should I get a instructor or join a tennis club to get better???

Euphoria.Soul · May 19, 2007

I am maybe 2.5.

I am not sure if the expensive lessons are worth it. the local community is offering $70 for 10 lessons. in my opinion, they are a bit pricy, considering you will also have to pay another $40 to be a member of the club lol. Would joining such club help you get better?? for me, I have a nice court at my school which I can play for free. thus I am debating if I should join this club and take lessons or not.

what is your opinion?

kimchi_senorita · May 19, 2007

Are they private lessons? Because if they are, that's a really really good deal. It's even a good deal for group lessons IMO.

Voltron · May 19, 2007

Take lessons, they are quite helpful, especially as a beginner.

smoothtennis · May 19, 2007

Thats cheap, and lessons are priceless at anything below 3.5 IMHO. Save yourself years of ingraining bad habits.

richw76 · May 19, 2007

7 bucks and the dude is a real coach is AWESOME. You'll never beat that anywhere. There is a tennis club near me with a good juniors programs. Some of the coaches run evening adult clinics/drills for extra money. They charge 15-20$ and there are usually 2-4 other people with me. Great way to get good instruction for cheap, and find hitting partners. Personal coaching usually runs 30-70$ a session. I found a guy that is the coach at a local CC and is a solid 4.5, and I like him alot since I go twice a week he charges 25$ a session.

I probably went through 8 coaches before I found one with the right mix. Cost/knowledge/personality

Anyway, get a good coach get rid of bad habits early, and the other thing the only way to get better is to play better people. Until you are a 4.0 maybe a borderline 3.5/4.0 people won't hit with you. Once you are a solid 4.0 then you can get matches no problem and the coach is just to tweak, and work on specifics of your game, but your fundamantals are probaly solid.

LuckyR · May 19, 2007

Euphoria.Soul said:
I am maybe 2.5.

I am not sure if the expensive lessons are worth it. the local community is offering $70 for 10 lessons. in my opinion, they are a bit pricy, considering you will also have to pay another $40 to be a member of the club lol. Would joining such club help you get better?? for me, I have a nice court at my school which I can play for free. thus I am debating if I should join this club and take lessons or not.

what is your opinion?

If you are the kind of person who can learn physical things, like strokes from watching it done right, I'd get the club membership and play a lot against a wall. Folks who can do that are a small minority of the population, in my experience.

If you are like most people who need verbal instruction, get the lessons first and get the membership later when you have the strokes down.

goober · May 19, 2007

LuckyR said:
If you are the kind of person who can learn physical things, like strokes from watching it done right, I'd get the club membership and play a lot against a wall. Folks who can do that are a small minority of the population, in my experience.

If you are like most people who need verbal instruction, get the lessons first and get the membership later when you have the strokes down.

I agree with this.

BTW $7/lesson is ridiculously cheap. A lot of private instructors charge $50-75/lesson- which is why I don't use them

zapvor · May 19, 2007

Euphoria.Soul said:
I am maybe 2.5.

I am not sure if the expensive lessons are worth it. the local community is offering $70 for 10 lessons. in my opinion, they are a bit pricy, considering you will also have to pay another $40 to be a member of the club lol. Would joining such club help you get better?? for me, I have a nice court at my school which I can play for free. thus I am debating if I should join this club and take lessons or not.

what is your opinion?

i am going to assume $70/10 lessons cant be private. i would spend that money and get maybe 1 o2 private lessons because group lessons are just not as effective. everyone does the same thing, and noone is really caring about tailoring instruction to you.

OrangeOne · May 19, 2007

zapvor said:
i am going to assume $70/10 lessons cant be private. i would spend that money and get maybe 1 o2 private lessons because group lessons are just not as effective. everyone does the same thing, and noone is really caring about tailoring instruction to you.

Depending on the size of the lesson, it's still possible to tailor instruction. Sure, it's not the same as a one-on-one, but if it's, say, a 4-person lesson, there's still lots to be had. I teach a 4-adult lesson, and I certainly find something for each person to be focusing on, I also find time in the lesson to spend focusing generally on each person too.

If someone came to me, especially at the beginner level, and offered me $100 to coach them, and said would they learn more in 10 group lessons or 2 privates, it wouldn't take a microsecond to say 10 group lessons. At the beginner level, there is so much to learn, and repetition over time is the most important thing.

zapvor · May 19, 2007

OrangeOne said:
Depending on the size of the lesson, it's still possible to tailor instruction. Sure, it's not the same as a one-on-one, but if it's, say, a 4-person lesson, there's still lots to be had. I teach a 4-adult lesson, and I certainly find something for each person to be focusing on, I also find time in the lesson to spend focusing generally on each person too.

If someone came to me, especially at the beginner level, and offered me $100 to coach them, and said would they learn more in 10 group lessons or 2 privates, it wouldn't take a microsecond to say 10 group lessons. At the beginner level, there is so much to learn, and repetition over time is the most important thing.

i was speaking from personal experience. and i never had you as a coach, so i dont know. you are better than most of them then

OrangeOne · May 19, 2007

zapvor said:
i was speaking from personal experience. and i never had you as a coach, so i dont know. you are better than most of them then

This is going to sound corny, but it's important to see 'group' instruction as 'individual' instruction to many. As long as the coach sees it that way, then I feel there's plenty of offer. Also, for most students at the beginner to intermediate level, I think 2 (possibly 3) people in a class is the most effective & value for money solution. Private coaching is a little over-the-top for players at this standard, there's just only so much to be learned in a 60 or 90 minute time, and often having another player of the same standard there can make the learning experience both smoother and more fun.

(As a side-note, I actually earn more from group instruction than I would from private instruction, so it's certainly not as if I see it as a lesser offering on my part either).

zapvor · May 19, 2007

OrangeOne said:
This is going to sound corny, but it's important to see 'group' instruction as 'individual' instruction to many. As long as the coach sees it that way, then I feel there's plenty of offer. Also, for most students at the beginner to intermediate level, I think 2 (possibly 3) people in a class is the most effective & value for money solution. Private coaching is a little over-the-top for players at this standard, there's just only so much to be learned in a 60 or 90 minute time, and often having another player of the same standard there can make the learning experience both smoother and more fun.

(As a side-note, I actually earn more from group instruction than I would from private instruction, so it's certainly not as if I see it as a lesser offering on my part either).

oh ok. i learned by having 1on 1, never in a group setting, and now that i am an instructor, i compare to when i learned one on one, and i feel 1 on 1 is better. but yea 4 isnt bad at all.

lecter255 · May 19, 2007

yea if it's a group lessons of 4 or less people, definitely go for it. even if it's more ppl you can prolly stick around later to ask the coach some detailed questions. and seriously, getting coaching early set you on the right track so you don't go exploring everything and wasting time.

paulfreda · May 19, 2007

Definitely join a good club.
Then watch the best players after finding out when their leagues play.
When you see a great stroke, ask the guy to teach it to you.
After a while you will accumulate several excellent shots and learn from the guy who knows how to hit it.

Taking lessons is ok IF you have a specific thing to work on.
Otherwise without a well defined goal you'll be taking lessons forever.

Concentrate on developing specific shots. FH, high BH, low volley, topspin serve, etc.

You will need to put in many many hours against a wall or a with a ball machine to groove your strokes.

Also, if you are 2.5 your racquet is likely not the best .... too powerful.
Get a well known excellent frame and add lead as needed to the top of the handle or a bit to the tip to tune it to the way it feels best.

Great game. Lifetime learning.
Good luck

[K]aotic · May 20, 2007

u think 70 dollars for 10 lessons is expensive?!?!? thats cHEAAAP i'm getting lessons 3 times a week for 3 hours each lesson... about 220 bux a week. and i'm goign 11 weeks.

Brian_C · May 20, 2007

yup its true its a great deal, i mean the usual charge is around20- 30 dollars per private, so 10 lessons would be 300 dollars, compared to 70its a great deal even with the 40dollars extra

300Gkid · May 20, 2007

Brian C is that in Florida?

Cuz in MA an hour private lessons like 60-70 bucks

Geezer Guy · May 21, 2007

Group lessons are GREAT when you're starting out (and those are cheap!). If you're lucky you'll meet other people in the group that you can hit with later. And $40 to join a club is pretty cheap also.

Euphoria.Soul · May 23, 2007

I see it is for sure important to get some good coaching early on. What makes a good coach though? I was at school today and they had some group lessons. The instructor is some 14, 16 year old kid. no disrespect to his ability to play (he is prolly a lot better than me), but is he fit for a coach?

zapvor · May 24, 2007

Euphoria.Soul said:
I see it is for sure important to get some good coaching early on. What makes a good coach though? I was at school today and they had some group lessons. The instructor is some 14, 16 year old kid. no disrespect to his ability to play (he is prolly a lot better than me), but is he fit for a coach?

yea good coaching is key for beginners. what makes a good coach? i have my own philosophy but i think most would agree that caring for the student is more important than his ability. also patience, good observation, communication. i think too many people place emphasis on ranking/certification. being a good player does that translate to being good at coaching. if the instructor is only 16, he may be good, but i dont know about his coaching/teaching quality.

dman72 · May 24, 2007

Euphoria.Soul said:
I am maybe 2.5.

I am not sure if the expensive lessons are worth it. the local community is offering $70 for 10 lessons. in my opinion, they are a bit pricy, considering you will also have to pay another $40 to be a member of the club lol. Would joining such club help you get better?? for me, I have a nice court at my school which I can play for free. thus I am debating if I should join this club and take lessons or not.

what is your opinion?

$110 for 10 lessons is VERY cheap whether they be group or private. I'd take that in a heartbeat. You pay at least $50 an hour for one lesson here.

Euphoria.Soul · Jun 4, 2007

thanks all for your feedbacks!!! (I know I am slow to reply as I am still pretty busy with school). I will most likely get some lessons from my school's club since I am already a member (part of tuition =) )

I will update you guys on my progress! =)

Ultra2HolyGrail · Jun 4, 2007

zapvor said:
yea good coaching is key for beginners. what makes a good coach? i have my own philosophy but i think most would agree that caring for the student is more important than his ability. also patience, good observation, communication. i think too many people place emphasis on ranking/certification. being a good player does that translate to being good at coaching. if the instructor is only 16, he may be good, but i dont know about his coaching/teaching quality.

True, it dont matter how good a player is i think than his ability to teach. It really is two different things. I've met my share of coaches, teaching pros, that did not have much to offer. I learned from a female and learned the most from her. She really was a excellent teacher and corrected you right away from serve technique and groundstrokes. Also she ran the coolest and funnest drills. Drills are very important too so i say definately join a club a do as many drills as possible. The good pro's running them should help you with any obvious problems. Many times they wont though.

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