Mirador Courts — Let’s Play Pickleball!

Pickleball play at the new Mirador Courts is in full swing as the part-timers are heading back into town, and heading over to see and play at the new 6-court facility. As a reminder, you can buy your Annual Membership at Seaside Realty for 1500 pesos for the year (expires on September 30, 2018). Click herefor all the benefits included with your membership. And don’t forget to bring your membership card to Bonifacio’s restaurant where you will receive a 10% discount on your food and drinks.

Have a guest visiting and they want to play too? No problem – we have Day Passes available for 100 pesos per day, which can also be purchased at Seaside Realty.

As of November 10, there are 88 Annual Members, and 29 players have made use of the Day Passes.

Visit the San Carlos Pickleball Association’s website to see all that we have planned for pickleball in San Carlos.

Lessons/Clinics and Drills for Mirador Court Members

Beginner Lessons starting in November:

New to the sport or want to learn it? Then come out to our Beginner Lessons. If you don’t have a paddle, we will lend one to you. We’re offering lessons during the day and in the evenings.

Day-time lessons will take place on Tuesdays at Mirador Courts at 10:30am. Please contact T (Theresa) Melius at theresamelius23@gmail.com if you would like to take part in the lessons. Both T and Michele Monlux will be giving lessons/clinics to Beginners.

Evening lessons will take place on Tuesdays at Karen Stewart’s private court at 6:00pm. Please email stewmex@gmail.com if you would like to join an evening lesson.

Times and days may change at a later date, depending on instructor and player preferences and needs.

Intermediate / Advanced Drills with Deb:

On Wednesday mornings at 7:15am, intermediate and advanced players are invited to come to the courts and do Drills with Deb. Deb Forrester is a 4.5 USAPA ranked player with tons of pickleball experience and insight into the game. She and some of the other advanced San Carlos players will help you to improve your game by focusing on improving your skills. Open Play will follow the Drills.

Open Play

Open Play reserved times are booked for Mirador Court members to drop-in for social play. Open Play is scheduled Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 6am to 11am.There are 2 courts for Beginners, 2 courts for Intermediate and 2 courts for Advanced (3.5+ and above).

Open play is a great way to meet new friends and hone your skills. You don’t need to gather a group of friends to go play, you can just show up by yourself and get in on a game. Arrive and leave at any time during Open Play.

When you arrive at the courts, put your membership card or day pass in the court line-up system for either the Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced courts so you can get on a court and PLAY!

You can also check the calendar or court reservation system for Open Play days and times.

Ladder League

The Pickleball Ladder League is a fun way to meet and play with each other. The league is open to all members of Mirador Courts. There is no cost to play. At this time, the Ladder league will be mixed (men and women). As more players return to San Carlos, we may offer additional leagues (i.e. women’s, singles).

If possible, ladder games will be played on Thursdays at Mirador Courts. There will be a morning time slot starting at 8am and an afternoon time slot starting at 4pm. All games will be played during those times on Thursdays, unless you cannot play on Thursdays — and then just book your 4-some on a different day. If you want to play in the Ladder, please contact Darren Thompson at dgt74@yahoo.com or call 622-116-1838.

Rules:

• Each week, players will be placed in groups of 4 in the order of their ranking on the ladder for match play. The 4 players play 3 doubles games to 15 in a round robin fashion with the other three players of the foursome. Win by 1.
• Total possible points by each player each week is 45.
• Please send the score sheet to Darren asap and by Monday afternoon at the latest. Click here for the score sheet.
• Your ranking on a ladder is based upon your winning percentage (the ratio of points won to total points possible). Players will move up or down the ladder based upon their winning percentage.

Once the schedule is sent out for the week, each 4-some will need to contact each other to determine the time of the match. The first person on the list of your grouping is responsible for contacting the other 3 players to decide on the time slot. Everyone’s preference for communication is different…some of us use email, others prefer phone, or WhatsApp, or Facebook messenger. Please be patient and do your best to contact the other members of your group by trying a few of these mediums.

There will be 1 ladder match per person per week. You don’t have to be here every week to play.

If you cannot play on a specific week, please let Darren know BEFORE Monday morning of that week, as the schedule will go out each Monday.

Click here for the ladder standings and schedule.

Sunday Round Robins

All Mirador Court members are invited to join us on Sundays at 8:00am for Round Robin play. We play for 15 minutes and then rotate players and courts. It’s a great way to meet and play with new people, without worrying about your scores.

Ask the Ref

True or False? If you ask your opponents’ opinion about whether a ball was “in” or “out”, you do not have to accept that opinion.

The Answer is…..False

According to Rule 6.D.5 of the official USAPA/IFP Tournament Handbook, it states that: No player should question an opponent’s call unless asked (except that any player may appeal a call to the referee in an officiated match). A player should ask the opponent’s opinion if the opponent was in a better position to see the call. An opponent’s opinion, if requested, shall be accepted. The opinion of a player looking down the line is more likely to be accurate than one looking across the line. (Revised April 20, 2015)

To familiarize yourself with the rules of the game, click here for your copy of the IFP Official Tournament Rulebook.

Referee Clinics will be starting soon. Please email Sue at suefehrle@gmail.com if you are interested in learning how to be a referee.

Sun & Fun Round Robin – Register NOW

Sombrero Showdown – Register NOW

From Thursday, February 8 to Monday, February 12, 2018, we will host the Sombrero Showdown and Amigos Cup Tournament (formerly the Dink ‘n Sea tournament).

Pre-register now, to save your space. This tournament is for levels 3 and above, and for players over 30. Even if you don’t yet have a partner, get your name on the list and we can help you to find one that is similar in age and skill level. Email Sue at suefehrle@gmail.com if you would like to play, and she will get you pre-registered. This tournament is open to ALL pickleball players. You do not need to be a member of Mirador Courts to play in this tournament.

Note that in this tournament, you will play in the age bracket of the youngest player (i.e. if I am 52 and my partner is 35, we will play in the 30-49 year old age bracket).

And, you will play in the skill level of the higher-skilled player (i.e. if I am a 3.0 level player and my partner is 3.5, we will play in the 3.5 level division).

The dates and age brackets are as follows:
Friday, February 9, 2018: MEN’S DOUBLES  (Ages 30-49, 50-59, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+, 80+)
Saturday, February 10, 2018: MIXED DOUBLES (Ages 30-49, 50-59, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+, 80+)
Sunday, February 11, 2018: WOMEN’S DOUBLES (Ages 30-49, 50-59, 60+, 65+, 70+, 75+, 80+)
Monday, February 12, 2018: AMIGOS CUP (all players), San Carlos vs The World

The cost is $45 USD to play in all events. Payment is due by the end of December so that we can purchase the t-shirts, medals, etc.

More info and register here (scroll to the bottom to register on your own). If you have any questions, please contact Sue at 226-0462 or email suefehrle@gmail.com.

Scott will run a 3-day Intermediate and Advanced level player Boot Camp from January 8 – 10, 2018. There were 20 spots available, for players at 3.5 – 5.0 level. There are only a couple spots left.

Cost: $395 USD per person (Welcome dinner, and 1 working lunch included). You will also either need to be a member of Mirador Courts or purchase a day pass for each day of the boot camp.

Goal: Step up your game with intensive, semi-private training for 5 – 6 hours per day, focusing on every aspect of the game, guaranteed to improve your strategy, technique and understanding of the game with IPTPA certified instructor, Scott Moore. Together with a small group of other players, you will improve your mental game, shot making, shot selection, and learn new strategies and ways to become a better pickleball player, while implementing our 10 key principles of the game.

If you’d like to participate, please email Sue at info@sancarlospickleball.com.

Here’s a video of Scott on the Pickleball Channel giving tips on how to improve your forehand shot.

Check out this intense match-up where Cookie Drake & Scott Moore beat Alex Hamner & Scott Clayson in the 50+ Mixed Doubles Gold Medal Match at the 2016 Grand Canyon State Games.