Life’s Lessons
from the
Pickleball Court
SUBMITTED BY RICHARD BEVEVINO
A
recent pickleball contest resulted in a much-deserved
and long-overdue lesson in humility as another retired
fellow and I got our backsides kicked TWICE by two retired
female players, Sue and Terry. My partner David, a retired
state policeman and decent player, and I, a former pickleball
round‑robin winner, received a pickleball shellacking for
foolishly underestimating the athletic ability of the opposite
sex.
After we lost the initial game to Sue and Terry, David said
to me as we were walking off the court, “Bet they can’t do that
again!” To which I replied, “You want to bet that they can’t do
that again!” Anyway, at this point, I said that I had had enough
pickleball for the day. However, David convinced me that we
should challenge the ladies again. Against my better judgment
(a.k.a. faulty), I reluctantly agreed! To make matters worse, now
all the other players were aware of what was happening and a
crowd began gathering along the sidelines to watch this titanic
rematch of the sexes.
As we approached the court for this historic event, a sense of
foreboding somehow attached itself to me. Suddenly I came up
with a brilliant idea. I said to David, “Hey, once we get ahead, no
matter what the score is, let’s declare ourselves the winners and
walk off the court.” So, once we got the lead of 3-2, we started
to walk off the court. Well, even though the crowd enjoyed that
bit of humor, the boos, taunts, laughter and other disparaging
remarks shamed us into returning to the court. Back on the
court we did manage to go ahead 6-4, but eventually lost the
game 11-6. Oh, what a comeuppance!
We touched paddles with the ladies at the net as a sign of
good sportsmanship. Since we were playing indoors, David
16
came up with a face-saving plan, which at that moment
seemed like a good idea. As we began our walk of shame off
the court, David suggested to me, “Let’s not go over to the
crowd; instead let’s go to the exit door and pretend that we are
leaving the building,” which we did. From the stairwell we could
hear uproarious laughter, jeers, whistles and other negative
comments. All of that negativity forced us to re-enter the gym
to face the grim facts of our ignominious defeat by two ladies.
I readily admit that Sue and Terry, our female adversaries,
are excellent players; they do extremely well in tournaments.
Their placements of angle shots are incredibly accurate along
with their superb reflexes at the net. In addition, their deep
shots, lobs and low returns down the middle kept us constantly
off balance. They are not big; in fact Sue is only 4'10 3/4"
which makes our debacle even more embarrassing. In the final
analysis, they were and are better than we were and are.
THERE ARE SEVERAL LIFE LESSONS TO BE
LEARNED FROM THOSE TWO PICKLE GAMES:
LIFE LESSON #1. We erroneously believed that two retired
males could defeat two retired females in a sporting event.
LIFE LESSON #2. Never assume that the female is the weaker
sex.
LIFE LESSON #3. Never take for granted that an individual
short in stature cannot compete against a taller opponent.
LIFE LESSON #4. Brute strength is no match for finesse and
proper technique in a game of skill. •
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