THE LOWDOWN
Let's drill! If you arrive first, unlock the wheels before moving net into place, then lock. There are four courts at this venue, and Rec players usually begin showing up by 8:30 AM.

Drilling will take place from 8-9 AM for now, after which players can usually stay for rec games. (See the Hope Highlands group in Player Lineup for info on rec games at this facility.) On some days, two of the courts are dedicated to tennis play. Mainly, though, there is at least one court available at this time of day for drilling.

Sign up for a date listed or add a meetup of your own.

If there's a particular skill you'd like to work on, post it in a message and we will get it onto the schedule.

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A SAMPLE DRILL ~ PRACTICE MISSING

from Dayne Gingrich

The most common question / theme I receive in my emails, texts, and DM’s from athletes is about the fear of missing, even more so than the fear of losing. The micro panic of missing shots overwhelms too many players, leaving them in a ‘state of stuck’ the entire match - stuck in passive, stuck in hoping, stuck in losing.

The best way to override this fear of missing is to … get ready for it … practice missing.

Yep, I said it. Aim for the miss. If your return of serves are regularly landing too short, practice hitting them one foot beyond the baseline. Stare at that “out spot” beyond the baseline, and allow yourself the freedom to hit it. Each time you nail it, give yourself a point, until you’ve reach 11 points. When you do hit your “out goal,” of 11, bring your vision back to the baseline, aiming to paint the line. When you hit the line or miss it a few inches, in or out, give yourself a point, until you reach 11. Again, when you hit your 11 points, change your spot, but this time, it’s going to be where you want it in a real match - less than a foot inside the baseline. Repeat the game to 11.

Do this for every miss you’re afraid of. If you fear dinking into the net, aim for below the tape until you hit 11 points, move up to missing into the tape to 11, and then finally one inch over the net, into the kitchen for 11 points. Every miss you’re afraid of … train your mind with this drill.

To the skeptic, this will NOT train you how to miss, it’ll free your mind FROM the miss, and recalibrate to the make. Fear of errors is equivalent to wearing handcuffs that can’t lock. You see the cuffs on your wrists, so you believe you’re forever stuck, not realizing all you have to do is wiggle your wrists a few times, pull hard, and boom … freedom!

Allow yourself to miss and you’ll no longer be afraid of the miss.