Downs, the Abandoned Park

 Back in the day, I used to play at Downs park four to five times a week.  But I've dropped the park visits for a couple of reasons.  A few friends have asked why and while my personal decisions are probably not of interest to a lot of, there are some universal topics that others may have to face and perhaps a discussion would be useful to them.

Firstly, let's ask why we play.  The universal answer might be to have fun.  And, as the devil is in the details, how does one extract fun from pickleball?

I found fun in learning to play better and to play more interesting rallies.  

That is not universal.  The other part of any game that holds deep meaning for many, is winning.  

Secondly, the play level at Downs has increased significantly from years past.  A lot of that is from younger players from other racquet sports coming to pickleball.  They have good eyes and move better than us folks north of 70.

Thirdly, it's been my experience that almost all players from the 2.5 to the 4.0 arena hit the ball too hard.  They love the drive and that is a useful tool up to a certain skill level.  When your opponent easily handles all your drives, then the soft game becomes important.  But a lot of players never realize that.  I dropped by Downs a couple of weeks ago to say hello to friends.  All four courts were in play and there was banging games on three of the courts.  The one court where the dinking was happening (and required) was the 4.5+ group who had realized that banging was not the ultimate answer to better pickleball.

So, with all this in mind, I came to the conclusion that the Downs was longer the place for me to play.  I don't like a banging game, I don't mind some blocking, but when a game is nothing but banging, it's boring.  I also found some of shots to be very hard to see.  I think there are lighting conditions at the park can hide a ball for that vital fraction of a second, it would then usually appear in front of my face.  Not a lot of fun.  

I'm not a 4.5 player and I'm not interested in trying to get to that level, my level is sufficient to play socially with my friends in somewhat competitive games and that's just fine.

I'm spending a lot of time at May Nissen.  The skill level is rising there and it's a lot like the Downs was a few years ago.  It's an older crowd, learning to play better, moving better, and more social.  Those are good things and the enjoyment is rising as the players get better and make the transition from opponents to friends.

So farewell to Downs.  Thanks for all the good times and good friends.