The group I played with today was a lot of fun. I played in a lot of really good games and I got to play with some players who do things a little differently, which is a change of pace. The rotation was good, we split up a couple of times and I think I played with almost everyone. One guy said at the end he didn’t get to play with me so he wanted to know what I was working on. I guess maybe it’s obvious all the other days that I’m working on things? I’ve hit balls every day this week but I haven’t played hard since Monday so today I was just happy to be playing.
I did try to squeeze in a few of the roll shots I’ve worked on recently and I had some success with it. They weren’t winners but it’s a work in progress so I’m just happy when they go over the net. I did clank one hard into the net so that felt like a step backwards. I will always have to work on my backhand and today I put a lot of effort into not letting the bubble beat me. That darn wall kicks my rear every time I play there so I was determined to not let it win today. I felt like I made improvement in that area but it’s not like I’m a total disaster with it. It just gets in my head and today I didn’t let it.
Today was a heavy lob day. A lot of lobs. Not just a little bit of lobs. A lot of lobs. Not a lot of them were ones I could get so I didn’t get too worn down chasing them. I did however learn a few hard lessons on being out of position when my partner did get them.
There were some amazing angle shots from several people today. I don’t think I can include myself in that category but I can think of at least 3 people who just zipped some angle winners that were really impressive. I had a baby ATP, just a little dink I couldn’t get back over so I poked it around and my opponent whacked it out. I attempted another I felt like I should get but I rushed it and slammed it into the post. If I tried to hit a post any time other than an ATP I would miss it 90 percent of the time. But I sure can hit it when I attempt an ATP.
There were a couple of people willing to work with me on signals and switching. That is super beneficial for me so I’m always happy when people do that. One guy told me he liked going down the line when he switches and that put me in a precarious position. The ball came back as a drive, to my backhand, every time. I blocked it straight back, teeing up my opponent with a nice winner shot down the middle. There’s not much else I can do with that shot except block it. I can try to get over there faster if I play with anyone else who likes to go down the line on a switch.
I had more drops than I wanted go high. It seems like that happens most when I go straight ahead. Since I typically drop to the middle a good amount of my drops were just fine.
Lately I’m getting hung up on whether or not I am spending my time improving. Today was one of those days. I had a blast but I kept asking myself, am I getting better doing this? I think I am, but I can easily get stuck in a thinking swirl, worrying that I’m not. I’ll just be grateful the group includes me in their play, continue working on things and do my best when the time comes.
