Category: Pickleball (Page 201 of 325)

Saturday , March 27, 2021 (Court Day #366)

I got to sleep after midnight—I have to write this blog at some time!—did a lot of tossing and turning, and woke up just before my alarm at 8:30 a.m. It hadn’t rained, but when I got outside, it was lightly drizzling. I would have to count on some diehards being at the courts. There’s always that fear that I’d make the drive and end up by myself.

At the Courts

I arrived at Ephesus Park just before 9 a.m. Almost predictably, were only three cars in the lot, I could see a couple playing on a court closest to the lot. Given that those are the worse surfaced three courts (ripples) of the six, that couple must not be regulars. Later, I’d see that they were using wood paddles, so definitely newbies.

As I got out of the car, a smiley middle-aged Asian woman was walking by from the courts: “Pickleball?” To which, I responded, “Yes!” She was as happy as I was! Her name was Grace. As she explained later, she was diagnosed this past Sunday with a partially torn meniscus but you’d never guess by her performance, just the brace on her left knee. The courts weren’t perfectly dry, but not particularly slippery. We warmed up for about 15-20 minutes then a man named Russ and his friend Rob appeared. They warmed up for a few minutes by themselves, then Grace and I joined them for a few more minutes of warm up on the same court.

As Russ was telling Eric about new courts going to be built in the Durham area, I told him that I was on the Durham email list and had received that message last night too, it included this: “In addition to the very exciting 14-court pickleball facility planned to be completed at Piney Woods for the end of the summer/early fall, and the renovation of Northgate Park tennis courts with 2-4 pickleball courts planned for 2022,  Durham Parks and Rec has also just posted a renovation project for Lyon Park in central Durham that includes 4-6 pickleball courts!” Pickleball is getting more or more popular all across the USA!

We were all in a game in short order.

Games

Russ is probably in his 40s and Eric around 30. This was Eric’s 4th or 5th time out, but he had a ton of previous tennis experience and it showed.

Grace and I lost the first game by roughly a 2:1 ratio. Youth and skill makes for a tough combination. Eric has some pretty intense forehands drives. He can whip it pretty good. He wasn’t making a lot of mistakes. Grace’s biggest weakness was hitting drives into the net. (Maybe that was Eric’s too.) Mine was popping up shots. Russ, it’s harder to pinpoint, maybe control, but he was about on par with Grace’s performance, with probably an edge to Grace, maybe. I felt like I was the weak link.

Russ recommended rotating players, so the next game saw Russ and me on the same team. Yeah, we lost.

Next was Eric and me, we lost 12-10. But then we played a second game together and we won this one 11-5 . . . go figure. In one of those games, I earned a point on a serve where I put enough sidespin on the ball that Grace couldn’t get it back over the net—a far cry from two years ago when half my lefty serves were faults!

The courts had gotten busy, so we’d have to wait until one opened up.

So, at Ephesus Park, they indicate which group is next in line to take a court by paddles in the fence. There are five vertical tape/ribbon rectangles lined up horizontally along the chainlink fence, each with four diamonds in the middle. Each diamond is meant to have a paddle handle placed into it. Above all five rectangles is a cord with a pickleball suspended on it. As each rectangle is released to a court, someone slides the ball to the next rectangle in sequence—if it’s the last one on the right, the ball next returns all the way to the left . . . much like an old school typewriter.

I told my cohorts, “I have a hard stop at 11, I have to pick up my wife at the airport and she knows where I am. If I’m late, she will not be happy!” Russ chuckled and said he completely understood!

The last game was lopsided, with Eric and Russ dominating. During one rally, I’d gotten myself in a bind. Eric was at the net and smashed the ball with me at three-quarter court. I returned it and he smashed it again, but I was able to reset the point. He dropped the ball just over the net to the right (Grace’s) side of the net but I was able to race up and dink it just back over the net. Eric dinked it back and I reciprocated. Eric appeared to try to dink it crosscourt, but into the net it went. There was a chorus of appreciation of the rally from the people waiting. A fierce pickleball battle. It’s points like this that I’m amazed at myself that I’m doing this left-handed. Of course, you have to balance these good rallies with the embarrassing shots that I pop up, hit too wide or into the net or too long. The frustrating shots. Feast or famine. In any case, Grace and I lost 11-4 or thereabouts. Grace wasn’t playing her best in that game, I’d seen her play better.

I asked Russ the time. “10:58.” Perfect. I said my goodbyes. Surprisingly, they all also decided to leave at the same time. Things to do.

Despite my best efforts, I was actually melancholy leaving. Thanks, Ephesus Park, you’ve been good to me.

Number of days on a court: 366
Number of total hours: 1,038.5

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Friday, March 26, 2021 (Court Day #365)

I was awoken in the wee hours of the morning to thundershowers and lightning. Sure enough, when I got up, through my son’s apartment window, I could see wet asphalt. Not good, the courts would certainly be wet. But how long would it take for courts in NC to dry off with no sunshine, but warmer temperatures? This is unknown territory for me.

Shortly after noon, while outside, I saw dry spots in the parking lot. Ah! I changed and drove to the courts. There were only about 6-7 cars in the lot at Ephesus Park at half past noon. There was one game going and an older couple hitting a ball back and forth by themselves. The man asked if I wanted to play, I quickly agreed and another man, wearing khaki pants, Rick, arrived about the same time and made a foursome. We played a couple of games. Not hard games, but not a cakewalk either.

The only other court busy had five University of North Carolina students playing an energetic game while one student waited to rotate in. Top player Ben Johns name came up in their conversation but I resisted the strong temptation to yell over that I’d met and chatted with Ben. They stayed another 90 minutes after I arrived before they left.

Kylene was back and I played a game or two with her. Wendy (knee) was back too as was Ben. Ben and I ended up playing a number of games on the same courts.

I had a really good last game with a tall fellow named Rob, Michael, and Gary. It was past 3 p.m.—my planned departure time—but I couldn’t pass up this game. Rob was very solid with an obvious tennis background. He shared that he’d lived three years in San Francisco. When he warned his partner, Gary, I believe, mid-game that I was a lefty, I corrected him that I’m a righty but playing lefty since I had shoulder surgery. “That’s impressive!” I demurred, “I’ve been doing it 18 months.” “It’s still impressive!” (Actually, it’s now more than two calendar years—though probably about 18 months of actual play considering my layoff.) That was a fun game. I got to and made some shots I would have been proud to make right-handed. I did hear the “I’d hate to have to play you right-handed!” comment after this game. Always nice.

It was a lightly attended day, as some commented; 4 courts was the maximum in use, and mostly 2-3 courts.

At 3:30, I said my goodbyes, apologized for having to leave—they’d be missing a fourth—and headed “home” to shower and get ready for a visit to my cousin David and his family who live about an hour to the south.

One milestone is today was a “year’s worth” of court days. 365 days on a pickleball court. Between injury and and a pandemic, it took a little over four years to do it, or an average of one outing every 4-5 days . . . and that’s including a half-year break from play.

Number of days on a court: 365
Number of total hours: 1,036.5

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Thursday, March 25, 2021 (Court Day #364)

My red-eye flight left SFO Tuesday night at 10:48 p.m. I hate red-eyes. I have a hard time sleeping on a cramped and noisy airplane, but I did sleep a little.

I had a 2 1/2 hour layover in Florida so I started the Third Shot Sports Introductory Instructor Training Program . . . it involves a little bit of reading, watching an hour-long video, and a test. I got through a majority of the video while sitting at the gate.

My son Nicholas picked me up at the Durham airport shortly before noon yesterday (Wednesday). I did a little bit of work remotely, took a much-needed hour nap to catch up on missed sleep, then I finished up the Training Program. I passed the test with flying colors and I was emailed a link to a certificate proving I had witnessed and understood Mark Renneson’s program for introducing beginners to pickleball:

As a site coordinator for the Santa Cruz Pickleball Club, I’ve introduced a number of rank beginners to pickleball and this will likely continue into the future, so I appreciate another perspective on the process. I’ve been told by my various newbies that I do a good job—one even said it was like having a private coach—but I believe there is always room for improvement.

Nicholas and I went out for hamburgers at a local brewery downtown last night. The inside tables were closed due to COVID, but the weather was nice for a table outside not too close to other people. As a teaching assistant, Nicholas has had vaccine shots, but I haven’t. So far, I’m too young and too healthy and not considered enough at risk. My burger was overdone and they brought Nicholas the wrong burger at first, but still, I enjoyed our time together.

Ephesus Park

I left Nicholas’ apartment just after 9 a.m. and arrived at Ephesus Park in Chapel Hill, NC at 9:20. There was plenty of parking—it’s a good-sized lot—and people were already playing. I pulled in and a car pulled up next to me. We both got out. I asked, “Playing pickleball?” He said he was. This was Alex. Tall, white hair, thin, goatee. Pleasant fellow. I explained that I was visiting from California and he took me under his wing.

Alex connected us up with Ian and another fellow, I think his name was Jim, but I can’t remember. (Too many names!) Ian has some speedy shots at his disposal. Ian and I handily won two very lopsided games, then since the courts were now full, we made room for others.

They complained about their new courts; there was an obvious ripple on the courts nearest the parking. Alex said when it’s cold, the ripple sticks up even more and a player even tripped on it. Some spots could be noticed where the surface had been peeled up, treated, and adhered back down—three-quarter round circles with cement residue around each patch. There was talk about the courts being completely ripped up and replaced to fix the dead spots.

Soon, I had two games with super-nice Dwight against Ian and Ben. Ian has a great forehand drive and is good with placement. Ben isn’t super mobile, but hit well. Dwight told me Ian was having a bad day—Ian hit a few serves and drives into the net. We lost lost both games, but they were close games.  

I played a game with some weaker players, David and his wife Suzanne against Laura and me. I enjoyed the game. Not challenging, but pickleball is nearly always fun. It was one of those games where you dial it down a bit. Laura and I won 12-10. They were all very nice, as was everyone I met today.

There were some better players in a game I observed, Terry whom I’d played against earlier (his friend Darcy was his partner) and three others. One, it turned out was named Mark, who said he’s only been playing a year . . . “To get my steps in!”, he explained with a broad smile. I talked to him for a bit. Mark’s about 6 foot, heavier-set, and probably in his late 40s or early 50s, judging from his dark hair.

I managed to get a game with Mark, Terry, and a man I never learned the name of. It started to rain but it was a warm rain and it wasn’t heavy—though the drops were large—and it didn’t make the court completely wet, maybe 80% of the surface, but enough to start making the surface slippery. We finished up the game which Mark and I lost by a significant margin.

Rain Delay

While we waited for the courts to dry, a few of us, Wendy—apparently, there are three of them!—Paul (visiting from Missouri, who said his wife is far better than him and plus in tournaments) and a red-head named Kim, did dinking at the net for about 20 minutes. Wendy’s getting over knee surgery. Kim bailed out before the courts were dry enough for my liking to join a strong game on an adjacent court.

Wendy and Paul (Missouri) played a game against me and a local named Kylene, who was decked out in a matching University of North Carolina cap and shirt. It was a pretty good game. Wendy is obviously a sports person, even recovering from a knee surgery—not mobile, but makes up for it with reliable shots. Paul was a solid intermediate too. I’m pretty sure we lost that one, but we made a good game of it.

Last Game

The last game was Kylene and me against Lisa and Arden. Arden reminds me of Walter Matthau. He was a bit distracting to the flow of the game but amusing. Kylene and I lost 11-9 after a valiant—but failed—comeback effort.

I waited around a bit longer then when it got apparent that the crowd had thinned too much to expect a game, plus it was nearly 2 p.m.—1:55—it was time to head back and see how Nicholas was doing on his schoolwork. I thanked Terry in the parking lot and I was on my way.

I didn’t get to see all the games, but my sense is that the overall level of play in Santa Cruz is stronger . . . but I only have a very small sample size!

Number of days on a court: 364
Number of total hours: 1,033.5

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