New to this forum - seeking advice

[dsk]

Hi Everyone,

I've been visiting this forum for last couple days and, seeing the quality of posters, couldn't resist registering myself. Thanks to all of you who post here for having such great content - I've already learned quite a bit browsing many of the existing threads.

I am a parent of 2 girls (8 and 15) who are into tennis. Got a late start with the older one (she started playing less than 2 years ago) but she has shown great passion for the game and has improved dramatically. We recently moved from SoCal to NorCal and now we are looking for a good coach for her - can any of you please advise me on good academies/coaches around Palo Alto who has experience training high school/collegiate level players?

Also, I would love to find a hitting partner for my 8 year old - she has good form, can rally with regular tennis ball, and has played some (mostly U12) matches.

Thanks in advance.

[NoCalParent]

Welcome to Northern California. I don't have a junior girl for you to hit with, but have had some experience sending my kids to clinics on the Peninsula. There are a number of choices, but two that tend to get quite a few kids are:

Player Capital http://www.playercapital.com/Juniors...edule-2013.php

and Eagle Fustar: http://www.eaglefustar.com/ef/programs/

My kids did both at different points. I liked Player Capital because the locations were easier for us to get to, and the times were more convenient. Mike Jessup is also an amazing teacher from a technical perspective (fyi, CiCi Bellis, who recently won her respective age groups for Les Petit Ans and AEGON Junior International trained here for awhile). That said, the competition is deeper, and a little older at Fustar. They also post quite a strong group of current and alumni players.

There are other, smaller programs in the area. Though we don't have personal experience, Kim Grant runs a program out of Winter Lodge in Palo Alto, which has a lot of younger girls.

The good news is there are lots of options. A number of the private clubs in the area (Palo Alto, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Portola Valley) have pretty good junior programs as well.

[tennisnut123]

Dsk, im not from that area, but, you should search for local clubs and then visit each one and watch some of the instruction. Take some notes of what you saw that you liked and what you think could be set backs at each facility. Take your daughters with you though to each one so they can see which they feel most comfortable at. Maybe have a sit down with a potential pro they could be working with and get a good understanding of their approach and teaching methods. You'll find the right fit, even if it takes a few trial and error periods. Good Luck

[treeman10]

The clubs in Norcal are mainly aimed at the high school type player at their top end and progress is slower. Eagle Fustar focuses on higher level players and as the other poster said, has sent a ton of kids to great colleges for tennis and developed some really top players. If your 15 year old needs to catch up I would go there over a club if the locations/times work for you. Also much bigger program with more kids to work with, clinics everyday, great connections. Bellis has dabbled at both Jessup and EF and a ton of other places, from what I understand she does her own thing mostly with mom running it.
http://www.eaglefustar.com/