Just a quick, unedited video on match tactics for your tennis volleys and approaches!  

If you would like to have your tennis matches analyzed, get more online tennis lessons or have your tennis strokes reviewed, contact Ryan on HAT Everywhere.

This week coach Ryan from High Altitude Tennis in Parker Colorado shows you the ins and outs on how to hit an effective tennis kick serve. The tennis kick serve is not for everyone! Typically 12 and under students are not physically developed enough to hit the tennis kick serve. Players should be able to master a Flat/Slice tennis serve first before learning the tennis kick serve. 

It is crucial on your tennis kick serve that you keep your toss just slightly to the right of 12:00 (Lefties would keep the tennis kick serve toss on the left side of 12:00) When you line up at the baseline for your tennis kick serve imagine a clock where you are the center with 12:00 being out in front towards the net, 3:00 being directly to your right, 6:00 behind you towards the backdrop and 9:00 to your left. Vic Braden showed many years ago how the effects of a toss that is too far behind your head will lead to injury and inevitably a short tennis career. 

On your Flat/Slice tennis serve you will be tossing out at 1:00 and into the court. You should feel like your toss is pulling you into the court. For the tennis kick serve your toss will come back towards the baseline and slightly to the left. Bringing your kick serve toss back towards the baseline will allow you to more effectively hit UP on the ball to create a very effective kick serve that kicks up above your opponents shoulders and in turn will create short balls for you! 

If you were to draw that same clock on a tennis ball (go ahead I will wait while you go find a tennis ball and draw on it), on your kick serve you should focus on brushing up the back of the ball (similar to a heavy topspin forehand) from7:00 UP through 1:00. This will create the desired height and spin needed for an effective tennis kick serve. 

As you brush up the back of the ball from 7-11 on your tennis kick serve there are a few key concepts you should be focusing on. 
1. You should feel yourself rising through your kick serve like you are climbing a ladder (and not pulling that ladder to the ground). 
2. After you aggressively brush up the back side of the tennis ball on your kick serve you will now pronate out and your swing and follow through will be in the direction of the baseline or parallel with the baseline. 

Finally it is important that we understand that to get the maximum amount of kick on your tennis kick serve you must focus on height over the net. Spin is absolutely needed to bring the ball back down inside the service box on your kick serve, but without height it will never have that kick the kick serve is famous for. To understand this part of the kick serve better it is as simple as drop hitting a ball over the net. If you drop hit a ball over the net fairly low how hight does it kick off the court on the first bounce? What if you hit a 5 feet higher? Will this bounce higher that your first attempt? Absolutely! This should give you a clear understanding of why a tennis kick serve is called a KICK serve :) 

Let us know how the kick serve video worked for your. Go out hit wayyy up the backside of the ball and watch your kick serve bounce higher than you ever imagined!! See you at the courts!


To schedule your own private tennis lesson with Ryan, click here or if you are outside the US or Colorado, check him out on HAT Everywhere!

Tennis Tips: A Quick Tip On The Mental Side Of Tennis!
By: Ryan Segelke


Set Realistic Tennis Goals

"A goal without a plan is just a wish." -Antoine de Saint

When a new student begins one of our tennis programs the very first piece of information they have to fill out is a goals sheet.  What are their short term, mid term and long term tennis or tennis fitness training goals?  Often students will write the first thing that pops into their head like, “play for a powerhouse D1 team” or even “play professional tennis”.  These are great goals to have but they are simply wishes without a realistic plan of action.  That’s why at High Altitude Tennis we provide each of our kids with mental skills sessions.  If the goals are concrete and pragmatic the kids will see their improvement, which will lead to long-term success in tennis and anything they do after.  So next time you decide on a goal, ask yourself why that’s your goal, and what plan of action you are going to take to get there. Before you know it, it may very well become a reality!!!

A classic video from our archives on YouTube.  The 2 cone drill and the variations shown here are great ways to improve your footwork.....anywhere! By working on drills such as this during your tennis training program, you footwork will drastically improve.  When this happens, you will get to more balls and ultimately win more matches.  Now, go out and practice these drills let us know what you think!

If you would like to train in person or online with Michael, visit him on HAT Everywhere!

Tennis Tips: Be Brilliant With Basics 
By Ryan Segelke


You would be surprised to know the small number of tennis players who actually know the proper fundamental techniques of each tennis stroke.  At High Altitude Tennis, our basic philosophy to becoming a successful tennis player is to be brilliant with basic elements of each stroke. Do not be in a rush to move your game forward before perfecting the basics of every stroke. One great way to do this is to study the game of tennis. Look at tennis footage, great players' swings, film your strokes, and take the time to have a trained tennis coach analyze your game to give you the proper prospective on the flaws in all of your tennis strokes during your tennis lesson. The more you practice the basics the better your game will be. 

One of the greatest players in NFL history, Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers, understood this concept better then anyone. Even though he was a great player, he still spent countless hours running the same passing routes over and over again. He recognized that the more comfortable he was with the basics the easier it would be to duplicate on the football field under pressure. This notion is no different in tennis. The more you practice the basics, the easier it will be for you to execute good strategy and proper techniques when you are playing tough matches. 

In this weeks tennis Friday Fix, Tennis Coach Ryan gives you an important tennis tip that you can use during the 10 minute tennis match warm-up. 

If you are in dire straights, pulled wide on a tennis forehand or a tennis backhand and you throw up a high defensive tennis shot will your opponent step into the tennis court and punish you? Or step back and let you in the tennis point? This is crucial information that will help you throughout an entire tennis match if you pay attention to the right cues. 

If you know your tennis opponent will not look to move into the tennis court and finish you off when you are in trouble, you no longer have to feel pressure when you are pulled off the tennis court. You can calmly get throw up a high ball which will give you time to recover and continue the tennis point on neutral ground. 

All you have to do is to figure out if your tennis opponent an aggressive tennis player who will look to move forward into the tennis court at the first sign of weakness or the type of tennis player who is not comfortable moving into the tennis court and will let you back in the tennis point when you are in trouble is throw up a high ball during the 10 minute tennis match warm up and see what they do. If they hold their ground or step into the tennis court you are likely in for a very competitive tennis match. IF they move back and take the tennis ball by the tennis backdrop, you are in luck! 

Understanding this tennis concept will ensure that you no longer have to feel pressure when pulled out wide and you can put the tennis ball back in play with ease and continue the tennis point. In essence it will be very difficult for your tennis opponent to put you in uncomfortable spots on the tennis court because you now know they will not put you away!

Tennis Tips: Improve Your Tennis By Always Having A Poker Face
By: Ryan Segelke


The game of tennis can often be frustrating. There will be times when you are playing great, but there will be far more times when you are playing less than great. A fundamental rule in tennis match strategy is not to show your frustration on the court. When you watch great players' faces during a match, you are unable to tell if they are winning or losing unless you know the score. You want to head into every tennis match with that same approach. 

Showing anger and frustration allows your opponent to see they are breaking you down mentally. Staying calm and relaxed on the court allows you to stay in a good mindset and more importantly, keeps your opponent guessing. Do not let emotion be the reason you lose a match; stay mentally strong when on the court and fight for every point maintaining your composure throughout.

Ryan Segelke has national and international tennis coaching experience.  From coaching on tour at the French Open and US Open to training China's up and coming juniors, he has seen the top tennis professions up close and personal.  If you have would like to have your tennis questions answered, make sure you follow him and the rest of the High Altitude Tennis Staff on Facebook and YouTube.  

For your own private tennis lesson with Ryan, click here! 

Welcome to the http://www.highaltitudetennis.com green room! 

Tonight, In Coach Ryan's Best blog to date, he discusses what helped him understand volleys much better and how he has learned to handle the inevitable differences in today's tennis programs. 

Coach Ryan describes how one of his mentors once showed him a simple example of the most effective way to hit the volley. As tennis pro's we often get stuck in our own bubble and are very defensive to hear new, different information, but what made Ryan change his mind about the volleys was logic and in the end thinking more about his students than himself. 

Next, Ryan discusses a situation that often comes up for coaches. One of Ryan's international students asked what they should do when they leave the HAT program and down the road a coach happens do disagree with what they have been taught at HAT. Ryan has learned the hard way that it's very important to have the student understand that they need to become open independent thinkers. They can learn something from every coach they come across if they are open, but its important to take in the information and figure out what makes sense. As in running a successful business it's all about common sense.

Welcome to the Green Room at http://www.highaltitudetennis.comheadquarters! 

Today Coach Ryan has 3 things on his mind to share with you!

In the first tennis topic of the day, Ryan explains how proud he is of one of his tennis students. The tennis student has worked extremely hard at her tennis game and she is now reaping the benefits. Cami has done 2-6 week sessions. Some may say that anyone can get better just hitting a lot of balls, but I disagree, they must have purpose with their practice to get the kid of results that Cami has achieved! Last year Cami played Junior Varsity on her high school tennis team and this year she has the opportunity to snag one of the top 3 singles spots! That's a HUGE leap in the the tennis food chain. Keep up the good work Cami! A long way to go, but you are on the right path.

Next, Coach Ryan discusses a conversation he had with a grandparent of one of his tennis students. She is 62 years of age and this past weekend was her first weekend EVER skiing! This was a great example of getting out of your comfort zone and doing something new! A topic very often discussed at HAT and another great example we will bring up in class tonight as a mind vitamin for the tennis students. 

Lastly, Coach Ryan keeps it real! A lot of people like to imagine that they invented the wheel or are in the process of reinventing the wheel. The key to success is hard work and an ability to learn! Ryan takes this opportunity to thank everyone he has come across along the way that molded him into the person he is today. 

See you at the next blog!

Welcome to the green room with Tennis Coach Ryan! Tonight Tennis Coach Ryan starts off discussing about grips. Tennis grips are not easy to change and the discomfort can be hard to handle when first changing. BUT like anything in life its important to forget the old and accept the new as soon as possible to make sure the transition period between the old tennis grip and the new tennis grip is as short as possible. What is key to understand about changing a tennis grip is that they are changes of a lifetime! You will have to make the change one time and likely never again unless a bad habit slips in at some point in your tennis life. On the tennis serve, the tennis forehand if your tennis coach is trying to get you to change your grip and it makes sense, go for it! Next Tennis Coach Ryan discusses a forgettable movie that had a very memorable moment. Sometimes when you know what you are doing is right people are not going to agree! And that's ok! Everyone is a critic these days and to avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, BE NOTHING! Forget about the critics and continue to do what you need to do to be successful. Lastly make sure you don't miss the new angry tennis ball commercial which will be released this MONDAY MORNING!