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!!!

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. 

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! 

In todays blog Coach Ryan Discusses a few people who inspire him. The big boss Leslie is a chef and watches Gordon Ramsay and Robert Irvine two world renowned chefs. Ryan discusses how their keep it simple formula that they plug into struggling businesses around the world is exactly what tennis needs. It's not about trying to reinvent the wheel, it's really about keep the quality high!! 

Next, Coach Ryan elaborates a little further into the cooking world. Top chefs are measured by how many michelin stars they have... Wouldn't it be cool if tennis coaches were judged by a similar standard? The bar by which tennis coaches are measured is not as high as it should be and we all could use a little more accountability. 

Lastly, Coach Ryan discusses a current client who contacted us via the website from Dallas who asked us to do a customized program for him that could be done over the interned (skype). Now we certainly are not claiming to invent skype lessons :) but we think this is pretty cool!! If you would like to have a customized program for you from Coach Michael you can contact him directly at michael@highaltitudetennis.com. 

Coach Michael discusses the progress HAT has made on YouTube, the status of the 5280 voting and the importance of stretching after practice, match or workout!

Today Coach Ryan gives credit to all the HAT families!  Especially those families who are going through the HAT program together.  There's nothing better than seeing players and parents improving and supporting each other through the process. As we all know achieving something that is worth while will often times be difficult and that is what makes it fun and challenging.  What gets us through the frustrating times are those who around us who give us support.  

Ryan next gives a shout out to Eric Kwiatkowski who won 3 matches in only his second sectional tournament ever!  Eric has been a consistent hard worker and deserves every bit of success he gets.  At HAT we are all excited for the what is to come for Eric.  Keep up the good work. 

Lastly Ryan talks about how improving has very little to do with the person across the net from you, it is up to the individual.  If the player is motivated and wants their dream badly enough they will find a way to improve under any circumstance.  Karen Barbat did just that in practice last night.... One of the best team practices of the season!  

Have questions?  Let us help!  Submit your questions below and Coach Ryan would be happy to answer them for you!  

Tennis Tips: Tips To Improve Your Tennis Footwork
By: Michael Farrington


Move Those Feet!!

Footwork is one of the most important components of your tennis game. If you are not in proper position, you will not hit a clean shot, even if your swing is perfect. Working to improve your tennis footwork is no different than improving your strokes, it simply takes practice. Here are a few ways to increase your foot speed and agility on the court.

1. Jump Rope – Jumping rope is a great way to get your legs and feet accustomed to moving at a quicker pace. That’s why all great tennis players’ carry around a jump rope in their tennis bag.
2. Speed and Agility Drills – When on the tennis court allow yourself time to focus on your tennis footwork. Take time to do a proper dynamic warm up with exercises designed to increase foot speed, including high knee lifts, hopscotch, crossover steps and sprints. It might not be the most exciting part of the game, but it is extremely beneficial.
3. Proper positioning - When rallying or hitting on a ball machine, you should be active with your feet at all times, concentrating on taking big steps early to get to the ball, and then little steps to position yourself before executing your swing. Squeaking shoes are always a good sound. At the end of a hitting session or match your legs should be worn out!

Michael is the Head of Strength and Conditioning at High Altitude Tennis.  He oversees the training programs of all the tennis players on site and also trains our training professionals and juniors abroad.  If you would like to have your tennis fitness training questions answered, message him at Michael@HighAltitudeTennis.com.  


Michael is available for tennis fitness training and sports performance training, so please look for details here.
High Altitude Tennis is conveniently located in Parker Colorado and serves the entire Denver metro area.

A Quick Tactical Tennis Tip!
By: Ryan Segelke


Control the Court

·       Federer arranges the ball boys to certain positions in the back of the court.

·       Nadal sets his drinks in the same precise position after every sip of serum.

·       Djokovic bounces the ball for what seems like a week before he serves. 

 The best tennis players in the world are creatures of habit and it’s all about controlling their environment in order to make things as comfortable as possible during battle! They plan on staying on the court as long as it takes to dismantle their opponent.  So next time you step onto the court arrange the surroundings how you see fit and get ready to dig your heals in for the battle ahead.


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!