How do you like your kids group class?

[crosbydog]

I m sitting here watching my kid's group class at an "academy" here in the ******* and becoming more anymore perturbed. 30 or more kids, 5 pros of varying teaching skill and most of the pros when they are not on their cellphones scheduling private lessons, are just walking back and forth, or chitchatting among themselves. What is your kid's group class like? Is it all drills? Is there a lot of time playing king of the court in lieu of instruction? Is it worth it or would you achieve the same thing by setting up your own matches with other kids?

[tomaskei123]

mine is 4 kidd 2 1 pro and beginig 30 min fitness 45 min stroke development 15 live ball drills and then singles or doubles for las 30 minits

[willshot]

Originally Posted by crosbydog

I m sitting here watching my kid's group class at an "academy" here in the ******* and becoming more anymore perturbed. 30 or more kids, 5 pros of varying teaching skill and most of the pros when they are not on their cellphones scheduling private lessons, are just walking back and forth, or chitchatting among themselves. What is your kid's group class like? Is it all drills? Is there a lot of time playing king of the court in lieu of instruction? Is it worth it or would you achieve the same thing by setting up your own matches with other kids?

most group classes is most likely to mimic a freaking circus.

The lower the level of the players, the more circus like.

[CROB410]

This posting made me laugh, my husband as well. I am sorry for your frustration, but also a little happy to know this is a universal problem and not something that just happens where we live ! It is unbelievable how much chitchatting and cell phone checking goes on during clinics , not to mention the zoned out ball feeding and king/queen of the court. The absolute worst was a clinic my daughter once took with 3 other kids who couldn't hit the ball at all and instead of lots of drills, which would have been appropriate, the pro just made the kids spend the hour playing doubles. I had to switch my daughter into a different class. Lucky all you Florida dads who are training your kids ! Or rather, lucky kids !!

[frank19991999]

Originally Posted by crosbydog

I m sitting here watching my kid's group class at an "academy" here in the ******* and becoming more anymore perturbed. 30 or more kids, 5 pros of varying teaching skill and most of the pros when they are not on their cellphones scheduling private lessons, are just walking back and forth, or chitchatting among themselves. What is your kid's group class like? Is it all drills? Is there a lot of time playing king of the court in lieu of instruction? Is it worth it or would you achieve the same thing by setting up your own matches with other kids?

Group clinics in Canada are like that

[tennis5]

Complain to the owner of the club.
Cite specific incidents, for example, Pro John used his phone at 4:15, 4:25, etc.

Believe me, things will change fast.

[crosbydog]

Originally Posted by tennis5

Complain to the owner of the club.
Cite specific incidents, for example, Pro John used his phone at 4:15, 4:25, etc.

Believe me, things will change fast.

I'll try doing that but the "academy" is an independent contractor (although with big banners all over the racket club.). I didn't mention the time the pro spent 10 minutes of my daughter's $70/hr private fixing a ball cart for someone on another court. I wasn't there my spouse was, I would have not put up with that

[jigglypuff]

Originally Posted by crosbydog

I'll try doing that but the "academy" is an independent contractor (although with big banners all over the racket club.). I didn't mention the time the pro spent 10 minutes of my daughter's $70/hr private fixing a ball cart for someone on another court. I wasn't there my spouse was, I would have not put up with that

Dump the coach. He could easily have tacked on an extra 10 mins for that class or made it up the following lesson. It seems like he does not care.

[Bash and Crash]

Wow, I guess I do it all wrong. No phone on the court, ever, only 6 max for clinic per pro per court, and if I lose time because of outside distraction I make up that time. However, I wish some parents would take the time to teach their children etiquette and behavior and not over estimate their current tennis abilities. Sorry to hear about the problems everyone experienced.

[chalkflewup]

Originally Posted by Bash and Crash

Wow, I guess I do it all wrong. No phone on the court, ever, only 6 max for clinic per pro per court, and if I lose time because of outside distraction I make up that time. However, I wish some parents would take the time to teach their children etiquette and behavior and not over estimate their current tennis abilities. Sorry to hear about the problems everyone experienced.

As the professional, the coach should establish and communicate objectives for junior. Educate the parent(s) right from the get go about junior's abilities. You may lose a client in the process but you'll lose a few headaches too.

[slice bh compliment]

Yeah, some are good. Some are bad.
The OP's experience wounds bad. Hopefully the coaching is good at lest. But the structure sounds weak.

I am thankful for the place my kids go. Good ratios. Pros who care. Sometimes a lot of instruction. Sometimes a little. I trust what they are doing (a couple of them are personal friends and one used to work for me).

Teaching pros are everywhere. The really good pros are hard to find.

[Tcbtennis]

Where my kids train it averages 4-6 kids per court depending on the number of children that show up. The kids are separated by their level of ability. I'm lucky that my two children are in the highest group because they definitely receive more attention and better training than the less experienced group. I occasionally watch the children of the lower ability train and think to myself, if I were one of their parents I would be quite upset. Especially if I were one of the intermediate kids who were unfortunate to end up in that lower group just because of the number of kids.

The coaches here are not talking on their phones or wasting time doing other tasks. You can tell that they just prefer interacting with kids with better skills. Quite often after drills these kids are put in doubles without much supervision. When the more experienced kids are playing doubles there is usually more than one coach watching over them.

[High Rustler]

having been into this for a few years, I think it's way to easy to bash the drill groups. I think the important thing is whether or not you sense the pro's have confidence in your child.

Pros you need to remember while "sarah" may be better and have more promise than "sally", sarah AND sally's parents pay THE SAME and EARN the same attention from you.

When you forget that, you lose my business. and my respect.

[andromeda]

We found a great coach who is developing a group of competitive girls and boys and he's only looking at having 8 kids total. Right now we have 4 kids maximum on the heaviest day's attendance. We're really happy with the program because each kid gets one on one time with him and he works with all of them as a group, as well. The only thing they're lacking is conditioning and cardio training but I get that for my son at the gym or we go hiking, etc.

We also attend what I like to term our 'fun clinic' once a week. He's probably the best kid in the class but it's where all his friends are and it's close to our house so I let him go once a week, just to keep tennis fun. They are well-structured but the level of play is lower than what he needs for competition. Anyway, I like the balance we have because I don't want tennis to be all about competing and tournaments. We want our son to play tennis for a lifetime and he needs to appreciate players of all levels and learn to adjust his game and respect people for where they are. He even goes out and plays with 70 year olds on court just because he likes to game. I may be in the minority but I think a healthy attitude towards the sport is best. Life can change in an instant and I think we all need the attitude that it's OK to adapt and change to fit our circumstances or situations. Hope that makes sense!

[slice bh compliment]

^Good post. Thank you.

Originally Posted by High Rustler

having been into this for a few years, I think it's way to easy to bash the drill groups. I think the important thing is whether or not you sense the pro's have confidence in your child.

Pros you need to remember while "sarah" may be better and have more promise than "sally", sarah AND sally's parents pay THE SAME and EARN the same attention from you.

When you forget that, you lose my business. and my respect.

Good points. This, plus the fact that one should not be too concerned if sometimes your kid has to play someone who is not pushing him. Parent and kid must see that as a chance to close, an opportunity to practice out of one's comfort zone and implement some cool new, attacking elements, and a chance to give a kid a shot at you. Important stuff.

Now, that said, I do feel sometimes my kids are not being challenged enough in groups....but then they'd get totally smacked around if they played the next court up. It's a time to trust the actual coach (not just the dad/coach), hahaha!

[donnymac10s]

Originally Posted by crosbydog

I m sitting here watching my kid's group class at an "academy" here in the ******* and becoming more anymore perturbed. 30 or more kids, 5 pros of varying teaching skill and most of the pros when they are not on their cellphones scheduling private lessons, are just walking back and forth, or chitchatting among themselves. What is your kid's group class like? Is it all drills? Is there a lot of time playing king of the court in lieu of instruction? Is it worth it or would you achieve the same thing by setting up your own matches with other kids?

the mistake that people make is thinking that group lessons = development/learning. they are there to supplement or compliment individual practice. kids need to do 10,000 focused hours in order to be on track to mastering the sport. everything else is hit-and-giggle and a scam.

[donnymac10s]

Originally Posted by willshot

most group classes is most likely to mimic a freaking circus.

The lower the level of the players, the more circus like.

So true...even college practices are a joke when you have 4 players on the court... i never understood why parents don't prefer split lessons (2 hours; 2x as hard) over "clinics"..

Here's a concept: say that the "academy" has 8 students. each student pays $20/hrs so that's $160 for the day. the academy has 2 pros...the "name" and his assistant. The name usually gets money and a percentage of the other pro's to cover expenses (T-shirts, balls, court fees, insurance, etc.). after taking the expenses into account, let's say that the pros are getting $50 for the day. That's $25/hours...the $25 worth of attention is split among 4 students. so each student gets about $8 worth of attention per hour. Compare that to a private lesson (let's say $50-$60) or a semi-private lesson ($25-$30) where the coach is able to give the students more individual attention. Hello!!! academies/clinics are a scam...a pyramid scheme (esp. since some of the "better" players might get in for free and therefore act as magnets for the suckers who pay).

[chalkflewup]

Then don't pay. It's that simple. It's called free enterprise.