The Cauldron Paddle Season Recap #7
The Cauldron: 1.14.21
Big night at the one and only Stanwich Club. The boys took down the Wilton Y by a score of 3-1. Onto the observations.
Typically I pull into the one and only Stanwich Club pretty early to get a fire going and get my mind right (even when I am not playing, as was the case this evening). The courts were full, the fire was ablaze, full cooler of beers, bottle of Titos and all the fixings, and a fresh bin of ice for Craig. The one and only Stanwich Club - Flawless!
Apparently, the boys are focused and starting the new year with a new mentality to get out there and dominate the world. Lots of “dry January’s” out there. Pregame has morphed into playing paddle and working on the game. Pilder and Carter were battling against Curtis and Peake. Great action. While Kenny and Zach were over on court #1 in a battle of their own. Jamie was taking a lesson from Max. Good action.
Observation and advice: when Carter is done playing paddle and he walks up to you in all of his joy to say hello, don’t give him a bro slap on the back unless you are wearing a surgical glove: as of writing this recap my hand is still wet.
Court #1: Max and Tito destroyed the competition. The best part was watching Tito have so much fun. I have never seen a guy laugh so much while playing a match. I always hesitate boosting Max’s ego any more than it needs to be but it is simply unavoidable. Max was exceptional. Tito played great. Good to see the boys dominate.
Court #2: Bob Kleinert and Harry dominated as well. I need to come up with a nickname for Bob. The guy is an absolute beast. I am thinking about something like Keyser Soze! I am sure many of you have either played with Harry, played against Harry, or watched Harry. No doubt his game is legit. At times, Harry’s foot may inch slightly over the service line thus indicating something that resembles an image of a slight foot fault, but nothing ever all that egregious. On point #1 of the match, Harry serving, he hits a spinner that leaves the poor bastard on the receiving end in utter dismay. The guy calls a foot fault on Harry. The spectators watched on in what could be categorized as anxious nervousness accompanied by a bit of excitement regarding what the reaction would be. Because Harry is an absolute gentleman (and a beast) he took it like a champ and proceeded to dismantle the competition in two quick sets. Back to Keyser Soze: when the foot fault was called you would have thought the guy said something derogatory about his first born. Now that is the kind of guy you want in next to you in the fox hole. After the match, Harry told me Keyser has toned it down a bit over the past few years. As it turns out, a little while back he and Bob were playing in a match at Burning Tree and some dope had the gall to call Harry on a foot fault. On the very next point, Keyser blasted the ball at the guy, the ball hit his paddle so hard it smashed back into his face, blood everywhere. Bob, you are welcome any time.
Observation and advice: the foot fault guy had some other issues throughout the course of the ass kicking he was receiving: the boards are creaky; the lights are too dim why don’t you have LED’s?, the net isn’t tight enough, BLAH BLAH BLAH! If you are at the one and only Stanwich Club and have a complaint about the one and only Stanwich Club you shouldn’t be at the one and only Stanwich Club. See ya! Never!
Court #3: Pilder and the German Assassin Barth played together for the first time. It showed in the first losing it 6-0. However, as true champions do, they proceeded to destroy the competition in the next two sets earning the victory. These guys demonstrated what only a few great sportsmen can do: they assessed the first set, made adjustments, no egos, and then they battled bringing home the victory for the team.
Court #4: Kunsch and Craig: John and Craig, sorry to overshadow your hard fought battle. But I was saddened today when I went to the zoo to pick up the Panther for the match tonight and I learned that today was beach day for the cats.
Great battle tonight. Always fun to be with the boys.
Live to fight another day!