MTA vs OUTDOORS Notice

Hi Again Fellow Pickleball Players,

A short while ago I published a post concerning an issue about the MTA Wednesday night play.  Well, tonight I was made aware of this again.  In fact, since my previous post when I expressed my thoughts, the number of players skipping out of our Wednesday evening outdoor play has increased.  I have not been able to play regularly for a while due to an ongoing back problem.  But I try to keep up with things and help to keep the ball bouncing so to speak.

Tonight we had a perfect evening for outdoor play, but 12 players decided to play in the MTA gym instead of joining our group outside.  I thought that when I brought this to everyone’s attention in my earlier post, it would prompt some discussion and hopefully a resolution to the conflict. It didn’t.  I did receive a couple of comments via email.  Of the 12 players tonight 7 were regular players and 3 were occasional players, some from out-of-town and some locals. (play in MTA is invite only)

One person came to the outdoor courts only to leave when it was time to go to MTA.  Another player dropped a player to the outdoor courts and then went on to the MTA gym.  Another player who is quite involved with our group decided to play in the MTA gym instead of playing outside.

Everyone that I have talked to in the past has been very supportive of the group philosophy that we would maintain an “All Inclusive and Welcoming” playtime.   This seems to be changing for some.  Those folks might say that there was no time other than Wednesday evening and they needed time to bring up their level of play.  Well, that is contradictory to how we are operating our group.  There is plenty of other times available for players to get together for that “extra” play.  Our times have been set up hoping to give “everyone” the opportunity to play with others of all levels from beginner to advanced.  Folks should remember how they started playing and the help that they received from the more advanced players.  I have personally been told on various occasions by several players how they have learned from other folks, and were so grateful to be part of this group.

I have been at this for a long time (along with several other players) and this is the first time that I am seeing this situation arise where some members of our group have chosen to separate themselves from the rest.  Again, some might say it’s only one night and there are lots of other sessions.  Tell that to those who are only able to play in the evenings.  To me, this comes across as a selfish way to act,  there is always ways to get extra playing times without affecting what our group has set up.

If I am wrong about this let me know, maybe it’s time for  a wholesale change to the way we have been operating over the past many years.

Sincerely,

Paul