Playing on Wet Courts

 Well, it's another day of rain.  There is pickleball on YouTube.  Maybe the Wii ought to create a PB game...  Would we be able to play across a network and with each other?  Hmm, future product I guess.

On Friday I played three times.  The first stopped when a very, very mild sprinkle caused the players to scatter.  I went over to Las Positas golf course and did some pitching.  That was wet, but fine and the rain was soon gone. 

Then Randy coaxed some players back to the courts and we played for another two games and then the sprinkles started up and once again, the players scattered.

But, now for the rest of the story...

There were three beginners playing and they seemed ok with the rain.  I wandered over and asked if they wanted a fourth.  I remember the pre-Covid days when it was just two friends and I trying to make it happen.

And we played, I think, three games.  It was raining the whole time and the courts were fully wet.

I know you are asking about footing and wondering how we could be so flippant in the face of impending slipping disaster.  Let me say that I don't recall that the courts were slippery at all.  My current premise is that a wet court might be better footing than a damp one.

As I said the players were beginners, so there wasn't a lot of high speed stuff, but we got in some dinking and bashing and it was a lot of fun.

The players had gone through the Livermore Park District and Tri-Valley Pickleball Club lessons.  They knew who I was, and while they were somewhat familiar, I didn't know them.  So we exchanged names and such.  They had gone to one of the classes I had taught.  They didn't seem remorseful about the experience, nor did they ask about why didn't we teach them x or y or z!

It seems that Adriana (did I spell that correctly?) is the sister of our beloved Paul, AKA, Paulie!  

"Why is your name so complex and Paul's name is, well, Paul," I asked.

"The name came from an opera."

"Ah, perhaps Die Tote Stadt?"

"What?"

"Or perhaps, Paul Bunyun?"

"No, no, not Paul's name mine!"

"Oh.  I get it, short for Adriana Lecouvreur, a very familiar work.  Well it might actually be both names.  You might want to check with your parents!"

Alas, feet got soaked and the rain continued and then that group broke up too.  I wandered home, but with a new appreciation of wet pickleball courts.