It’s Saturday and like usual, I didn’t have any play lined up. It’s fine because it’s 50 degrees, the sun is out and it’s not too windy. With those kind of weather conditions, some of my friends agreed to meet at the secret court, put up a net and hit some balls.
It was a really good day to be outside because of that amazing mood-altering ball in the sky, the sun. There was enough wind to shift our shots some but it wasn’t dramatic in any way. We did some dinks and I got to work on my roll shots.
We realized pretty quickly that we were outside for the first time in 3 or 4 months. The shots sounded different, the ball bounced different, the slight wind made you wonder – was that a good shot or a gift from the wind? Shots hit spots on the court that were dried up worms or clumps or dirt, kicking the ball in various directions and creating instant winners.
I also worked on drops because when I drill with my guy, we rarely focus on drops. I really wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to do those and with 2 of them feeding me, I was able to drop to either side and they were able to move me around wherever they wanted.
Most of the backhand drops came off a feed at a pretty good angle. I started noticing I was missing those a lot which reminded me I miss those a lot in games too.
Typically my big problem with my backhand drop on the right side is because I try to cut it. It’s a problem of ambition, in my mind. An unnecessary addition. When I try to take the cut out, I end up standing too straight and attempt to extend my follow through to make up for it. Basically, I try to make the shot with just my arms. Anyway, I make too many mistakes with my backhand drop so it was nice of them to help me out and give me a lot of backhand opportunities to focus on fixing those errors.
I did feel kind of selfish because I was working on so much stuff and I’m not sure anyone else got the same kind of benefit. I hope they know I would do the same for them if they were interested in working on specific shots for their game.
It was interesting how quickly I got stiff and a little tired. Mostly because we weren’t doing a lot of intense work, why would I be tight and tired? Once we had hit for a while we took a small break. Apparently, pro player Lee Whitwell was recently in town, there’s been some drama at open play and I’ve been on the road the last few weekends, giving us plenty of chatter to keep us warm while we squinted from the beaming sun.
The small break turned into an opportunity for some kids to take over the court, seemingly unaware that our net was there for a reason. We decided to wrap up and go eat pizza. It was a good way to spend the afternoon instead of watching reruns of Alone.
This late in my life, I cannot imagine figuring out the proper way to express the gratitude I have for the people who are willing to go out and work with me on stuff that is so important to me. Hopefully my appreciation is clear and evident with my verbal words and if not, hopefully it shows with my written words.
End of Week Numbers
- Pickleball play
- 5 sessions
- $30.88 court time
- $46.02 gas
- Drilling
- 3 sessions
- Weight: +1
- ATPs: 3
- Injuries: 0
