Livermore Pleasanton Scramble Report

 I thoroughly enjoyed playing in the first Pleasanton Livermore social get together pickleball scramble.  Oh, I was just going to watch a bit then wander over to the Downs for some play, but there was a need and I was drafted.

Some of you may know my aversion to highly competitive play and it's a real condition, and not one that should be thrust on the world stage anymore.  But the play today was without scoring or winners or losers.  And that made it just fine in my mind.  The format of playing with a new partner for 15 minutes, then getting a new partner and opponents added some spice to the meal.  All in all it was well run and a lot of fun.  Thanks to Tri Valley pickleball club for putting it on. 

The abilities were varied and I played for long points rather than slams and put aways and the usual body shots.  And for the most part everyone was playing like that, which made it an exercise in resets and dinking.  I found that fun and good for my game even if ball speeds were not very fast.

One of the common issues I saw with players was paddle position when at the net.  Typically it was not high enough.  While there were no real fast shots hit, having a low paddle makes it very difficult to kill a pop up.  By the time the paddle is in position, the ball is no longer hanging in space ready to be smacked.  The only shot left is a highish dink that typically floats too long into the court.

The paddle up position is needed for a couple of reasons.  You want to protect your body, block an aggressive speed up, and mostly to punish a bad dink.

The droopy paddle is seen across a lot of skill levels.  Even some of the Downs' tournament players can get into this position.  So check your form on occasion and make sure I'm not talking about you.  :-)

There is another occasion when this type of issue comes up.  In the blog posts from early on, I stressed the need to follow your service returns as far into the court as you could.  There are several advantages to doing this.  For example you take away an easy deep third shot which is available if you stay all the way back.  Secondly if you can get all the way to the kitchen line, there are high balls just asking to get smacked away, but if you are not in position, then they can't be hit aggressively.  Thirdly, there is nothing more scary than being at the kitchen line expecting to hear your partner's shot and there nothing but the belated sound of a bouncing ball.  

There you have it, hopes, fears, inner issues and a touch of training, all in one post.  Thanks again to the TVPBC for their work (and brownies, and swag, and cookies...).