Justin C.

I have been coaching tennis since I was 9-years old. I have coached recreational families, competitive children and teens, as well as Division I collegiate level players. Besides personal training and coaching, I have years of experience with Tompkins Tennis International clinic, in which I taught technique, strategy, footwork, and mental toughness to beginners and tournament players. My students have always appreciated my clear, concise verbal instructions, as well as my reasoning behind said instructions. Also, I always make sure to explain the purpose of each drill and tip so students not only understand the end-goal, but also feel actively motivated to engage in the process.

I started playing when I was 2-years old and began competing in junior tournaments almost every weekend since I was 6. I have reached #1 in singles and doubles in the Northern California section for 10&unders, 12&unders, 14&unders, top #40 nationally for 16&unders, and was a 5-star recruit to Dartmouth College's Division I Men's Tennis team. During my junior tennis history, I have earned numerous sportsmanship awards, and have always been known for my fairness on the court.

I would first want to know the student's tennis background and goals.

If the student is a beginner and wants to play recreationally, then I will start with fundamentals, such as all the different strokes, and also assign homework, such as drills to reinforce muscle memory of those strokes. A typical session will involve warming up properly, in which I will show correct active stretching technique for 5 minutes. For 30-40 minutes, I will feed tennis balls to the student, during which the student will focus on different strokes individually, as well as his or her footwork. This will be the main focus for each session to make slow, calculated progressions with the goal of mastering the fundamentals. For the last 15 minutes, the student will practice serving as I guide him or her on ways to improve technique.

Alternatively, if the student is more advanced and wants to hone their game for competition, then I would act as a hitting partner who offers guidance of strategy, shot selection, and footwork efficiency, assuming the student has excellent stroke fundamentals. For a typical session, I expect the student to arrive at least a few minutes early to warm up (active stretching, jogging, band work, etc.), then we will begin the session with 10-15 minutes of hitting from the baseline, cross-courts, volleys, overheads, and serves. Then, we will work on weaknesses, such as footwork, a specific stroke, reflexes, etc. for 15 minutes. Afterwards, we will play competitively against each other, which will vary depending on the needs of the student (baseline points, tie-breakers, mini-sets, movement drills) for 20 minutes. Lastly, we will have a short conditioning session, which involves sprints mixed with strength training (suicides with wall-sits/pushups, dirty-dozens with planks, etc.) for 5-10 minutes.