Do you find yourself unable to think about anything other than "Hit the ball!" or "DON'T mess up!"? Struggling to understand why you're losing to players you know you should beat? This is the clinic for you!

What are we working on?

We'll learn to assess strengths and weaknesses (both our own and our opponents'), how to identify patterns, and some mental coping mechanisms for dealing with competitive stress and mistakes.

How are we working on it?

I'll set up a game with similarly skilled players and the rest of us will be observers.  We'll pause at interesting points to discuss what we see and what we might try to change if we were we in their shoes. (You might even get to play coach and have the players implement your suggested strategy.) Then we'll rotate and the players will become the critics.

Why is strategy so important?

Strategy is our gateway to:

• Having more fun on the court. (It’s frustrating not understanding why you’re losing!)

• Beating better players. (Rest assured, that old guy who embarrasses you at rec play every week is doing so with his MIND, not his BODY. Time to take a page out of his book, whippersnapper.)

• Playing confidently in a tournament or other competitive setting. (Competition is already stressful enough. Knowing you’re prepared and have a game plan will completely change the way you feel in these environments. Hint: The answer is better. You’ll feel MUCH better.)

Learning how to think on the court will improve your game exponentially faster than any other skill or stroke. Unfortunately, we rarely make time to stop and think about our game. This is your chance to do so in a supportive environment. We'll pick each other apart, but all in the name of getting better and having fun!