NSC Pickleball Event | May 9, 2026 | Sunnyvale Tennis Center
By Alex Kami, NSC Member
Getting close to retirement (12 Mercurian years). Golf, collecting used toothpicks, selling plasma might not be enough. Look here! Intro to pickleball (p-ball) in my hometown (Sunnyvale) with NSC friends. That’s how I got to the NSC P-ball Event on May 9th.
First and foremost, let’s give a big kudos to Tina (and Jeanne) for organizing the event! Seriously, we had 28 attendees! Reserving the courts, ensuring everyone got a chance to play, bringing equipment – these are daunting tasks, and pulled off without a hitch.
As a beginner, my perspective is a bit limited, but suffice it to say, everyone brought their A-game. Saw some of the advanced players (e.g., Lori, Lorraine, Yvonne, Jadine) holding Selkirk titanium-uranium enriched-quadruple graphite paddles and donning $2,000 pneumatic Air “P”orden shoes to give max range on the court. Fortunately, there were a good number of us whose line was, “Why does the ball have so many holes?”
The beginner group was fortunate to have John and Jeanne coach us. Especially Jeanne who patiently taught us from the ground up with upbeat support. “Great serve, Doug!” “Perfect return, McKenna!” “Sweet lob, Christie!”
My turn. First serve – an ace that would make Jannik Sinner shiver in his shoes. “Foul! You’re not supposed to serve overhand.” Next serve wasn’t as great. “Foul! You’re not supposed to bounce the ball on a serve.” Caught a line drive to the shortstop for a point. “Foul, you’re supposed to let the ball bounce on the first volley.” Ball clips the net and returned a tough underhand return – point? “Foul, you went into the kitchen!” What? If you want me to avoid the kitchen, you need to put in an island or sink so I can see it!
I kind of understood how Dreymond Green feels; did 50 pushups to atone for my sins. Putting the joking aside, hats off to Jeanne! For the beginners, the game would’ve been a lot less fun without her guidance.
With so many players, I thought I may not have as much playing time – wrong. Two factors. One – the leaders did a great job in coordinating the rotations and having people with the same abilities play together. Second – the food. As with all NSC events, we had a ton of delicious food. Even the most passionate p-baller couldn’t resist walking off the court to slam down a spam musubi or savory chow mein.
While p-ball was the focus of the event, I admired the sense of community felt with each person. Many play regularly with each other, and genuinely enjoy the company. During lunch, much of the conversation were around fun times at the Lake Chabot hike and the Collette Painted Canyons trip. Both the NSC membership and the ski program are much smaller than the past, but it’s so nice to see everyone still maintaining close relationships and common interests.
At the risk of consuming too many bytes on our website, here’s our roster in the context of baseball. Coaches: Tina W (manager), Jeanne K (pitching coach), John T (hitting coach).
SJ Giants: Christie D, McKenna D, Brenna D, Douglas H, Shari F, me.
Sacto River Cats: Tom W, Dean & Lydia S, Helen L, Denise S.
SF Giants: Mark T, Norman C, Tom S, Jadine T, Wendy L, Curtis O, Lori L, Bertie & Mike M, Yvonne W, Don W, Sally L, Corey L, Lorraine T.
