I have came back to my social club after a pretty long hiatus due to injury/parenthood and discovered we have a whole lot of new players who joined in the meantime. Most of them are beginners and I like playing with them provided that they try their best and that the pairs are somewhat balanced. We play for fun and it's no fun when there's no challenge or competition and having a weaker partner opens up the court and allows for some fun rallies provided the weaker player is not targeted by the opposing pair. If you feel you are causing balance issues because the opposing pair is made up of two very good players, that's where it could be a problem, but in most cases, we worry too much and the other players really do not mind having a more relaxed game. I'd rather have a beginner play with me than someone who is good, but complains about mistakes (my own or his) or who is too competitive (i.e. singling out the worse player by only playing to him, giving bad advice during breaks to mess with the other team, etc.).
Good players wouldnt mind playing with you. I love to play for beginner who are opened to learn and improve. You just need to show them that you are eager to improve. People at my old club they are so good and nice. They would play for anyone and teach beginners how to play properly which is great.
Playing beginners allow us to practice shots we normally suck at and the beginner cam work on basics. Everybody wins. However, my biggest pet peeve I ever had at a club is when "members" remove your court reservation card without asking if you are okay with it. You ever had to deal with that? What are your thoughts?
How does this court reservation card work? My club is trying to figure out a way to fix our queueing system.
You get a card and write your name on the card. Each court has 4 slots on the reservation board. Its a first come first serve basis unless its reserved by the hour 2 hours in advance. You may not move cards of others under any circumstances without the card owner's consent and it is their responsibility to remove their card and return it to the front desk when they are done.
So the 4 people will be the only ones who can use the court the entire time or is it a per game basis?
4 people per 20 minutes. Its not always people we know but usually if we want to get a group of 4 selected individuals together, I peesonally ask them if they are okay with going to another court. If they say no, I just say I will join them next time.
