Rich Bored Housewife reporting for duty.
I'm a veteran of lessons, both private and clinic. For the last few years, I've taken a weekly private. I do this for two reasons: (1) I think it has helped me improve, and (2) it is fun. What better reason is there than that?
Regarding improvement, I am 100% certain I would still be a struggling, low-level 3.0 had I not taken lessons. Even I could recognize back then that what I was doing simply wasn't working. I could reach a lot of balls, but my footwork and stroke mechanics were so poor that I couldn't do anything but push it back, and sometimes not even that.
Fast forward. Now I'm mid-3.5. Earlier this summer, I was thinking of changing pros. Unlike Topaz's Parade Of Horrible Pros, my guy is professional and does seem to take an interest in my matches and development. His teaching style suits me, and the stuff he has me do is likely not especially different from what another pro would do. I felt stagnate. Maybe the relationship had run its course?
Then I tried something I hadn't really ever tried before: Vigorous, serious practice.
Since I decided to change my FH grip a few weeks ago, I have been practicing (usually alone) almost every single day. Yesterday, for instance, I took a 1-hour lesson in the morning, then rather than hitting the showers, I practiced what we had worked on for 90 more minutes. All this practice is paying off -- I am definitely hitting my FH much better.
Looking back on the three years of lessons, I see now that I had confused "playing" with "practice." I would take instruction, and then I would have 2 league matches and perhaps a social match that week. Since I was playing a lot of tennis, I figured I was handling things correctly. Actually, no. I wasn't *practicing* the things I had learned.
Well, winter is coming, so it is time to decide whether to re-up for weekly private lessons throughout the winter. It is a tough decision, as our first child is headed off to college and I just cut the check for her first month of tuition (and got a little lightheaded). I've decided to do the lessons. I feel like it will help me preserve the progress we've made this summer. Plus, I enjoy the lessons, and we all need some enjoyment in our short little lives, right?