Lift the ball. Elevate the game.
Understand the game. Play better.
Developed by John Neal — 2025 NFHS National Coach of the Year
START HERE
Start with the game.
Before technique, there’s the game itself.
When you understand what the game is asking you to accomplish, technique, tactics, and decision-making begin to make more sense.
You don't have to start with perfect strokes or years of experience. Start by understanding the problems the game presents and how to solve them.
Great tennis begins with understanding.
THE GAME
The net is the #1 obstacle in tennis.
Before strokes, grips, or swing paths, every player faces the same problem: getting the ball over the net and into the court.
First, lift the ball.
The first job is vertical. Create enough lift and clearance to get the ball safely over the net.
Then, swing toward the target.
The second job is direction. The court is long and narrow, so the swing should be long and straight. Swing toward your target to help keep the ball within the court’s boundaries.
If you’re going to miss, miss long.
First, learn to lift the ball over the net and swing toward the target. Then develop the control to manage its depth.
When a miss does happen, we'd rather see the ball go long than wide. That preference reinforces the importance of lifting the ball and swinging toward the target.
These ideas are simple, but their consequences reach far beyond the ball's flight. They influence how you prepare, how your body moves, how you swing, how you shape the ball, and how you make decisions.
Understand the game. Let the technique follow.
THE LIFT METHOD
Good technique isn’t arbitrary.
It develops from understanding what the game asks us to do.
Start with the objectives of the game. Understand what you’re trying to accomplish, and the principles behind effective movement and technique begin to make sense.
Lift Tennis connects the why to the how — and the principles to the movement.
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Lift the Ball
The net is the first obstacle. Learn why lifting the ball is the foundation of playing tennis and how that objective begins to shape your movement
Lift the ball. Open up the game
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Swing Toward the Target
The court is long and narrow. Learn why the swing should be long and straight, and how swinging toward your target helps keep the ball in the court.
Give your movement a clear objective
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Shape the Ball
Learn how swing path, trajectory, and topspin work together to help you control depth and develop greater pace
Shape the ball. Expand your options
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Make Better Decisions
Understand the game, recognize the problems each situation presents, and make smarter decisions about how to solve them
Understand the game. Play with intention
FROM THE JOURNAL
Ideas that elevate your game.
Practical instruction, deeper explanations, and reflections on tennis, coaching, and player development.
Explore the game. Think differently. Keep learning.
ELEVATE THE GAME
Tennis is a game. What we learn from it can be much bigger.
Tennis is more than technique and tactics. It's also about how we learn, how we compete, how we respond to challenges, and how we treat one another.
Through thoughtful coaching, we can help players become better at the game—and grow through the experience of playing it.
Because lifting the game means more than hitting a better ball.
MEET JOHN
I learned tennis on public courts.
I never belonged to a country club, and I know what it’s like to love this game without having easy access to high-quality instruction.
I knew I wanted to teach tennis from the time I was a teenager. After playing in college, I trained and earned my professional certification at Dennis Van der Meer's Tennis Academy, then spent ten years coaching tennis full-time. I later moved into business, but I never left the game behind.
Today, I serve as Director of Tennis at Charlottesville High School, leading both the boys' and girls' programs. Over the past decade, I've seen how much changes when players begin to understand not just what to do, but why they're doing it.
I'm the 2025 NFHS National Coach of the Year, but the recognition is only part of the story. What matters most to me is helping players understand the game, develop their skills, and discover what they're capable of.
That's why I created Lift Tennis: to connect the why to the how—and to help more people see the game differently.
2025 NFHS National Coach of the Year
2× State Champion · State Coach of the Year · Section II Coach of the Year