Today I played indoor “open play” pickleball. I was assigned to a court with a couple of my friends and a woman who wasn’t very good, but that was fine. Eventually I went to another court, and a guy there was SO obnoxious. One of my friends left early (after paying $14.70 to play) because he was “dangerous” to play with. Another of my friends trying to play with him just kind of “shut down” because she was afraid she was going to get hurt, and she was happy when she could leave that court. Right before I started playing a game with him (I didn’t realize all of this at the time), the manager came to the court and tried to suggest he go to a higher level court, but he refused! He played the “whole court” as opposed to his half, at risk of hurting his partner (for one game me). It was NOT fun.
I may have posted this already, but at another open play session recently I was on a court with someone who insisted he belonged on that court, but we were truly worried he was going to fall backwards and hurt himself while playing.
We usually have lots of fun during open play, but it can be hard because everyone is allowed to “self rate” and some see themselves as much better than they are, and some don’t want to play with people who will be tough to beat (I guess - I haven’t actually had that issue before today).
Sorry you had that experience. Typically I find ways to sign up with friends of local pb club members in Beginner/Advanced Beginner events or Bronze events at the indoor place. But sometimes there are mixers that include higher level players. Phew - I’ve always been fortunate to have gracious players who share the court. At the Saturday holiday event (local club party but held at the indoor place) I had fun even when paired with better players who were friendly and encouraging.
I will never be good enough to play a super fast game with the bangers. But… gotta admit I smile when once in a while one of my serves (nothing special) or soft hits stymies a much better player. It’s not just getting the point I enjoy - it’s the look on their faces when they miss a low ball coming from this wimpy little old lady.
Thanks. I’ve found most PB players to be very nice, and patient with people who don’t play as well, for at least a couple of games. At the indoor place where we play, people can “self rate” so management can’t really easily control how things wind up. They try to put similarly rated people on the same court, but it’s a numbers issue for them. More often I’ve found people rate themselves too high, not too low.
Many of us who play at our indoor place relatively often rate ourselves by who we want to play with. We don’t want to be with the “newbies” and we don’t want to be with the really hard hitters/advanced players. I know management would like us to get DUPR ratings, but most of us haven’t.
We really do need some precip in Colorado, sigh. But lacking that, I did enjoy taking advantage of today’s primo weather (high 50s, sunny) to play outdoors… as sub with a regular 4-some. Lots of folks must have had the same idea. I actually had two other opportunities to play, both arising last minute via big text chains.
Did anybody receive any pickleball themed gifts? I actually picked out my own used paddle at a store-moving sale, added some new pickleballs (2 for one deal) under the tree. Then my daughter kindly gived me a new pb bag. She’s my shy kid, but she actually chatted with a store salesperson to decide which model to select. I smile each time I use it.
If there’s any doubt pickleball is popular… my local indoor PB place has 72 people registered for Monday’s 11-1 session, and there aren’t too many open slots over the weekend.
I played indoors of group play on Monday (there’s a deal for 7am courts, $10/person for 2 hours instead of the usual 1 hr). Mostly it’s people I know who sign up. Then today a bunch of us took advantage of the 50s/sunny weather and filled 2 outdoor public courts for more than two hours. Such fun! Some people had to come late or leave early, so we played cut-throat (3 player) game a lot of the time on the 2nd court. That always teaches me how hard it is to even get the ball on the intended half of the court (the single player only defends one side).
Soooo winnnndy today (though nice sun and 60 degrees)…. like gusts up to 45mph. One of our four scheduled to play outside dropped out. Three of us saw that wind was predicted to reduce, but it did not. We still played cut throat with three, which we figured would give us a lot of step counts since it was quite difficult to get the ball in target area.
I’m not a great player, fairly inconsistent and often lacking in strategy. (It feels like I mostly play defense.) But I do have a decent serve. I rarely know where my served ball will land, but it always clears the net and is almost always in bounds. Today I played indoors for almost 2.5 hours and only missed one serve. And twice this week players complimented me…. for my “aerial game” and for ability to “rebound near the net”. So making progress
I feel I am competent in all aspects of the game, at a low intermediate level. But backhand is a strength for me, I am very comfortable with it. Another thing I can do consistently well is return a serve or shot right to the baseline. It’s not unusual for me to win a few volleys because a person playing back thinks my ball will be out and it’s on the line or just inside the line. I have gotten better with strategy and seeing the opportunities available on the other side of the court, although good execution doesn’t always happen! The weakest part of my game is power; I don’t have much compared to the better players in our group, particularly with my serve. I think I need to get a new paddle that has a bit more pop to help me with that.
I’ve had the opportunity to play a lot of pb recently, inside and outside. For the first time I do have a large black and blue mark from a fast ball, but it at top of shin so only I see it.
For the first time I tried playing at city rec center. Went with some pb pals, since we were all a little leery. Turns out to be a nice crowd. Only one person seemed to be using me for “serving practice”. It was a pretty quick game, pickled.
People say I am best “at the net.” I have quick reflexes, and once I get to the net not much gets by me. I can also slam the ball pretty well, but I don’t always to that.
My serve is fine, but not great. Last winter I went for about 6 weeks having a terrible time with my serves. So far it hasn’t happened this year.
I’m on a 2 week vacation right now, and I miss playing PB. I did get to play twice last week, but not at all this week. I played with 2 men who were pretty good, and also a couple who were closer to beginners, but they were fine to play with. It was hard for me to hit it gently to the couple, but harder to the guys. I did try though, and the couple was thankful I was gentle with them.
I just want to recommend Engage paddles. They are made in the US, and their customer service is pretty great. Two friends and I have had great experiences with their customer service.
What do you like about the Engage paddles? I’m in the market for a new paddle, but it’s a very daunting process and I keep stalling on making a decision. For my first paddle, I just focused on a price range and picked one with decent reviews. Now after two years I feel I need to upgrade, but if I’m spending $$ I want to be sure I REALLY like and feel comfortable with the paddle I choose. Pickleball Central allows you to try a paddle for 30 days, and they do carry the Engage line, some of which are on sale right now. Any specific recommendations?
I do think it’s all about how the paddle feels to you. I was able to test the original Engage paddle I had, because a friend had it. Once I tried hers I ordered my own. Full disclosure, they used to have a program where certain types of employees received 40% off, so it wasn’t a hard choice for me. The second Engage I had took me a little while to get used to, but since I got it for half price, it was worth it to try. It was fine, but since I have been suffering from PB elbow and a friend had a lighter paddle I tried hers. I felt good playing with hers right away, so I did the exchange. All I had to do was pay to ship it back (just returned from doing that $13 bucks, but for a new paddle, totally worth it). I highly recommend their “hybrid” line of paddles. I didn’t like playing with the boxy one, and if the handle is too long that bothers me right away.
I THINK Engage has a pretty good try and if you don’t like it return policy, but verify before you go that direction.
The original paddle I had was a Gamma Hellbender. It was fine, but I feel like the Engage paddles have been better. (They have also been more expensive paddles).
I have tested other paddles, including Kinnex (I hated the “pop” it made every time you hit the ball), and some Joola paddles, and didn’t care for the ones I tried as much. I did try a Diadem paddle I really liked, but since I have received discounts on Engage I’ve stuck with them.
We have place in next town (30 min drive) that rents demo paddles. I think $10, which can be applied to purchase. You can come back, switch to another model a few times. I have not used them, but a friend who lives closer thought it was a great way to find the right paddle.
The indoor PB place from us lets you try different paddles for free while you’re playing. Another I’ve been to charges $5, but I think you can try different paddles during the same session.
We’ve had some lovely weather here in 50s and 60s. But Wednesday late afternoon had so much wind that it was rather comical. LOL - sometimes wind direction would reverse as the serve was headed at me. So that night I got on a big text group hoping to get 4 players on Thurs. WOW - ended up with 12 of us playing… such fun! (and only a little bit of wind). Interestingly we were the only players there, so the three other courts were empty.
Nice weather again today, but I was signed up for a mixer inside ($3, good deal… lots of fun). I played for almost 2 hours with all serves Good Let me tell ya, that did NOT happen outside in the freaky wind.
Let me tell ya, that did NOT happen outside in the freaky wind.