The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
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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?
