 8-11. To be honest, it was kind of surprised that it was that close. Ford is a total banger. I don’t think I saw him hit one drop shot or one dink the entire game. That said, he does have good hand-eye coordination and good drives.
Time to Go
It was still busy and by the time I would have gotten into another game and completed it, it would likely have been another 30 minutes. I wanted to be heading home no later than about noon to get ready to teach, so given that it was 11:50 a.m., I made the decision to simply leave instead of pushing things and causing stress later!
There are shots today that I definitely chalk up to being rusty. I’ve played so little in the last month. A couple shots into the net. A serve or two that were long. Shots that I’m very used to making but missed.
There was nothing of great note today.
Skypark Sign
The City of Scotts Valley has modified the Rec.us sign at Skypark to cover up the Rec logo and add their own QR code. But you’ll notice that there are still references to Rec.us on the other sign further from the gate. I’m sure they’ll get that figured out sooner or later. I’ll drop them a note to make sure they are aware.
Tuesday, June 16, 2026 (No Play)
There’s been another settlement in the patent infringement lawsuit brought by Joola against various paddle companies, this time the settlement is with Proton: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZpo9GrxBKn/
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 (No Play)
According to the SFIA, 2.5 million children ages 6 to 12 played pickleball in 2025: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZsy7mySXRG When people say that pickleball is only for “old people,” tell them this!
This morning didn’t quite go as planned. I conducted an interview at work (which went well), followed by coordinating some things at work and then I ended up on the phone with AT&T for over 40 minutes trying to navigate all kinds of billing headaches before telling them that I just couldn’t continue to wait and I really needed to leave for a meeting. It was unresolved, so I’ll need to spend some time on the phone with them again in the future.
Board Meeting
As it was, I arrived at the SCPC board meeting about 20 minutes late. The meeting was pretty routine. Nothing earth-shattering. Talk about the website and the upcoming club social event in August and the condition of various court venues, etc.
A few of us stayed to play after the meeting ended.
Games
Mark and I played against Allan Goldberg and a middle-aged Asian woman whom I don’t know. We finished up that game and I still wanted to play.
On a court nearby, a mother and her daughter were playing. I didn’t recognize the mom with the hat and sunglasses, but it was Julie A., a good friend of my wife… plus Julie was part of a private group that I coached last year. I’d never met her daughter Jillian.
Mark played with Julie and I played with Jillian. It was Jillian’s third time out.
Mark and I have differing opinions about what serve is easier for a beginner. Ultimately, each person is different, but I’m inclined to start with a drop serve versus a volley serve—especially after Jillian was initially having trouble with the volley serve. Mark was very vocal of his opinion that the volley serve is easier to learn. In my three years of teaching rank beginners, I’ve found most people have an easier go of it with the drop serve and hitting the ball off the bounce. All that said, Jillian did eventually seem to have an easier time with a volley serve after more attempts. Of course, she might have had faster success with more practice on the drop serve… but as I said, each person is different.
After the first game, we switched partners played again.
Once that game was finished, Mark needed to go and I needed to make a return to work.
“As pickleball popularity has soared since the COVID pandemic, and the sport has become a ubiquitous presence in communities across the United States, one player has set a standard of excellence. Anna Leigh Waters, 19, the top-ranked player in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles on the PPA (Pro Pickleball Association) Tour, is not just the best; she’s nearly unbeatable. Waters, who lives in Boynton Beach, Fla., discovered pickleball in 2017 when her grandfather introduced her to the game in Pennsylvania–her family had evacuated up north during Hurricane Irma–and she and her mother started playing at a local club back in Florida. Waters turned pro at 12, making her the youngest professional pickleball player ever, and climbed to the top of the rankings at 15. In January, Nike signed her as its first pickleball athlete, which has only raised her profile. During Super Bowl week in February she appeared on ThePat McAfee Show and snapped a photo with Joe Montana.”
A quick story. Back in the 1980s, my uncle Ed’s second marriage was to a woman (who did modeling) and he gained two blonde teenage step-daughters, the slightly older one being Kim. The younger one, Kiersten, was walking after school when a man in a convertible stopped and, with sparkling smile, asked her if she needed a ride. She shared that she, in fact, did need a ride home. The man had her get into his car and off they went. After a few blocks, he asked how old she was. “17.” He immediately pulled over and gave her an order: “Out!” The driver of the car? Joe Montana, famous quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. (In fact, Joe Montana appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in the early 1980s—I remember pulling that issue out of my parent’s mailbox when I was in high school. I also recall the photo looking obviously airbrushed!) This took place within a few miles of where Dwight Clark—the legendary wide receiver on Joe’s team—quietly lived in Capitola. Joe was divorced in 1984 and married to his third wife in February 1985. I don’t know exactly when the above event happened, but I’d hope it was in the small gap between his second marriage and his third marriage. My uncle Ed and his second wife later divorced and I lost close contact with that family. (Though I am still Facebook friends with my former cousins.) From what I heard, Kiersten went on to do a little of her own modeling before getting disillusioned with the demands of the field.
Wednesday, June 10, 2026 (No Play)
So my daughter Charlotte, recently graduated from medical school, is in the process of moving to Ventura for her residency in orthopedic surgery. This involved clearing out section of our living room and part of her room of her belongings after a year or two of storage. We packed her car within an inch of its life. I was very happy to spot the contents of one of her storage tubs… pickleballs!
Her car almost fully loaded!
Thursday, June 11, 2026 (No Play)
This is interesting. A couple players setting up pickleball court and playing at the Great America amusement park about 40 minutes north of my house in Santa Clara. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZb8zZ_SkAm
Monday, May 25, 2026 (Court Day #934) Memorial Day
I got up in the middle of the night and there was pain running along the underside of my left foot. This has to be plantar fasciitis. This is a novel thing for me and I hope that it goes away soon. It’s really annoying.
Binh texted me about 8:45 a.m. asking if club play was cancelled at Brommer Park. (I’m assuming he let his club membership lapse or he would have received an email notice!) I told him that the club never cancels play for holidays, and I added that I was personally planning to play at Derby Park. He was ready to join me at Derby Park until his fiancé explained that she wanted him to stay and entertain family until they were gone. I told Binh I’d be at Derby Park for a few hours regardless.
I pulled out of my neighborhood at 9:33 a.m. It was completely overcast and 61°F. The sky looked like it was threatening to rain a little bit.
To continue to help with my recent occurrence of mild tennis elbow, I played every shot lefty today. As typical for me playing lefty, today was a mix of highlight shots and inexplicable wild shots. In a game with a man named Rick against Larry, tall Larry of Lloyd’s Tire Service and Joel, Joel twice said that I have fast hands. And that was playing lefty!
It was mostly routine games today. I left about 11:45 a.m. Things to do, people to see.
Here is a clip from the new pickleball movie appearing on Apple TV, The Dink: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DY0WlASPmVy I don’t have night hopes for it being a good film, but who knows. It won’t be available for viewing until July 24, so we have about two months yet.
Automated Line Calling System
Owl A.I. is implementing a new digital line calling system for MLP tournaments this year. Given all the complaints about “hooking” (intentionally mis-calling line calls in your own favor), this will be a step forward!
Pickleball returns to downtown San Diego after an apparently successful appearance last year. My mother-in-law lives maybe 10 blocks from where this is held, so it’d be easy to get there if I were to go down to participate. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZGqTQNNSyU
“Gaslamp Urban Pickleball returns July 30 with 8 outdoor pickleball courts in the heart of the Gaslamp Quarter. Enjoy social play, music, giveaways, the Game Day Market, the Zero Proof Garden, and summer fun all season long.
Whether you’re an experienced pickleball player or trying pickleball for the first time, this is one of the most unique pickleball events in San Diego.
Every Thursday | July 30 – September 3 4 PM – Sunset Gaslamp Quarter, Downtown San Diego”
Friday, June 5, 2026 (No Play)
Anna Leigh Waters again on national media, this time on CBS Sunday morning.
Saturday, June 6, 2026 (No Play)
The “DUPR Reset” statistics are in. Over 400,000 matches were submitted during the reset window. 53% of players received a boost. (Meaning nearly half had no boost and kept their previous rating.) Of those who did increase, 91% moved by just 0.3 points or less. It was also reported that 8% of boosted participants saw an increase between 0.3 and 0.5 points. That leaves 1% (100% – 91% – 8%). So 1% saw an increase of over 0.5 points. (Most likely, these are lower rated players who were playing few games.) There is some mysterious rounding going on since DUPR specifically states the 91% and 8% figures. But they also say that “less than 1.5%” had a 0.5 to 1.0 increase and 0.1% (1 out of every 1,000) increased by more than 1.0.
To make this more understandable with a little rounding, let’s say just 20 players participated. 10 players got no boost. 10 players got a boost. 9 players got either a 0.1 or 0.2 boost. 1 player got 0.3, 0.4, or 0.5 boost.
Today was my first day of summer classes. I have two full beginner classes. It’s odd. A few months ago, I couldn’t get signups for a beginner class and changed it to an intermediate class. Then, now, I filled up two beginner classes. Go figure.
Unlike most morning before teaching, I didn’t play today. This morning there was an ice cream social for an elderly religious sister, Sr. Noella, who is moving back to her home state of Michigan. She sang out our wedding back in ’94 and I’ve gotten to know her some over the years. We also have some common friends—she knew my grandmother and knows my parents—and she worked as a nurse at the hospital where my children were born and I remember her checking in on when my daughter was born over 25 years ago.
Teaching
Two of my 1:30 p.m. students couldn’t make the first class and one couldn’t make the second class. The second class was kind of rowdy!
1:30 p.m. class.3:00 p.m. class.
It was fun to get out and teach again after a two-month break.
Number of days on a court: 934 Number of total hours: 3,474 Number of paid coaching hours: 212.5
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