with Mike Perez,
Lynn University Men's & Women's Head Coach;
7x National Championship Coach; over 1,000 career wins;
3x NAIA National Coach of the Year; 2006 ITA National Coach of the Year (Men's);
14x Sunshine State Conference Champions; 10x Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year;
Named the NAIA Coach of the Decade (1990-2000)
In today's tennis, most of the points are won from the baseline, often after long and energy-demanding rallies. The serious and highly competitive player knows that to increase their chance of success, they must have a complete arsenal and the ability to play well in any area of the court.
In this video, seven-time National Championship coach Mike Perez explains drills and patterns through which to play attacking tennis in the modern game, and the benefits that result from this style of play. He divides the video into three main sections, with each section filmed on court:
- Approach Shot / Passing Shot
- Set Plays
- Team Tennis
Coach Perez presents clear ideas on the vulnerability that players have to being attacked and pressured, including tall players, players who have exceptional quickness and players who have a weaker groundstroke or extreme grip on the racquet. You'll have the chance to learn the coaching strategies that prove most effective in both live ball drills and in competitive tiebreakers within team practice.
Approach Shot / Passing Shot
Under the supervision of Coach Perez, players execute approach patterns designed to exploit the opponent's weaknesses and build the opportunity to finish the point with a solid and efficient net game. This includes:
- How to approach the net, where to hit the first volley and where to hit the second and definitive volley
- Knowing how and where to direct the approach shot and the subsequent volley to successfully end points sooner
Set Plays
To win the decisive points and become a stronger player, you must execute a plan already trained several times previously. Coach Perez gives you pre-planned ideas on what to do in pressure situations. This gives your athletes a clear decision-making process and eliminates doubt in crucial situations. You'll see six set plays where six possible scenarios of crucial points are shown. These drills are useful to train a player's mindset and technique and get used to playing decisive points with more consistent success.
Team Tennis
In this part of the video, all the concepts explained in previous sections are applied together in realistic points played while Coach Perez offers more insights and strategies.
Fitness and Strength Drills
See a structured way to implement footwork drills at the beginning of your practice sessions to prepare athletes to move well and stay injury-free on the tennis court. The use of agility ladders and cones to enhance player movement warms up both the body and the mind in preparation for a practice session. Coach Perez also provides a series of core exercises, including many variations of planks and crunches, in order to keep your players strong and fit in the vital trunk area of the body.
Coach Perez does an excellent job of showing how you can adapt attacking tennis into today's game. His positivity and attention to detail within points and drills brings the best out in his players and will help you do the same for yours as well!
50 minutes. 2017.