Coaches Come Together For High School Coaches Workshop

The High School Coaches Workshop returned to Bethpage Park Tennis Center as Steve Kaplan and his team provided instruction and advice to high school tennis coaches from across Long Island. This event is a collaborative effort between Serve & Return and Grow Tennis New York, two non- profits dedicated to growing the sport of tennis in our community.

The Workshop brings together local high school tennis coaches, both junior varsity and varsity, to learn from Kaplan as well as other guest speakers about coaching techniques, proper warm-ups, how to coach a team, and the importance of high school tennis.

Strength and conditioning coach Frank Dolan spoke to the coaches about how to properly warm-up their team prior to both practices and matches, and put the coaches through a variety of drills and exercises to demonstrate.

Many times in high school competition, the visiting team gets off the bus and doesn’t have a lot of time to warm-up before the match begins. That puts a great deal of importance on how your team warms-up to ensure its an effective way to prepare for the upcoming match.

“A lot of high school tennis programs get out there and just start hitting. But what we wanted to emphasize is having an understanding of not just warming up to get a sweat going or get loose, but it’s also to change athleticism and improve movements if done the right way,” explained Dolan. “What we discussed today was doing things with intent, going through the full range of motions, thinking of keeping things in alignment, the right posture, and all those little details that help you avoid just going through the motions. I think I was able to provide something simple that the coaches can quickly take with them and apply it to their teams right away.”

Kaplan discussed many different drills that coaches can use with their the proper serve toss and grip, as well as how to generate power on the forehand and backhand strokes.

Highly-respected tennis coach Ricky Becker, who was a stand out atRoslyn High School and Stanford, showed specific drills coaches can use with their team. There were opportunities for coaches to bring their players down to have open play on the Bethpage courts, and guests were able to enjoy pizza after the event concluded.

All of this created a well-rounded event that provided a number of local high school coaches with valuable information they can bring to their teams.

One of the primary goals of the workshop is to bring attention to just how important high school tennis is as Kaplan is a strong believer that top junior players should play for their high school teams rather than sit out to strictly focus on private training, and wants to provide the necessary resources for high school coaches.

“High school tennis on Long Island will grow and attract the most enthusiastic players with dedicated coaches who provide the most value to students,” said Kaplan. “I have tried to provide technical, tactical and physical educational opportunities to school coaches at my free workshops for the last 20 years so that they have more tools in their tool chest to enhance the experience for their players. As educators it’s vital to stay current to educate and lead.”

David Sickmen, Publisher of Long Island Tennis Magazine, added:

“We have been collaborating on this event for years because we think it’s an important one. I’ve seen the divide between high school and private tennis grow larger throughout the years, and as we do in most situations, we try to use our platform, resources and partnerships to bring people together. At this year’s Workshop, we did just that and we look forward to continue to doing that in the future.”