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Pickleball Wars
Jerry returns impossible shots, Berta plays lightning fast volleys, and John serves hard-to-return backhand spins. This was my observation of the End of Summer Pickleball Round Robin on October 22.

Carol Wood, a veteran of the friendly “Pickleball Wars” organized an appreciation Round Robin and lunch for all the competitors with a paddle and an insatiable desire for volleying and dinking. Wood and her volunteers put on a great event for the men and women armed with Pickleball paddles in the heat of this past summer.

I subbed in place of another player for four rounds of the men’s round robin. I was supposed to join five others carrying a clipboard and station ourselves just outside the gate at one of the courts. Wood had asked me among others to make sure all the players on a particular court were scheduled on that court in a given round. The women and men players alternated for each of four rounds. But as it was that subs played a vital part of this Round Robin, Carol had me turn my clipboard in for a role as a sub because a guy on the list of male players had not shown up in time.

Round Robins and ladders are part of the vocabulary of Pickleball and here at Arizona Traditions, the Pickleball Club keeps its members sufficiently challenged with competitions, open play, and instructional lessons.

I couldn’t resist trying out my newly purchased professional Prolite paddle. Although earlier games were lopsided and not in a good way, I found myself in Round Robin game four randomly teamed with Geof, one of the best players in AZT. I came off a match where my partner and I were very much humbled by the power and strategy of Floyd, president of AZT Pickleball and his partner. I’d rather not mention the score because I’d have to mix into the game’s outcome a few expletives for proper or improper effect.

In game four, I was excited for a last opportunity at turning defeat into victory until I saw Jerry, the lead instructor for new Pickleball players on the other side of the net. The random draw of luck came my way when Geof walked onto the court. With his ability to hit everything back, I figured we had a shot. We came up five points short.

My next Pickleball challenge is the mixed female/male ladder series beginning on December 6. I’ve never been one at ladder climbing but I have a really good paddle and a floppy hat.

Stew Cohen
AZT Resident and pickleball player