MEET THE HEAD PROS
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC
DR. LOUIE CAP
Louie is a Master Professional and PTR National Tester and Clinician. He was awarded the 1993 PTR Pro of the Year. Louie travels extensively throughout the world conducting numerous tennis workshops. He played the European Circuit in the 60’s. In addition to his lengthy teaching & playing career, Louie has a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics and has completed 40 consecutive Boston Marathons.
STEVE RICKARD
Steve has been the Director of Tennis Operations for Van Der Meer Tennis and a Head Professional since 1983. He has traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia conducting tennis workshops with Dennis. Steve is a graduate of Elon College.
BRIAN DEVILLIERS
Brian traveled the world training coaches and players with Dennis and Pat Van der Meer, and helped launch the VDM Academy as a travel coach on the WTA Tour. He has developed and coached 5 top 40 WTA players, including the 2011 US Open Mixed Doubles Champion, Melanie Oudin. He joined Dennis Van der Meer in being honored as US Olympic Development Coach of the Year in 2008. He was named USPTA Southern Touring Coach of the Year in 2010, and is PTR and USPTA certified as Professional, in addition to holding IPTA, USTA High Performance, and USTA Sports Science certifications.
TOMMY SHIMADA
Tommy was based at VDM Academy for most of his ATP Tour career. He played Davis Cup for Japan and reached a career high of 40 in doubles. He has wins over the Bryan Brothers and Roger Federer, and he also participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. After his retirement from professional tennis, he earned his degree in finance and real estate from the University of South Carolina and returned to Hilton Head. Most recently, he worked as a Mens’ National Coach for the Japan Tennis Association in preparation for the Tokyo Olympic Games. He and his family are back in Hilton Head once again and Tommy is sharing his doubles expertise with our VDM Academy players.
ELIZMA NORTJE
A former WTA player, Elizma competed in tournaments such as Wimbledon and French Open. Having been based as a player at VDM Academy, she launched her coaching career after taking the TennisUniversity course with Dennis Van Der Meer. Elizma played NCAA Div 1 and graduated from United States International University, San Diego, CA.
Born in Namibia, she also competed for South Africa as a Junior Springbok player and was ranked #1 in u/14 to u/18 age groups. President of the Namibian Tennis Association (NTA) – 1996 to 1999, Elizma is also their Fed Cup Captain and Junior Fed Cup Captain. She has coached and managed many national and international teams worldwide since 1996.
A certified ITF Level 3 High Performance Tennis Coach (highest coaching qualification in the International Tennis Federation) she worked with many top Spanish tennis academies and players such as David Ferrer (ATP#3) and his team. As the ITF International Touring Coach she worked with the best European, Asian and African players such as Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) – ATP#23, Junior Wimbledon & U.S Open champion (2008)
KATIE RUTH
Katie Ruth is the Fitness Director and a Head Pro who has been at Van Der Meer Tennis Academy since 2014. She played NCAA DII tennis at Clayton State University, reaching the Sweet Sixteen and Final Four in 2010 and 2011. She was ranked #2 in NCAA for doubles resulting in being an All-American. She graduated in 2012 with a degree in Health & Fitness Management. Katie has fitness certifications with Etcheberry Fitness, and also with the International Tennis Performance Association as a Tennis Performance Trainer and as a Certified Tennis Performance Specialist.
HARIS PORIC
Haris is a Senior Staff member from Australia who has been at Van Der Meer since 2018. As a junior, he reached a career high ITF ranking of 458, competing at the Junior Australian Open qualifiers. Haris played NCAA D1 tennis at Wofford College achieving accomplishments such as 2014 All-Southern Conference freshman first team and 2015, 2016, 2017 All-Southern Conference first team, graduating with a UTR of 13.58. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. Haris has also competed on the ITF Futures tour in Europe during his playing career in college.