Category: Uncategorized (Page 2 of 4)

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!

Sunday, February 26, 2017 (Court Day #4)

My fourth day of playing pickleball!

I arrived about 5 minutes after “opening time” of Derby Park to find four players in a game and Mark (who helped mentor me the first day) zipping around getting the final things ready for the masses to arrive.

Tom L. and his friend Ileana, both 20-somethings, were at the courts today. It’s nice not to be the youngest person out there! Tom is the better player of the two and shared that he (or maybe both of them) were playing pickleball other days of the week beyond just Sunday. Unlike some of us . . . namely, me!

My first game or two were disappointments, but as the day progressed, the rust on my paddle wore off and I got back into the groove.

As people departed for the day, leaving courts open, a woman named Lara—who I’d played with—and I did solo drills, dinking the ball left down the net then back right down the net. Then we did another drill, starting close to the net then hitting ground strokes working our way back to the baseline. Lara asked if I had tennis background since I was doing well for only my 4th day on the courts.

As nearly the last to leave—minus one doubles game on a court—Eric stopped me and said he had a net and a friend who plays and he was looking for another person to play during the week sometime. I put my contact information into his phone, explaining that my life is not always my own and work demands set my availability—if someone calls in sick, I’m often trapped and end up working a 6-day workweek. I’d be nice to get in some extra playing time. Maybe I’ll arrange some time off from work during the week so that I can play some mornings, we’ll see!