August 6, 2019 at 1:34 p.m.
Summer love: Heideman's summer lessons keeping RHS tennis teams sharp
Summer love: Heideman's summer lessons keeping RHS tennis teams sharp
Tennis, and plenty of it, during the summer is part of the reason that Rhinelander's boys and girls tennis squads have combined to win all but two Great Northern Conference titles since joining the conference in 2010.
The Hodags were back at it this summer under the direction of head coach Bob Heideman during his summer tennis lessons at the RHS tennis courts.
The "Summer of Tennis", as it has be coined on T-shirts given to those who have completed the summer lessons in the past, have been key, especially for the RHS girls' team. Lessons are scheduled through next week and girls' tennis practice begins Aug. 13. The result is a seamless transition into the fall season for members of the team.
That transition, at least over the past decade, has led to plenty of wins at the start of the season for the Hodags. Those wins build confidence, which Heideman said is one of the secrets to the team's success.
"I think that formula has served us very well, in terms of establishing confidence," he said. "I'm a firm believer that winning early is important in terms of establishing a stake. If you lose early you're kind of like, 'Ah, that's OK (to lose).' I think if you win, you've got some (attitude saying) 'I don't want to lose.'"
More than just working on serves and groundstrokes, Heideman covers the gamut over the summer, throwing in volleys, overheads, approaches and lobs to help develop more well-rounded players.
"As I look at it, I think sometimes other coaches say, 'Well, we're just going to concentrate on serves and groundstrokes - forehands and backhands - and if we get good at that, you're not going to beat us,'" he said. "But part of the reason I do it is that so many times, somebody comes in and (thinks), 'Oh, I'm going to be a singles player. All of a sudden, the team needs a doubles player and they have some skills that can help facilitate that. It leads to a better all-around player."
There's another incentive to mix up the training, especially when players are on the court for two hours a day, five days a week for the better part of two months.
"It adds a little more spice in terms of never doing everyday forehands for two hours," Heideman joked.
Heideman said participation numbers are down this year from years past - in the low 30s as opposed to the mid 40s most years.
"That's a significant drop, but I would say on the other side is that I think enthusiasm is up. I think we have a real committed core of kids that are putting in some time and effort," he said.
Heideman said he viewed it as a one-year, blip on the radar, though a smaller number of beginners gives him some cause for concern.
"When you've got beginners down, that may be three or four years (later) coming through the system," he said.
The tennis camp welcomes all kids from established varsity starters to brand new players. While all the campers go over the same basics, lessons are tweaked to cater each individual's skill level and style of play.
"You want a certain baseline of things, which usually entails being balanced and still when you hit the ball. There are some other things there, but then some individuality can come in with how do you take the racquet back? Do you take it back under, do you take it back over? Things like that," Heideman said.
Heideman said the camp this year ended up being a roughly 50-50 split of boys and girls. While the girls have the advantage of transitioning right into their tennis season, the lessons follow the conclusion of the boys' tennis season. Those players will have to try to retain what they learned until the following spring.
"It's different in that you have almost a mini summer in the gym during those first two or three weeks where you're trying to re-establish what you had in the summer while working harder than anyone else to come in with a slight advantage," Heideman said, referencing the late-March, early-April practices at the start of the high school boys' tennis season.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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