Yep….it’s true, I’m getting pickled. Its an actual term that is used in pickleball. If your playing a game and you don’t score any points it means you’ve been pickled.

If you read my previous blog post (which was way too long ago), you would know that I’ve taken up the game of pickleball. Like many things I do, I have probably gone a little bit overboard as I find myself trying to find ways to get exercise post shoulder surgery. I may have said this previously but its a bit of the wild west out there in terms of finding actual places to play.

There are not that many “clubs” in Toronto so you find yourself scrambling a little bit to find good games. I did find a group that plays Monday and Wednesday mornings at nearby Ramsden Park. They have a permit to play on the outdoor hockey pad and they setup five nets for play. They bring out a board in which you write your name in a quadrant in a certain colour to signify your level. Of course the levels do mix but generally what it means is that you try to match up levels to ensure that everyone gets a good game. There was a small cost to join the group and this covers the insurance and cost to get the city permits. The people are very friendly and I quite enjoy it. I more often than not get very good games and yes, it does involve a lot of skill.

Pickleball has a few types of rating systems. There is offical system that is used for tournament play and it ranks you against other players. If you don’t play tournaments (me) then you usually self-rate yourself. I have put myself down as a 3.75 in the Playtime Scheduling app. This puts me in the top third of the group and I have seen a quick increase in my level of play recently. Having a background in other racket sports is generally a plus but you also need to get rid of some of those bad habits.

There is another group that plays on Saturday and Sunday mornings and I have played a few times with them but it is a bit too large and the mix of players often leads to frequent weaker games and a lot of standing around. There can be as many as 60 players sign up and it’s up to the players to bring their own nets.

I have also managed to get into an organized event with the East Toronto Pickleball group that plays at Kew Gardens on Friday mornings. I made the mistake of ranking myself as a 3.25 when I joined and it took awhile to get my ranking changed. But the games are pretty good and it’s a nice setting to play.

As the summer begins to wind down I’m looking into potential indoor options. The two clubs that seem to pop up are Mayfair and a new facility called the “Jar.” I dropped in the Jar recently and had a tour to check it out. They currently have 4 courts with supposed plans to add four more courts next year. At the moment the membership is full, so I put myself on the wait-list. One thing I’ve learned when discussing pickleball with others is there is a divide in what people are willing to pay. I’ve mentioned the Jar or Mayfair in passing and sometimes I get …”oh thats expensive.” If only they knew what I pay to play at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club.

The early beginnings of the sport clearly attracted an older demographic and often came with a somewhat low cost. Think public parks and indoor gyms. In the USA there are numerous indoor facilities opening which would be similar to indoor tennis clubs here with amenities you would expect but with a price tag that comes with it. Anyways, it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out.

Before I forget, how about those linecalls? I am truly amazed how bad the line calls are in pickleball. If it’s on the line literally everyone calls it out. Drives me crazy.

One of my old colleagues sent me a few paddles (not rackets) and I’ve been alternating them when I play. They are vey light compared to tennis rackets so I have added some lead tape to increase the stability and sweet spot on the paddles.

I have to admit I don’t notice the difference as easily as I do with a tennis racket however I do detect that the 13 inch is a bit more powerful while the 16 inch has a bit more control. They are both great paddles and it’s nice to see my old company finally waking up and taking the sport seriously. Hopefully they aren’t too late.

So……what about tennis you ask? I manged to play for 35 minutes recently and it went ….okay. Nothing outstanding but I was able to hit some groudstrokes. No chance on serving though. I tried to hit a serve and I simply could not do it. I’m not sure exactly what to think? I am trying not to be discouraged as I’m only at 10 months in terms of recovery, so I guess I have to be more patient. I am going to try to hit once a week and try to gain some strength back slowly. Some people tell me that don’t worry you can serve underhand but I’m not sure if that is something I would do. Who knows? Have to wait and see.

Up to now, I’m been donating my monthly fees to the tennis club and as time moves on I find myself slipping away a little bit. The few times I’ve been there I didn’t recognize a lot of the people. There are a lot of new members.

I don’t know them and since I have not been able to play you fall out of your old regular groups. I did write a few blog posts back in the fall about all of the problems at the club and I deleted them shortly after finishing them. Anyways, there seems to be a lot of angry people and it’s not the same place that I remember.

It would be a miss if I didn’t manage to include any references to pizza. The daughter (aka the kid) and I made a week night visit recently to Bar Sugo. Outstanding and in my top five. No reservations so be prepared to wait. We grabbed a few seats at the bar - which is one of my favorite spots. You get a great view of the action and the bartender is usually willing to give you the scoop on what is going on.

I am still working part-time and I am managing to keep myself fairly busy and finally content with not working full time anymore. It’s taken too long to get past all of the emotions of ending a big part of your life. But, I am good and besides the ongoing health issues, I’m in a good place.

Sorry for the time to write this and I’m going to try to catch up and get back to posting more regularly. Thanks for listening.