The Traveling Pickleburys
How do you find other bandmates to play with on vacation?
In today’s Bite Size Pickleball Newsletter:
How to find players when you’re on vacation
13-year-old Phenom Aline Morales Knocks it Out of the Park
How to Play Better Pickleball book reviews
Let’s face it, pickleball players have a one-track mind. Forget saving the shipwrecked lady who sent them a message in a bottle, we’ll send a message in a bottle back to the shipwrecked lady concerning our one-track mind.
There is a simple solution on how to find players when you travel. You don’t need a message in a bottle, you need: the Playtime Scheduler.
The playtime scheduler will connect you with players all over the world. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that players tend to overrate themselves. So if you’re a 3.5 player and you see a bunch of 4.0’s signed up to play, know that 99% of them will be at the 3.5 level, or below (true story).
Why do they overrate themselves? I’m not so sure. Maybe it makes them feel better about themselves?
I say, if you’re going to talk the talk…For me, I am somewhere between a 4.5-5.0, probably 4.75, and when I sign up as a 4.5, I usually have the locals gunning for me when I arrive. Typically, it’s hasn’t been too difficult to face a bunch of 4.0, er, 3.5 players trying to embarrass me. I am always nice about it though. But, yeah, pickleball is going to be competitive wherever you travel to play. The fun thing is learning about the local player dynamics. You’ll recognize the archetypes from those you play with: The Banger, The Hot Head, The Coach, The Nutjob, etc. Yup, the nutjob (or 5).
Here’s your direct link to the site https://playtimescheduler.com/login.php
BTW: What’s your Traveling Picklebury nickname? Mine is Erne B. Wilbury! Leave your nickname in the comments below. For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, I am referring to the super band the Traveling Wilburys, who all had nom de plumes.
I’m talking about George Harrison of the Beatles (Nelson Wilbury), Tom Petty (Charlie T. Wilbury Jr.), Bob Dylan (Lucky Wilbury), Roy Orbison (Lefty Wilbury), and ELO front man Jeff Lynne (Otis Wilbury). Super band, for sure! End of the line for this post…
Meet 13-year-old Aline Morales
Aline swept through my hometown of Santa Barbara last weekend and cleaned up at the local USA Pickleball tourney, winning the women’s 5.0 division, and the mixed 5.0. NOTE: She was playing with Santa Barbara’s super stud Jason Saltoun-Ebin in the gold medal match when their male opponent, Andy Silverstein, got injured in the second game with the score tied at 7-7. In the first game, Andy and his partner, Natalie Collins, won 11-9. But, pshaw! That’s not the story here!
The story is Aline. I think she has the total package, and if she stays on course, she has the potential to be great one day. She just needs to get a little older and grow, in terms of length and strength. Believe it or not, she’s got a pretty Zen head on her shoulders already. And she also has about the softest hands, and touch, I have ever seen.
I remember seeing her that first day of the tourney, and thinking there was a lot of tension out on the courts from the majority of women, but not from Aline. She seemed cool as a cucumber. In the Zone. 13. Take that all you hard working older pickleball peeps! :)
By day two of the tourney, Aline went from being talked about, like: “Who’s that little girl?” to “OMG! Have you seen that little girl play?”
I got to play with Aline the day after the tourney and I learned quickly I wasn’t playing with some 13-year-old kid, I was playing with someone with fire in their veins. Lookout, pickleball.
Stay tuned for a video interview I did with Aline and her awesome dad Victor that I will drop (that’s the hipster way to say it) in a couple of weeks. I’m also writing a feature about her for Pickleball Magazine.
Hey, Aline, if you’re reading this: NO PRESSURE. You got this. Just play your game, and every game, and every point as well as you can, and good things will take care of themselves! Control what you can control: Your game, and how good you can get at it. The work is never over, but you know that! I want to see you beat your hero ALW one day.
STATS: Aline is merely a 5.1 rated dupr player, with a match record of 39-11, which doesn’t include her Santa Barbara triumphs.
Her female partner, in the SB tourney, Wendy Ochoa (4.9 dupr) shared an old highlight reel of Aline that you can see below. More clips of Aline will be included in my interview with her. I am proud to say, I beat her in one vicious fire fight. Yup, I am boasting about beating a 13-year-old ONLY because, by 14, I will be burnt toast playing against her! (Insert: singeing sound)
HOW TO PLAY BETTER PICKLEBALL REVIEWS
Here are a few comments about my book How to Play Better Pickleball.
Buy the book at Amazon for $9.99 for a Kindle version, and $19.99 in paperback. You can also read the first few chapters for free to see if you like it. And why wouldn’t you? Pshaw. Erne T. Wilbury signing off for now. This record is over!