TESTIMONIALS

These testimonies that you are about to read speak for themselves. As you go through them you will see for yourself why I, my staff and my systems that I have developed over the years are regarded as the BEST in the business. My company is truly regarded as the “Ultimate in Racquetball Instruction”.

"Fran Davis Camp Impresses First-Timer"
By Dick Barton, Cincinnati camp

If someone had told me years ago that driving 600 miles, spending nearly $500, eating fast food for every meal, staying in a cheap motel, and sweating all weekend was worth something, I might have told them to see a psychologist. But, after doing just that I can tell you . . . it WAS worth something to me.

My long-awaited weekend at the Waycross Fitness Center in Cincinnati (Ohio) with the High Priestess of Racquetball, Fran Davis, and the reigning King of the Courts, Sudsy Monchik, was nothing short of fantastic. I consider my first-time experience as racquetball’s version of a Fantasy Camp. Not only did I learn more than I could possibly put into practice, but I simply had a great time “hanging out” with a dozen or so folks who love the game.

I even got a chance to play the Number One player in the world and score a point. Just one point, mind you. And, I have it on videotape to relive the moment for years!

The occasion was 8th stop on the 2000 HEAD Titanium Tour that started in Cincinnati in February and continues in December with a weeklong camp in Aruba (also good timing). Fran teaches what she calls “K.I.S.S. Racquetball” which is Keep It Simple, But S.M.A.R.T.

After 15 years, Fran has earned the right to be called the Number One Clinician in the world. She has taught and continues to teach some of the best players in the game along with a string of junior champions and hundreds of club players like me. She has known Sudsy for 15 years and worked with him over the last 10 years from time to time. She continues to help him these days with the mental aspects of the game on a regular basis.

Her camp format is straightforward. She tells you what to do with your swing, where to stand on the court, what shots to use, and how to mentally and physically prepare to play. Then, the Number One Pro shows you how to do those things. Of course, at times it was hard to take notes while watching the Sudsy Magic Show and balls ripping by at 180 miles per hour.

Throughout the weekend, both Fran and Sudsy spend a lot of time with each “camper” to correct and fine-tune his/her individual game and playing styles. This included learning how to play smart by improving your physical and mental approach to matches.

“Every player regardless of his/her level gets something from Fran’s camp,” says Sudsy. He started attending Fran’s camps early in his career and has gone on to be one of her biggest fans. “I only work with Fran in doing these camps because she is simply the best. In fact, I still send her my game tapes for analysis and we talk frequently before and after big matches.”

“Coming to a camp like this reminds me of the fundamentals and aspects of mental toughness which are so important even to a professional,” he adds. “The main difference between the pros and other players is consistency. We do the right things just like Fran teaches, but we do them more often.”

Fran works with several pros during her camp schedule. The others include Sudsy’s big rival, Cliff Swain. The two rivals happened to have a demonstration match in Cincinnati during the same weekend at a local tournament. Other pros that help with camps are John Ellis, Jason Mannino, and Adam Karp. The weeklong Aruba camp is the only one that does not have a pro as a teaching partner.

“We are able to do these camps because HEAD and my other sponsors such as Penn, Python Grips and Powerbar see the value of a grassroots educational effort for the sport,” says Fran. “With their support, my staff and I am able organize and conduct over 400 demonstration nights each year around the country plus I put on 12-15 camps worldwide”.

The camp’s location was due in part to the involvement of fitness center owner, Don Bates, who has a strong affiliation with the HEAD Company. Don is a HEAD sponsored player and a champion in his own right after winning state and national doubles honors last year. Don says, “a camp like this at my club has a positive affect on my members. They get excited over having professionals such as Fran and Sudsy here.”

Don adds that professional appearances and camps help energize the area and state racquetball activity anywhere they are held. Don not only helped with the logistical aspects of the camp but also helped with some videotaping. The Ohio HEAD RMC, Ron Coates was also on hand to lend additional support.

While driving back to Chicago on Sunday, my mind was flooded with the images of my first racquetball camp. I had flashes of Sudsy showing off by climbing the side wall of the court to return a shot, a dozen sweaty folks doing the “monkey crawl” drill, but, most of all, I recalled the laughter and fun of spending 2 ½ days studying the finer points of my favorite sport with other people who love it as much as I.

Those memories and the extra points I will now be scoring in future matches did, indeed, make all the time and effort worth it.

If you are interested in finding a future camp in your neck of the woods, contact Fran Davis by calling 650-757-0199, E-mail at camps@frandavisracquetball.com or visit her website at www.frandavisracquetball.com.

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"Fran Davis Racquetball Camp"
By: Tod McCallum, Washington camp

Last Month, my wife Kim Challoner and I had the pleasure to attended the Fran Davis Racquetball Camp. Fran Davis is well known on the IRT Pro circuit as the most respected coach in racquetball. If this wasn’t enough Fran was joined by the current #1 player in the World Jason Mannino. Fran always has a pro join her at the camp and more often than not Jason attends.

The host club this time was Pro Sports Club in Bellevue Washington. The club is North Americas largest fitness club sized at 230,000 sq ft with 6 quality racquetball courts. If you are ever in Bellevue / Seattle it is worth a stop.

The camp started out on Friday evening at six and concluded Sunday at 12:00 noon running around 18 hours all totalled. There were 32 students all of different skills. Early on we were video taped shooting straight into the wall in order for Fran to later break every error down in super slow motion. The only match played the entire weekend was the Play the Pro event that concluded the camp. The majority of the weekend was spent on court strategy, positioning, shot selection, drills, metal toughness and critiquing.

In the short time since attending the camp our games both have made decent improvements and should continue to develop as we get more opportunities to practise this new information on the court.

I don’t know of a single player who wouldn’t benefit from this remarkable camp and encourage anyone who enjoys the game and looking to take that next step to check out Fran’s homepage @ www.FranDavisRacquetball.com or phone @ (415) 821-3726. The cost of the Camp was USD $275 each. In my opinion this was fairly priced when considering you are getting one on one time with the Wayne Gretzky of Racquetball.

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"It All Starts With A K.I.S.S."
By: Christy Cramer and Sharon Dunn, Dallas camp

Racquetball “Campers” Sharon Dunn (L), and Christy Cramer

Want to improve your racquetball game quickly and have fun doing it? Put a racquetball camp on your calendar now! We both love the game but had hit a plateau and didn’t have a good plan for breaking through. We play singles, doubles and mixed doubles and were frustrated by the minimal progress we were making…we had tried all the usual things; different racquets, gloves, vitamins etc. And of course our playing friends all gave us advice (often contradictory). Then one day after a particularly frustrating match we agreed that we needed HELP! We had both read Marcy Lynch’s article The Comfort Zone in the January-February 2001 issue of Racquetball Magazine. Marcy wrote that many of us feel that “improvement is not only exciting, it is what keeps us interested in the game. There is no limit to learning. As long as we are willing to question, there will be ANSWERS and ways to improve”. The opposite page featured a Fran Davis Q&A session and a flyer promoting an upcoming three day racquetball camp in Houston. Our husbands were very supportive and off we went to racquetball camp.

Editor’s note: (Off the record, Sharon’s husband Brian says he doesn’t mind her racquetball travels now and then because he then “can have the TV remote.”)

About The Camp

“Even when you’re on top of your strokes, maintain the quality of your game with lessons.” Jimmy Connors

The camp started on Friday evening at 6 PM sharp. Fran brought Jason Mannino to help with the class. There were twelve students, all with very different levels of skill and experience. Fran used a lot of videotape. Early on she asked a lot of questions about what we thought our strengths and weaknesses were. We were short on good answers because we had no measuring stick to help us evaluate our games. However, by Sunday we had developed a sense of correctness about form, shot selection, court position and strategy. In order to develop the big picture Fran uses two acronyms to develop an understanding about all phases of the game…K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple and Smart) and play S.M.A.R.T. (Skills Mental Aerobic Relaxation Training). Each area has many subtopics that are fully developed during the camp.

Planning strategies over lunch with help of camp workbook

A workbook is provided to guide the student. Illustrations help underscore the lecture. On the last day each student gets to play Jason and Fran. The matches are videotaped so you can have a record showing why you lost. All phases of the training were useful but as amateurs we found that a better understanding of the mental game and playing the percentage shots were especially valuable. We were now ready to leave our "comfort zones” and enter the “combat zone.”

Play the Pros and on-court instruction are mixed throughout the camp

Fast Forward Ten Months to January 2002

“The game has a hold on my soul”
Billie Jean King

Our interest in racquetball is higher than ever…we think mainly because we now have the tools to evaluate our games, make changes and see results. Cheryl Gudinas can rest easy, we’re not planning to turn pro but we have had a lot of fun and success in the amateur singles and doubles tournaments that we’ve entered. So far we’ve played in about a dozen local, state and national events winning or placing well in half of them. Jason gave a pop-quiz…one of the questions was, who said, “Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical?” The answer is, of course, Yogi Berra. This Yogiism was used to underscore the importance of the mental game. Jason shared a firsthand experience…six years ago he was in a serious auto accident. To walk normally again was a big question and to play professional racquetball again an impossibility. But he did recover and he says, “mental visualization was a big part of the reason why.” Fran emphasizes the mental game throughout the camp. She also notes that the camp isn’t an end but part of the journey to better racquetball and a greater appreciation of the sport. We’re enjoying the sport more than ever and looking forward to the trip.

Fran and Jason lead a discussion, topics include; discipline, preparation, mental toughness and strategy