Tiger, I totally understood why the thread disappeared when
it did. Bad timing for me, though, as I had spent about twenty
minutes carefully constructing a post to that thread, and when
I finally hit the post button, the entire thread was gone....lol
Basically, my feelings are that JAH and CAJA are two very different
animals, and any individual player can form his or her own opinion
as to which type of court is better for their game. I think it's
nice that JAH is finally opening up to the public. However, I
do take issue with some of the statements that were made about
CAJA on the JAH site, which, by the way, have now been removed
from the site. Points only last one to three throws? Maybe when
I'm playing, but that's not the norm. Only the best players can
rebote there? Heck, I've thrown a bunch of rebotes at CAJA, and
the only reason I'm a C player is because there's no D classification.
Certain shots are discouraged? No, that's up to the people on
the court at any given time. Those statements APPEARED to have
been published in an attempt to cast CAJA in a less than favorable
light compared to JAH.
Many of us have very strong feelings for CAJA, and for the man
who created it. When we had no indoor facility in the northeast,
JAH was closed to us. Matt undertook a lot of work, risk and expense
in building CAJA so that EVERYONE could have a place to play the
sport we love. He is a friend and a hero to many of us, and we
will rise up in his defense when we perceive that Matt and/or
CAJA is being treated unfairly.
From what I have heard, JAH plays a lot like the original 65'
beginners court at AAJA in Milford. That's the court where I learned
to play, and I found that court to be a lot of fun. As I don't
have a lot of power, a smaller court is probably better suited
to my game. However, I enjoy CAJA tremendously, and given what
Matt did for us when JAH wouldn't have us, my loyalties are firmly
with CAJA. Matt has earned my support, and, frankly, he deserves
the support of everyone who loves the game.
I hope that JAH's new open door policy is successful in enticing
people to try the sport and fall in love with it. That can only
help the sport.
