Potts is just Grateful his wife wasn't there to witness the carnage.

Another perfect paddle night hosted by Sunset Ridge. Coach Peter Berka was present and took the court for Series II. There were Rings of Fire drawn on every court! This was our first test against a strong, contending Series 5 team. For a taste of what is in store for us down the road please look at the match result of Exmoor vs. Winnetka this week. Willis and Considine took down Billy Blackwell on Court 1, 6-3, 6-0. This is a tough series, so don’t hang your heads! Any given day! There is always next week.

Sojka & Park got off to a rough start on Court 3 and lost a quick first set 3-6. Changing their strategy they went after the stronger backhand guy and got out of the box in the second with a 3-0 lead. Yes, he has a shot clock. Sojka then called into the hut for another Labatt’s. Park’s serve and volley was impeccable, even holding at 4-1 from Love-40 to go up 5-1. Sojka served it out at 5-2 and earned our first point of the night. What was gained in the second was lost in the third. The better player on the backhand stepped up with his forehand. We were down 0-3 quick. But, we crawled our way back in with steady serving from Park and tied it at 4-4 giving us the Mo! Several break points from going up 5-4, some drives hit the tape, a returned volley caught the back of the line, and the home team held serve. That was all the lift they needed to swing things in their favor. They took the third 6-4. A well fought match.

On court 4 Walker & Power gave it all they had but could not hold the lead they earned. Every point was a battle. Losing the first in a tiebreak and the second 4-6. Walker even used the left hand for a point, but the home court advantage was too tough. Great, long, and scrappy paddle points. This match lasted a bit longer than the 3-setter on court 3. Just not enough points ending in our favor. The crowd gathered for the final two matches of the night.

Everybody wanting a piece of Don Warner’s son Matt who says he is Peter’s protégé at Sunset. Doesn’t quite play like Peter though! Talk about a shot clock, this guy has a short one! Marty stopped by and saw the first matches. One thing he noticed about our Series play is that not enough overheads go into the side screens first. We can improve this. Sliding over toward the correct side as a team so the guy hitting the overhead cross court is closer to the T and the side screen he is aiming at. His partner should be at the net guarding the line and positioned in the alley. Better awareness and decision making. Taking the ball out of the air a bit lower to change the bounce angle. And, it protects the Ring of Fire. All this will help us. On Court 1 Chad & Ryan came out on fire. Building a 4-2 lead everything looked great. That’s when it all went wrong. All of a sudden it was 5-5, then 5-6, then 5-7. It happens a lot in paddle. Lots of momentum changes. The little things make big differences. I think they played the wrong guy. Warner’s partner entered the night undefeated and that’s how he left it. Not flashy but gets the job done. Warner, on the other hand, is all flash. I think Marty’s tip here on the side screens would really have helped us here. Live and Learn. Always pick on the inexperienced player until you find his weakness. Take his confidence away. He will always have a weakness. Wait a second, I think I’m being too hard on our Court 1 stars who are still .500. It’s tough at the top. Remember….Any given day!

On Court 2 Radek & Andrew were in another fight against some hard hitters. One of the best fought matches of the season. 6-7, 7-6. Down 2-5 in the third we never gave up and stole it from them 7-5. Not only does Radek have a backhand, his forehand caught a piece of neck flesh and earned some stares. Andrew did his job solid on the backhand and he was creating points for the team. Really well done. We need those points. So GE goes down this week 4-10. No big deal. The best team Saddle & Cycle is next. Coach will probably shake some things up in the lineup.

GE vs. Saddle and Cycle. The nights are getting colder and so is our good fortune. Upon arrival I could tell we had inconvenienced their rank and file by being a bit late. Radek & Andrew ran to the court upon arrival and quickly dug a hole. Just when they were figuring things out, the match ended 6-3, 6-4. Their team was strong and had some experience with Series 1 matches.

Meanwhile, Chad was in a cab 10 minutes away, but they would not wait for us. So, Dell & Sojka took on their Court 2 team. Too tough…they fell 1-6, 4-6.

Fresh from Paddle Certification “Pro Chad” & Ryan were paired up again on Court 3. The smell of worn rubber in the air, Ryan left it all out there. Quite pissed to lose the first set in a tiebreak, they did not hang their heads and took the second 6-3. Key to remember, when you can get a good team to a third set they are vulnerable. They can feel it slipping away and that’s a good time to bury ‘em 7-5 in the third. Well done! Way to bring that forehand Ryan! Chad, you da Man Pro!

The match of the night goes to Park & Power who are two of our most improved players and it showed. With all watching, they rallied back from a 1-6 first set and stormed the second 6-1. Up 5-3 in the third, we had em! But, any given night it can happen. They held serve to make it 5-4. We struggled to close out and it fell from our hands 5-7. The good news is we kept hitting our shots and never let up. That’s all a captain can ask for. There will be other nights when all those serves will go in. Yeah, we would have liked to have 3 pts but we’ll settle for 1.

How many bloody partners does this Power guy have?

quote:

Originally posted by Clamato:
How many bloody partners does this Power guy have?

Awfully personal question, no? But if I were you I'd take the under on any number thrown out there.

quote:

How many bloody partners does this Power guy have?

Oh my gosh...your even beginning to sound like a paddle ball player.

Tuesday 11/13 at Indian Hill CC in Winnetka.

This club was the basis and original site for the Murray brother’s Caddyshack movie. They actually caddied there in their youths. After two tough weeks in a row, we were in need of a pick-me-up match. This was the one!

We were expecting points from all courts. Courts 2, 3, and 4 got underway at 7. Another warm night and a lot of drives will go out if you can recognize them. Uh oh, Sojka and Snyder look tight! Uh oh, Dell & Walker look tighter! In 15 minutes, team GE has dropped 1 set on each court. But, Park & Power are serving great and rolling on court 4. After a little altercation on Court 2 over some heads-up coaching advice, Sojka & Snyder come out of the blocks in the second and hold serve. Indian Hill looks shaken. They are and we take the second set easily.

But, on Court 3, Dell & Walker are dismantling themselves quickly. Maybe Walker is overwhelmed with all these memories and past friends resurfacing from his youth? This guy has been nominated as GE’s most popular paddle member! Not to mention they are getting sliced and diced by one of the North Shore’s premier plastic surgeons. I heard Dell asking him after the match if there was any quick way to make him look more like Chad? No….How about Marty? Not likely! On a good note, after the match was over Court 3 did rally back and take the third! GE down 0-3.

Power appears to be the golden ticket for Park. They continue to play well together. Another strong serving performance. Park is on the board. Power wants more grit on his paddle. He is addicted to more spin! Great Job guys! GE evens it all up at 3-3.

Now, Sojka and Ryan are having their way with these Indian Hill boys. All this being done and Sojka has not had a beer yet? And Ryan is bringing his forehand? At half his normal speed? Go figure! The second and third sets were played with a lot of confidence and they let a lot of the drives go out! GE takes it and now we are up 6-4.

Radek and Andrew get underway on Court 1 seeking revenge from a quick loss last week. Not even close. How can Radek enjoy a beer if he didn’t sweat to earn it? The opponents were blown off the court in 30 minutes at 2 and 1? Looking very strong and confident also! After much lobbying, it was decided that Andrew-Dell-Radek would be our new Court 1. Dell would get the Ring of Fire and be surrounded by two pros. Who would want to play against that let alone be on the same court? Not to worry, we have 2 weeks to figure it all out and go after the Exmoor boys. Does Power have any magic left to get Dell on the board? What about a Dell/Chad pairing? Lots of possibilities. Most of all it was a very fun night for GE. 9-4!!!

Exmoor went down like a ton of bricks...12-2 to a "powerful" GE lineup. In court 4 Sojka and Dillman steamrolled their opponents in straight sets. Kudos to Dillman for filling in for a late-scratching Walker who is still licking his Tiger inflicted Jayhawks wounds from the weekend. Dillman was just happy he keeps his full paddle attire and equipment in the car.

Power and Park stumbled out of the blocks on Court 3 and lost 6-2 in the first set. Park was all over Power's failure to be in the right position on the court. The pair pulled it together and took the next two sets 6-3, 6-3 for their second straight victory and Power's first foray off of Court 4.

On court 2 Dell finally got off the snide and with a big help from Cummins and won in straig sets. Dell sported some ugly glasses, but whatever it takes for a win. Chad was fresh off 5 rounds of golf in South Carolina, so it took him a little time to get used to Paddle With Dell.

On court 1, young Suarez and Radek (a combined age of 53) took on two elder opponents, neither of which appeared to be under 60. The young guns were cocky and got a beatdown in the first set. The old guys had game, but not much stamina, so when it went to a third set the oxygen cart was brought out to the court. Seeing their weakness Suarez and Radek ran the guys all over the court and took the third set and the match.

Next week Hinsdale!

Home or away?

There are NO home games for GE. We are simply privileged to be part of the league and are VERY GU.

KLM?

What day and time. I'm going.

quote:

Originally posted by Clamato:
KLM?

What day and time. I'm going.

KLM? Are you going to fly there? 7 pm on Tuesday, December 4, 2007.

Katherine Legge Memorial

Glen Ellyn emerged from the snow and fog taking all 4 courts (and 2 cases) from Hinsdale PD2 despite the wintry conditions. We are 2 pts away from Hinsdale PD1 and 3rd place! We play them next week and that marks the half way point of the season. 10 matches left until the playoffs.

The courts were wet. The heaters had trouble keeping up and generated lots of fog. The snow fell all night with very little wind. Visibility was tough to say the least. Another great night for paddle!

The Glen Ellyn men have come a long way in a short time. It’s all coming together. Everyone is contributing (speaking of that…I’ll be collecting dues this month…40/man for those that have played). We looked good last night.

Honorable Mention goes to Larry Page for filling in at the last moment and earning 3 pts for the team on Court 4. 6-4, 2-6, 6-3! Great play and coaching from Ryan all night! Pagey followed Ryan’s instructions for the most part. He’s still searching for “His Left” and also “His Other Left”. I think he may have found both in his bottomless cooler! Ryan played some of the best paddle of the night.

Park & Power kept things rolling on Court 3, aka the Fog Bowl. Serves were skipping off the wet deck and gave us a big advantage here. Once in a while Park would emerge from the fog with a big grin. They literally could not see the server at times while on the return. P&P have figured things out real well and look tougher each week. 7-6, 6-3. 3 more points.

Radek & Andrew played in Fog Bowl 2 on Court 1. Coming off a weekend siesta in Riviera Maya, Radek was Mr. Relaxed. Just to make things interesting we let them take the first set in a tie breaker. 6-7. No more Mr Nice Guy says Andrew. We came right back in the second 6-2. Radek got all the serve practice he needed, figuring if you fault every other serve you can get 30-35 serves in a game. Searching for that perfect cutter and wanting to get his money’s worth for the long drive to Hinsdale. Back on form they take a quick third set 6-2 and make sure the Hinsdale Duo continue their winless streak. 3 more points. Next week will be a tough test for whoever gets on Court 1 as Hinsdale PD1 Court 1 remains unbeaten. Any takers?

Finishing up the night, Chad & Jeff scored early and often. Chad, coming back from Charleston, didn’t take long to find his form controlling points from the backhand side. Congrats to Chad for becoming the first Glen Ellyn APTA Certified Pro! Jeff played a consistent role adding offense here and there and mixing things up well. This team looked unbeatable and the match wasn’t close. 6-2, 6-2.

Glen Ellyn wins 12-2. We are moving up! Well done everybody.

Hey 2007 SS lxi, why can't Glen Ellyn wrestle some of its finer player/residents (three that I can see) away from Hinsdale and have them play in our own town? Are there not enough players at that level to field a full team?

Most are entrenched in the system over there and there is not yet enough interest in platform around here to field more teams in the different series. Also, the facilities here...well they just plain suck compared to Hinsdale (and every other team in the league, but to be fair, only Hinsdale and Winnetka are PD teams, the rest are CC's.)

quote:

Originally posted by 2000 SS lxi:
Also, the facilities here...well they just plain suck compared to Hinsdale (and every other team in the league, but to be fair, only Hinsdale and Winnetka are PD teams, the rest are CC's.)

Given the courts' relatively young age, why is it that they are lacking in comparison to others' 2000 SS lxi? Did our PD purchase an inferior product, is it the location, a maintenance/upkeep issue, all/none of the above or something else?

I would guess the lack of a warming hut is a big issue. That and the fact that they installed them in the wrong direction....north and south versus east and west. And who on the North Shore wants to drive to GE? No one, that's who.

I think Clam is right. The courts are fine, but they should have been built in the other direction and they could benefit from a little more protection from the wind, but those are really picayune complaints.

The biggest problem is the lack of a permanent warming/viewing hut, two more courts, and not enough promotion of the sport. Given time I think they'll get these taken care of. BTW...who is 2000 SS lxi? Sounds like someone we should all get to know!