Today I played pickleball outside. It was real pretty but kind of cool. It warmed up during our play and the wind wasn’t too bad. I basically crashed a group and invited 3 of my friends so we actually had 4 but because we went at the same time as that group we were able to get a variety of games and mix around.
It was some good fun and I got to see some people I haven’t seen in quite some time. For me, that was a big win because I haven’t seen the guy and his wife in forever and I haven’t seen two of the ladies in a little bit either. So it was nice to play with them and to be outside. I wish it would have been warmer but I’ll take it. The sun was out and it was good day.
There were challenges with the wind, trying to keep up with the ball and control the shots. It’s an element I have not had to deal with in quite some time. But it was fun. And, I was out there for 5 hours. We really only played maybe 3 hours, we sat around and talked probably 2 of the 5. So, it was very good fellowship and it was good pickleball.
I think everyone has the same concerns with the summer. Who are we going to play with and how are we going to get the games we want? More importantly, where will we play?
We did play with the OSO Fury. Everybody seemed to like it. We also tested the Diadem Performance ball and the Dura. We typically play with the Franklin X40. I think out of all those balls, the people liked the OSO Fury the best. That was neat, trying a different ball for some play.
The courts we picked weren’t dedicated. We wanted to avoid the dedicated courts under the assumption they would be overwhelmed because of the nice weather. A lot of newcomers showed up but it wasn’t so crowded that we couldn’t stay on our court.
There were phases of people coming and going. One group came out and a gal got hit and had a bloody nose. They had to leave which is shame because they were really getting into it. Hopefully that incident won’t deter them from coming back.
The things we see on a pickleball court.
