My pickleball articles: https://www.pickleballportal.com/author/david-boyle/

PICKLEBALL JOURNAL – ENTRY 5

Not as crowded as the last session, everyone more lighthearted and relaxed. The first match was my best; funny because I hadn’t played in weeks and was out of practice. For the first time in a while nobody told me how to play. No unsolicited instruction, no arguing about a call, no huffing because of errors. What a refreshing change! Owing to fewer people, players had very short breaks between matches, steady gaming seeming to keep everyone in a groove. I saw some excellent defensive plays and made sure to shout encouragement when I did. Once or twice I spotted dinking and wished for it to last longer, but, as always, the speed-up came in a flash. I got body-bagged once and laughed my ass off, after which my attacker apologized but I insisted that she not feel bad as getting hit is part of the game. Here and there strategy and finesse dominated hard hitting—a nice change. For the fun of it I gave some thought to how beneficial pickleball must be to reflexes. Long-lasting firefights probably do wonders for reaction time and hand-eye coordination. Strange what comes to mind when a plastic ball is being ripped at your head!

A good many fabulous saves, players getting to balls that I thought were impossible to cut off and keep in play. One woman scored a point with a backhand, leaving her opponent frozen in awe of the angle. Over time I’ve come to believe that recreational players often make their best shots when not trying too hard or thinking too much; a combination of instinct, natural talent, and pure luck seem to produce magic sometimes. A wonderful evening it was, all involved happier and smiling and adrenalized as the event ended.