Best Coach in Southern California

[TENNIS 67]

I was just wondering, who do you think, the best coach in Southern California is?

[SoCalDominates]

ughhhhh. there is a couple of good ones in san dego. not rele sure of any other ones. but angel lopez, steve dawson, jack brody. just a few.

[onehandbh]

Robert Lansdorp has a pretty decent track record...
Not sure where he's teaching out of these days. Used to see
him teach at the South Bay Tennis Center.

[NebAce1]

ughhhhh. there is a couple of good ones in san dego. not rele sure of any other ones. but angel lopez, steve dawson, jack brody. just a few.

SoCal do u train at Barnes?

[SoCalDominates]

SoCal do u train at Barnes?

nope. why?

[NebAce1]

nope. why?

just wondering. because i know some kids that play there.

where do u play?

[SoCalDominates]

o really who? cuz i know a bunch of ppl who train there. i play at rancho santa fe tennis club. there are three coaches there i hit with on occasion. one went to notre dame on a full scholarship one to purdue and one to oklahoma and won the big 12 back in the day. names are trent miller, derek miller, steve dawson. all were top 3 in so cal in all divisions.

[BradBaughman]

rance brown would be if you could get with him hard to get a hold of but very good

[10isDad]

How does one determine the "Best" coach? One man's trash is another man's treasure.

The best bet is to try several different coaches. Unless they're really high profile, usually they give a free introductory lesson where you can see if player and coach "fit".

Certification w/ one of the accrediting agencies is nice, but certainly isn't always indicative of quality. My son's "best" coach wasn't certified (oh how I wish they could still work together - coach got a D1 NCAA asst. coach position and had to drop ties w/ his students...)

*Play the field until you find the right coach for you.

*Be wary of those who promise big things in a short amount of time (example: a local coach told a mid-level Southwest Boys 16s player that he could make the player top 10 in the Boys 18s in less than 6 months time).

*Experience has shown that coaches can be a lot like shoes. Make sure there's a good level of comfort up front. If there's anything you dislike (I'm talking about teaching technique, personality, candor, etc. not something like excessive nose hair) or distrust about the coach, you should probably pass.

[trojankid]

rance brown would be if you could get with him hard to get a hold of but very good whos Rance Brown

[GRANITECHIEF]

Robert Lansdorp has a pretty decent track record...
Not sure where he's teaching out of these days. Used to see
him teach at the South Bay Tennis Center.

I'd say 4 former #1 in the worlds, and another handful of top tens, is a pretty decent track record.

I heard he does lessons at a private residence, next to a pool with a fountain, in Rancho Palos Verdes.

I also heard that his lessons and teachings of technique are pure genious and that he stresses having all the shots, not just the laser flat drives, ie spending a little time on the backspinner that bounces back over the net or kicks 90 degrees stage left/right, and others that i hadn't even heard of before.

PS, we'll be heading back from down south on Saturday. Happen to be available for a hit?

[BradBaughman]

whos Rance Brown

Rance Brown asst. coach of ucla womens team,, he works with stella sampras she has a brother named pete who just beat a guy named roger,, but in truth hes probably one of the best technical coaches out there minus all the foul language you get with the big names,,hes one of the only coaches i trust with my son who i believe can do as good a job as myself hes really good but hard to get with very busy!!!! other than that lansthorp knows what hes doing also i respect his work hes very good also!!

[redsoxrock930]

hey granitechief has collin ever hit with mike white? he's kind of a strange guy, but i hear he's pretty good, my buddy michael used to take lessons with him, i don't know if he still does.

[onehandbh]

I'd say 4 former #1 in the worlds, and another handful of top tens, is a pretty decent track record.

I heard he does lessons at a private residence, next to a pool with a fountain, in Rancho Palos Verdes.

I also heard that his lessons and teachings of technique are pure genious and that he stresses having all the shots, not just the laser flat drives, ie spending a little time on the backspinner that bounces back over the net or kicks 90 degrees stage left/right, and others that i hadn't even heard of before.

PS, we'll be heading back from down south on Saturday. Happen to be available for a hit?

Ah... the fountain. Somewhat near a nice surf break, but I wouldn't
recommend it b/c of the locals there. Just not worth the hassle or
getting your tires slashed.

I can hit in the afternoon or late afternoon.

[GRANITECHIEF]

hey granitechief has collin ever hit with mike white? he's kind of a strange guy, but i hear he's pretty good, my buddy michael used to take lessons with him, i don't know if he still does.

Redsox; Haven't heard of Mike White.

Onehandbh: I'll let you know when i find out what the schedule is for Sat. Interesting that you mentioned the surf as the reports are calling for an increase over the weekend. I'd like to keep my tires intact, so i'll look for another spot if its pumping.

[onehandbh]

Redsox; Haven't heard of Mike White.

Onehandbh: I'll let you know when i find out what the schedule is for Sat. Interesting that you mentioned the surf as the reports are calling for an increase over the weekend. I'd like to keep my tires intact, so i'll look for another spot if its pumping.

Some good spots in the Southbay:

El Porto (at the border of Manhattan Beach & El Segundo). Pretty
much the best spot in the Redondo/HB/MB area for small to medium
sized swells.

Redondo Breakwall: only place in southbay that can handle massive
swells without closing out. Only lefts during big swells.

Other places that are less crowded than El Porto but totally dependent
on the current sand formations/etc:
1) 26th street in MB
2) Hermosa Pier (north & south)

[BradBaughman]

Some good spots in the Southbay:

El Porto (at the border of Manhattan Beach & El Segundo). Pretty
much the best spot in the Redondo/HB/MB area for small to medium
sized swells.

Redondo Breakwall: only place in southbay that can handle massive
swells without closing out. Only lefts during big swells.

Other places that are less crowded than El Porto but totally dependent
on the current sand formations/etc:
1) 26th street in MB
2) Hermosa Pier (north & south)

granite chef you and onehandbh are way off the subject its about coaches not swells but since were there 54th street in newport kicks pretty good and trestles allways is fun, k38 mexico and todo santos does allright also,, see now you got me onto waves and not coaches great influence guys!!!lolol

[GRANITECHIEF]

Brad, lets no get too distracted by waves, although its tough. Where was D yesterday at HD Center? There were no kids there so my little player only had Debbie to feed to him?

Hey Redsox,

Did you check your email? Are we hitting today?

[BradBaughman]

hes does his studys in the in the mornings and right after the new year hes gonna play a very limited schedule so me and him can train and do studys on the weekend he will probably start heading over to HD more often during the week also!!

[redsoxrock930]

hey granitechief sorry for getting back to you so late i can't play as late as you have to, grades come in about three weeks, maybe the weekends. also do you know a guy named jesse, he plays usta 4.0-4.5s and on the yacht club b team and he also surfs a lot.

[Fedace]

I say Stella Sampras

[BradBaughman]

I say Stella Sampras

your almost right the guy that works with her is Rance Brown asst.coach for ucla womens he solid

[babolat15]

there is no best coach. every body works together a different way, also at different stages in your game you might need different coaches

[marc]

gotta love winter in southern california. this last time home i tried out a spot that i had always brushed off as mediocre and its been going off. plus daily brushes with packs of dolphins, cant beat mother nature.

[BradBaughman]

once again i wonder about what is taught in public schools or are people just that ready to be condisending and argumentitive ,,,when you say hey that guy has the best forehand ,wow she makes the best apple pie ,,he has the best serve,,ect. its pointing to a level of quality its not saying its definate without any challenges,, but yes there are coaches out there that are the best at coaching certain sports and stand in a league of there own!!!

[PowayPride21]

Don't know if anyone has named these coaches. These guys are mainly junior coaches. I didn't really read through the whole thread so...

I saw some stuff about Barnes Tennis Center. I think that Barnes is a great place to play tournaments and practice matches, but lesson wise there aren't many well known pros there.

Lee Merry is a great coach. He coaches Bradley Klahn, Zach Leslie, Tom Pham, J.P. Boyd, Cameron Bernhardt, etc.

Woody Blocher, also a coach in SD, is his best friend and also teaches many students that have good rankings.

Chad Kawahara is a great coach and works you really hard physically and mentally. He has improved many peoples games in San Diego.

and....the guy that taught Sam Querrey in Thousand Oaks. What's his name again?

[trojankid]

Don't know if anyone has named these coaches. These guys are mainly junior coaches. I didn't really read through the whole thread so...

I saw some stuff about Barnes Tennis Center. I think that Barnes is a great place to play tournaments and practice matches, but lesson wise there aren't many well known pros there.

Lee Merry is a great coach. He coaches Bradley Klahn, Zach Leslie, Tom Pham, J.P. Boyd, Cameron Bernhardt, etc.

Woody Blocher, also a coach in SD, is his best friend and also teaches many students that have good rankings.

Chad Kawahara is a great coach and works you really hard physically and mentally. He has improved many peoples games in San Diego.

and....the guy that taught Sam Querrey in Thousand Oaks. What's his name again?
where do you train out of?