Boys 14 Mini-Camp

HTA Boy’s 12 / 14 Mini Camp Summary
November 14 – 16, 2008

This past weekend, the Academy opened its doors to some of the most talented 12 – 14 year old boys from across the Midwest. We had 32 players participate in our three day Mini Camp that featured fun, educational seminars, and great competition. We chose this date for the camp to help these juniors prepare for their fall and winter national tournaments. The camp was Co- Directed by HTA Special Advisor and former Northwestern University Men’s Head Coach Paul Torricelli and I. The guest speakers that we brought in were Paul Lubbers (the former USTA Director of Coaching Education), and Northwestern University Men’s Coaches Arvid Swan and Chris Drake.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH
6:30pm Players arrived at Glenbrook Racquet Club, home of the Herrmann Tennis Academy, at 6:30pm for registration. We were on court between 7:00-10:00 and HTA Director Ernie Katko conducted the three hour session‘s theme of “Exploiting Your Opponents weaknesses”. The juniors went through different playing patterns and later competed in match play. We had a great discussion on keeping a match journal and the energy in the room was electric. There was positive feedback offered from the coaching staff and Lubbers kept a watchful eye on the players biomechanics. After finishing at 10:00pm, the campers were given Saturday’s College Football pairings for an “in-house” academy football pool.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH
10:00am Everyone was on time and on court for Paul Lubbers’ video presentation “Developing an on court routine.” Paul presented a fascinating video break down of all of the top ATP players on tour and the way they conduct themselves in between points. The boys got to watch Federer’s rituals and Nadal’s positive motivation in between points. Choosing how to let go of a bad shot and taking control of the elements of the match were constant messages coming from Paul’s voice. Later, Paul had some of the juniors show the campers their rituals and that later led to further group discussion. Many parents were in attendance as well. We finished the morning session with drills before serving lunch.

During lunch, Torricelli conducted an educational seminar for about 25 parents interested in learning about the college process. The topics included: when to start, the do’s and don’ts of NCAA rules, and how to contact a college coach. Paul has introduced a new program at HTA which he will direct called CAP (Collegiate Advisory Program). Paul shared his thoughts on how this program can help families through this sometimes exhausting process. A great discussion was held and Paul answered many question from the parents.

After lunch, it was time for three hours of singles and doubles match play on the club’s ten indoor courts. Members of the coaching staff were assigned to player’s courts and worked with all campers on their patterns.
The night session featured guest speakers were Northwestern University Coaches Arvid Swan and Chris Drake. Both coaches talked about developing a game now that will transition into a successful collegiate career later. They highlighted topics of interest ranging from developing a weapon to the importance of being a team player. Juniors were asked to participate in drills and later asked questions about the importance of playing high school tennis. Both Coach Swan and Coach Drake were very knowledgeable and did a fantastic job of providing a lot of information in 90 minutes.
After the presentation we hit the courts with the explosive “never ending point” drill used by the NCAA champion Pepperdine University. At 7:30pm kids were anxious for the pizza dinner and more importantly they all wanted to know how their picks were doing in the College Pool.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH
8:00am Time for my presentation and I focused on “Defensive Winning Patterns”. I was thrilled to see everyone ready to go after a full 10 hour workout the day before. After a warm up and stretch, I shared my thoughts on two key shots that can take you to victory if you’re placed on defense – the slice backhand and heavy rolling forehand. I stressed court placement and positioning of the executed shot and how to think your way out of a defensive position. The most important think I stressed to the players was, DON’T PANIC!!!

After my demonstration we conducted live and dead ball drills. We finished off the camp with a “One Point” Tournament (won by Ben Blier), and awarded Drew Campbell a prize for winning the College Football Pool.

I want to thank all of my staff for doing such a terrific job on court as I share their enthusiasm and passion for growing the game of tennis here in the Midwest. A “special thanks” goes to the HTA office staff for their weeks of preparation for successfully pulling off such an organized three day event. It is the Academy’s on-going theme to “exceed the needs of the junior competitive player” and I salute this team’s effort for their contribution on this Mini Camp.


Ken Herrmann