Monday – March 20
We had an interesting group today. We had 2 subs, but I got some good games in and saw some different shots. One of the subs was pretty confusing to play with because of his court positioning. His strategy was to implement lobs often and he played so out of what I would consider normal positioning, I think to try to bait people to hit to the shot he wanted. I didn’t mind it but it did make it hard for me to figure out where I was supposed to play and how to help him.
The other sub I’ve played with for a few years but haven’t seen her in quite a while. She’s known to lob effectively but she didn’t really do it today. She was very composed in and trusted her shots and only did a lob when it was necessary, offensive or defensive.
The rotation was good, I feel like I got to play with everyone. For most of the day I was very, very sore. I still played pretty well. I did very well defensively and I didn’t make a whole lot of mistakes. I landed a backhand ATP in one of the games and had a lot of fun on the day.
It’s the first day of spring and the sun is out. It’s gorgeous but it’s still cold. Before much longer we’re going to be playing outside and everything is going to be different. I’m going to have to figure out where my games are going to be and when to play so I’m not necessarily excited about that. As much as the routine of playing the same people can get repetitive, I do like having a schedule and not fighting for courts. But I also love the sun so I’m looking forward to getting outside again.
Tuesday – March 21
My Tuesday ladies group canceled and rather than go without play, I decided to go to my local rec center and catch a few games. It is gorgeous out so I imagine the courts will be packed tonight. Regardless, I decided to get out of the house and hit some balls with the boys at the rec center.
This facility is a basketball court and we use a different ball to play on that. Playing there means all the normal things happen that you would complain about when you’re out of your element. It does take a minute to adjust to the floor, the walls, being able to see the ball, the ball being squishy, etc.
I played 3 or 4 games. I started out with my long sleeve shirt on and then halfway through I got hot when I got hot we started to fall behind. I think we still managed to pull off the win but it’s crazy how thinking about being hot can mess with my game. The second game, I think we won that to, but I played kind of soft in that game.
I worked on my serves and some drop shots. I got some of my basic shots but didn’t have an opportunity to really set anything up. The first couple of games were decent but then I started feeling the game of isolation, only seeing balls that were slams or put aways, which is for sure my favorite way to be included in a game. I left shortly after that started.
I saw some people I haven’t seen in a while which I always like when that happens. Especially when I play against someone who won’t hit me a ball just to win a rec game, I like when I can at least go home having seen people I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to catch up with.
