TenniswithDennis

TenniswithDennis

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25 years experience teaching kids tennis. Free two hour weekly Saturday program,9 AM thru 11 AM at Vance Harmon Park courts.

Individual fee paid lessons available. See Facebook page tenniswithdennis.

Tennis Biography

Dennis Bruckel

5/17/14

I have played tennis from a very early age, and do not remember my first experiences prior to playing on a high school tennis team. Since my retirement from the nursery business in Vermont about 20 years ago, tennis has been a large part of my life, both playing and coaching.

I was certified by the Professional Tennis Registry around 15 years ago and have taken several continuing education courses offered by them. Earlier, I was on the faculty at the University of Vermont teaching horticulture. Also, I bred and trained Labrador Retrievers for field trials. Both of these experiences showed me the importance of breaking down complex activities into their simplest components and drilling on those individual practices and procedures until they become second nature, are done without thought, and put together unconsciously. As a great baseball coach once said, "I don't want a bunch of guys thinking out there". Good strokes should be second nature and deeply ingrained.

My tennis competitive career is not particularly noteworthy beyond a couple of shoeboxes full of Florida Senior Games medals won against not especially great competition over 20 years. I think my skills at recognizing in students mechanical flaws in stroke production and correcting them in students is my strongest ability. And, I want all my students to have a full complement of strokes, from topspin lobs to dropshots.

A particularly favorite activity of mine is working with younger players. While basketball, football, baseball, and soccer are great for kids to learn, tennis is a sport one can play for the rest of their life, needing only a public court, and one other person to keep fit and play for a lifetime. See the Facebook page Tennis with Dennis for details on my weekly free program for kids.

I asked a student of mine, Alysa Griff, to add her thoughts to this article. She contributed the following.

I met Dennis Bruckel two and a half years ago at Vance Harmon Park while I was hitting tennis balls with my boyfriend. He introduced himself as a local tennis pro, as well as complimented me on my strokes. Needless to say, I was so excited! I hadn’t played seriously since high school and was new to Florida. I didn’t know anyone that played and had a racquet that needed restringing. Meeting Dennis was the best thing that has happened to my tennis game.

A few months later, I contacted Dennis and arranged some lessons to get me back into the swing of things. Dennis and I were a great match from the beginning. He is the reason that I have become a much stronger player. I was so impressed with his knowledge and love for the game.

At first, I was a mess on the court. Although my ground strokes were decent, I was inconsistent, couldn’t volley and could barely serve. After a few months of lessons and drills, Dennis had me volleying, serving and my ground strokes were steadily improving. He dedicated more time to me than any other pro I have ever worked with, on and off the court. He would email me after our sessions and give me ideas about my game and different strategies. He encouraged and inspired me. Dennis did such a great job with me, that now he is my favorite person to play against. The matches are extremely close, and he has become my favorite person to compete with. He has introduced me to countless different tennis players in the area, always encouraging me to play with different types of people.

Dennis also dedicates countless hours to helping children in the area free of charge. He is kind, patient, knowledgeable and really fun to work with. He has become a great friend, great competitor and a mentor to me. Solivita would be lucky to have such a great tennis player and instructor!

From: Rita & Richard Lambert Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2014 5:10 PM

To: 'Fern Horwitz'

Cc: '[email protected]'

Subject: Thursday Ladies Tennis League Clinic with Dennis Bruckel

Fern—

Just wanted you to know that our Thursday Ladies Intermediate Invitational Tennis League participated in a Club sponsored Clinic with Coach Dennis Bruckel this morning.

The twelve ladies who attended the hour-long session voted unanimously that it was a worthwhile learning experience. We appreciate and thank the Racqueteers Club for sponsoring this event and look forward to future sessions with Dennis.

R-

Subject:

Tennis Pro: Dennis Bruckel

Date:

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 08:52:58 -0400

From:

Dear Fern and Elizabeth, Just wanted to drop you a note to tell you of a wonderful experience we had with our Granddaughter and Coach Bruckel. As a 10th birthday present, we gave our Granddaughter Zoey, a private one hour tennis lesson with Coach Dennis. She never had a lesson before and we were quite anxious whether she would like the experience, sport or could even hit the ball with the racket. We were so amazed! Zoey liked him right away. Dennis was so upbeat, positive, knowledgeable about the game as well as Zoey’s level and ability,she played with great enthusiasm and did amazingly well.Zoey is now the proud owner of her own tennis racket and balls and wants to come to Solivita to play all the time. We are so happy we can sharethis sport with our youngest Grandchild. These are the memories we wish to cherish with our family. Stan and I feel very fortunate to have such an accomplished tennis professional who helps, not just our game, but everyone’s tennis game,even the youngest beginner. He’s a real asset to the community. Thank you. Sincerely, Stan and Dianne


Highlights

1 employee
29 years in business
Serves Kissimmee , FL

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    Frequently asked questions

    Free evaluation and consultation.Graduate to individual or group lessons.$40 per hour rate. Ball machine available.

    25 years experience teaching youth and adults.

    Hourly rate $40.

    Lifelong tennis player taking next step.

    Beginners through advanced high schoolers

    ITF Seniors 80's at USTA's Lake Nona campus.

    Let's meet and give it a try!

    What are your goals? High school or college play?


    Services offered

    Tennis