University of Minnesota Nike Tennis Camp Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Come join the fun and get better this summer! The University of Minnesota Nike Tennis Camp is a summer camp for kids to improve their tennis game. Beginner, intermediate, and tournament players come from all over to play at our beautiful 22 court facility to participate in this fun and challenging program.
Immerse yourself in tennis, new friends and off court fun activities for a week. 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 junior tennis camps combine technical instruction and drilling from a superb coaching staff, supervised match play, and a variety of evening social activities. Campers will work hard, make new friends and have a lot of fun.
Highlights Include
- Instruction from University of Minnesota's head men's and women's tennis coaches, Geoff Young and Tyler Thomson
- 5-6 hours of daily tennis instruction with 6:1 student/teacher ratio
- The perfect mix of match play, drill work, strategy sessions and on and off-court activities
- Evening activities for overnight campers, including movie night, capture the flag, scavenger hunt and bowling
The Baseline Tennis Center is the sparkling home of Golden Gopher Tennis. Opened in the fall of 2002, the on-campus facility provides the University of Minnesota with one of the premier collegiate tennis venues in the nation. The facility features 22 signature maroon and gold courts, 10 inside and 12 outside. The indoor courts have 30-foot ceilings and are heated during the winter and air-conditioned in the summer. The courts have a plexi-type of pavement that provides more cushion than typical hard courts. The softer surface is designed to prevent injuries by causing less stress on the athletes' knees and other joints.
All camps are open to any and all, limited only by age and number of campers.
Meet your coaching staff
Co-Director
Tyler Thomson
- Entering his 11th season as head coach of the University of Minnesota women’s tennis team
- 2008 Northern Division Women's College Coach of the Year
- USTA High Performance Coach in 2006 and 2008
Guiding his team to success both on and off the court, Tyler Thomson begins his 11th season as head coach of the University of Minnesota women's tennis program in 2010-11.
During Thomson's tenure, the women's tennis program has achieved outstanding success in the classroom, while also enjoying plenty of accomplishments on the court. The Gophers have had the highest grade point average of any small women's sport at Minnesota each of the past two years, while also spending all of both seasons in the national rankings. Minnesota had at least eight players with over a 3.0 grade point average each of the past two seasons.
Thomson's squad finished 10-14 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten in 2009-10 against one of its toughest schedules in recent history that included 10 matches against teams that reached the NCAA tournament. Minnesota posted wins over NCAA tournament qualifiers Iowa and Wichita State and played a highly-competitive slate with 10 matches decided by 4-3 scores. Junior Alessandra Ferrazzi earned all-Big Ten honors and senior Tijana Koprivica concluded her career ranked fourth on the school's all-time wins list. A four-year starter during his playing days at the University of Montana, Thomson came to Minnesota after previously serving as the assistant coach at College of William & Mary for four seasons and at Allegheny College (Pa.) for one year.
Thomson was honored during the 2008-09 season as one of the nation's top teaching pros by the U.S. Professional Tennis Association as the recipient of the Northern Division Women's College Coach of the Year award. Thomson holds a rating of Professional 1, which is the highest rating given by the USPTA. He was selected to participate in the USTA's High Performance Continuing Education Program at the 2008 U.S. Open in New York City. Thomson also participated in the program in 2006 while becoming a USPTA specialist in competitive player development.
Among his other individual honors, Thomson received the ITA East Region's assistant coach of the year award among 82 regional teams in 1999. A member of the U.S. Professional Tennis Association, he was also a finalist for the 1999 ITA national assistant Coach of the Year award.
Thomson was the head coach when Minnesota opened its beautiful on-campus facility, the Baseline Tennis Center, in 2002-03. The facility features 10 indoor courts and 12 outdoor courts. He led the Golden Gophers to the 2003 NCAA tournament and also coached Angela Buergis to an individual berth in the 2004 NCAA tournament. At William & Mary, he was part of three NCAA tournament teams, including a quarterfinal finish in 1998. Thomson coached three All-Americans, six ITA Scholar-Athlete All-Americans and 10 nationally-ranked players.
A Bismarck, N.D. native, Thomson earned All-America honors in 1989 as a senior at Bismarck High School. At Montana, he was a four-year starter in doubles, an eventual singles starter and team captain for the Grizzlies. Thomson earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Montana in 1993.
Thomson and his wife, Amy, reside in Minneapolis and have a daughter, Bryter, and a son, Lincoln
Co-Director
Geoff Young
- Two-time all-Big Ten player for Nortwestern University
- Currently in his sixth season as head men's coach of the Minnesota Gophers
- Prior to Minnesota, was the head coach at the University of Denver for six years
With two straight appearances in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2009 and 2010, Geoff Young continues to set the outlook high for the Minnesota men's tennis team entering his sixth season.
The Gophers are coming off a 14-11 season and No. 35 final national ranking. Minnesota was 6-4 in conference play, which was good for a fifth place finish in the Big Ten. The Gophers played a challenging schedule with all 11 losses to teams in the top 30 of the national rankings. Included in the schedule was a win over 24-ranked Pepperdine and NCAA tournament participants Nebraska and Western Michigan. The Gophers opened the tournament with a win over Arizona before battling third-ranked Texas in the second round.
In 2008-09, Minnesota posted a 19-8 overall record and 7-3 Big Ten mark, which came just one year after a 7-17 overall record and 4-6 Big Ten ledger in 2008. The Gophers were ranked 30th in the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings and made their 14th trip to the NCAA tournament in the past 16 years and their 20th overall, beating New Mexico in the opening round before falling to eventual national champion and eighth-ranked Southern California.
For just the seventh time in school history, the Gophers had six different players post 20 singles wins during 2008-09, including Ishay Hadash, who reached the second round of the NCAA individual tournament and finished 50th in the final ITA rankings. Hadash was also an All-Big Ten selection along with Tobias Wernet, who was ranked 83rd in the country.
In 2007-08, Young's team won five of its last eight matches to set the foundation for the record-setting turnaround the following year. Minnesota had three wins and 16 losses coming against nationally-ranked opponents. The Gophers, who played 11 matches against NCAA tournament teams, were ranked as high as 40th in the country following the fall season, but early-season injuries got the team off to a slow start in the spring. Minnesota won its opening match at the Big Ten tournament before suffering a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to second-seeded Wisconsin in the quarterfinals. The season came following a successful inaugural season to Young's tenure that saw the Gophers reach the NCAA tournament.
Young guided Minnesota to a 15-10 overall record and a 5-5 mark in the Big Ten in his first season in 2006-07. Minnesota was ranked sixth in the final Midwest Region rankings and lost to South Alabama in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Young coached Raoul Schwark to an all-Big Ten selection in each of his first two seasons and to No. 70 in the 2006-07 ITA individual rankings. Eight players in Young's first two seasons earned academic all-Big Ten accolades.
Young owns a 126-114 overall record in 10 collegiate seasons as a head coach, winning his 100th match on Feb. 22, 2009 against Binghamton. He is 55-46 in four seasons at Minnesota.
Off the court, Young's squads have also achieved success. The 2009-10 squad had the highest grade point average of any small men's sport at Minnesota and senior Dino Bilankov was named the school's Outstanding Male Scholar Athlete. The 2008-09 team was also recognized with the school's award for most community service hours by a men's sport.
Prior to coming to Minnesota, Young spent six seasons as head coach at the University of Denver. During his tenure with the Pioneers, Young posted a 71-68 overall record. In his final season in 2005-06, he led Denver to a 13-9 record, a program-best fourth-place finish in the Sun Belt Conference and a No. 66 national ranking.
While at Denver, he worked with the Pioneers' all-time winningest player Magnus Ramfelt, who totaled 71 singles wins from 1998-2002. He also coached Adam Holmstrom, who set a single-season school record with 28 singles wins in 2005-06. Holmstrom also became the first Pioneers' player to qualify for the NCAA championships in his rookie season.
Young served as the head women's tennis coach at Denver during the 1999-2000 season and during the fall of the 2000. In his one season, the Pioneers finished 9-8 in Denver's second season at the NCAA Division I level. Prior to his stint at Denver, Young served as an assistant men's coach at the University of Alabama for three seasons.
A two-time all-Big Ten player at Northwestern, Young was the team's co-captain during his senior season in 1994 and collected 83 singles victories. He graduated from Northwestern in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in psychology.
A Marion, Ohio native, Young was also a successful junior tennis player. He was ranked No. 1 in singles in the Midwest region 18-and-under division in 1989 and No. 1 in doubles in 1990.
Young is married to the former Dana Peterson, a four-time letterwinner with the Gopher women's tennis team from 1993-96 and an assistant coach at Minnesota from 1997-99. Dana was also the head women's tennis coach at Denver for six seasons. They have two children, son Gavin (7) and daughter Karin (6).
As head coach of the Gophers, Young is a strong believer in working as hard at doubles as on the singles court. Coach Young spends time with each player on an individual level, working with them on their specific needs to help make each Gopher a well-rounded, complete collegiate player.
Program
This year, Minnesota is offering three weeks of general overnight and day camp (8:45am-5:00pm) for ages 9-18 and all ability levels. There will be a special tournament training component during week 3 designed for tournament level or ranked players looking to improve their match play and strategy in a competitive environment. Lunch is included for all Day campers.
Check-in/Check-out Times:
Check-in: Overnight campers 1:15-1:45pm on Sunday at the dorms.
Day campers 1:45-2:15pm on Sunday at Baseline Tennis Center. (Day Campers will depart that afternoon at 5:00pm.)
Check-out: 5:00pm on Thursday. A Gradutation ceremony will be held at prior to check-out at Baseline Tennis Center. Parents invited!
Day Program Schedule
With the exception of Sunday (check-in), campers should be dropped off at the Baseline Tennis Center by 8:40am each morning. It is ok for campers to be dropped off before 8:40am, but no supervision can be guaranteed before then. Camp concludes each day at 5:00pm. Campers should be picked up in front of the Baseline Tennis Center (on 4th St.) and will be supervised at that location until 5:10pm.
Dorms
Campers reside on campus in the dorms. Camp dorms, dining halls and courts are all walking distance from each other. A beautiful campus, Minnesota boasts superb dorms with air-conditioning. Singles and triples may be available upon request, but cannot be guarenteed.
Evening Activities
Evening activities may include movie night, capture the flag, bowling, and a scavenger hunt.
Weekend Stayovers: Weekend Stayovers are not available at this location
Designated Airport: Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
Travel
Nike Tennis Camps does not provide transportation to/from camp from airport, train stations or bus depots. If you fly into camp, we recommend that you fly into Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and take a taxi from the airport to camp.
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.
Rain Plan
We have 10 indoor courts in addition to our 12 outdoor courts, so rain won't slow us down!
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
- 8:00am Breakfast
- 8:45am-9:30am Demo and Warm-up
- 9:30am-11:30am Instruction / Drills / Games
- 11:30am-12:30pm Lunch
- 2:00pm-4:30pm Dual Matches / Net Play Drills / Games
- 4:30pm-5:30pm Optional Tennis Instruction / Hitting
- 5:30pm-6:30pm Dinner
- 6:30pm Evening Activity
- 10:00pm Lights out!
Parent of Camper
Priceless feedback!
This camp was awesome! I wish I had the feedback my daughter received in this 1 week from Lifetime Fitness where she has been taking instructional classes over the past 4 years...great staff and program...she'll be back next year!
Parent of Camper
Parents and Kid In Agreement
Carl really likes this camp; we think you do a great job.
Past Camper
Overall approval!
I absolutely loved this camp! It allowed me to get in a lot of match play, which is what my tennis game needs. As an overnight camper, I had a lot of fun participating in the activities. The instructors were great, kind, very helpful and motivating. Thanks!
Past Camper
Highly recommended!
All of the coaches were wonderful and I feel like I really improved my game! I will definitely recommend this camp to all of my friends! Thank you for a great experience!
Past Camper
Thoughtful coaching!
It was a great week. We appreciated the thought and detail that the coach put into the Player Evaluation at the end of the week. Thank you!
Parent of Camper
Zest for Tennis
My daughter came out of this with more enthusiasm for tennis than when she went into it. She has asked that next summer she go 3 weeks. Do you have any camps during the holiday breaks (ie – Christmas Break)? Thank you.