University of Alabama Nike Tennis Camp Tuscaloosa, Alabama
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The Alabama Nike Tennis Camp is a junior tennis camp for young athletes to come and vastly improve their tennis game, work hard, make new friends and have a lot of fun. Our goal is to give players the opportunity to hit thousands of balls, improve their technique, and be challenged by some of the best players in their peer group.
Our summer camps combine technical tennis instruction and drilling from a top notch coaching staff, supervised match play, and a variety of evening social activities. The University of Alabama’s athletic program is steeped in tradition and pride, which makes this Crimson Tide Tennis Camp an unforgettable experience.
Highlights Include
- Daily on-court instruction from UA head men's coach, George Husack, and his expert staff
- Fun off-court activities for overnight campers, including a pizza party, games on the "Quad" and other social events
- 5-6 hours of daily instruction including drilling and match play with a 6:1 student to teacher ratio
- Every camper will receive a Nike Tennis Camp T-shirt
The University of Alabama is situated on a beautiful 1,000 acre campus in the heart of Tuscaloosa. Campers will have access to 30 total courts - 12 varsity lighted courts, 12 courts at the Recreation Center across the street, and the new air-conditioned tennis center, The Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility, contains six regulation NCAA hard courts, in addition to a lobby and restroom. Campers will also be able to use the varsity track, swimming pools and numerous recreational facilities.
Meet your coaching staff
Camp Director
George Husak
George Husack will be entering his first season at the Capstone as he was named head coach on June 13, 2012. Husack joins the Crimson Tide after having spent the last three seasons as associate head coach for the four-time defending national champion University of Southern California Trojans.
Read Full BioHusack, the 2012 Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Assistant Coach of the Year, was responsible for coaching, player development and recruiting throughout his tenure with the Trojans. In addition, he helped train and motivate one of the most decorated players in collegiate tennis, Steve Johnson, to back-to-back NCAA Singles Championships and 72 consecutive singles victories. As a team, the Trojans compiled an 85-6 overall record over the last three seasons and had four individuals earn a combined 10 All-America honors under his watch.
Prior to his appointment at USC, Husack spent two seasons as associate head coach at Illinois after having been the head coach at Santa Clara for five years.
While at Illinois, Husack helped the Illini to two straight trips to the NCAA Round of 16 while coaching student-athletes that attained top-10 rankings nationally in both singles and doubles. As with USC, his primary responsibilities included player development and recruiting.
Husack assumed the reins of head coach at Santa Clara in 2002 after having served as an assistant since 1995. Throughout his tenure as head coach, he built a program that reached many milestones including the highest national singles and doubles rankings in school history, a program record for most team wins in a single season as the Broncos went 20-8 in 2007, 19 All-West Coast Conference singles and doubles selections and 14 All-WCC All-Academic and ITA Scholar-Athlete honorees.
Husack, no stranger to the court himself, spent two seasons competing professionally on the International Tennis Federation and United States Tennis Association Tours.
In addition to his professional experiences in tennis, Husack also spent time in the business sector, serving as a plan specialist for Franklin Mutual Fund, an operations analyst for Wells Fargo and Director of Marketing and Corporate Partnerships in athletics at Santa Clara.
A native of San Mateo, Calif., Husack earned his bachelor's degree in finance from San Diego State in 1991, while later attaining an MBA in marketing from the University of San Francisco in 1995. As a member of the San Diego State men's tennis team, he served as team captain as a senior and helped the Aztecs to their first top-25 national ranking.
Husack and his wife Kristina have three children: Nina (3) and twins Grant and Greta (2).
Co-Director
Ryler DeHeart
Ryler DeHeart, a two-time All-American at Illinois and five-year ATP Tour professional, enters his first season as assistant coach of the Crimson Tide men's tennis team.
Read Full BioDeHeart, who has competed in all four Grand Slams, turned professional in 2006 and reached a career high ranking of 174 in singles and 120 in doubles. He competed against then-No. 1 Rafael Nadal in the second round of the 2008 US Open and has beaten numerous top 100 players such as John Isner and Alex Bogomolov.
The Kauai, Hawai'i native graduated from the University of Illinois in 2006 with a degree in psychology. DeHeart won the ITA Intercollegiate Indoor Singles Championship and ranked No. 1 in the nation in singles in 2005 and 2006. He remains the winningest singles player in Illinois history with 138 victories while also breaking the record for most singles win in a season as he collected 42 as a junior during the 2004-05 campaign.
In addition to being named an All-American in 2005 and 2006, DeHeart was also the 2006 Farnsworth/ITA Midwest Region Senior Player of the Year, the 2005 and 2006 Big Ten Athlete of the Year, the 2006 ITA John Van Nostrand Memorial Award winner and recipient of the 2002 Bill Talbert National Junior Sportsmanship Award. He was also a three-time All-Big Ten selection.
For the past year and a half, since retiring from the professional tour, DeHeart, along with his wife Megan Fudge, founded and coached at RD Tennis, a junior high performance program in Tampa, Florida.
Program
(Camp Code: TNXRUA)
This year, Alabama is offering two weeks of general overnight and day camp (8:30am-4:00pm) for ages 9-18 and all ability levels. Lunch is provided for all day campers.
Upon arrival, all participants are evaluated by the staff so that their own instructional needs can be addressed throughout the week.
Check-In and Check-out Times
Check-In:
• All Campers: 3:00-4:00 Sunday at the UA Varsity Stadium.
• Campers should come dressed to play as we will head straight to the courts after check-in.
• Day Campers will depart that afternoon at 6:30pm after check-in, a tennis evaluation (from 4-6pm) and a pizza party.
Check-Out:
• Graduation: 3:00pm on Thursday at the UA Varsity Stadium. Parents are invited to attend!
• Check-out: Immediately following the graduation ceremony.
Day Camper Schedule & Information
• Day campers should be dropped off every day (except Sunday) by 8:15am at the UA Varsity Stadium.
• Pick-up time will be 4:00pm daily Monday through Wednesday at the UA Varsity Stadium.
• Thursday’s graduation/check-out begins at 3:00 pm at the UA Varsity Stadium.
• A more complete schedule will be given to you upon check-in.
• Meals: Lunch is included for all Day campers.
Evening Activities
Off-court and evening activities may include a pizza party, games on the "Quad", movie night, camp games night, swimming, and other social events. Campers also have access to varsity track, swimming pools, and numerous recreational facilities.
Courts
Campers will have access to 30 courts - 12 varsity lighted courts, 12 courts at the Recreation Center across the street, and 6 regulation NCAA hard courts at The Roberta Alison Baumgardner Tennis Facility. In the event of rain, campers will play in the indoor facility.
Dorms
Overnight campers will stay in air-conditioned Parham Hall dorms with staff supervision. Campers stay 2 per room and are assigned rooms based on requests and then by age and gender.
Weekend Stayovers: There are no weekend stayovers offered at this location.
Designated Airport: Birmingham Airport
Travel
Nike Tennis Camp does not provide any transportation to/from camp from airport, train stations or bus depots. If you fly into camp, we recommend that you fly into the Birmingham Airport and schedule a shuttle/bus from the airport to camp through Birmingham Door to Door Shuttle. Their phone # is 205-591-5550 and their website is www.birminghamdoortodoor.com.
If you have a camper arriving by air and is deemed an “unaccompanied minor” by the airlines and must be met by a camp staff or shuttle company employee, there may be a fee that needs to be paid in advance of camp. You will still have to arrange transportation to/from camp. Please call 1-800-645-3226 two weeks prior to camp to provide camper’s flight and shuttle information.
Registration Packet
A detailed camper registration packet containing check in location, health/release forms, emergency contact info, and a list of things to bring will be emailed to all registered campers in the Spring. Our health and release forms do not require a doctor's signature and they will be collected on the first day of camp.
Sample Daily Schedule
- 7:00am Wake-up and breakfast
- 8:30am Stretching / Warm-ups
- 8:45am Coaches presentation
- 9:00am Drill groups with focus on stroke mechanics and match tactics
- 11:45am Lunch
- 1:15pm Warm-up / Coaches' Presentation
- 1:30pm Point play, matches and games
- 2:30pm Off-court speakers (nutrition, mental toughness, fitness)
- 4:30pm Afternoon session ends, campers go to dorm
- 5:15pm Dinner
- 6:30pm Evening Activity
- 10:00pm Campers to rooms
- 10:30pm Lights Out
Past Camper
Content Camper
Camp was well run. I made some good friends while there.
Past Camper
Just Needed Some Warming Up
Coach Pate and his staff really do an excellent job. I was a little scared when I first got there, but within a day they had me feeling at home. I really enjoyed it and will be coming back next year.
Parent of Camper
Caring Coaches!
The instructors were caring and very helpful. Thank you for the time given to each child in helping them increase their love for the sport.
Past Camper
4 year veteran!
I have gone to this camp for 4 years. I love it! It is great to have the opportunity to hit with college coaches and players.
Parent of Camper
Can't wait for next year!
Our daughter had a fantastic experience and is looking forward to next summer!!
Parent of Campers
Organized and Motivated Campers
We love this camp! My twin daughters have been for the past 3 years, and Billy Pate does an exceptional job of keeping the kids organized and motivated, and they enjoy every minute of it. We'll be back next year!