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)
Tennis players are becoming more athletic and more aggressive in their play. Coaches need to develop aggressive match play strategies that take advantage of this change in mindset and player ability to reflect the more modern game.
Coach Perez welcomes you into one of his practices where after a dynamic and match style warm-up, he runs his players through six competitive match play drills for developing an aggressive mindset. The practice includes 2-on-2 and 2-on-1 offense/defense doubles drills, 1-on-1 and 2-on-1 ground sequence drills, first serve competitions, and live points. Coach Perez demonstrates how he incorporates each of these drills into a practice 1-2 days before a match and gives detailed instruction into the purpose of each drill, as well as strategy tips for each technique as he coaches his own players.
Competitive Doubles Drills
Learn two offense/defense drills that will help you attack your opponents more frequently and effectively, while also improving your defense against similar attacking teams. Coach Perez explains his philosophy behind this style of play and demonstrates how he works to accomplish this through competitive practice drills, such as:
- 2-on-2 offense/defense drill that allows you to work on both doubles partners playing the net at the same time.
- A progression of the 2-on-2 offense/defense drill that's a 2-on-1 drill with two players at the net and one at the baseline.
- Attacking the net 35-40% of the time.
Ground Sequence
Learn a sequence of two partner drills on the baseline that focuses on identifying your opponent's weakness and exploiting it. Coach Perez explains his philosophy on singles play from the baseline, which include:
- Every player has a weak side and players need to look to exploit that weak side on every shot.
- Players must look to move their opponent around the court.
- Players must be able to develop accuracy and always look to get balls in play to become a more consistent baseline player.
- Playing balls that are out in practice to allow players to get more reps and improve their ability to return tough shots.
First Serve Competition Drill
Coach Perez ties everything together in the last third of his practice with live points from solid ground play to aggressively attacking the net. He modifies the rules to his live points, only allowing one serve, to emphasize specific areas of match play for his players:
- Putting more pressure on their 2nd serve ability, as Coach Perez believes a player is only as good as their second serve.
- Attacking weak second serves and getting to the net with regularity.
- Attacking an opponent's weakness from the baseline.
- Utilizing "sudden victory" scoring to put more pressure and a sense of urgency on his players.
Coach Perez gives you an extensive look at how to run a competitive practice that allows you to develop your players while teaching them an aggressive attacking style of play. This video gives you a practice that can be utilized at any time during your season, and is great as you prepare for match play.
57 minutes. 2017.
TND-05105B:
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.
TND-05105C:
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)
Often, tennis coaches at all levels must conduct team practice with a mixture of male and female players. A common challenge is learning how to conduct an effective practice that challenges all players of varying abilities. As head coach of both the men's and women's teams at Lynn University, Mike Perez has developed a method to solve this challenge. Using a variety of fitness, dead ball, and soft ball drills, the Lynn University tennis teams shows how a co-ed practice that is challenging and fun for everyone can be conducted.
In this video, both the men's and women's teams cooperate in a short, intense practice focused on fitness and agility. Coach Perez brings the intensity in a focused, disciplined one hour practice, where players get the most out of individualized coaching and coaches get max effort from players.
Fitness Drills
Lynn University athletes demonstrate a full warm-up and fitness routine. See how Coach Perez combines fitness and skill development to create a high level of energy within a short amount of time. These exercises are an ideal way to begin an on-court session.
Footwork Exercises
Coach Perez is a strong believer in the importance of working on footwork and fitness. He guides his athletes through core footwork exercises, including:
- Agility ladder exercises with emphasis on good technique
- Footwork patterns such as figure 8's where Coach Perez gives his tips on maintaining good form
Dead Ball and Hand-Feed Drills
Dead ball drills are vital to build good fundamentals and are a situation where both male and female tennis players can participate together. Coach Perez shows his favorite practice patterns and guides players through utilizing a large variety of spins and ball trajectories. As practice is conducted, Perez gives his thoughts on how to troubleshoot technique.
Serves and Returns Practices
Coach Perez shows his preferred methods for practicing the serve and return of serve. Along the way, he gives great insight on simple fixes and adjustments that can be made when a player is having serve problems.
Soft Ball Competition
Soft ball competition allows men and women to practice together. The emphasis is on utilizing good footwork and prioritizing technique over power. Coach Perez guides players through a variety of competitive drills which allow males and females to compete against each other while still giving everyone a valuable practice session.
Coach Perez gives you the tools to conduct an effective co-ed practice. Additionally, you'll gain great insight into his coaching techniques, which have led to great success for Lynn University tennis.
53 minutes. 2017.