Yuma Parks and Recreation puts on the Yuma Senior Games Tournament for pickleball in February each year. It was again hosted at Fortuna De Oro Resort. It was my first tournament last February. I wasn’t interested in playing this year, but as friends paired up either for mixed doubles, women’s doubles or both, I began thinking I would consider playing IF I could find the right partner. Looking for a stress free, positive, but competitive partnership. Enjoying the play was important. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely competitive, but to do my best, I have to be relaxed, stay calm, yet remain focused. Confident and positive vibes are a must.
Lil Husband was looking for a doubles partner. Two different people thought we would do well together. So I said I would pair up. I thought Lil lived in WestWind RV resort, but discovered she was spending this winter season in Palm Desert. We wouldn’t be able to play together till she arrived the day before the tournament. We got together for two hours on Monday afternoon – along with her mixed doubles partner. Lil is left-handed, so we both needed to figure how best to play together. Lil and I tried to stack, but it was too distracting for me. Knowing this was our only practice, we decided we would play “as normal”. We didn’t sync as we both hoped, but we’d give it our best on Wednesday.
Women’s Doubles Event CANCELLED!
Wednesday, Feb 22 had horrific winds that began as early as 3:30am. Winds of 24-29 mph were to continue throughout the entire day with gust of 35-50 mph! Parks & Recreation called everyone with the cancellation notification before we got up to get ready. It was rescheduled for the following Tuesday. Lil would not be able to make it. I wondered who else might be without a partner, and if we’d be able to pair up.
Lo and behold, I was told that Diane Plumb from Cocopah needed a partner. She normally plays with Linda Smith, but Linda would be in the Phoenix/Mesa area for another tournament. Linda told me to call her right away. So glad I did! I was honored that Di took me as her partner. We remained in the 65-69 age group. Di came over Friday afternoon for a couple hours for us to play against some other ladies. It was incredible. We synced together immediately! I have never felt like this with a partner from walking on a court for the first time together through game after game! Diane is patient and calm. She makes the most positive, encouraging, sincere comments. She is 100% amazing. I couldn’t wait to play in the tournament with her. I was psyched! It was really going to be FUN. After all, as Di says, “It’s just pickleball.”
I was happy that it was important to Di that we look like a team. She told me to pick the color. I asked if burgundy with black shorts would be OK since we just got new CVR shirts. She agreed. Little did I know she didn’t have any that color. She went to three stores to find one! We could have gone with a different color. I loved it…We definitely looked like a team with our coordinated outfits, and we played like one. 🙂
First Match – 1st Game
Game Day
Game day was awesome. Di told me she says a quick prayer right before she starts the first game. She prays for everyone’s safety. How cool is that!?! I asked her to include helping me stay calm. And she did.
Follow-up point:
Di makes a quick point down the line:
A little net love…
Nice rally for both teams:
This one is all Diane:
Di and I took turns placing the perfect crosscourt put-away shot in the following two rallies.
This match ends in the video below, but this team made their way back to the championship game to play us for Gold/Silver.
Di and I had fun games with great opponents. The wind definitely got a bit crazy for a couple of the matches. Even though we both made unforced errors, we had complete confidence in each other. We played beautifully as a team and remained undefeated, earning the Gold Medal for the 65-69 age group.
I was stoked with how well I played throughout each match. Yes, I made errors during play, including several serving errors, and a kitchen fault (which I called on myself).
Barry came and watched every match! He is most definitely my number one fan/supporter! It meant so much to me having him there. Barry took videos during most of the games. I only included a few of the many he took. Since he was not able to get close enough to video our championship match without blocking people’s view, he just watched and cheered for us.
Yeh. Congrats
Congratulations, Nancy. So glad you enjoyed playing …and winning!…with a new-to-you partner.