10s - Back In The Saddle

Had a good practice session Sunday wth Satish. It was my first outing since 2/11. We hit the machine a few rounds to warm up. Satish won the set 6-2. I was happy with my performance regardless of the score. There were many decent points played. Satish is playing well, especially with his serve and I still make more unforced errors when it comes down to it. I'd like to play 2 more times in March. I have nagging shoulder and elbow pain to resolve but nothing too serious. Will be working on my service game in March also. Needs a lot of consistency there.

End of the Ladder - 2/11/08

I complete my abbreviated tennis ladder with a combined (against regular, sub and 7pm match-ups) 147 - 168 record 46.7% win pct. I figured I ranked 4th or 5th out of the 8-9 regular players. Last night I avenged 2 previous losses with 4-3 wins. I was playing fairly well heading into the final match of the night against my main "rival" at 8:30 - Ramon. The winner gets to move up to the coveted 7pm ladder with my buddy Satish. After losing the first game from being up 40-15 it was all downhill. My patience was shot. My serve was robotic and stiff. He took advantage of everything I gave him. I left shots short and lofty for him to push me every where he wanted. Down the lines...in and out. I was left with a demoralizing 0-7 finish. The next day, I withdrew from the league. Anyway...it was good to face the competition over the winter and I look to refine some skills for summer play. I want to improve my serve big time. My ball machine should help me get more consistency with a lower, aggressive shot and add topspin...plus get a workout. Not sure of the summer line-up. Hopeful that Satish will continue to keep me on his tour.

On a similar note - I picked up John McEnroe's book for this summer's vacation read.

NY Giant Football: Big Blue are Super Bowl Champs!

Awesome game! Had the heart pounding. My daughter and I were jumping all over the place which made it a fun moment. food tally: 4 beers, pulled pork, sausage, salad, chips, brownie and cookies.

Ranked 3rd in Tennis League (out of 10). I was 10-11 last week against good competition. Not good enough to move up but may challenge a few more weeks to see if I can break through. Congrats. to my playing partner Satish as he beat me 3-4 and moved on to the early session with a decent 14 point night. I got my tennis ball machine from eBay last week and used it this weekend as weather cooperated. Nice machine and probably a good investment. Good workouts. It helped my stroke on Monday Night.

My girls JV basketball team is winding down the season. We started out slow, peaked a bit with a 3 game winning streak and have tailed off. My first full year as basketball coach. It was rewarding and glad to help out.

Work is getting tough again with this new project. Looking forward to spring and more tennis.