Pickleball Thursday 2-26-09

Lynn & Steve in photo above

It was mostly cloudy but a really nice day for pickleball. About 64 degrees and not too much wind. Several of us were in shorts and t-shirts. Marj and David came back today with their new paddles. Both have tennis and racquetball backgrounds so they picked up the game right off the bat. There were 10 pickleball players today. Present were Ron, Sharon, Steve, Ralph, Jan, Johnny, Marj, David, Ken and I.

We had an email from Bing this week. He took a fall back on Jan. 19 and hurt himself pretty bad.

He says he is about healed up but isn't quite ready for competitive play. Mike did not show this week. Evidently life intervened. Sharon talked to Anne and she seems to be doing pretty good and hopes to come back next week. We look forward to her joining us again.

Lynne S. stopped by today for a visit. She was still working but was in the area. We hated that she would not be able to play this week but Friday looks bad weatherwise.

Hope to get in some good pickleball next week. Lynn

Game is over. Sharon and Ralph (this side of net) played Ron and Marj.

Pickleball Play Under Way in North Myrtle Beach

Pickleball play under way in North Myrtle Beach
Anybody for pickleball? About 40 people were game today in North Myrtle Beach.
Pickleball play has begun at two sites on the Grand Strand.
The North Myrtle Beach Parks and Recreation Department had the first of three free workshops today to demonstrate the game and let individuals try it out. A crowd of mostly retirees - and many on vacation from Ontario -- turned out for all two hours.
The sport is a mix ping-pong, badminton and tennis -- played with Wiffle balls and oversize, wooden pingpong paddles, on a badminton-size field on a tennis court. Serves are made only underhand, and games to to 11 points won by at least two points.
Rena Grant of Myrtle Beach took many turns playing pickleball, and while watching others on the court, would flip back some stray balls hit out of bounds.
''There's a lot of similarities in footwork and the body movement," Grant said, "but this has a lot of wrist stuff, too."
Dick and Ernestine Perkins, tennis players vacationing from Southampton, Ontario, on Lake Huron, tried the game for the first time.
"This is a big change, with the size of a racquet and the bounce of the ball," Dick Perkins said. "You expect the ball to bounce,'' his wife said. "Don't wait for that ball. Run into it."
North Myrtle Beach invites the public to other workshops 1-3 p.m. March 4 and 12 at the city's Central Park tennis courts, near J. Bryan Floyd Community Center, 1030 Possum Trot Road. Starting March 18, open play will be available 1-3 p.m Wednesdays there. Details at 280-5570.
Also, Grant has organized pickleball play at Myrtle Beach's Crabtree Memorial Gymnasium, on the former Air Force base, from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays. Details at 294-2315.

Pickleball Tuesday 2-24-09

It was on the cool side today....about 50 degrees, sunny and not too much wind. Most of us stayed in long pants but Ron, Steve and Ken went to shorts. We had 9 pickleball players.....Ron, Sharon, Steve, Carol, Johnny, Jan, Bob H., Ken and I. Some of us played for 3 1/2 hours. The last 2 games we played Steve, Jan, Ken and I played them. We finally quit at 4:22. We started just before 1:00. We've had emails from Mike, Joanie, David and Marj. David and Marj have ordered paddles, Mike's been busy and also teaching, and Joanie has a job. Hopefully they will all be back. It looks like we will have to play on Thursday as rain is in the forecast for Friday. Hope to C U on D courts......Lynn

Pickleball Friday 2-20-09

The high today was 45 but it really didn't feel that cold. The sun was out and the wind wasn't too bad. It turned out to be a pretty good day for pickleball. There were 10 of us all total today. 9 were there most of the time and then Jan showed up close to 3:30 and was able to get in 2 games. The players today were Ron, Sharon, Steve, Ralph, Lynne S., Carol, Johnny, Ken and I and then Jan came late. We've all been wondering where the heck is Mike?? Well when we got home we had an email from Mike. He's been involved in different things but he says he's coming to pickleball next week. Hope everyone has a good weekend and hope to see you next week for more pickleball.

C U on D courts.....Lynn

From left to right the group consisted of me (Lynn), Johnny, John, Sharon, Ron, Jan and Steve

This is the pickleball group of the day minus Ken. Ken was taking the picture. There were 8 of us for pickleball today. It was a little on the cool side. Some of us went to shorts but it definitely was not hot. Although I was in shorts I had gloves on my hands. We all got to play continuously and no one had to sit out for any games. We played for 3 hours and had lots of good games.

We missed Carol and Ralph today. Both were said to have been feeling under the weather. I hope they both are feeling better and can join us for our next pickleball session. We hope to play again on Friday. Hope to C U on D Courts......Lynn

Pickleball Friday 2-13-09

Wow! What a day for pickleball! It had to be about 70 degrees, the sun was out and no wind. It was great!! We had 11 players for the 3rd time in a row. The players were Ron, Sharon, Jan, Steve, Ralph, Carol, Johnny, Bob H., Lynne S., Ken and I. Carol and Johnny came back for their second time this week. They both played well. Lynne S. was back and it was good to see her. We had some really good games and everyone played well. Steve brought his pictures from his cruise that he and his wife took back in December to show. Steve really cleans up good.

The last game Steve and Ralph played Ken, Jan and I. It was crazy but fun. Ken and Jan played the base line and had to let the ball bounce before they

hit it. I played the net. Steve and Ralph beat us anyway.

I hope we can get everyone back out this week for more good pickleball games!!

C U on D courts!!! Lynn

Pickleball Tuesday 2-10-09

We had 2 new players again for pickleball today. They were Johnny and Carol and they learned to play pickleball at Ana Maria Island in Florida. They had their own paddles too. They have tennis backgrounds so they fit right in. All total we had 11 players for pickleball.......Ron, Sharon, Steve, Ralph, Joanie, Jan, John, Carol, Johnny, Ken and I. It was pretty sunny, windy and around 70 degrees. Definitely shorts and t-shirts weather. Since we only have 2 courts, 3 players would have to sit out at a time but that didn't seem to be too much of a problem. We all took turns. We hope to play again....probably on Friday. Lynn

Pickleball Friday 2-06-09

We had a beautiful day for PICKLEBALL. Sunny, slight breeze and 65 degrees. This balmy day brought out a full complement of P'ballers including two new players - David & Marj. They have both played tennis and racquetball and had no trouble getting into the game. Other players: Jan, Jan's sister Joann, Joanie, Bob H, Steve, Ralph, Mike K, Sharon and Ron. So, for a while we had eleven players. We moved players all around, and had lots of good games. It was nice playing without the 'wind-factor' for a change. We played for 2 hrs and 45 minutes.

Our next match is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Feb 10, 2009 @ Timmons.

Ron and Sharon

Pickleball Pictures from Monday Night 2-2-09

These are pictures taken in the Highland Lakes arena when we played pickleball on Monday night. We had 4 different community groups attending..... the Highland Lakes group, the Hawthorne group, the Legacy group, and 2 members of the Upstate Pickleball Group from Greenville, SC. We played pickleball on 4 courts.

Pickleball Tuesday 2-3-09

Present: Sharon, Steve and Ron. We had to clear a few puddles before we got started. With such a small group we were obliged to play Canadian Doubles, switching the player "in the hole" after each game. It was windy and cool at first at about 45 degrees. The wind continued to get stronger until a gust arrived that knocked over our chair and blew our backpack and broom across the court. We decided by a unanimous vote, that we'd call it a day. And, we did. We played one hour.
Friday looks like it will bring better weather, but we don't know about wind conditions. We'll play anyway and tough it out.
Ron & Sharon