Tag Archives: tennis academies

THE “PROS AND CONS” OF TENNIS ACADEMIES

Posted on May 30, 2022 by in The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!

 Click Here to Order

frank

THE “PROS AND CONS” OF TENNIS ACADEMIES

 

This is a touchy subject. Some of my best friends and lifelong business partners run successful academies. I am often presented business plans to open a full time academy, but I am convinced that a new blueprint is needed to ensure that each student is receiving the customized attention he/she deserves. My opinion regarding academies is a result of my years of professional experience- from my successful Mental/Emotional Tennis Workshops to opening and directing clubs and academies since the mid 1980’s in the toughest USTA section- Southern California. These include Vic Braden Tennis Colleges, the Rancho San Clemente Tennis Club and the Sherwood Country Club- some of Southern California’s most prestigious clubs. Academies are a very familiar territory.

 

“Just as tennis players can be placed into a beginner, intermediate and advanced categories, so can instructors and academies.”

 

The below pros and cons are examples of the typical “intermediate” academy found around the world.

 

Attending an Academy Pros:

  • Academies provide a terrific social environment for the young athletes. The players can hang out with their peers of both genders.
  • Players can experience the bonding of a team versus the individualism the sport requires.
  • Lucky players receive free t-shirts with the academies logo.
  • Players get to travel in the Academy van to and from events.
  • Academies provide a convenient one-stop shop for parents. In essence, the parents can rely on others to organize and develop their child’s career.
  • Most academies provide plenty of free hitting, off- court training options and match play for the “motivated” individuals.
  • Academies provide live ball repetition. Players grow from the daily battle.
  • Players experience many different coaches and coaching styles.

 

Attending an Academy Cons:

  • Intermediate academies often recruit their top players AFTER a quality teacher has developed the student’s skills.
  • The paying customer should receive instruction equal to that given to the elite superstars, whom often attend for FREE. Unfortunately, in some cases, their best coaches are busy working privately with the non-paying super stars and NOT with your child.
  • In order to maximize potential at the quickest rate, detailed customization of the lesson plans are required. For example, if a player has holes in their transition game, sending them down to court #6 to get in line with the rest of the group and hit forehands and backhands may not be in the student’s best interest.
  • Paying customers do not progress at the quickest rate.
  • Often they have to win to move up into the “higher” level courts. This forces the junior to choose outcome goals over performance goals. This means they avoid building their new weapons as they choose to use their old comfortable “flawed strokes” to try to win. This behavior stalls the exact progression you seek.
  • A great young talent positioned in an unsupervised setting will often learn how to goof off, throw their racquet, waist time, go for low percentage shots, over hit, and give half effort.
  • Often inexperienced, overworked introductory coaches are employed to oversee the paying customers.

 

The truth is that most juniors are not truly interested in putting the hard work required to be a National Champion.  They are hobbyist. In that situation, intermediate academies could be the right choice. Remember, tennis is a terrific hobby for most players. If your athlete is serious and holds a higher ranking than most players in the academy, you may be able to negotiate attending for FREE in exchange for attracting lower ranked, paying customers to the program. Also, it’s important to note that some academies give every attendee a price break thus giving everyone a partial scholarship. That is, if you pay up front! Folks, that’s marketing 101.

It is not uncommon for a young, promising athlete to be approached numerous times per tournament by different academy recruiters.  Please don’t confuse a smooth “tournament” academy recruiter with a skilled tennis teacher.

Once again, I highly recommend secretly observing all future teams, coaches and academies before taking part in the action. Find out the day and times of their operation and quietly watch without them knowing you are there. This takes away the “dog & pony” show as you get a realistic perspective of their capabilities.

In the last few decades, most park & rec’s, high school courts, apartment complexes, college courts, country clubs and city facilities have changed the name of their after school junior tennis program to an academy. It sounds more official, doesn’t it?

Identifying a Sketchy Academy

Posted on July 16, 2016 by in Choosing a Professional, Customized Organizational Plan, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

“Is enrolling my child into a tennis academy the right developmental pathway?”

 

This is one of the most frequently asked question I receive via email from tennis parents, both here and abroad. Like many junior tennis players, the words of many tennis academies don’t match their actions. Their words say one thing… Their actions something completely different.
Hopefully, the below blog helps you, the parent, identify if your child’s academy is truly a high performance training center or a sketchy waste of your precious time and money.

 

12 Signs of a Sketchy Tennis Academy 

Parents, in regards to maximizing your child’s potential at the quickest rate, you may be able to replace the money you’ve wasted but you can’t replace the valuable time your child lost.
If you’re witnessing three or more of the below inadequacies, your child may be enrolled in a sketchy tennis academy. If so, it may be time seek a new home for your junior champ.

  1. Fifteen minutes into the session and coaches are still locating their baskets of dead balls and applying their own sun block as kids are waiting, playing on their cell phones.
  2. No serious attempt at structured upper body and lower body dynamic stretching is present.
  3. Once in groups, 8-10 players per court get in a single file line, hit one ball and then return to a long line of boredom before they hit another ball.
  4. The coaches talk “AT” the students and apply minimum observational skills, so there is very little customized training.
  5. Newbie/inexperienced coaches spewing outdated tennis myths. “Get the racket back first thing!”, “You have to roll over the ball more, if you want topspin”, “You need to toss higher on the serve, so you have more time!” and “You’re not watching the ball hit the strings!”
  6. Lack of passion, enthusiasm, fun or laughter from the coaches so the students are walking through the drills like zombies.
  7. Coaches lack the critical 2-way communication skills essential to engage the students in the learning process. When the inexperienced coaches do teach, the comments start with “Don’t do that!”, “You’re doing it wrong!” etc.
  8. Intermediate students are still allowed to employ improper grips, out dated mechanics, inefficient footwork and reckless shot selection without any real attempt at instruction.
  1. The few really good kids are training for free on the “show” court, with the better coaches, while the paid clientele are on the lower courts with the newbie coaches- playing time wasting games.
  2. The after lunch format is a non-instructional “Live Ball” session. The players battle through match play with no monitoring. Students are supposed to “Figure it out for themselves!”
  1. In academy match play, the reward is: Winners move up to the cool group. The punishment is: Losers move down to the loser group. While learning how to compete is critical, this old school method impairs the actual development you seek. It discourages the repetition/rehearsal of the critical new systems an athlete is learning to incorporate into their game as they go back to using the comfortable old flawed tactics to try to win.
  1. The famous “marquee coach” whose name and pictures are on the brochure is rarely ever on court with your child. The best teachers I know spend as much time with the beginners as they do with the top ranked athletes on a daily basis.

Parents, if you are seeking a $25 per hour group babysitting service, then this type of camp may be just fine.  However, if you’re looking to maximize your child’s potential, please, contact other academies and enquirer about their program. I highly recommend not telling the academy directors when you’re coming, so they can’t put on the “dog & pony” show. Quietly observe future programs for a day or two before committing long term. Junior competitors should be doubling or even tripling their skill level during the long summer months.

Best of luck this summer and thank you for all the kind emails,
Frank Giampaolo