Adult Mental Toughness

Mental Toughness 101

If the mental part of the game is so important, what are you doing to work on it?

Since the 1990’s, the MLTC has offered a Mental Toughness 101 class in order to help players address what for many is the most important and difficult aspectof the game to control. Anxiety, negativity, tight muscles, loss of focus and many other things can can drastically impact performance, yet how to train the mind can be an extremely difficult puzzle to solve.

The MLTC has partnered with mental performance coach, Brian Lomax, to offer a new level of psychological guidance for players in all sports.

Brian has held the #1 tennis ranking in New England in his age division since the 35’s and he has been ranked nationally as high as #2 in the country. Although Brian is an expert at working with players from all sports, his personal passion is tennis.

Brian works with a wide spectrum of competitors that span local league players to elite, Division 1 athletes. He is regarded as the preeminent authority in the area when it comes to helping athletes master their inner selves. The MLTC has secured him as the club’s Performance Training Mentor and we are fortunate to have access to his services.

Twice a year, he runs a six-week training course at MLTC East that meets once a week. The spring session runs on Sundays starting in April and ending in June. The fall session runs from October into December. The cost of the course is $195 and it includes a 100% money-back guarantee. If you take the course and do not feel it made a significant impact on your performance, then there is NO charge for it. You do not have to be a member to register.

For the most serious competitors, Brian offers specialized one-on-one sessions. Keep in mind that the training he offers is not limited to tennis, so if you or your child need guidance in another activity, Brian can help. You have nothing to lose other than the frustration of not performing up to your potential.

For more information, please contact Brian directly at brian@performancextra.com or by calling 774-285-4179. You can also learn more about his program by visiting his website, PerformanceXtra.

Katie Berg
Director of Marketing & Social Media

Katie grew up in Lancaster, MA before heading out to sunny California and graduating from Cal State University with a BA in Film Development minoring in CS. After college, she spent 10yrs as the Director of Production in the advergaming space, working with many major brands including: Miller Light, UFC, WWE, Nascar, Unilever, Live Nation, Hard Rock Casino and more.
Settling back in Harvard, Ma with her family of 4 (+ a boxer pup), she currently works in Product Development for a purchase intent data driven marketing firm. Her tennis skills are nothing to brag about (yet) and in her free time she sits on the board of 3 local charities while enjoying a family who is active in baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis and golf.

Email: katie.berg@marcuslewisenterprises.com

Mary-Ann Matyas
Adult Programmer

Mary-Ann, a native New Yorker, grew up “next door” to the USTA National
Tennis Center in New York City and worked at the US Open throughout her high
school and college years. After receiving at BA from Barnard College and an
MPA from New York University, Mary-Ann worked in Human Services and Health
Care Policy and Finance, first in New York City and later in Boston.

Mary-Ann moved to Cambridge in 1998 and still lives there with her husband
and two sons where she spends her time as a “professional” volunteer,
reading, and playing tennis whenever possible.

Email: mary.ann.matyas@marcuslewisenterprises.com
Phone: 978 264 8349 Ext. 4

John Hattersley
General Manager

John is a Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)-certified coach and player with over four decades of experience. As a junior player in his home country of England, he played at the Junior Wimbledon nationals and went on to compete at the highest level, eventually turning professional. He also competed on the men’s professional satellite circuit until a severe back injury forced him to retire from competing at the Qualifiers at Wimbledon. He trained closely with esteemed coach Lennie Heppell, a specialized movement “guru”, who also worked with sports greats Bjorn Borg, Steffi Graf, Kevin Keegan and Peter Shilton.

John joined his personal coaches of many years, Keith Reynolds (National Development Coach) and Ashley Broomhead, and coached at the Watchorn Tennis Club in Derbyshire, England where he trained over 20 national players and champions.

After moving to the United States in 1984, John took on the role of director and manager of the former Tennis 128 club in Burlington, Massachusetts. There he developed and managed all junior programs as well as organized competitive team and social tennis programs for adults.

Having spent the seven of the last years at the Marcus Lewis Tennis Center, five as High Performance Director, John looks forward to creating a great environment on and off the court!

Email: john@marcuslewisenterprises.com

Karen Reedy
Staff Instructor

Karen is a former New England ranked youth and Division I college player. After taking a long hiatus from the sport, she returned several years ago with a renewed interest and passion for teaching. She aspires to customize teaching according to the goals and preferred learning approaches of each student.

Karen enjoys many other sports and outdoor activities in her leisure time. She also enjoys working at improving her meditation practice and incorporating the mindfulness approach in her everyday life.

Email: karen.reedy@marcuslewisenterprises.com

Ajay Sonalkar
Staff Instructor

Ajay started playing tennis at the age of 6 at a small club near Pune India. He won his first title at the age of 9 at the Karnataka Tennis Open in Harihar. After that he continued to enjoy tennis but also played cricket and soccer for his school teams. Ajay again got into competitive tennis in his Junior and Senior years in high school; where he competed in various national tournaments across India. He then got a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Math, Accounting and Finance from Arizona and Texas. After that he has used his academic skills in various private and public enterprises helping them become more viable and profitable. He finished his last role as a Finance Controller at Medtronic. After the pandemic in 2020, Ajay decided that he wanted to follow his passion and have more time for his family. He started coaching soccer and tennis. He currently runs a soccer program for kids aged 6-12 at Torit Montessori. He also loves to coach tennis for all age groups and skill levels. Ajay loves to stay healthy and enjoys the outdoors. He spends a lot of time helping his son master all that he has learnt over many years. Tennis, Soccer, Biking, Hiking, Chess, Rock Climbing. Ajay brings an intense personality to his tennis and as a instructor pushes his students to be the best players possible. His coaching style is filled with lots of education about the game and bringing strong habits that will build muscle memory to play with good footwork and develop consistency.

Email: ajaysonalkar@marcuslewisenterprises.com

Paul Borenstein
Staff Instructor

Paul started playing tennis as a teen in the former USSR where he played in regional and state tournaments. He continued playing tennis while at college at Northeastern University. During his high tech and entrepreneurial career, he eventually began coaching.
Paul coached both kids and adults, all levels from total beginner to experienced and advanced. His approach to the game is very structured yet flexible. He emphasizes proper modern fundamentals (e.g., grips, technique, footwork, kinetic chain body mechanics, physical and mental conditioning, etc.) and allows his students to find and develop their own unique style while moving forward at a comfortable pace and enjoying the process.

Email: paul.borenstein@marcuslewisenterprises.com

Matt Chandler
Staff Instructor

Matt Chandler was a native of North Carolina before finding his way up here in the Northeast near the Marcus Lewis Tennis Center.
In his 37th year as a teaching professional, Matt joined the MLTC in 2014.
Matt was nationally ranked as a junior player and rose to #4 in singles and #1 in doubles in North Carolina. He had an impressive record of 84-4 and also made it to the state finals twice.
His playing ability earned him a four-year athletic scholarship into college. After competing in numerous prize money events, Matt ultimately decided to take his expertise into teaching tennis.
He achieved the highest rating of Professional 1 with the United States Professional Tennis Association. As a Director of Tennis and Head Tennis Professional at various prestigious facilities, he was voted “Top 3 Tennis Professionals” in South Carolina.
Matt has worked with thousands of Junior and Adult Players alike from the beginner to nationally ranked level. He has simplified teaching methods and an ability to assist his clients in an energetic, yet easy to understand way.
Matt spends his spare time with his two beautiful children, Michael and Emma.

Email: matt.chandler.mltc@gmail.com

David Besse
Administrator

David graduated from Middlebury College in Vermont with a BA in mathematics, and moved to Massachusetts shortly afterward. He has worked in the IT industry for many years, as a software developer and as an IT consultant. When not working, David can be found tackling some of the many things needed to keep an old farmhouse going, or taking walks with his dog.

An avid tennis fan and player from a young age, David has played in, and captained, USTA and North Shore League teams. Years ago, David and his wife Lisa also ran the Groton (Nashoba) tennis tournament held at Lawrence Academy in Groton.

Email: david.besse@marcuslewisenterprises.com

Michelle Dawson
Staff Instructor

Michelle started playing tennis at age 7, part of a family where everyone played constantly. She grew up competing in the junior and club leagues in Venezuela. She joined the club in 2016 and completed the MLTC instructor training course in 2020 and has been teaching for MLTC since. She has continued to play tennis competitively on several USTA and CMITA teams.
In 2019, after 30 years working in the corporate world, first as a management consultant and then as a Director of Supply Chain and Corporate Venturing. she decided to reinvent herself as a teacher. She now teaches full time high school Spanish at the Framingham High School and earned her Masters in Education this year.
Michelle grew up in Venezuela, where she obtained a degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Metropolitana. She then moved to the US to complete her MBA from Cornell University in 1996. She moved to New England after graduate school and settled in the Acton area, where she resides with her husband and three kids and two dogs.

Email: michelle.dawson@marcuslewisenterprises.com

Jennifer Royce
Pickleball Coordinator

Jennifer received her BS Degree in Business Management from Lesley
University. In her professional career she held numerous positions in
marketing and event management. Over the last 15 years she managed corporate
events with EMC and Dell Technologies.

Recently retired, Jennifer jumped into the Pickleball craze. In 2022, she
found the Marcus Lewis Tennis Center as an outlet for her passion with both
round robin play and instruction. She and her husband spend winters in
Florida in a community that offers 241 pickleball courts and a wide variety
of opportunities to play. Jennifer also enjoys golf, hiking, biking, and
most anything outside. She has 3 grandkids in Massachusetts and other
family in Massachusetts and Florida.

Email: jen.royce@marcuslewisenterprises.com

Phil Kadesch Marcus Lewis Tennis Director of High Performance

Phil Kadesch
Director of High Performance

Phil Kadesch grew up locally in Winchester, Massachusetts, picking up tennis at the age of 11. As he became older, he held the #1 junior ranking in doubles in the 16’s and 18’s. He also made it to the state finals and lost to Ferdi Taygen who would go on to become the #8 world ranked doubles player in the world.

Phil likewise played on the circuit and managed to rise to 546 in singles and a career high of 429 in doubles before succumbing to a shoulder injury.

After returning to New England and beginning his teaching career, Phil continued to play and become one of the most accomplished lifetime players that New England has ever seen. He has held the #1 position in New England in the Men’s Open Singles/Doubles, Men’s 35’s, 45’s, 50’s, 55’s Singles/Doubles and he was #2 in the country in the 40’s. He has also been #1 in Mixed Doubles playing with his wife, Leah. In 2005, Phil was inducted into the New England Hall of Fame for his playing accomplishments. In total, he has an amazing record of having been #1 over 20 times throughout his life.

For decades, Phil has shared his vast knowledge of the game with both juniors and adults. He has coached many juniors into sectional and national positions. He has also led a wide array of adult teams into finishing their seasons at the top of their division.

As Marcus Lewis’s first coach and mentor, Marcus attributes much of his tennis knowledge to Phil’s influence. Having Phil as the club’s Director of High Performance was the perfect addition to the ever-expanding Marcus Lewis Tennis Center.

Email: Phil.Kadesch@marcuslewisenterprises.com

Sabrina Zanardi Marcus Lewis Tennis Flex Coordinator

Sabrina Zanardi
Flex League Coordinator

Sabrina was born in Italy and graduated Genoa University with a Foreign Languages and Literature Degree. While living in Florence she worked as a High School teacher. She speaks fluent Italian, English, German, French and Spanish.
After moving to the United States in 2012 she was completely dedicated to her family. Sabrina lives in Lunenburg with her husband, Domenico who is a tennis Pro at MLTC, two daughters, Martina and Gaia, both working in their free time at MLTC too and her dog Luna.
She loves life, people and tennis. In her spare time, besides having fun on the tennis court with her family, she enjoys walking and hiking with her dog, swimming, travelling, listening to music and dancing.

Email: aperegina321@gmail.com