James D.

About Me

Hi, my name is James. Previously I was an Infantry Officer in the Army. Recently, I made the decision to leave the Army to start two companies. I was an Airborne Ranger and led soldiers on two deployments. Prior to serving in the military, I served at a Christian youth camp, Pine Cove Christian Camps, in Tyler Texas where I mentored 50 - 75 college students to help serve kids ages 10-18.

Tennis Background: I set the Wyoming State record for wins in High School with a record of 61-2. I went on to play both soccer and tennis at Oklahoma Wesleyan University, where I was captain for three years and student coach for the last. Following college, I was the head pro at Faulkner Tennis Complex in Tyler Texas, where I played competitively and held private and group lessons for young beginners all the way seasoned players

Teaching Style

100% focused on perfecting basics and creating a smart and strategic player with strong understanding in timing and court awareness.
Points of Focus:
- Everything is driven by timing... And footwork is what gets you to that point.
- Serving and returning with high variability and pace to generate initial advantage.
- Find a players strength and build confidence through that stroke.

Character Building:
- Making tennis something that you do rather than identity
- Positive outlook
- Learning how to fail
- Learning how to win gracefully

15 min prior to lesson: Expect warming up on 2nd Serves (Slice / Kick / Flat)
60 min Lesson Structure:

Beginning
0-2 min: Overview of what's expected / Character lesson (this helps me understand how players week has been) I can call an audible if lesson is physically difficult or mentally difficult at this point

(a) 2-15min: Hard fitness to generate fatigue (This can be anything from running, to speed drills)
(b) 2-10min: Footwork Drills (dot / line / split step / ladder)

Core Part of Lesson: (Recorded)
10-40min:
- 2-4 drills that are foundation focused. Moving from simple to complex movements. IE: Start without racquet and establish foot position, hip rotation, and timing.
- add complexity over time - this is where creativity in training comes in.

40-55min: focus on player primary strength.
55-60min: Give video assignment and breakdown / go over last weeks assignment.

Match play practice varies but follows similar timeline.

Teaching Locations = Travel Radius = Preferred Court