A teaching pro without competitive experience simply cannot help a player who wants to move forward in a league, intercollegiate, or other competitive setting.
1. Competitive Experience is Important — Competitive experience teaches a player how to deal with a variety of players, in a variety of settings, under stress. It also teaches how to anticipate different modes of play and to adapt quickly in changing circumstances. A teaching pro without competitive experience simply cannot help a player who wants to move forward in a league, intercollegiate, or other competitive setting. Ask a prospective teaching pro very specifically "What is your competitive experience? At what level did you play? At what rank did you play?" If the answer is high school play not supplemented by regional or national juniors competition, it is difficult to tell how meaningful the competitive experience is unless you know the competitive environment of that particular high school. If a teaching pro did not play at the number 2 level or above, s/he probably didn't play particularly challenging players. Likewise, good teaching pros whose background is in juniors open play are very likely to have played at the 4.5 level or above. Take that into consideration.
2. Competitive Experience Isn't Everything — Even a teaching pro who has played on the pro tour at a relatively high level may not be a particularly good teacher. Teaching is about observing and explaining. A good teaching pro has to be able to see the mechanics of what a client is doing on the court and be able to explain that in detail so that the client can improve. A good competitive player, by contrast, learns to sense what the other player is up to and to respond to it competitively, but s/he doesn't often have to put a lot of effort into making sure someone else could understand what's going on. A good indication that a successful competitive player may not be a good teaching professional is if s/he tells lots of stories about the "glory days" of playing this or that tournament with this or that big name player but is a little thin about the specifics of your game and what you might do to improve it. Ask a prospective teaching pro, "What is your teaching background? How long have you been teaching? What is your teaching philosophy? Have you had any specialized education or training on teaching tennis?"
3. Babysitters and Beginners—Lots of tennis programs focus on beginner players, usually kids, offering jam-packed clinics where kids run around a lot swatting at balls without really learning much about the game. Essentially, these are tennis-focused babysitting services that won't do much to improve anyone's game. Ask a prospective pro about the ratio of instructors to clinic participants. If it's more and 8-to-1, no one is learning very much. While clinics with a teaching ratio of 12-, 15-, or even over 20-to-1 are often less expensive (though not usually by much), you really do get what you pay for.
Some teaching pros claim that they work primarily with competitive players, usually at the junior level. More often than not, this reflects a lack of teaching skill.
4. Competitive Kingpins—On the other hand, some teaching pros claim that they work primarily with competitive players, usually at the junior level. More often than not, this reflects a lack of teaching skill. Every teaching pro loves working with a junior or adult player who can really play well and hard. That's because teaching a beginner—going through all the elements of the game from the ground up and working on them over and over and over—is a lot of work. It takes a lot of patience and skill, and it can be a lot less fun for some teaching pros who don't have a lot of teaching experience. But you're not paying $75 to $90 an hour to entertain the teaching pro. You're there to learn. So, ask a prospective teaching pro what her or his preferred level of instruction is. You should come away with an answer that highlights her/his interest in and experience with a range of players at a range of levels across of range of ages. If you are looking for a coach for a competitive player, ask a prospective pro about her or his track record with competitive junior players and, especially, how many such players she or he coaches. A good program for competitive players will typically have a number of players across age ranges so that players have comparably skilled training partners. Any good tennis instruction program will have several talented, competitive players, and a good pro will have experience helping those players to develop their competitive game. But having a handful of competitive juniors doesn’t make you Nick Bollettieri. If you or your kids are that good, Nick will be in touch with you!
5. Coaching Experience Counts, Kind Of—Lots of tennis teaching professionals claim to have "coaching experience," and no doubt they do—kind of. When a prospective teaching pro highlights coaching experience, you need to drill down in the same way you do on competitive experience and education to determine at what level s/he coached, for how long, and in what role. For instance, Coach Simons has had several Assistant Coaches on the DeAnza Men's Tennis Team, for which she is the head coach and in her role as a coach for juniors national teams. Assistant coaches are really important because they coordinate practice schedules, help order uniforms and other equipment and supplies, and perform all kinds of adminstrative functions in the course of a busy season so a head coach can focus on, well, coaching. Often the assistant coach serves as a kind of buffer between the players and the head coach, and sometimes they run drills during practice and coach a little from the sidelines during matches. So, the assistant coach has a lot of opportunity to learn about coaching, but their actual coaching experience varies. A head coach, on the other hand, is primarily focused on players, mechanics, motivation, and competitive strategy. When you're evaluating a teaching professional with coaching experience, make sure to ask at what level they coached (high school, college, national juniors), what their specific role was (assistant/head/trainer), and how they contributed to the success of the team they coached.
A pro may claim to have "coaching experience," but you need to drill down to see how much that matters.
Teaching professionals who take their work seriously have invested time and energy into their professional development.
6.Education Matters —Teaching isn't a "natural" life skill. Sure, some people have an aptitude for teaching just as some have an aptitude for engineering or electronics. But your wouldn't let someone work on your home electrical system just because s/he is "into it." Teaching professionals who take their work seriously have invested time and energy into their professional development. At a minimum, a good teaching professional will have a relevant college degree (in physical education, fitness, kinesiology, sports psychology, e.g.) as well as certification through the United States Professional Tennis Association or another accrediting agency. USPTA certification ensures that teaching pros meet a basic level of competence and professional skill. You can learn more about USPTA certification and verify credentials at www.uspta.org. Even a pro without college education related to tennis instruction has the opportunity to take workshops and classes through the USPTA, USTA, or other professional association to develop teaching competence.Always ask a prospective pro about their specific training and education for teaching tennis.
7. Location, Location, Location — Where you take your lessons can be a critical element in how you learn. For instance, a local court where someone is slamming balls against a backboard and skateboarders are skittering across the court creates an inappropriate level of distraction. And, the skateboarders have probably damaged the court surface. Oh, and many local, public courts prohibit lessons. Read signage on the court to see if you're at risk of being kicked off the court or of violating local laws. The courts should be smooth and clean, nets in good condition, have appropriate supervision and security, and, as a bonus, lighting for evening lessons after work or school. It probably goes without saying that the courts should be in a safe area. Ask a teaching pro about the courts on which they teach. Do they have a contract with the facility? Is there professional security? Does the pro have liability insurance? Are there restroom facilities nearby? Is parking available?
Where you take your lessons can be a critical element in how you learn.
It is valuable for a pro to have taught in a number of settings, from public courts to high school and college teams to private clubs.
8.References—Any good pro will provide you with verifiable details of her/his competitive experience, education, and professional experience as well as references from current clients. It is valuable for a pro to have taught in a number of settings, from public courts to high school and college teams to private clubs. It also matters how much experience a pro has in each setting. “5 years of teaching experience” doesn’t necessarily mean much if it’s all been in a public court or a community program because the pro just can’t get a job in a private club. Make sure to ask a prospective teaching pro not only how long s/he has been teaching, but also in what setting.Do not hesitate to ask a teaching professional for references from current clients and prior coaching contexts.
9. Money Talks—If the main information you're getting is about how much lessons cost and not what the pro has to offer, think twice about handing over your hard-earned moola. Sure, you want to get a fair deal on your instructions, but you also want to get value. In the Silicon Valley, private lessons range from about $70 to over $90, depending on the setting. Private tennis instruction takes place primarily in four settings: Private Clubs, Independent Private Programs, Community Programs, and Public Courts.
Private clubs will charge more for non-member lessons; community programs are usually a little less; independent private programs are in the middle of the range generally. At the bottom of the price ladder are public court pros. But, remember, you do pretty much get what you pay for.
Independent private programs and private clubs typically draw the most qualified teaching professionals. Private clubs charge more both because they have higher overhead and because there is usually a head pro or tennis director who is taking between 25 and 50% of the teaching pro's lesson fee. Community programs charge less and typically pay inexperienced players less than $20 an hour to offer high-volume clinics and lessons. The bulk of your lesson fee goes to a program director and a small portion to facilities fees. Because of what many teaching pros see as a basic unfairness in compensation arrangements in both private clubs and community programs, they tend to have a high level of turnover as pros "shop" for better deals at competing facilities. Public court pros generally charge around $50 for an hour lesson because they pay no fees for court usage and have minimal equipment costs. But, they also have no guarantee that the courts they teach on will be available when you have a lesson scheduled or that the courts will be in good condition. Neighborhood pros are not usually fulltime instructors. Indeed, for many teaching tennis is a hobby that generates a little under-the-table mad money. So, it can be difficult to establish a long-term teaching relationship.
Independent private programs tend to blend the best of all worlds. Their owners have a serious stake in the success of the program, so they take the quality of instruction and facilities equally seriously, and they're in it for the long haul. Their pros typically retain more of their lesson and clinic fees, so they have less turnover.
If the main information you're getting is about how much lessons cost and not what the pro has to offer, think twice about handing over your hard-earned moola.
