Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruce3055
Michael, Usually your comments are well liked and you have a loyal following, me included.
However this time, I think you were wrong on many fronts.
First pickleball is a great game where you can play anywhere by just showing up. You don’t need to bring a group with you and you meet a lot of nice folks playing with different players. And with the Villages – it’s the world’s most friendly place.
If you want to have an exclusive 4some from 7am to 8:30am at open court time you are in the wrong place. What if there were 6 exclusive 4somes? It would tend to destroy what makes the game great for other players that just show up to play.
It sounds like you don’t even break your group up when one other person shows up to play. Do you continue as a group or let others join you?
But if you insist upon only playing with your 4some, it would be a great idea to be able to divide the line by 4, so nobody realizes what you are doing to the integrity of the game where folks can just show up and meet great people (except your exclusive 4 some).
And then you said, you are an un-rated advanced beginner. I think the beginner pickleball classes recommend you play at beginner or advanced beginner times.
But even if you play at open court time, and hopefully not where 4.0 and above tend to play, you are still wrong if you are unwilling to play with others that may challenge your game or you challenge their game.
Folks all the time, create situations where they can play one game together. Ladies do it. Men do it. Couples do it. And that is perfectly fine. But I don’t believe they are as exclusive as your described group that wants to play all morning as an exclusive group.
And folks preparing for a tournament play continuously as a 2some to prepare for the tournament. And everyone appreciates that exclusivity. (But not an exclusive 4some).
Many players are friendly enough that they will play at least one game with anyone before they start counting to 4 to not play every game with somebody out of their league – either the other person is too good a player or not.
Now as far as the infuriated man. He was wrong – he should not yell at you. And you were right not to escalate the encounter. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had somebody watching over us like at recess when we were kids. None of this would have ever happened.
And finally, you asked if what you are doing to the game by having an exclusive 4som all morning is permissible. Technically yes, but I hope it doesn’t catch on and ruin the game for most of us who just like to play and meet new friends.
I hope, in the future, you allow others to play with you at open court times.
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Some good points there, BUT....OP is not "wrong" to do it the way his group does it. It may not fit YOUR agenda, but that doesn't make it wrong.
I agree that the OP and his group might well have a richer experience by branching out and playing with other players. The "skill" designations generally apply from 10AM to noon. Other Open Play times are not skill designated, for the most part. If you do show up where the 4.0s play, they may well appreciate you having your own group so they can play their game with their similarly skilled players. It can get awkward for everybody when the single player shows up at a court generally populated by much stronger players. If you have your own group you should be able to grab a court as 4 players when a game finishes, if courts are in short supply.
If the players call for "TWO" and don't relinquish a court to a waiting 4-some they are in the wrong. I wouldn't be shocked if this happens, though.
As far as checking with the person at the desk of the rec center, what they tell you is not gospel, They will very likely pass on their opinion of how things should work as "law". It isn't necessarily backed up with knowledge or authority.