The Pickleball equivalent
Yesterday I played pickelball at lunch with Kerri and the gang. I was not sure how effective I would be after playing nearly three hours the night before. The answer was not very effective. We also played outside of the covered courts for the first time in a couple months which upped the sweat output considerably. My play lately frustrates me. I have these sporadic shining moments where I make some nice shots in difficult situations but then I have an equal if not greater amount of times where I make stupid unforced errors that frustrate the f out of me.
For some reason I got to thinking about the other sports that were a major focus of my life for many years, baseball and volleyball. I then thought about the moments in these sports that I cherished, the moments in those sports that I loved. I was a pitcher who threw hard. When I felt “on” it was an amazing feeling. I loved the one on one challenge of pitcher versus hitter. Firing a fastball and having it crack into the catchers glove as the hitter swings and misses was a rush that I could not get enough of. I was a decent hitter as well. Swinging through a ball so cleanly that you don’t even feel it hit the bat was another magic moment, my favorite of which was when I hit a ball into the creek beyond the outfield as a 15 year old.
With volleyball there were a number of things that would get my adrenaline going. Before the regulation size of courts was shortened I used to hit an aggressive serve that almost moved like a slider in baseball, down and over. Having that hard serve shanked by the opposing team was always a shining moment. Although I was only average defensively, when I did get up a hard driven ball or run down another to turn it into a side out, that was rewarding as well. However the best feelings were always tied to hitting. I loved hitting the ball hard. I liked playing on sand for joint reasons but nothing for me beat playing doubles on grass where I could jump better and hit consistently. The sounds of impact of the ball with your hand followed milliseconds later with the sound of the ball impacting the ground was amazing. Having a blocker up and hitting such a hard angle that went either over or through him just made me feel unstoppable, at times.
So that brings me to pickleball, what moments in this game that is seen by much of the outside world as something for old farts, light me up? I think they are actually pretty similar to volleyball, although I don’t yet have the nearly the confidence in my play in this sport that I had in volleyball or baseball. Many times I am hitting with a more defensive, “just keep it in” mentality instead of an aggressive approach which keeps other players on their heels. However when I do allow myself to swing more freely on a serve or ground stroke that definitely feels good. The short game at the kitchen can get intense as short lobs turn into high speed back and forth action which tests your reflexes and coordination. When I come out on top of one of those exchanges it is satisfying.
The best thing for me, although it happens infrequently, is being able to get a hard overhand smash where the outcome is almost always favorable. To clarify, a high overhand smash with my LEFT hand. Pickleball is an oddball compared to the other sports I mentioned where I play primarily with my right hand. Baseball and volleyball I play lefty as most other things EXCEPT paddle/racquet sports. The reason for this is when I was young my mom signed me up for tennis lessons. The instructor forced me to play right handed because somehow playing left handed was a negative, I guess. Ever since I was some weird partially ambidextrous mutant in sports. I also kick right footed, go figure. So anyway, I have way more snap and power in my left hand but if I try to do regular shots left handed the results are very unpredictable. But when it comes to an overhand smash, the left handed variety is my favorite.
So all that being said, despite my best efforts yesterday I lost every game I participated in at lunch. In the last doubles match I lost to Kerri which she reminded me of, repeatedly, the rest of the day. Although I have always not liked losing, in her case it also means that she is getting better and better which is a net positive outcome.