Racquetball

Just Really Tired...

Jackie Tilton — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 14:49:12 GMT

We had a racquetball tournament this weekend. It was a really great tournament. The OC Stop even though it was a Pro Stop, was probably the best I have ever been too. They did a fantastic job keeping the Amateurs on time, and had an excellent spread of hospitality. Awesome all round.

I made it to the finals in both my events. Unfortunately in my singles it was played at 8:00 a.m. I had slept really crappy the night before, as we got home at midnight. I ate a bannnana and laid out my head bands to dry as there was no time to wash, and drank some water before bed. Finally laid down at around 1 a.m., however I was at that point where I was so tired I couldn't fall asleep. So I fell asleep probably around 1:30-1:45. Ian came over and woke me up at 5 a.m. to get into bed, then I of course had to use the restroom, so that woke me up a bit. Woke up at seven and could hardly move. I didn't have time to eat breakfast, and couldn't take medicine for the soreness on an empty tummy. That was a HUGE mistake. I lost pretty easily, 0, and 5. I actually apologized for not showing up in a better state, and said it was a pretty lously finals match. She was pretty understanding. We've played each other before, and its always been close so she knew I wasn't my normal self, and said "I kept wondering when you were going to wake up" . . . great...

I went home and ate, and toke some Bayer back and body pain relief medicine. OMG WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE. Every thing was fine after that. I went back to play my Mixed A/B Doubles finals match, and we won in the tie breaker! It was a lot of fun.

In other news, I made my first weight goal mark. I'm at 210. I hate posting that, but...it'll get better. It's only taken me three weeks to lose 10 pounds, not sure if thats good or not lol. I think the mark is 2 pounds per week is what you aim at, so I'm a little ahead if thats the case.

I have started a technique Brenda K used and thats not eating after 6:30. This is a hell of a lot harder than it sounds. I get the munchies. I like snacks. But I have been trying to not eat, but instead drink plenty of liquids.

I'm definately stiff and sore today. I was thinking of going to the gym, but god, I think I'll just walk it off around the house and tidy up because the babysitters this weekend definately let it get trashed lol. So I'll get my exercise in that way, and perhaps a mid afternoon trip to the park. Of course it is a bit chili out so we'll see on that. The kids are miserable ...okay I'm miserable too if it gets too cold.

But it was a fun weekend. It was nice of Willie brother to come down and watch the kids...I had a lot of fun.

I wish they'd stay out of my bed....

Jackie Tilton — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:39:56 GMT

I know I've mentioned before that for various reasons Ian and Lexi sleep in our room. It's getting a little annoying though as of lately, because they keep climbing up into our bed. Ian has gotten so good at it I dont even know he's there until my arm is asleep from his big ol' head lying on it.

Lexi still has to ask for help up,. . with her I should escort her back to her bed, but I cave cause I see those big little eyes of hers just wanting to cuddle and I cave lol. But then it gets irritating. Willie is a total bed hog, and he *thinks* hes on his side, but he's borderline his side/middle of the bed. I need to get a picture so you can see just how little space I have when the two kiddos join us.

And then inevediably (trying to use a word I can't spell), they wake up at like 7:00 a.m. just because they are tired of getting the bruises they are getting from kicking eachother.....sigh

Willie of course is always the one who gets to sleep in. I think I can count on three fingers since my birthday (which I still got up with them lol) how many times I've gotten to stay in bed. It's also cause he tends to let them make such a fuss that when he gets up I'm wide awake laying there thinking. . whats the point.

So. Willie has his pro qualifier tonight against John Ellis. I'm excited to see this matchup. Should be a good match..if Willie shows up. I dont play until Friday. I hate it when they combine divisions I'd much rather them just let us do round robin with our respective entrants. Combining c/d doesn't make much sense...

I played in my League on Tuesday. First time since before Christmas. I felt like a fish out of water. My court senses were totally off. Played like crap. Wasn't one of those "great racquetball" nights I've been bragging about thats for sure. I tried to keep myself on court five out of everyones view lol.

My shots werent that bad but its like I had forgotten how the ball bounces. I can only imagine how awful it will be at Los Cab when I'm on cement walls which is something I'm just not used to. The ball IMO seems ot be a little slower on those kind of courts so hopefully that'll help lol

Jackie

US Open Recap

Jackie Tilton — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 14:33:03 GMT

I really wanted to get on here day by day and write up recaps for those who couldn't be there and etc, BUT with Ian and Lexi I found my time at the club to be very limited. This year was a lot easier than last year for a variety of factors. One, Lexi is older. We are no longer nursing, she's actually the correct age to use the childrens center, and the amount of time she can watch racquetball sitting down in a chair has gone up from 1 minute to 3 ha. Two, the childrens center didn't charge us like last year. We were able to put the kids in the center for 3 hours at a time, then we had to pay. We only left them in their long enough to have to pay once, and that was mostly cause they both fell asleep in there. Third, we hired a great, trustworthy individual to babysit. Mandy from the Media staff who wasn't helping this year, stepped up to the plate when I inquired about anyone she might know in Memphis who could use the extra Holiday cash. At first she had to bow out as a family emergency had arisen, but then, she informed us she would in fact be able to cover Friday and Saturday! YES!

Tuesday: Well, Willie thought we could leave around 5:30 a.m. to get to the airport by 6:00 (the cut off time for checking in our bags and essentially making the flight). Well Willie forgot to count on the o'so unpredictable element of California traffic. Brian P's mom dropped him off, we took care of a few last minute things, and were out the door. Traffic that early, whose ever heard of that?? Not Brian the California Native who informed us he had never seen it this bad that early in the a.m.! So needless to say, we made it there at 6:15, and they wouldn't let us check our bags. They were extremely unhelpful, and unknowledgable. This Man at the counter wanted us to check in for our flight, I told him I'd go get our bags and he said "I can't take your bags now thats a security violation." HUUUH?? You check in for your flight, but dont check your bags in, are you kidding me?? So somehow Willie ended up working with a woman who get us all checked in for our Standby flight at 12:41.

We hung out at Brian P's house until it was time to leave. He made us a nice breakfast and the kids got to run around and play with the toys that they have for Mr. and Mrs. P's Grandchildren. We made sure to get to the airport extra early, and left around 10:00 a.m. Made it to the airport, got to our gate, and sat for two hours lol. We were really sweating whether we'd make this flight. Flying standby isn't exactly the most ideal situation with the two kids because if we dont make that flight, we have to wait longer. I went to the bathroom as it would be my last chance if we did in fact make this flight, and when I came back, Willie had boarding passes. I *seriously* almost cried. I was so frustrated at having the kids in the airport, so EXHAUSTED from staying up until 2 a.m. the night before with the kids, and waking up at 4:15. Just physically and mentally beat down, and this was the last thing I wanted was to not get on that flight. So the day was perking up again!

The bad thing about Willie missing the flight was he didn't get to play in the St. Jude Pro Am Doubles. Something I've wanted to do for years, but the 300 price tag for us every year is too high. I was very excited that Willie would get to play (gulp of envy lol), and was just as bummed that he wouldn't. We also missed our Corky's MNP party, and unfortunately never rescheduled. Another year of never getting around to that, BUT, there were about 10 (I think) individuals who did make it to the MNP gathering. I know quite a few individuals who wanted to be there but were in similiar situations with their flights.

We get to the club and begin to set up. I was actually pretty proud of myself with my limited computer knowledge, when I was able to find out that the machines Doug had gathered for us DID NOT have a firewire port. What did this mean? It meant that we would be stuck using the web cam all week long, unless someone else donated a laptop, etc. Our laptop also doesn't have one. We were counting on the computers. This realy stunk. EVERY SINGLE YEAR, we improve upon the last year. We had Radio for three years before we had the still shot live picture from the web cam, then the next year we had live video streaming for the FIRST TIME EVER at any racquetball event (2005). That was such a huge success. Doug Ganim even told us at the Staff party that for the after watching the US Open on our stream, "Suday was getting a gym membership." So I'd like to think our stream had something to do with him coming back. We had just let him watch his favorite tournament live..

No such luck this year presenting it in HD. That was Willies hopes. We also had hoped to be able to get cameras at every one of the back courts, but that didn't happen either, score boards at each court was another wishful thought as you would need volunteers to do that...(note to self, the refs could do it.). But, theirs always next year. Needless to say, we had high hopes, and this little set back was going to be the first of many.

Wednesday:
Everything at the club was getting started. Willie had a round of 64 match at 8:40 p.m., against who I believe was someone with the last name Herrera. I didnt start until Thursday.

The matches were pretty fun to watch, but nothing too exciting happened IMO. The best part of Wednesday was getting to meet some new MNP faces. I met Jeff (prbofficer), which yes I know, I already knew him, but he was eager and ready and willing to help out in any way that he could, and truly made good on his "let me know if I can help" that he offered to us before the tournament started. I also met PaulK, and he was eager to get us our lobster lol. I met Guvner (I know I buchered that screen name lol) and his lovely wife. Bryan Shaw, you punk. I know you were there, and you sat in your little spot on the bleachers and laughed at us as we tried to find you lol. And never said hi. I'll get you next time! A familiar face at the lawler sports booth with Manny always there. And Penn who I met at the staff meeting just last night. OH, Elaine, I met Elaine. Elaine was very sweet!, and very nice to talk to. I know I'm forgetting people, but you get the idea.

Willies match went very well. I think he won in three if I can remember right. That fed him into Ruben Gonazales the next day.

Thursday:
My match was at 11:00 a.m. Willies was at 12:30. I went to my match which was at the Baptist Rec Center, with the Racquetball bag. They were running a 45 minutes behind. A leak on one of the courts kept it from being played on so instead of 4 courts, they were down to three. No biggie..at least I thought. I get off on a good foot in my first match. I am up 10-2. Then, what happens in my usual fashion I lose. GREAT! Second game comes up. In the 2 minute time out I have had a chance to pin down exactly what my problem is. I'm nervous, want to play well, and instead I'm "show boating". Only this time, I'm doing it without actually doing it. For me, show boating is when I play but I'm hitting the ball as hard as I possibly can. This just leads to shots not going where they are supposed to. I also tend to over run, and not think. So before game two starts I have a good idea of what I need to do.

I calm down, and I ease up on my swing quite a bit. I start hitting the shots a lot better. She however has a lot of confidence from the first game now, and it ends up being quite close again. But I squeek it out to head into the tie breaker. This is when I get a call from Willie. "you on your way?". No why? "you have the gear". OMG. I didn't even think of it when I left that morning. I surely thought that my match would be a distant memory when Willie started his. I spend the entire tie breaker looking out the window of the court trying to see anyone headed for the exit that could possibly take the bag back to Willie. I feel so dumb. Willie tells me to play and not worry about it, but thats all I could think of . I loose 11-5. I run out of the club. Call Willie and he's like "oh well I just told them to put me on as late as possible, the Ektelon booth gave me some gear, I'm good, dont worry, how's your match going." eerrr uhhh. its done, I lost miserably lol

Willies match vs. Ruben. Man, how amazing is Ruben. He can still ball with the best of them. It was an absolute honor for Willie to be on the court with him. It was an honor for me as well. Class all the way. Willing to overturn decisions if when he asks the crowd they dont agree with the Ref (Willie did a few of those as well - why dont those refs stand up??). Willie lost in three, but PRBOfficer Jeff and I have Willie as the victor in the third game when at 10-9 Willie on the forehand side makes a beautiful splat get. The Ref called it a skip. The whole crowd went nuts. I will be looking at the tape later to see if it did in fact skip or not. I still say no. Ruben went up to serve and there were several side outs before ruben went on to win 12-10. Willie made some FANTASTIC...oh wait, fantastic shouldn't be caps here, DIVES. Yes DIVES. Not his usual fall down like a tree gets, but actual DIVES (sorry I still can't belive it). He played very well, and after the first game came off the court and said "He has to have talked to someone. He knows my game perfectly. Who talked to him?!". I laughed, and said "hon he's been doing this a long time, he probably knows EVERYONES game." lol

With Willie being out, he now had a green light to the beer lol. He hung out with Chuck that night and filmed some of the short ball or whatever competition they had going on. Then headed to the fox and the hound. I instinctively slept in the other bed, cause I knew he would come back all stinky like smoke, which was a good idea, cause he also decided to have a cigar lol.

Friday:
Our Video feed was really having problems. Despite having a dedicated server, there are still rules to what we can use the server for. Video Streaming is NO NO. We have always done it anyway, well the problem became that our one server couldn't handle it. People were complaigning that it was always buffering, the screen was too small, and yada yada yada. It was just not expected. The previous year we only had it up for Saturday and Sunday. Well give the people an inch they'll take a mile, now they expect it all week. Because last year it was only two days, the amount of individuals who even knew about it was considerably smaller. This year everyone knows about it, and wants it, and we just weren't prepared for the kind of response. When we approached Doug about throwing some money our way to get another server for the weekend, he said no. So, what could we do? We just got to sit back and take the heat., because it all comes our direction because individuals dont know what is actually going on. . oh well.

Then the complaint came about the score board. Also a new feature that we unveiled at last years event, and another feature we only used last year for the quarters on I believe. Well, again, we want it all week long. Willie had it up Friday, but not before someone could complain.

The pictures and the articles. Well it was of absolutely no surprise when Willie tells everyone where to put the articles, and pictures so we dont have to go digging around the network to find new articles, and it was of absolutely no surprise when just like the years past, it didn't happen. This is true mostly for the articles, as we usually dont get all the photos that Geoff takes up until the next week, he takes A LOT of pictures, and it requries time to edit/etc. Again, this part of the "lack of coverage" is not our fault, but sure, lay it on us anyway.

I had to write a final article to put up on the home page about who won. I'm sure that this week or next week we will have our usual email correspondance between Doug and the others about how to get the pictures/articles online lol. It happens every year.

Not much new on the courts. The usual suspects on the mens and womens side advanced. However, Angela Grisar had a very tough time defeating her Japanese opponent. The Japanese connection sure is throwing some great players into the IRT, and WPRO. Its really great to see the tours becoming truly international. IMO, its just those type of things like that that might get the sport into the Olympics. I'm sure I'm missing some matches here, but I'm also sure several trips to the kids club are part of that reason lol

Friday was also the day that Jack Huczek defeated Cliff Swain. This was a very emotional match for a lot of people in the stands. Cliff has decided to retire from racquetball, and his family was even there to support him throughout this tournament. Willie and I watched the last few rallies together and though Cliff went down in three, I told Willie I was really wanting him to pull out a win and take the event. "I'm kind of choked up" I said, and Willie, who was already at choked up said "Yeah me too" as we listened to cliff giving his final words and tossed a signed racquetball out into the crowds, and one specifically to his mom.

Saturday:
What a fantastic day for Racquetball. It started nice and early with the women. Cheryl Gudinas vs. Kerri Wachtel. Honestly, despite how she's been playing the tour so far this season, I expected it to be a quick 3 game match. WOW was I wrong. Kerri looks Freaking awesome after giving birth to twins. I seriously hate her. In a good way :) And she just has not missed a beat in her racquetball game. Cheryl was visiably frustrated at her play at times, and Kerri remained calm and cool the entire time. It was a great pleasure to watch these two players compete, as they are both so accomplished.

I had to go back to the room for the mens match, but considering the turn of events that later followed, I was glad I decided to sit this one out. Willie called me and asked if I wanted to watch the Kyzer Van Hees match, and I was sooo glad he asked, cause I was SOOOO bummed I was going to miss it. I left for the club, and was super duper stoaked getting to watch Brenda.

I have seen her tearing it up on the draw sheets of the events this year, and I've heard the rumor of her weight loss and how it helped her play. I'm telling you, she's freakin awesome! I know she lost, but I also knew it was because of first time stadium court WOW jitters! I even said on the radio during the third match, if this Brenda had shown up in the first game instead of the third, we'd be in for a huge difference. DESPITE the loss, this woman is awesome. You could see the potential just spewing out of her lol. With a great "hit me" mentality, though I'm not sure she really felt htat way after the fourth time Christie hit her, she covered the court extremely well, played very close to Christie, and ...well I'm sounding stupid now, so ill just leave it at: Watch out for this one.

Saturday also had what I felt to be an epic occurance. Yeah yeah yeah, the play was great between Mannino and Huczek with something like 96 dives from Jason. But Willie and I have been at this event for the last six years, and I have NEVER EVER NEVER EVER seen the crowd get this pumped, and this involved. They at times had their clear cut favorites, but I'll tell you what they wanted, they wanted a five game 12-10 finish, and thats exactly what their cheering and rallying got them. Jason bantered with the crowd quite a bit in the first match, I think he seriously got into Jacks head, but the second game he was all business. Jack was able to over come the bantering and was able to take game two. I'm not even going to get into the play because the crowd is what stole show.

They cheered for whoever was down. When it was time for Jason to get the third game, they all came together and cheered Jack into his victory. That last give gamer though, they seriously went so many different directions. Royster was on the podium swinging his coat around, Jason was raising and lowering his hands to get the crowd to cheer, it was absolute pandemonium (sp?). Fantastic. I can't say that the level of play exceded the sudsy and jason match that went down in history, but the crowd. . wow the crowd.

Sunday:
In the Kyzer Van Hees match, you didn't get to see too much of a glimpse of the Christie that was definately there. I of course had on my fan goggles for Brenda, and knew she was nervous. She definately turned it up in the third game, but I believe that the same Kristie was there Saturday and Sunday again vs. Cheryl. (BTW, Brenda did better against her than Cheryl lol). Now Cheryl is nothing short of amazing herself, but I can't even go on to describe what happened here. It was ultimate innialation. That's all I can really say to describe it. Christie went down in History as the first woman to win three times. She credited Cheryl for being the one to do everything first, and was happy she was finally able to get to something before Cheryl could.

Mannino vs. Rocky. Again, the crowd really was involved in this match, and started cheering for four games. Jason didn't deliver lol. He finished this out in 3. I got the impression the first two games that Rocky was somewhat taking it easy, light hearted this is for fun mentality. He came back into the third game and was totally serious, but it was too late. Jason was not letting this guy into the elite club. Elite because only four names are on that trophy. Sudsy, Cliff, Kane and Jason. Jason also joined the elite group of 2 time champions.

OMG. I failed to mention that Friday and Saturday we used our great babysitter lol. I was so into the racquetball recap I forgot to Mention how I was able to go to the party with the pros, and then the fox and the hound (where I was the mint bitch lol) and watch the way into it dancer try to give herself a concusion lol. Then Saturday, I was all for it when we headed to beale street. We spent the majority fo the night at b.b. kings. I loved the singer there. Her name was Zita, and man was she fantastic. We also met up with PaulK and the Canadian crew Usher, Jenn Saunders and some others who I dont know lol We ran into Kris Odegard out on the street with Lori Jane Powell, not sure where they eneded up though.

and thats it. I'm sitting here in my hotel on Mondya Morning. Check out time is in half an hour, and then were on our way to the airport. Heres to happy traveling, and another super fun us open :)

Kind of Bummed...

Jackie Tilton — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 15:10:00 GMT

I started my new racquetball league in Lake Forest. I really like the lady who runs it. But after a year at my other League, I'm a little bummed to have left what I consider to be rball friends. I think I'm going to miss a lot of them, the friendly trash talking, and a little bit of the format that is different...

At Steves (my old league), he had a sign up sheet that had Two Colums, and However many rows it took to get to the bottom,...it looked similiar to this

w            w
w            w

L            L
L            L

After we played our matches, whoever won, would put their names on the w's, and whoever lost would put their names on the L's. We'd go down the list and thats who got the courts next. He also had us categorized as D-, D D+, C-, C, and C+ with a two point spread. I.E. if I'm a D- playing a D player I get two points, if i'm playing a C+ I get...well I'm not sure if he gave them 10...I never had that problem lol. But *idealy* it was ten. We also just played one game to 11.

Diane, (new league person) she just sort of goes off her last league, and says you get 7 points spotted...which is fine. It seemed to work. And she also just paired up people while they waited. We played 1 game to 15. There was no wait time really, and it worked fine too. They both had two completely different set ups and they both worked fine, and there really aren't any complaints, except for the ol' addage of ...your always afraid of something new. And perhaps I'm not afraid of it,..I just miss the old system...

I played really well. My first match, we started out even because I guess she knew this guy was a D player. I won pretty easily, he only got five points. My next two matches, I was pitted against pretty solid C players, I was spotted seven points, and lost to...gosh I can't remember his name, but I got to 14. The next match was against another pretty solid C player, I was spotted 7, and I got to 13. The last match of the night was against another D player. I was pooped, and was frequently letting myself fall behind, not getting back to center court, not playing the way I usually do, but in between rallies I pull my head out of my butt, and start playing again. I was down 10-2, came back,...let him get up again, and then finished it off.

So I had two wins and two losses. Both C players, even though I was spotted the points, I felt as though I could have won...I'll feel better about my game the less points they have spot me lol

Willie also came with me. He was "trying out" for the c/d league, only to realize that even left handed, he's an a/b player. So he'll play thursday's, I'll play tuesday's. He gave the Highest rated C player five points lol...so hopefully he'll be a little more comfortable and a little more challenged left handed in the a/b league.

This of course is spurred in part my recent BURNING desire to lose weight. My first week of WW went really well. I did lose the 2 lbs from last week. I hope to continue this week. I'm learning about a lot of different options that I can make in my cooking that make my points lower, and a little healthier, plus watching my portions, and drinking way more water. I have fallen off the wagon, ...SEVERAL times lol, but the thing I like about this program is the "tomorrow is a new day" mentality. They also allow for points for when you do fall, just have to make sure you chart what you eat and keep track of your points. Racquetball does very well for my activitiy points. I get an additional twenty points to eat on days when I play. Its really great to have a husband who is supportive in my new weight loss decision. Unlike everything else lately i seem to pick up and quit, I really hope to keep this up, and have given him permission to nag if necessary when he see me disregarding my choice. lol I might regret that later...

And of course, the children are beautiful. Ian almost almost almost came close to losing his night time diaper. He had two very successful nights of a barely going to the potty in his diaper. I thought he was about ready to get rid of it, only to wake up this morning to a boat of a diaper. Lexi continues to say doo doo five minutes after she's gone. lol. I'm not rushing her, she's more stubborn than Ian at times, and I feel in the potty training front she's going to be a monster. Though she has shown interest in sitting on Ians potty clothed or non clothed and going potty...she's only actually gone once, but its good that she understands and shows an interest.

We, even though we have become residents of CA for the time being, still continue to go to Disneyland once a week. A nightly trip to the hot tub has sort of replaced our evening walks. However, I noticed at our park that we go to it has a wonderful walking path, that I might make us start utilizing a little more (excericse eh?), and since its within walking distance if we walk there, then around the park once, then play and walk back, that'll be good too:)

If you got through all of this, thanks for reading. I need to get to picking up this iddy biddy apartment, the clutter is all in my face lol (something Willie says since our last place was so big it sometimes didn't matter when it got a little cluttered)

Jackie

**Editors note - cool I'm an editor lol - After re-reading the spread of Steves League, I highly doubt he gave a D- 10 points against a C+ player, because that means their could potentially be only one rally since they played to 11. I bet he had a cut of of either 6 or 8...I believe it was six..not sure though**

OH, and I had one of those nights...

Jackie Tilton — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 20:49:26 GMT

Have you ever had one of those nights at rball where you feel like your just trying to kill yourself??

No seriously. I rolled my ankle and now all day today my heal (sp?) is killing me. I misjudged where the wall was, going across the court for a shot I was horribly out of position for, and SLAMMED right into it (almost knocked the wind out of me). A couple of times heading towards the back wall I thought it was right there only to realize it was like three feet away and almost fell on my arse a few times.....

A lot of my shots that I did take too, the ball was no where near where I thought it was. Its like my depth perception, and my perception period was just hella out of wack...

I did however walk out of the club with just a rolled ankle..so it could have been worse...

Jackie

I guess I should say something nice

Jackie Tilton — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 19:43:18 GMT

My first comment to Willie on the phone when I received it was WOW What a great cover! It finally looks like it caught up with the times. There was also less coverage of the pros, which, sorry to say, I enjoy reading more about the amateurs. Perhaps its cause of the website, but I dont really like re-reading everything I already know, I like to hear about the things that dont get published. The Amateurs. Also, a great magazine for trying to convince others to play this sport with facts, and resources. Other than the horribly butchered Guatemala article, . . which what was I really expecting at this point? (and no credit to the photographer who captured the picture at the bottom..ME lol j/k), I felt it was a good read, and one that will probably take Willie more than five seconds to read while on the throne in the a.m.

That article was nothing like the original.

Jackie Tilton — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 19:32:59 GMT

Dave Ellis's original article was one thousand times better than that edited out heartless piece of crap.... Heres the unedited version, and in case you couldn't tell from that horrible last edited paragraph in the magazine that made you think "who the heck won", Willie and Woody did!

Pan American Championships – Guatemala City, Guatemala – April 7 – 15, 2006

This year’s Pan American Championships posed a special problem for Team USA. Two situations confronted the formation of a team. The dates produced a direct conflict with an important IRT pro stop. Secondly, players were asked to foot the bill for their expenses. The women’s team fell into place easily as Kristen Walsh, Tammy Brown, and Aimee Ruiz immediately declared themselves ready to participate. As Laura Fenton was recovering from back surgery, Jackie Rice completed the doubles team. The men were another story. Obviously, front liners Jack Huczek, Rocky Carson, Jason Thoerner and Andy Hawthorne could not afford to miss the pro stop as they battled for end-of-the-season ranking points. Both Mitch Williams and Ben Croft were tied up with college classes. Dave Negrete, IRT Commissioner, was contacted and agreed to help out by looking at the IRT rankings. Going down the list, finally three players were found who were ranked somewhere in the twenties. Assistant Coach John Ellis, Willie Tilton, and Woody Clouse were asked to play. Woody agreed to play two events, singles, and doubles with Willie.

When our team arrived at the first practice with internationally unknowns Aimee, Woody, and Willie, many participants from other countries asked me, “Who are these guys?” Where are Cheryl, Jack, Rhonda, and Rocky? I could only explain to them that we were engaged in a recycling program for racquetball players. Everyone just laughed, thinking that Team USA was certainly doomed. After watching our players in practice for a couple of days, confident smiles began to change a bit. A protest of eligibility was even filed that questioned Woody’s position on the team. Eyes lit up when future opponents saw Aimee and Jackie working together, Woody’s excellent game and superb physical condition, John actually playing well, in spite of all his wraps, and defending champion Kristen, along with former champion Tammy. They also saw Willie and their were a lot of question marks in their eyes.

Willie Tilton, best known for the “Meet and Play” website, arrived earlier than anyone. He immediately ventured out on his own to Antigua, a former capital of Guatemala and spent the day there while his teammates were still traveling. Willie is a big guy who resembles more of a computer geek than a racquetball player. His sense of humor is even bigger than he is and he had everyone in stitches throughout the trip. Jackie and Aimee were immediately nicknamed as “Rice and Beans.” Trainer Tona Palmer Hetzler was called “Fixer,” while Tammy earned the name of “Upper.” Willie also loved to flaunt his bad Spanish and you could hear him in restaurants making orders like “a buriiiiiitoeee pa flavor.” Who knows, perhaps the bad Spanish led Willie to eat something that didn’t agree with him. Let’s just say, that he did spend quite a bit of time catching up on his reading.

Everything about the tournament was first rate. The hotel was very nice and located in a very nice area. The courts were clean and new. There was a 30 minute shuttle between the hotel and club, but this gave everyone a chance to relax and make new international friends. Opening ceremonies were held in the central plaza in a beautiful government building, and the pageantry and folkloric dances were inspiring.

The Pan American Championships consist of two phases, the preliminary seeding rounds and then the elimination round. We managed to win all our matches in the seeding rounds. In the elimination draw there were some key quarter final victories. John took out Javier Moreno and Woody defeated Abram Pena of Mexico. Tammy Brown defeated Jennifer Saunders of Canada. We were set as all of our players had made the semis. In the semis, fortunes turned a bit as John lost to Kris Odegard of Canada while Tammy was beaten by phenom Paula Langorio of Mexico. Woody beat Ricardo Monroy of Bolivia who had upset Vincent Gagnon of Canada. Defending singles champion, Kristen defeated top pro Angela Grisar of Chile. Aimee and Jackie defeated the Canadian team with ease. Willie and Woody had struggled throughout their draw and had barely got by a tough Guatemala team in the quarters, 15 – 12, 15 – 13. They started off the semis by dropping the first game to Chile’s Sebastian and Pablo and then took the second game, 15 – 11. Our guys somehow managed to win the tiebreaker, 11 – 10. Ok, we were really set now with representatives in each of the four finals. It was a good feeling to have clinched the Overall Championship before the finals had even begun.

In the Women’s singles final, Kristen lost to Paola who played out of her mind with great drive serves throughout the match. You’re going to be seeing more of this 16 year old next year. Commissioner Shannon and WPRO players – Get set!!! In the men’s singles, Woody lost a heartbreaker to Kris Odegard. The match was tough all the way with Woody having a couple of match points in the second game. He didn’t get any of them and went down in the tiebreaker 11 – 9. In the Women’s Doubles final, Faviola and Angela of Chile, were no match for Aimee and Jackie who played one of the strongest finals in the history of the tournament. Throughout the tournament our Woman’s Doubles team were overwhelmingly dominant. On to the Men’s final that pitted Woody and Willie against David Ortega and Ruben Estrada. The two Mexican juniors had taken out veterans Mike Green and Brian Istace in the semis and now had their eyes on the gold. Despite their young ages, everyone considered them to be the favorites.

During practice, before the tournament started, Willie came to me and said, “Dave, I can’t play the right side in doubles. I’m just so use to the left side. Can we see what happens if both of us play backhands.” Then southpaw Woody chimed in with “Dave, I love to play the right side.” With a reluctant “ok, let’s try it, but be mentally ready to change to the forehand side,” the two players had worked their way through the draw, granted with a few close scrapes.

During the first game against David and Ruben, Willie and Woody were quickly down 11 – 4. A time out was called and discussion produced the idea returning to playing forehands, at least for the rest of the first game, just to see what would happen. Wow! The guys played fantastic and even had a game point before losing 15 – 14. Lightning quick Ruben Estrada was obviously bothered by Willie’s size. All of a sudden, Ortega was facing Woody’s strong forehand on the left. Willie and Woody stayed strong in the second and won by a score of 15 – 10. By now virtually everyone in the tournament had moved into the stands to see the last match. The crowd was predominantly for Ortega and Estrada and there was much vocal support. There was a little of the “us against the world” feeling among the members of Team USA. However, the USA Women’s Team started making a lot of noise as well and they even produced some organized cheers. Our guys felt their support. The tie breaker went down to the wire with everyone screaming deliriously. Willie and Woody finally scored after both teams had had several match points and then proceeded to almost faint from exhaustion. It was an unforgettable moment in the history of USA Racquetball. Needless to say, the entire team was very proud to accept the three trophies, the Men’s Team, the Women’s Team, and the Combined Team. In the final team meeting, Woody said that they should always be remembered as “the little team that could.” I don’t want to count them out for future events, but Woody and Willie knew that they had made the best of what might be their only shot to play for Team USA.

The Team wishes to thank several important sponsors:

Louise Haro of Boise, Idaho who donated and made our uniforms. Her company, Cyclone Sportswear, produces a great product. Check out her web site at http://www.cyclonesportswear.net/index.html

Gary Rasmussen, who produces the “Underglove,” also a great product that will help your game and greatly lengthen the life of your gloves. www.underglove.com

Mike Neeser and the Reno Court Sports Project. The facility that is proposed is certain to stage many important racquetball events in the future. http://www.allcourtsports.com/
Sal Perconti, New Mexico Racquetball, and Bill George who just wanted to help our National Team.
Also thanks go the Guatemala Organizing Committee who did a superb job throughout with the tournament.

In August, Team USA will compete in the World Championships, to be held in Santo Domingo. Our National Team represents our Olympic Dream and the Team needs support for the most basic things: flights, room, and board. Our Coaches work for nothing and our medical trainer donates her time. Our players are dedicated to our sport and are presently being asked to contribute significantly to cover their own expenses. Our two closest rivals, Mexico and Canada, are well financed and very formidable. We need help. Please consider a contribution of any amount by sending a check to USA Racquetball, specifying that it is to support Team USA at the World Championships (1685 West Uintah, Colorado Springs, CO 80904-2906).

Thank You.

Dave Ellis, Coach

OH...

Jackie Tilton — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 21:21:51 GMT

And, for the first time since the 2000 u.s. open where I won a Golf Driver, and a box full of snacks, and cheeze Wiz....(ed!), I won something at the Raffle for the Racquet for the Cure. I won a Wilson Racquetball bag which is good because Willie gets all huffs and puffs about me using his bag, and a pair of eyeguards! YEAH FOR ME!

Also, I didn't comment on how I love the format. We did round robin yesterday to get our "seeding" and then today we had single elimination. I absolutely HATE spending $40.00 only to lose first round, and have to fight everyone off for a court to play a consulation match. This was awesome.... Great job Debbie, and I look foward to seeing the pictures!

We'll, Willies accepted it but...

Jackie Tilton — Fri, 14 Jul 2006 04:11:20 GMT

I'm just not too happy about it. After the look over for the magazine this last time, Team Guatemala of USA will now probably have another battle to fight.

I realize that this team was not the "Choosen" team to go to Guatemala. They (USRA) certainly would rather have the players in the likes of Rocky, Jack, etc. go, But what they got was John Ellis, Woody Clouse, and Willie. But now when I go to the home page of the USRA.ORG website, theirs a little snipit with a picture about Team Guatemala of USA (I mention the location because the next event will not be in Guatemala).

And here's my prediction. This will be the only mention that Team Guatemala gets. Why?? Because by the time the next magazine comes out, The next Pan Am Finals or whatever the heck you want to call it will have occured, and they'll (USRA) have made sure that their (the team with the pros) articles pictures etc, get in with that magazine, and a little bit of a mention of Team Guatemala might make its way in there.They've already set up this stage with their current website. "USA TEAM PREPARES FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS" (a picture of TEAM GUATEMALA), and an article about the players (who mention the Santo Domingo team, rather than the one who is listed in the picture! and no correction as to the preliminary team that got their star studded team in their to begin with)

Why does this anger me? (okay pisses me off but I'm working on controlling my anger/languge and moderating myself skills as Leo so obviously felt the need to point out,..though this is my own freakin [edited]blog). Because I spent a lot of time deciding that the reason was as simple as deadlines. I feel as though my own faith in the system in which I've tried to give the benefit of the doubt will be challenged. Despite how often I call others out (Anonymous individuals who choose to harasse other members on our forums like they've got balls and then tell me to be accountable when we all know who the heck I am, but who the hell are you??), or how often I might remove my foot from my mouth, I had faith in this organization. I have seen countless other individuals post comments in the direction of "who needs the USRA", and "WHAT DO THEY DO??", I still had faith. This is the sports governing body. They are the NBA of racquetball...And yet,...I'm waivering, and its sad when this sport is this small.

I have to say that this will definately be a defining moment in my...what ever you choose to call my racquetball career. I chose to be an amatuer individual involved with an organization who ...well I was going to put their mission statement but I dont now what it is, but I would imagine its to represent the amateurs involved in the sport (read again, IRT AND WPRO take care of the Pros), when really...I dont need them. One I've been turned into outdoor, and two, their are non USRA tournaments going on all the time. Look at L.A. Fitness. What a FANTASTIC rball organization it has.

Back on track. This team was truly "THE LITTLE TEAM THAT COULD". John Ellis was supposed to be the coach, but stepped up because no one else wanted to go. Aimee Ruiz is the only individual from Team Guatemala going to Santo Domingo, (the only reason her partner Laura Fenton didn't go with her in Guatemala was because of Surgery, in which case, Jackie Rice STEPPED UP.). You have so many instances of Stepping Up for that Team which did what they were sent out to do, and you have the USRA shitting all over them.

(Willies step up including come home negative in Vacation hours, if they fired/layed him off upon returning, we'd owe his employer money. He left his family, a 2 year old a 1 year old behind for 16 days, USING ALL OF HIS VACATION HOURS ON RACQUETBALL WHEN HIS FAMILY COULDN'T BE THERE vs. going somewhere we all could go and hang out. I of course was totally supportive, and said NEVER EVER use your family as an excuse to fulfill a once in a lifetime opprotunity)

And I'm still holding out. I really do hope, as mentioned that the USRA publishes Dave Ellis's article in its entirety...becuase their are so many things that make you suggest the USRA plays favorites and that they think its members want to hear about how "oh the US went and crushed everyone with its standout pros" when in reality, I'd much rather hear about "THE LITTLE TEAM THAT COULD" - Thanks woody:)

Jackie