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28 | OHCC LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2020 | Racquet Club By the numbers… Tennis, pickleball and paddle tennis matches are in full swing across our 10 courts with more than 750 court reservations completed during June and nearly 1,000 completed during July. Here's what's going on in pickleball across OHCC: Getting more residents involved and playing Pickleball is a priority and the Racquet Club Board is experimenting with new program offerings since COVID-19 restrictions preclude the familiar summer-long beginner course and have also put a temporary halt to drop-in play. The new offerings target new OHCC residents and/or those new-ish to Pickleball. Matchmaker Service (mms) is a short-term trial aimed primarily at intermediate and advanced beginners – those who have played some Pickleball, know how to keep score, and have a basic understanding of the rules. Racquet Club Board representatives reserve court times in advance and create foursomes based on their self-identified skill levels. the hope is that this initial introduction to meet other Picklers parlays into more self-arranged future matches. Arranged beginner Pickleball is an initiative by Herb Livsey and Mike Hoggatt to take three newbies each and instruct them on the bare essentials of Pickleball on four consecutive Wednesdays or Saturdays on T1 A&B. Each four-week session gives 12 novice players the chance to get their Pickleball education started. The initial pool of names came from the summer class interest list and the players are selected in order of response to Club announcements. Play and learn is another new initiative designed to help advanced beginners who need a refresher on "Pickleball 101" along with the opportunity to work on specific skills and live play situations. This platform requires know-how and past Pickleball experience. Three advanced beginners will be matched up with an experienced player for a 60-minute session. Each group could decide to simply play and have the experienced player offer advice on their play, or they could choose to have the experienced player lead drills to boost skills such as the serve, returns, third shot, overheads, volleys and dinks. A big thanks to all players for adapting to new rules and requirements so that we can have fun on the courts while protecting the health and safety of our fellow residents. Our ongoing compliance will help ensure that the HOA will allow our courts to remain open for everyone. continue to use our Racquet Club website (https://ohccracquetclub.wixsite.com/racquet) which has valuable information as well as the link to our reservation system. This month, our photos highlight some creative approaches to 'open gate ball blockers…' Just in case: Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. D-fence: Mike Ball's modular fencing reduces ball chasing Catch of the day: Guy James' flexible cargo netting snares the ball Responsible recycling: many Picklers, including Ann Rike, repurpose large cardboard boxes for ball blockers