USPTA Elite Professional; President, USPTA Northern Division;
High Performance Certified;
Head Tennis Professional at Lifetime 98th St Club
A common problem for many tennis coaches is having a limited amount of court space to use during team training sessions. Practices using traditional individual drills won't get a full team the amount of time they need on the court to enhance their skills.
USPTA Elite Professional Bruce Gullikson provides 15 drills and variations for teams that are limited to 1-2 practice courts. Coach Gullikson demonstrates warmups and large group competitive games and drills. These drills will improve your players' footwork, posture, reaction time, ground strokes, lobs, smashes and volleys.
Team Warm-Up
You'll learn two types of warm-up drills from Coach Gullikson: the Volley Lob Warm-Up and the Ground Stroke Warm-Up. In the Volley Lob Warm-Up, your players will work on keeping their hands in front of their body at the net, maintaining active feet and getting creative with their volleys. It's a great way to get heart rates up and work up a sweat before a demanding practice session.
The second warm-up drill is the Ground Stroke Warm-Up. Athletes will work on hitting slices, shots with top spin, defense and footwork.
Large Group Games
Coach Gullikson works on virtually every skill needed to play elite tennis using games designed for high numbers of players. Your athletes will cycle in and out of drills quickly, getting tons of reps and opportunities to get better.
In Bump Pass Spike, athletes develop creativity, movement without the ball, overhead shots and ability to play with their opposite hand. The phrase that Coach Gullikson promotes is "Hands and feet make the player complete," which is reinforced on the court.
Competitiveness is ramped up in Flurry, a fast-paced drill focused on reaction time and playing from different spots on the court. Teams of three battle against each other to stay on the court, as making a mistake means a new player rotates in for the losing team.
After an intense practice, players need to cool down. See Ya is a great way to end practice, as players work on eliminating mistakes while trying to force opponents into errors.
Coaches of all levels will benefit from the drills and skills covered in this video. Incorporating Coach Gullikson's exercises into your practices will help your players improve at a faster rate, especially if you have limited court space.
65 minutes. 2015.
TND-04896B: with Bruce Gullikson,
USPTA Elite Professional; President, USPTA Northern Division;
High Performance Certified;
Head Tennis Professional at Lifetime 98th St Club
Keeping players engaged is one of the keys to running an effective tennis practice.
USPTA Elite Professional and Head Club Pro, Bruce Gullikson, shows you over 20 high-intensity drills designed for individual players. The exercises provided by Coach Gullikson will help your athletes develop posture, strategy, racquet angle, ground strokes, net defense, spin shots, volleys and accuracy.
Body and Ball Control
Start off your practices by getting players' bodies stretched out and in the correct posture with the Matuska Drill. Your athletes will learn to use their legs and lower their center of gravity while hitting a ball with a partner.
Coach Gullikson includes a series of drills focused on ball control. The Djokovic Drill is a fun exercise that will help your players improve their footwork and racquet angles while competing against another player. Other drills that work on getting a better feel for the ball include the Fast and Furious drill and the Absorb and Rip drill.
Individual Skills
Your players will work on keeping the ball in play, generating spin, game-winning shots, approach shots, accuracy and movement with Coach Gullikson's individual drills.
The 2-on-1 Doubles Isolation drill pits an individual against two players as they work to hit game-winners. It's a challenging drill that will force your athletes to dig deep and hit shots they might not normally make against a single opponent. The Blue Line Net Coverage 2 vs 1 drill makes things even harder, as the width of the court is narrowed to encourage hitting hard, accurate shots.
Another great exercise is the Designated Approaches drill, in which your players will learn to react to the speed of different shots as they approach the net.
Hand Feeding
Coach Gullikson provides a variety of hand feeding drills that work on different kinds of movement and shots.
The Hand Tossing X Drill gets players moving in different directions prior to hitting a ball, while also working on hitting backhands and forehands. Your athletes will also learn how to get more top spin on balls with the Low Ball Wristers exercise. By hitting a low ball at the right angle with more racquet speed, players will soon find themselves hitting devastating topspin shots with ease.
Coach Gullikson's drills for individuals are built with the player in mind. Athletes of all levels will get better at tennis while having fun performing the exercises shown in this video.
56 minutes. 2015.
TND-04896C: with Bruce Gullikson,
USPTA Elite Professional; President, USPTA Northern Division;
High Performance Certified;
Head Tennis Professional at Lifetime 98th St Club
Have you ever wondered how you could use some of the equipment you have lying around to train your athletes?
Bruce Gullikson, Head Tennis Professional at Lifetime 98th St Club and USPTA Elite Professional, delivers a video packed with innovative ways to use objects like ball hoppers, towels, balance discs, cones, jump ropes and cell phones to improve the ability of your players. You'll also get tips and tricks for hitting specific shots, including ground strokes, volleys, drop shots and more.
Utilizing Equipment
Coach Gullikson has his players demonstrate how to use common objects to enhance their skills. For example, you'll learn how to use a ball hopper to train athletes to keep their weight on their back leg during a serve. After a few reps, your athletes will be able to move on to hitting a regular serve while applying the techniques they just learned.
Using cones can be another fun and effective training method. Your players will learn how to use cones as a visual aid to build hand-eye coordination and to properly orient their racquets to the ball.
Balance disks are perfect for getting players into an athletic position and encouraging a smooth swing. As your athletes stand on balance disks, they'll improve their leg strength, core strength, ground strokes and serving ability. Other objects that Coach Gullikson uses to teach his athletes include jump ropes, towels and cell phones.
Tips and Tricks
You'll learn Coach Gullikson's advice for mental toughness, balance and various types of shots as he breaks down drills and offers suggestions for his players in a live setting.
It's essential to be relaxed and use a "catch and release" method on ground strokes, according to Coach Gullikson. In the "Rule of One Bounce" section, you'll hear him explain why players should have their serves get to the back wall or fence in one bounce to make returning the ball tougher for the opponent. More tips, tricks and drills are included that cover backhand slices, volleys, overheads, drop shots and using the continental grip.
This video contains training methods that are effective for coaches of all levels. This season, keep your players engaged in practice with Coach Gullikson's innovative tips and drills.
54 minutes. 2015.