Playmakers Tennis Academy

Introduction

Playmakers Tennis Academy sits inside Prestwick Tennis Club in Myrtle Beach and grew from a simple question: how do you build serious junior players without losing the human side of development? Founded in 2006 by head coach Jimmy Mendieta, Playmakers was designed as a high-performance environment that still feels personal. The mission is straightforward and ambitious at once: develop skill, build character, and give juniors a clear pathway to big goals on and off the court.

Today, families along the Grand Strand and from neighboring states use Prestwick as their training base. They come for a predictable rhythm of meaningful reps, real match play, attentive coaching, and a calendar that connects practice to tournaments. The tone is competitive, but the day-to-day interactions are grounded, with coaches who know every player’s strengths, gaps, and triggers under pressure.

Location and setting

Prestwick Tennis Club is a gated community facility a short drive from Myrtle Beach International Airport and the coast. Myrtle Beach enjoys long outdoor seasons, warm springs, humid summers, and breezy shoulder months that force players to problem-solve. Those conditions matter. Training in wind teaches height control and shape. Training in humidity teaches patience and fitness management. Training near the ocean exposes juniors to ball flights that do not always behave, a useful lesson before they face state, sectional, and national events where weather can decide tight matches.

The club’s address on McMaster Drive places Playmakers close to schools, hotels, and a steady flow of USTA-sanctioned events that move through the Carolinas. That density of competition shortens the feedback loop between training and testing. Families can arrive Thursday, compete Friday through Sunday, and be back on court Monday with fresh data to address.

Facilities

Prestwick is built for volume and variety. The club operates 13 lighted courts, with a heavy majority of Har-Tru clay and two hard courts. That surface mix mirrors the Southeastern tournament pathway and gives juniors a daily laboratory to learn patience, depth, and height on clay, while keeping first-step speed and transition skills sharp on hard courts. Night lighting allows evening training blocks when summer heat peaks, and the court layout supports both high-rep drilling and live-ball competition without crowding.

The club setting delivers practical amenities that keep long weeks manageable: a pro shop for stringing and equipment, bathrooms and locker areas, a clubhouse that functions as a parent work hub, and a pool complex that can double as low-impact recovery after heavy blocks. Because Playmakers operates within a real tennis community rather than a standalone boarding campus, juniors learn to share space with adult league players and younger beginners. That mix encourages court etiquette, punctuality, and respect for schedules. It also adds positive pressure. When a 12-year-old watches a college-bound senior digest a tough loss and return to work the next day, standards rise naturally.

Coaching staff and philosophy

Playmakers is led by founder and head coach Jimmy Mendieta, a veteran junior developer with decades of hands-on experience. The staff’s mandate is simple: create extraordinary opportunities, teach the habits that make those opportunities count, and hold players accountable to what they said they wanted.

The philosophy is pragmatic. Mechanics are trained to survive heat and scoreboard stress, not just to look clean in a basket drill. Tactical patterns are built to fit the player’s identity and the surface underfoot. Fitness is age-appropriate and seamlessly woven into the on-court plan. Mental habits are taught out loud so they can be executed under pressure. And crucially, coaches show up on match day. Tournament travel is not a bolt-on service; it is central to how Playmakers closes the loop between training and competition.

You will see that loop in action on a typical Monday. If a player lost a tiebreak on Sunday by abandoning their depth targets, Monday’s first block may anchor crosscourt height and margin. If the serve backed up late in a set, the afternoon might emphasize patterns the player can trust when legs are heavy. Every rep is tied to something real that just happened.

Programs

Playmakers keeps its menu focused so execution stays high.

• Full-time academy: The core track runs Monday to Thursday with two daily sessions, commonly mid-afternoon for technical work followed by early evening for point play and fitness. The split schedule lets homeschooled and hybrid students build academics around training while still leaving space for recovery. Expect a weekly blend of stroke progressions, pattern rehearsals, live-ball games, situational sets, and structured conditioning.

• Evening program: A Monday to Thursday option, typically 4:30 to 6:30, designed for players in traditional school who need a reliable after-school training block. Curricula emphasize decision-making, serve and return proficiency, transition patterns, and competitive games that keep urgency high on tight time windows.

• Summer camps: One-week intensives with small player-to-court ratios, generally capped at four per court. Camp weeks target shot tolerance, situational choices, and tournament resilience. Certain sessions are timed as run-ups to major events such as clay court championships, with coaches reinforcing recovery habits and match planning.

• Tournament coaching and travel: Playmakers coaches attend events, manage warm-ups, scout opponents when possible, and provide pre and post match analysis. The following week’s training plan reflects those findings. Players learn that poor patterns are not a mystery to be endured; they are problems to be solved with reps, targets, and accountability.

While the academy’s focus is junior high performance, adult players connected to the club can access private lessons and group sessions through Prestwick programming. The academy’s staff occasionally consults with ambitious adult competitors, especially around footwork efficiency and serve patterns, but juniors remain the center of gravity.

Training and player development approach

Playmakers builds around five pillars, each visible in daily practice.

1. Technical standards. Repeatability under pressure is the north star. Players learn contact-point discipline, tempo control, and ball shape that clears the net with reliable margin. On clay, that means building heavy crosscourt baselines and mastering height before line changes. On hard, it means tighter windows with the same commitment to depth. Serves are trained as patterns, not isolated motions: wide-plus-forehand, body-plus-backhand change, T-ball followed by inside-out neutralizing.

2. Tactical clarity. Players rehearse patterns that fit their strengths and the surface. A common clay block pairs deep crosscourt forehands with short-angle breaks, then a change of direction off a neutral ball. Two-on-one drills stress direction control and decision quality when tired. Return games emphasize first-strike intentions, not passive blocks.

3. Physical development. Movement circuits, age-appropriate strength, and mobility are scheduled with intent. Clay rewards leg strength, balance, and patience. Hard courts sharpen first-step speed, transition skills, and recovery to neutral. Conditioning is not punishment; it is specificity. Players finish hard days with guided mobility and hydration habits so they can stack productive weeks.

4. Mental skills. Goal setting precedes each block. Players state a plan out loud before matches and debrief immediately after. Mindset tools are simple and behavioral: between-point scripts, breathing to reset, and routines to anchor serve and return consistency. The presence of coaches at tournaments accelerates growth because feedback arrives when it matters most.

5. Education and pathway planning. Many families aim for college tennis. Playmakers aligns daily standards with that long-range target. Players and parents receive guidance on event selection, travel logistics, communication etiquette with college coaches, and how to build a video reel of verified match points rather than only drill highlights. For elite aspirants who want to test pro waters, the staff calibrates schedules with an emphasis on durable habits before rankings.

A typical week can reach about 16 hours of on-court work for full-time players, plus targeted strength and mobility. Summer scheduling with small ratios ensures meaningful hitting time for every athlete, not just the top two in a group.

Alumni and results

The academy maintains a steady pipeline to college tennis across divisions. Recent classes include commitments to liberal arts programs that value academics and culture fit, as well as to Division I and II teams where athletic load is heavier. Families appreciate seeing tangible endpoints because it clarifies how daily habits in Myrtle Beach translate to campus courts.

Junior results have included state and sectional titles and national-level breakthroughs, including a Gold Ball at an indoor national championship. Beyond the highlights, the deeper signal is conversion: players who arrive with sound but fragile skills learn to hold their level when the scoreboard tightens, win longer rallies on clay, and manage travel weeks without losing momentum.

Culture and daily life

Because Playmakers operates inside a busy club, the culture blends high-performance habits with a friendly, member-driven environment. Juniors cross paths with adult league players in the evenings, and younger athletes regularly see college-bound seniors finishing homework between sessions. That visibility normalizes the grind and demystifies the next step.

Parents often set up remote work from the clubhouse during double sessions. The gated setting makes drop-offs straightforward, and the surrounding Myrtle Beach area offers abundant lodging for out-of-town families who stay for multi-week blocks. Rest days can include simple recovery, pool time, and beach walks that keep stress low during heavy tournament stretches.

Discipline is visible but not harsh. Courts start on time. Players pick up balls quickly. Coaches insist on purposeful language in debriefs. At the same time, there is space to enjoy the craft. You will see mini-competitions around serve targets and short-court patterns that keep attention sharp without draining players mentally.

Costs and accessibility

Playmakers operates within the Prestwick Tennis Club structure, so families typically engage with club membership categories in addition to academy tuition. Membership options include junior, single, couple, and family tiers for local residents. Rates are posted and updated periodically by the club. Academy tuition, camps, and tournament coaching are quoted by the staff and may vary by season and volume. Families should contact the academy to confirm current pricing, drop-in availability, and travel coaching arrangements.

Scholarships are not widely advertised. If financial aid is central to your plan, ask directly about case-by-case accommodations, payment schedules, or seasonal promotions tied to camps. The staff understands that long development arcs are built on access and continuity, and they will outline realistic options where possible.

What makes it different

• Surface mix and volume. Thirteen lighted courts with a majority of Har-Tru clay create a daily lab for point construction, patience under pressure, and long-rally fitness.

• Tournament travel integrated with training. Coaches attend events, handle warm-ups, and translate match realities into Monday’s plan. Families are not left guessing which patterns to fix or which habits to reinforce.

• Small-court ratios in summer. Capped numbers protect hitting quality and coach attention during weeks that often set up major tournaments.

• A proven college pipeline. Public commitments and consistent placement across divisions indicate that daily standards align with recruiting realities and academic fit.

• A personal scale. The academy is big enough to sustain quality competition and small enough that no player disappears into a crowd. Coaches can track progress over months and adjust on the fly when a player’s needs change.

How it compares

Families exploring the Southeast often weigh Playmakers against larger destination programs or other South Carolina hubs. If you want a boarding environment with a true campus feel and national-scale depth charts, compare against IMG Academy Tennis. If you prefer a South Carolina coastal option with a long history of junior excellence, look at Smith Stearns Tennis Academy. For a statewide perspective on training philosophies and group structures, it is also useful to study the Van Der Meer Tennis Academy model.

The contrast is instructive. Playmakers is not trying to be all things. It leans into clay-heavy development, integrated tournament coaching, and consistent contact hours. The result is a program that feels both serious and human, with enough structure to drive results and enough flexibility to honor the school rhythms and family constraints that shape junior sport.

Future outlook and vision

The academy’s direction is steady rather than flashy. Expect continued emphasis on USTA pathways, incremental increases in college placements, and seasonal camps that sell out due to protected ratios. The club infrastructure and leadership continuity suggest a commitment to refining what already works: clear standards, tournament-connected plans, and a culture that treats development as a craft.

Areas of quiet expansion include sharpening video feedback during blocks where technical changes are being made, deepening return-of-serve progressions that match modern styles, and adding targeted workshops for parents on scheduling, nutrition, and travel routines. The goal is not reinvention but compounding: small improvements layered over time.

Is it for you

Choose Playmakers if your junior thrives in a serious yet personal setting, wants a clay-forward week, and benefits from coaches who stand courtside on match day. It is a strong fit for families who live on the Grand Strand or can spend multi-week blocks in Myrtle Beach and who prefer an academy inside a functioning club over a remote boarding campus.

If you need on-site housing, constant wearable tech, or mega-groups where sparring depth is measured by the dozen, this is probably not your model. If you want consistent hours, court depth, tournament coaching that feeds Monday’s plan, and a clear college pathway, Playmakers deserves a close look.

Bottom line

Playmakers Tennis Academy delivers a focused, coach-led environment inside a real club community. The surface mix builds patience and decision quality. The schedule delivers meaningful volume. The travel coaching closes the loop between practice and performance. And the culture teaches juniors to carry themselves like competitors and teammates. For families who value those ingredients, it is an appealing home base to grow a game that holds up when it matters most.