Dave Hagler is a Tennis Professional based in Los Angeles, California. He works with players of all ages, but he has a special passion for junior development. He has coached numerous sectionally and nationally ranked junior players and several national champions. Dave is a USPTA Master Professional and National Tester, a PTR Master of Tennis – Performance, and was one of the first 100 coaches to complete the USTA’s High Performance Coaching Program. He has been the USPTA California Division Pro of the Year and one of 5 National Recipients of the “Pro of the Year” award from Head and the PTR.
Dave Hagler
Ultimate Drill Games
Here are the last 3 drills in the series. In the next article I will show how to use touch to hit the drop shot two ways - including bouncing it back over the net to yourself. Back to Self...
Ultimate Drill Games
There is a reason you kept those wood racquets in your closet! They are fantastic for developing touch. Here are three drills for mastering slice on all the shots. In just a few minutes you often see drastic improvement. Do...
Ultimate Drill Games
This month in Part 3 of this series I am adding 4 new, more advanced drills for developing touch. Click Here for Part 1 and Click Here for Part 2. Emperor's Volley I learned this drill from USPTA and PTR...
Ultimate Drill Games
In the first article in the series I offered 4 simple drills to begin developing touch and feel. (Click Here.) Now here are 4 more slightly more difficult ones to continue players' development. Racket Toss and Catch Put the ball...
Ultimate Drill Games
In my last article we looked at the effectiveness of drop shots in pro tennis and at all levels. (Click Here.) it's devastating and underused shot, particularly in junior and club tennis. But to hit consistent drops shots, you need...
Teaching Systems
In the previous part of the series we looked at slices--but much of what was described applied to shots where players are moving laterally. Let's look at ways to understand and utilize spacing where the movement is more forward, parallel...
Teaching Systems
In the first parts of the series we addressed spacing on shots where a player is moving laterally and hitting with topspin. (Click Here for Part 1.) Click Here for Part 2.) Now let's look at some drills for spacing...
Teaching Systems
In Part 1 of this new series, we looked at multiple drills I use with my players to create better spacing using multiple movement patterns. (Click Here.) Now let's continue with some additional, more complex drills. 2 Forehands 2 Backhands...
Teaching Systems
Players want to get better. Coaches want to facilitate this. Strokes and footwork are examined and analyzed as we seek to optimize biomechanical technique. But an important but often ignored component of efficient technique is spacing. This is the distance...
Teaching Systems
In the first article, (Click Here) we saw that by exaggerating certain geometric and technical patterns, players could make significant breakthroughs in their ability to control the tennis ball on the groundstrokes. This article applies the same concept of exaggeration...
Teaching Systems
In the never ending quest to develop better players, coaches need to help players increase the range of their comfort and power zones. Comfort zones describe the range of height where a player can return a shot with confidence. Power...
Ultimate Drill Games
You can hit a drop shot with almost pure underspin, a combination of side and under spin or in rare instances with a combination of under and outside spin. If your opponent plays way behind the baseline, is inattentive, does...
Teaching Systems
If you have been watching professional tennis, especially on clay, you've seen a lot of dropshots. Dropshots can be an effective weapon for men, women, seniors, but also for juniors. There are coaches who do not like the idea of...
Teaching Systems
On swing volleys I believe you should use normal approach shot footwork in most situations. This means a semi-open to neutral stance to allow easier movement through the shot and generation of topspin. About two thirds of all pro swing...
Teaching Systems
Printable Version What can we learn from the evolution of tactics versus Nadal? If you look at the history of tennis, you will see that tactics and strategies evolve as players seek and find the means to compete with a...
Strategy
How do changes in equipment affect doubles at the pro, and at the club level? When most people talk tennis, they talk about singles. When most people play tennis, they play doubles. With that in mind, I will make 3...
Strategy
Is the power men's game the right model ? Although there are many theories about playing style, when we observe high level tennis closely, how does theory compare with the reality of match play? And how can reality help the...
Strategy
When is the running down the line actually the "high percentage" shot? Here's what seems like a simple question. Which is better, a shot that you can make 100% of the time, or a shot that you can make 30%...
Teaching Systems
Great balance increases power, consistency, and accuracy. In all the complex patterns of movement on the tennis court there is one constant. This is balance. In my last two articles (Click Here) I demonstrated some exercises based on exaggeration techniques...
Teaching Systems
Exaggerated learning can produce amazing results at all levels. Traditional tennis teaching is based around the concept of accuracy. We want to describe the strokes as accurately as possible, and we want our students to hit the ball accurately according...