7-year old girl, best place to learn in Southern California

[AndyChao]

Hi all ... I have a 7-year old daughter who loves tennis ... she has good coaching now. I was just wondering, since many of you seem to be very knowledgeable and parents of highly skilled juniors, where would you go for instruction, camps, etc? All of SoCal is interesting and possible ... from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to San Diego to the Palm Springs area ... thanks!

[Tennishacker]

IMO, it's alittle early to think about taking it to the next level.
If you are satisfied with her current coach teaching her the basic strokes, then stick with him/her.
If you can put her into a group workout, or just create your own, for kids have the most fun in group workouts.
Also try the novice, satellite tournaments, to gage how well she enjoys the tournament match play.

As you get more involved with socal junior tennis, you'll learn where the good coaches/academies are.

[10ismom]

Originally Posted by Tennishacker

IMO, it's alittle early to think about taking it to the next level.
If you are satisfied with her current coach teaching her the basic strokes, then stick with him/her.
If you can put her into a group workout, or just create your own, for kids have the most fun in group workouts.
Also try the novice, satellite tournaments, to gage how well she enjoys the tournament match play.

As you get more involved with socal junior tennis, you'll learn where the good coaches/academies are.

I agree along the line of what Tennishacker said. Though it would not hurt to ask the infos right now, do not spend $$$ on high performance coaching/training yet. Wait a few years and after you know she really loves tennis, enjoy the one-one aspect of the competition, want to stick with it and take it to the next level.......then start spending $$$ as you wish on her high performance training and tournaments.

I don't want to scare the OP or any parents new to tennis but below is a portion of an article posted under parenting planning on CAtennis website.

I cannot post the whole article since it is copyrighted.
The ~ $475,000 figure to develop a national caliber/D1 college tennis player was discussed in this forum before.
I think the actual figure could be less and depends on parents' sanity level....but definitely pricey!!!

Junior Development: $475,776 Price Tag

posted on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 11:41PM CAtennis

For all the money consumed in junior player development, why aren’t there tennis financial advisors? Has anyone taken the time to calculate the present value of future cash flows needed to develop an average national caliber junior from beginning to end? With so much uncertainty involved, probably not.

The available information is anecdotal at best. CAtennis.com comes to the rescue with a rough financial analysis of the costs associated with nurturing and maximizing talent from start to finish. Of course every family and child are unique and particular circumstances may differ (for example, living in Southern California and having access to outdoor facilities year-around versus the *******; playing at public courts v. having to join a private club; etc.). Therefore, a few assumptions are necessary before conducting the research:
■8 year old boy with average tennis skills on a national level (this means that that player is no bigger or smaller than the rest of the kids and average in athleticism and other physical characteristics).
■Player comes from a upper middle-class family in the Los Angeles area (approximately $150,000 in combined income)
■Child and parent share a long-term intention of attending a top D1 tennis school (in other words, this is not just one of the many activities that the player will be involved in; this is the main, if not one and only, extra-curricular activity)
■Ultimate goal is to pursue a career in professional tennis

With these initial assumptions out of the way, it is time for some number crunching on a detailed annual basis starting with 2012. The proposed figures are purely hypothetical and should be analyzed through the lens of the picture painted above. The guestimation begins and all numbers are based on 2011 prices. Furthermore, this is a family that is totally committed to tennis (i.e., everyone is operating under the assumption that the child will pursue a serious tennis career which will include high-level college tennis and, perhaps, a shot at “the tour”).


2012 - Age 8
■Equipment - $400 (rackets, shoes, newest tennis clothes - gotta wear what Rafa/Roger wear, right?!)
■Group Lessons - $2,880 = 12 x $240 per month (3hrs x week @ $20 per group)
■Private Lessons - $2,640 = 12 x $220 per month ($55 per private)
■Membership Fees - $2,400 = 12 x $200 per month (not including initial membership fee)
■Tournaments - $4800 = 12 x $400 (1 tournament per month, a majority of them within driving distance). Cost includes gas and food (maybe sports drinks and energy bars). But is also a rough estimate of paying a pro to go watch the child play (Lil' Mo?) as well as overnight lodging at some events.

Total - $13,120

2013 - Age 9

Not much change happens between 8-10 years of age. The only difference will be accounting for inflation at a historical rate of approximately 3 percent.

Total - $13,513 = 1.03 x $13,120


2014 - Age 10

Total - $13,907 = 1.06 x $13,513

2015 - Age 11

The dynamics start to change on the part of the parent and child. Due to the initial investment made on the child, the parents and the player get more emotionally attached to the results. At this point, an “arm’s race” may begin to take place among the child’s immediate competitors. Therefore, they decide to “up the ante” a little bit and add more tennis, all in hopes of getting ahead of the competition (there’s always someone who’s better). The child is ranked in the top 300 on TR.net in the 6th grade and the he gets a taste of celebrity when he ventures out to a far-away national event. More and more discussions start to take place between players, parents and coaches with an emphasis on the national stage ("will he make it?" "does he have what it takes? Tell us, coach!"). The child wants to succeed at a higher level and the parents and still fully committed to supporting the child’s dream. After all, playing tennis is better than being a latch-key kid and the parents are so proud of the attention that the child is getting from other adults/parents. Can't let them down, can we?! The decision is certianly also influenced by the results of some of the kid's peers.
■Equipment - $800 (goot fill up that 6-pack bag with 6 brand new rackets. Chances are that he didn't like the rackets after all, so he has to switch twice in one year).
■Group Lessons - $3,840 = 12 x $320 (4hrs x week @ $20 per group)
■Private Lesson - $5,280 = 12 x $440 (2 privates per week x $55)
■Membership Fees - $4,800 = 12 x $400 (adding another club for extra court time, coaches, and variety of players)
■Tournaments - $7,500 = 15 x $500 (some tournaments require farther stays and duration)

Total - $24,219 = 1.09 x $22,220

2016 - Age 12

The only difference between 11 and 12 is the increase in duration per tournament (i.e., player stays in the draw longer; therefore, more cost to the parent), which accounts for a greater cost per tournament at $700. All other expenses remain relatively similar and there is no system for cost recovery in the mateur divisions.

Tournaments - $10,500 = 15 x $700

Total - $28,246 = 1.12 x $25,220

2017 - Age 14................................................ ..........
.................................................

If we add up all the years, here is the total amount spent before setting foot on college campus:

= 13,120 + 13,513 + 13,907 + 24,219 + 28,246 + 37,904 + 103,379 + 43,076 + 55,006 + 70,866 + 72,540

= $475,776 is the GRAND TOTAL accounting for inflation from the age of 8-18.

Here is the link to the full article:

http://catennis.squarespace.com/most...?currentPage=2

[CANTGETENOUGHTENNIS!]

holy crap that's an interesting article

[tennisconsultcom]

These prices for those who have money but do not have time for thinking and planning. The most unreal estimation is for tournaments. Just look at this, for 11 years old kid who lives in SoCal:

"Tournaments - $7,500 = 15 x $500 (some tournaments require farther stays and duration)."

It is completely wrong estimation. There are a lot of tournaments in SoCal. Fee is about $40 for singles. Plus money for gas, may be $10-20. That's it. Total sum is about $600 for an year, not $7500.

Why do you need to travel with 11 years old kid for tournaments? Only if you like traveling

[jigglypuff]

Originally Posted by tennisconsultcom

These prices for those who have money but do not have time for thinking and planning. The most unreal estimation is for tournaments. Just look at this, for 11 years old kid who lives in SoCal:

"Tournaments - $7,500 = 15 x $500 (some tournaments require farther stays and duration)."

It is completely wrong estimation. There are a lot of tournaments in SoCal. Fee is about $40 for singles. Plus money for gas, may be $5. That's it. Total sum is about $600 for an year, not $7500.

Why do you need to travel with 11 years old kid for tournaments? Only if you like traveling

You drill your own oil in your backyard?

[tennisconsultcom]

I just wanted to add. If you want, you can spend $0,5 million for development of D1 player. But if your kid has a talent and you care about your money, your budget easily may be 10 times less.

[tennisconsultcom]

For example, my kid plays tournaments in SoCal. All of them are 10-30 miles away. Can you count how much I spend for an average tournament, if he wins usually 2-3 matches per a tournament? Yes, you are right about $15. What's wrong with that?

[sureshs]

Originally Posted by AndyChao

Hi all ... I have a 7-year old daughter who loves tennis ... she has good coaching now. I was just wondering, since many of you seem to be very knowledgeable and parents of highly skilled juniors, where would you go for instruction, camps, etc? All of SoCal is interesting and possible ... from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara to San Diego to the Palm Springs area ... thanks!

Way too many choices. Need more filtering - like are you looking for an academy, summer camps, weekly instruction, boarding etc.

[tacoben]

SoCal is a hotbed of junior tennis and there are many places/clinics/Coaches to go to. If you haven't already looked at the program at Barnes Tennis Center in LaJolla, I would suggest that place as a start.