Mentoring

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Since 2016 we have offered summer mentoring for beginners and those wanting to improve their performance on the game’s basics. These free sessions are held at Sycamore Park, at the corner of Carpenter and Clark Streets in Palatine. They’re every Wednesday morning from 9:00 to Noon. However, they are by invitation only these days. Since COVID we have two, one-hour sessions, each for 12 fully vaccinated and  masked Picklers. The first starts at 9:00. The second at 10:15. One Mentor will work on one court with four students. In the summer of 2021 we worked with 133 Mentorees.

Also, Bear and Mentor Dennis run a Thursday afternoon mentoring session at Hamilton at 3:00. No reservations or invitations involved. Some days there are only a dozen students, and some days three dozen show up.

During the indoor season, we reserve a gym of six courts every other Tuesday morning at Canlan Sportsplex in Lake Barrington for mentoring. Students ask to be put on "Expect to be available" lists for each week (1/11, 1/25, 2/8, 2/22, 3/8, 3/22, and 4/5 in 2022). Bear invites 24 mentorees each Sunday to participate in the mentoring session two mornings later at 10.00. All participants must be fully vaccinated and wear a mask the entire time in the facility. They pay Canlan's $8 fee at the lobby desk. They will be assigned to a group of 8 to two courts with one Mentor. Students stay on those courts, but every 30 minutes Mentors rotate so every mentoree gets to work with each of the three Mentors. If a conflict arrised, students are expected to email Bear that they need to be removed from one or more "Etba" list/s. 

The photos below were from pre-COVID days. No masks, and no student limits.

Unfortunately, evening and weekend mentoring is not an option, due to the unavilability of courts. However, Bear is considering adding a 3:00 p.m. mentoring session exclusively for working Picklers Saturday afternoons this (2022) spring/summer at Hamilton. That's traditionally a pretty down time for these courts.