Pat Dougherty’s association with the IMG Academy extends back to November
1985. A prolific writer and video producer, Pat’s body of work spans over 25
productions. His pieces “Killer Forehand,” “Sonic Serves” and the “Serve Doctor MPH” are among the bestselling tennis videos in history. In 1990, Pat received a patent for his Athletic Performance Belt. The A.P. Belt Training System includes several innovative training devices and a digital download entitled “Quicker, More Powerful Tennis in 30 Days.” Many touring pros and nearly 100 college teams have made the A.P. Belt an integral part of their training regimen.
Pat Dougherty
Footwork
Everyone who plays tennis is well aware of the need to build strong movement techniques; that is, a way to get to the ball in an efficient, powerful way so that the player arrives in place to make the best...
Footwork
Movement is the strength that unites the champions from all eras. I believe that strength of movement is the single greatest weapon in a winning game, equally important in developing offense and defense. Explosive quickness gives you opportunities to control...
Famous Coaches
Here is a final bonus to Pat’s amazing series on the Pinpoint Serve: throwing skills and exercises to develop the prerequisites for any great serve
Famous Coaches
Now Pat brings all the elements of his preferred pinpoint serve together in the Full Motion. Check it out!
Famous Coaches
In this segment Pat shows you how to develop what he calls "The Preset Motion" working from a partial motion to incorporate the critical pole vault motion one of the critical elements in his model of the pinpoint serve.
Famous Coaches
Having outlined the 12 checkpoints for developing a powerful pinpoint stance serve, Pat moves on to a 3 step process to help implement them. The first step? Mastering the Cylinder.
Famous Coaches
In Part 4 of Pat's series on the pinpoint stance, he details the Last 6 pinpoint serve checkpoints. (Click Here for Part 1. Click Here for Part 2. Click Here for Part 3.)
Famous Coaches
In Part 3 of Pat's series on the pinpoint stance, he details how to develop the first 6 Checkpoints. Of special interest is Pat's explanation of the surprising pinpoint variations. (Click Here for Part 1. Click Here for Part 2.)
Famous Coaches
In part 2 of his series on developing the pinpoint serve, Pat outlines 4 power sources. He believes that the pinpoint is the only serve variation that allows players to develop all 4.
Famous Coaches
In this remarkable new series on Tennisplayer, my long time friend Pat Dougherty is going to present a comprehensive approach to building the serve based on his decades of experience working at Bollettieri’s with players from all levels, up to...
Footwork
As the "Serve Doctor" based out of IMG Academy, my longtime friend John Yandell asked me to weigh in on the debate over whether the platform or pinpoint stance is better. I'm often asked, "Who's got the best serve?" First...
Footwork
Nicole Vaidisova lunges and transfers her weight in a semi-open stance. Hitting effortlessly and powerfully on the run is one of the hallmarks of tennis greatness. Slow reactions, sluggish recoveries, and moving with the center of gravity too high, can...
Footwork
Most movement in tennis is lateral or side to side. As we saw in Part 2, establishing upper body momentum in the direction of movement is an essential part of an explosive first step reaction. When your center of gravity...
Footwork
The athletic foundation is often the missing link in developing into a professional player. As the biomechanics specialist at the BollettieriTennis Academy, for two decades I've worked to help young players develop into tour professionals. When I compare the top...