How a High School Coach Turned 90-Minute Practices into a Competitive Advantage
By Jorge Capestany, RSPA Master Professional & PTR International Master Professional
When this high school coach first joined TennisDrills.tv, their biggest frustration wasn’t effort.
It was time… They had:
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90-minute practices
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Mixed varsity + JV levels
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Players who only competed for 10–12 weeks a year
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Limited assistant coaching support
And the constant question:
“How do I actually make this team better in such a short season?”
The Challenge: Organized… But Not Impactful
Before using TennisDrills.tv, practices looked structured on paper:
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10 minutes warm-up
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20 minutes of stroke work
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20 minutes serve practice
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30 minutes of point play
But something wasn’t clicking. The coach admitted:
“We were busy, but I’m not sure we were improving.”
Common issues:
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Too much line feeding
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Players standing around
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Top players are not challenged enough.
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Bottom players overwhelmed
And worst of all… The match results didn’t reflect the effort.
The Shift: Practicing with more live ball drills, like what happens in a real match.
After joining TennisDrills.tv, the first big change was philosophical:
Instead of practicing strokes… They started practicing situations.
Examples of what changed:
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From “Forehand crosscourt deadball drill.” …To: Live Ball Consistency Battle Drill.
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From “Serve Practice hitting into an empty box.” To: …”Serve Eliminator Drill with targets, scoring, and opponents.
Now, most of the drills used had: Scoring / Opponents / Champions side, and a clearly featured shot or skill as the focus.
“Our practices started to feel like real match play, but controlled.”
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The Big Breakthrough: Practice Pods
One of the most powerful ideas this coach implemented from TennisDrills.tv was dividing players into competitive pods.
Instead of varsity and JV simply separating:
They created: Challenge courts / Promotion/relegation ladders / Short competitive sets with constraints.
Now:
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Strong players pushed each other.
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Developing players had realistic success.
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Everyone competed daily
The energy shifted immediately.
Assistant Coaches Finally Had a System
Before, assistant coaches often asked: “What do you want me to run today?”
Now the head coach simply:
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Downloads a printable lesson template
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Sends the PDF of the drill diagrams
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Assigns specific drills to be used.
The Results After One Season
After implementing structured, competitive practices from TennisDrills.tv, this coach reported:
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Improved dual match record
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Fewer lineup complaints (because challenge systems were built in)
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Stronger doubles chemistry
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More players are returning for the next season
But the most important comment?
“For the first time, I felt like we practiced with purpose every single day.”
The Unexpected Benefit: Player Leadership
Because drills were competitive and clearly structured:
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Captains started running warmups.
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Players understood scoring formats.
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Upperclassmen mentored younger players.
Instead of the coach controlling every ball…
The team began owning practice.
Final Takeaway..
High school seasons are short. Court time is limited. And many coaches don’t get paid year-round to plan like full-time club pros.
This coach didn’t need:
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More hours / More courts / More staff