Tennis Dunce
Semi-Pro
I always wondered who would win between you two. Have you guys ever played each other? sort of like an internet tennis coach 'dream match.'
Come on...make it happen!
Is your tennis pro worth the money?
- Thread starter Essential Tennis
- Start date
I always wondered who would win between you two. Have you guys ever played each other? sort of like an internet tennis coach 'dream match.'
Come on...make it happen!
wihamilton
Hall of Fame
I always wondered who would win between you two. Have you guys ever played each other? sort of like an internet tennis coach 'dream match.'
Come on...make it happen!
Heh. We actually have played some in the past. Not a match -- just some stuff for various instructional videos. Do have some point play though... maybe I'll put some online =)
Tennis Dunce
Semi-Pro
That would be awesome.
You two do an incredible service to tennis...keep up the terrific work!
Essential Tennis
Rookie
Excellent list Topaz, I really respect a student who's focused and knows exactly what they want out of their time on the court. As was mentioned earlier in this thread, just as there's plenty of poor tennis pros out there, there's also lots of poor tennis students, haha. You sound like a great person to work with.
By the way in a week or two I'm going to be doing the counter point to the "bad tennis pros" show: what do look for in a GOOD tennis professional. Some of you things will definitely be talked about by myself and my guest.
Lastly, I'm also in the metro DC area. I work at a country club in Bethesda!
Essential Tennis
Rookie
Will's tough, if his groundies were on I'd have a pretty hard time winning.
Thanks for the kind words as well, I appreciate it.
aptennis91
Rookie
Will's tough, if his groundies were on I'd have a pretty hard time winning.
Thanks for the kind words as well, I appreciate it.
So if his groundies are not on, you'd have an easy time winning?
JK, just trying to incite some competitive feelings so you guys will actually post a video of a match.
I listened to some of your podcast and it had some very helpful stuff. Especially the one about having a target before returning.
Topaz
Legend
Thanks!
Around here (and since you're kinda local you may know what I'm talking about), a lot of women who take lessons are what I like to call 'rich bored housewives'. It sounds derogatory, doesn't it? It isn't. I'm jealous!!! They basically spend their days taking tennis lesson and clinics, and get better and better, and beat the crap out of me on the tennis court when I'm dragging in after a day at school on my feet.
Some of the 'RBH's really do want to improve and get better.
And others are just there for a bit of a workout and to look good in their outfits (and they do). I would categorize them as 'poor tennis students', though they might be great clients for a pro to have. The other type of 'poor' student I've witnessed is the junior who is there because they parents are making them be there. Ugh. Sad to see.
I think many pros around here are so used to teaching the second type of RBHs that they kind of get 'stuck'. Same thing, every time. You'd think they'd be elated when they have a student who is willing to work very, very hard, but by then I think they don't know what to do with them. Maybe they get jaded? It happens in teaching public school...I'm sure it happens teaching tennis, too. Another reason that I think it is important to keep learning as a teacher...it also keeps you motivated as well as being a better instructor (no matter what the subject you're teaching!).
Luckily, as you've seen from my detailed list (*smile*), there are many very good pros in this area.
I knew you were in the metro DC area...I remember when you first started your site. Nice to see you still actively working on it. Ever given any thought to coming out to one of the Mid-Atlantic chapter's meets? Turns out there are a whole bunch of us on this board in the same general area.
Essential Tennis
Rookie
haha, no need to incite any competitiveness, at least not for myself, that's for sure.So if his groundies are not on, you'd have an easy time winning?
JK, just trying to incite some competitive feelings so you guys will actually post a video of a match.
I listened to some of your podcast and it had some very helpful stuff. Especially the one about having a target before returning.
Great to hear that the podcast has been helpful to you, I hope it continues to be so!
Essential Tennis
Rookie
You are soooooo dead on with those thoughts Topaz. There was a time for every teaching professional that they were really passionate about the game and played it just for the enjoyment of it, the thrill of competition and satisfaction of improving their game. Most tennis pros start teaching because they want to continue being around that but end up being frustrated that many students don't share the same zeal as they did. I'm sure it's exactly that way for school teachers as well, all pumped up out of college to head out and really make a difference in young kids lives, only to be discouraged by their lack of interest and participation. It takes a pretty special person to stay motivated and passionate about what they do even among deflating students like that.
I'd be happy to if it was on an off day for me (Sunday/Monday). If you'd be kind enough to PM me about the next one I'd really appreciate it, I don't get over here to the TW forums very often.
Steady Eddy
Legend
Do teacher's always believe they're poor? When you say you'd be willing to purchase lessons every week to improve your backhand, it doesn't sound like you're poor.
And...? So what are you now? 3.5? Or more like 5.5?
Topaz
Legend
Where did I say that?
I said this:
Didn't even mention my BH, which is doing quite well at the moment, thank you very much.
Anything else I can help you with? And, if you knew how much money was left in my account that I'm stretching to my next payday, you'd 'get it'.
I budget my tennis very carefully because it matters to me. That is one reason I won't stick around if I'm not getting my money's worth from a pro.
I've had two lessons in the past two months. Hardly extravagant.
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teachestennis
Semi-Pro
Just want to say that if I coach a dedicated lady for six months who is a decent athlete and she is not looking like a pro in effiency of movement and at least a 3.5 player, I get out of coaching. If you get stuck at the same level with a coach, it's time to find a new coach. My popularity as a tennis coach comes from the fact that I take every student on a progressive journey forward, learning from them, freeing them up, allowing them to reach for their athletic potential, teaching them biomechanical efficiency that inspires them to want to play more like a pro, taking overweight slow students who think they can't play tennis well and then a year later they look like natural athletes. I will leave St. Louis this winter and move to a club and be overloaded with lessons within a month of arriving to any indoor club. If you teach them to play like pros on a learning gradient where it feels natural and they constantly improve, they will pay for lessons over and over.
Steady Eddy
Legend
Sorry. I thought you said that you take lessons every week.
You did mention that one pro had you use a one-handed backhand. Sounded like there's some sort of issue w/ the backhand.
Steady Eddy
Legend
Yeah, you can find about anything you want to know about tennis on the internet. But a pro can look at YOUR game and use her experience to decide what would be the best thing for you to work on. It can be hard to self-diagnose.
goober
Legend
My computer rating is 4.5, but I am probably on the lower end of that rating (but not low enough for an auto appeal to go through)
Steady Eddy
Legend
So it sounds like improvement is more a function of practice, and some athletic ability? I'd say that to get really good one needs to hit w/ a coach almost daily, but 4.5 is superior for recreational play and that can be accomplished without lessons.
goober
Legend
For recreational adults, tennis pretty much stops at 4.5. Above that there are no teams, leagues, ect. at least in our area. You are pretty much confined to open level and maybe age group tournaments if you are 5.0+. Basically there is very little incentive for adult tennis players to go above the 4.5 level. There are a lot of teaching pros and ex-college players in the 4.5 ranks so there is a ton of competition at this level.
No offense to coaches, but from my view I see a ton of adult players that take weekly lessons for years and they seem to stay at the same level without changing much so I wonder what are they paying all this money for?
Essential Tennis
Rookie
Entertainment, recreation, physical work out, a good social relationship with the pro, the challenge of hitting with somebody much better than them, and something to do on a slow day are all other reasons why people take lessons every day. It's hard for inspired recreational players to believe but there are a lot of lessons taught every day for reasons other than game improvement. When I first started teaching I was shocked by this and had a hard time dealing with it, I couldn't believe that people would come out for a lesson and not really care about improving. It was very frustrating to me and often times still is. This is why it was mentioned a few times earlier in this thread that a large amount of responsibility falls on the student as well, and if they don't care if they improve or not then that's just fine, everybody has different priorities.
Are there students who fall stagnant due to poor teaching as well? Sure, absolutely. It's a two way street, who is to blame is totally dependent on the specific combination of coach and student.
Topaz
Legend
Lol, naw...I *wish* I could, but that whole job thing gets in the way (not to mention the lack of funds).
You know, I have no idea why two of the pros thought I should be hitting one hand BHs. Neither one stuck around long enough for me to really get the hang of it, and the pros after them looked at my real strange when I suggested continuing to work on it.
I brought that up in answering goober's question about whether or not all those pros really helped me improve my level. Some did, but with others I think there was a lot of wasted time (such as the time spent on the 1HBH)...so for a while I think I was taking one step forward and then two steps back. Luckily I seem to have my technique on both sides pretty solid now, and when it goes awry I know what I'm doing wrong.
Very well put. Not everyone learns the same way. Some people can read something on the internet and incorporate it into their game with no problem. Others need to feel the right way to do it first, and will need the guidance of someone else to do that.
Basically, the three 'types' of learners are aural, kinesthetic, and visual. Most are combinations of one or more. In tennis, I know once I get the *feel* (kinesthetic) of doing something correctly, I am usually good to go.
I'd love to get to 4.5, but *for me*...I don't think I can get there without some guidance (or a lot) from a pro. My old (bad) habits sneak up on me, at times, without me even realizing.
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
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?
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?
Topaz
Legend
*jealous*
They weren't all horrible.
As far as the relationship running its course...that's an important point to bring up, too, I think. When or why do you cut a good pro loose?
Are you doing this with a hitting partner or off a wall?
I fell into that same exact trap. Way too many matches. This winter I've decided to not play mixed (for various reasons) and concentrate more on my lessons/clinics/fitness. I tend to burn myself out, and hopefully this way I'll be fresh and ready to go come next season.
Ian, once you guys finish the podcasts about what to look for in a pro, maybe the next part of the series should be how to be a good student!
Xisbum
Semi-Pro
Interesting thread; Cindy, you should join Topaz and me with our TWMAC colleagues for some fun hitting at one of our mini-meets. We have a great time and get in some serious hitting, too.
Heck, we might even set one up in DC if you guarantee us a look at the immortal Cindysphinx.
Heck, we might even set one up in DC if you guarantee us a look at the immortal Cindysphinx.
goober
Legend
In a way my question was largely rhetorical. Obviously people who are paying money but staying at the same level are getting something out of it or they wouldn't contiue to do so. Whether it is a good use of their money is questionable. But if you are a bored rich housewife I guess it doesn't matter:wink: .
But as far as your other point. I think improving depends almost 100% on the student at the adult level. Almost all adult players I have known that have reached 4.0-4.5 in a short time from 2.5 or beginner have done so mostly from their own intense desire and motivation to reach that level regardless whether they had a coach or not.
I wanna say that the complete opposite is true. Players can take themselves to 4.0, maybe 4.5, but without lessons they hit limitations where they don't know what they need to do to continue improving.
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
My own philosophy is "almost never." 'Cause you used the phrase "good pro."
I mean, look at the pros. Take Nadal and Henin. Were Uncle Tony and Carlos Rodriguez the very best coaches on the planet? Probably not. But these pros had a long-standing relationship with (largely) one instructor. I think there is a lot to be said for that. Having one pro forces you to look inward. Rather than comparing this pro to the last, constantly wondering if the new one is doing you a disservice, you have to look at what *you* are and aren't doing.
I know women who disagree, who believe it is good to get a "fresh set of eyes on the situation." I don't agree at all, provided that we are talking about a "good pro." I say shop around until you find someone, and then stick with that person unless you have a really good reason to change. "I'm losing" isn't a good enough reason, IMHO.
I think continuity is really important with instruction. That is one reason I don't do clinics. I only do a clinic with this one pro and three 3.5 teammates. In this way, we work on skills that are appropriate to the group and we are all working with the same base of knowledge.
90% of what I am doing is drop feeding. I rarely hit off the wall. I can't figure out how to make good use of the wall.
Why the drop feeding? I remember a lesson early this spring. Pro was trying (again!) to get me to some footwork. He literally stood off to the side while I was at the baseline and tossed a ball up near me for me to hit. I literally reached out with my racket and used my arm to hit it. He could not get me to move, as I wasn't grasping the idea of moving around the ball. I mean, the purpose of movement was to get to the ball. The ball was right there. So why move?
OK. Now I have the concept. And the way I got it was by hours of throwing balls up in the air and moving around them. Once I had that, he noticed that my elbow was flying all over. Another few hours of drop feeding and I had adjusted that. Same thing for my jacked up takeback. Last week was attempting to learn to give myself space to hit and then transfer my weight into the ball. My current homework is to bend my knees at the appropriate point in the swing and then use my legs for more power.
Now comes the hard work. I need to translate these things into rallies. That is going to be very hard. I feel constantly late, and I never feel like I make good contact. So more practice with hitting partners, I guess . . .
I haven't decided the role of matches for me this season. I tend not to go for much on my groundstrokes in doubles out of a lack of confidence. So maybe playing matches will help with that. Or maybe not.
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
Interesting thread; Cindy, you should join Topaz and me with our TWMAC colleagues for some fun hitting at one of our mini-meets. We have a great time and get in some serious hitting, too.
Heck, we might even set one up in DC if you guarantee us a look at the immortal Cindysphinx.
Yeah, sure. I can try to make one of those. I'll warn you, my serve won't hit the back fence before the second bounce, and I probably won't move my feet. Hope that's OK!
Topaz
Legend
Great answers Cindy, thanks for taking the time to type all that out.
BTW, we are having a TWMAC mini-meet tomorrow morning.
Do you have your lessons/clinics outdoors? I seem to remember you do. Does your pro have a place to go to once the weather no longer cooperates? If so, does that change the price?
BTW, we are having a TWMAC mini-meet tomorrow morning.
Do you have your lessons/clinics outdoors? I seem to remember you do. Does your pro have a place to go to once the weather no longer cooperates? If so, does that change the price?
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
Can't do the mini-meet. Gotta hitting session in the morning and tri-level match in the afternoon.
My pro works outdoors in public parks and school in the summer ($60/hour private, same hourly rate for multi-player clinic). In winter, he works for one of the private clubs, and the money goes to the club. Then the price is $70 for a private, and some inflated rate for multi-player clinics.
I have had periods where I dropped the private lessons and did the clinics -- usually in the winter because it is more expensive. I always restarted the lessons after a while. It really helps to get a stroke tune-up, and going the whole winter without any practice whatever really makes my strokes crash and burn.
Xisbum
Semi-Pro
Yeah, sure. I can try to make one of those. I'll warn you, my serve won't hit the back fence before the second bounce, and I probably won't move my feet. Hope that's OK!
Sounds like my serve; it seldom bounces more than a foot, and some people curse me for it. They say a drop shot serve isn't fair. Go figure.
Give us some spots in D.C. and some times you can play, and we'll see what we can do. We have some D.C. peeps, too, who would probably love hitting in the city.
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
Sounds like my serve; it seldom bounces more than a foot, and some people curse me for it. They say a drop shot serve isn't fair. Go figure.
Give us some spots in D.C. and some times you can play, and we'll see what we can do. We have some D.C. peeps, too, who would probably love hitting in the city.
OK, but I don't know much about DC tennis locations, on account of how I don't live there!!
Xisbum
Semi-Pro
Whoa, my bad. Thought you did live in D.C. Are you in Maryland, then? We go there frequently to accommodate our MD buddies.
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
Yep, that's where I am. I don't tend to follow the mid-Atlantic thread because it is so long it makes me dizzy. So I never hear about the MD meet-ups. I'll try to pay more attention.
My problem is less of location than that most people cannot play during weekdays, which are the best times for me.
Topaz
Legend
You do? So do I (a tri-level match in the afternoon)...when/where are you playing? We are 2:30 at FRC.
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
Got a 4 pm start, so I will high-five you after your stunning victory.
Topaz
Legend
Or console me, right? Remember...this is *doubles*. :shock:
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
I have a good partner tomorrow. Haven't played with her or seen her, but I know her name. We should do well together.
Last partner was a 3.0 singles player playing only her second doubles match ever, having begun to play 18 months ago. We got utterly destroyed, third worst score I have ever posted in doubles.
Cindy -- who will put that -2, -0 score in the file right next to the -1, -0 and the -0, -0
Speaking of pros, I was talked into playing old man's doubles yesterday (rest of the people were old men), when the head pro who coaches promising juniors walks over and says one of you asked about a kick serve, let me tell you about it. So he gave us a free lesson. This guy used to be on the tour, and once beat Vijay Amritraj. He set up a junior student to return his serve as he taught. I kicked out the boy, and decided to try the returns myself. The kick/twist serves curved to my right before bouncing, and then took off to the left. By "took off" I mean the next moment the ball was like 2 feet above my head and out somewhere in space to my left. To my credit, I was able to return 3 out of his 4 serves, with weak slices or blocks which did not interest him at all. (The last return caused me to injure my shoulder trying to get to the ball, and it took a set of old man's doubles to recover from it.) After that he goes: well, this is how a beginner starts learning a kick serve, till he gets better. Then he passes by me and says you don't wait for the serve, you need to take it on the rise. I am thinking: if this is a serve which just illustrates "brushing action" without any noticeable effort, what the heck does a real pro kick serve look like in person?
I wouldn't describe Cindysphinx like that
I was about to say - someone who takes lessons in so many places including a country club can hardly be poor. Unless the lessons are making her poor LOL.
Also, for someone young, who played tennis for 2 years in high school, 3.5 seems to be an underachievement after 5 years of taking lessons.
I hope she doesn't end up like most of the adults I know who take lessons, attend clinics, go to tennis camps on vacation, etc - zero improvement.
Topaz
Legend
Was I using that phrase to describe Cindy?
Curious how people like to 'reinterpret' what I've posted.
Edited to add: There are many days I'd give my left leg to be a RBH.
Topaz
Legend
OH, for crying out loud...
The country club pro was because my team already had a clinic set up there. I joined the team clinic which had about 10 women in it every time we played. That made it pretty darn cheap. I had absolutely no affiliation with the country club. I got moved up, couldn't play with that team, and no longer took part in that clinic.
Your sincere concern for my improvement is really touching. There was very little consistency during those 5 years because of the revolving door of pros. And I have improved...I've moved up and gotten better results each year.
I've said it before, I'll say it again...I very carefully budget my tennis because it matters to me. I sacrifice pretty much every other social item for tennis. There is no going out, there are no movies, etc. Are you understanding now?
Now, why the need to slam and ridicule me?
Two months ago, I took 2 lessons from a Div 2 woman in the UC system. She coaches during summer for $30 an hour to make some extra money. Before I could schedule more lessons, I had to travel, and now she would be busy with her semester I suppose.
One of the big differences with this woman is she is a current and competitive player. Some of the club pros are old and don't play matches any more. Doesn't mean they can't teach, just that you are not awed by their shots. Sort of like being taught by a professor who only teaches versus one who also does research.
What I realized was that taking a lesson makes the knowledge vivid, unlike watching a video or reading an article. It sticks in your mind. Some of the things I got out of the 2 lessons were:
Serve toss: she made me line up the tossing arm with the front leg. Before that I did not know where the tossing arm was hehehe. Eliminated one uncertain variable from the equation.
Early preparation: She told me it should start as soon as the ball is at the net. What illustrated this is when she rallied with me. She was so fast, and her balls were so fast too, that I really had to do the racquet preparation fast or I was nowhere. Quite different from rallying with a teaching pro who says the same thing but can't hit that hard to make his point.
Ball to body slightly to BH: This one used to trouble me a lot. I don't run around my BH, because I don't want my 1HBH to remain a liability, so I face it bravely. The near-body balls used to get me. She suggested to simply move back and then hit the ball. Works well.
I have internalized the 1st and 3rd points, but the second one is stagnant. It is something you can't improve unless you are faced with it. I suppose I could use a ball machine, but don't have the time. You need to hit with players who hit fast and only then you can learn the early preparation. So it remains an unimplemented idea till next time I take a lesson from her.
One of the big differences with this woman is she is a current and competitive player. Some of the club pros are old and don't play matches any more. Doesn't mean they can't teach, just that you are not awed by their shots. Sort of like being taught by a professor who only teaches versus one who also does research.
What I realized was that taking a lesson makes the knowledge vivid, unlike watching a video or reading an article. It sticks in your mind. Some of the things I got out of the 2 lessons were:
Serve toss: she made me line up the tossing arm with the front leg. Before that I did not know where the tossing arm was hehehe. Eliminated one uncertain variable from the equation.
Early preparation: She told me it should start as soon as the ball is at the net. What illustrated this is when she rallied with me. She was so fast, and her balls were so fast too, that I really had to do the racquet preparation fast or I was nowhere. Quite different from rallying with a teaching pro who says the same thing but can't hit that hard to make his point.
Ball to body slightly to BH: This one used to trouble me a lot. I don't run around my BH, because I don't want my 1HBH to remain a liability, so I face it bravely. The near-body balls used to get me. She suggested to simply move back and then hit the ball. Works well.
I have internalized the 1st and 3rd points, but the second one is stagnant. It is something you can't improve unless you are faced with it. I suppose I could use a ball machine, but don't have the time. You need to hit with players who hit fast and only then you can learn the early preparation. So it remains an unimplemented idea till next time I take a lesson from her.
i think it depends... prior to 2 years ago (when i was 25), i never picked up a racket. i never played sports, except for the ones they force you to play in P.E. in high school. so i lacked a lot of athletic experience that would be useful in tennis. so i think lessons help accelerate my learning... i'm not rich, but, like Topaz, tennis has become a new passion for me and i sacrifice a bit of everything to get better.
Teaching Pro Questions / Thoughts
Does anyone know of Teaching Pros that get paid based on results?
The one thing that I would like to see Teaching Pros do more of in addition to just lessons, is actually watch me play against a common opponent, and then break down what I do right / wrong, etc. I suppose i could ask, and pay for this, but I have not seen it done at our Club except with Juniors.
Does anyone know of Teaching Pros that get paid based on results?
The one thing that I would like to see Teaching Pros do more of in addition to just lessons, is actually watch me play against a common opponent, and then break down what I do right / wrong, etc. I suppose i could ask, and pay for this, but I have not seen it done at our Club except with Juniors.
Steady Eddy
Legend
This might be off the topic of lessons, but by RBH you mean "rich, bored, housewife". The word "bored" implies that all is not well. Maybe the grass is greener is all. You might want to keep your left leg. If you wonder what I mean watch some episodes of "Mad Men".
Cindysphinx
G.O.A.T.
Regarding "bored":
I've been home for 12.5 years now. There was some part-time work early on, but the last few years have been strictly non-income earning.
People have always asked me if I am bored, especially people I knew in my prior working life. The thing is, very few people I know are genuinely happy in their work lives, based on what I see and hear. I mean, people have to work, of course. There aren't very many who wouldn't relish a few years away from it, though. I base this on the fact that I rarely hear "OMG, I cannot wait to get to work in the morning, especially on Mondays. I hope there's a really big accident so I can have extra time contemplating how much I am enjoying the traffic."
So far, I've managed to restrain myself from answering the "Are you bored?" question with "No. Are you?"
Cindy -- who spent over a decade in pantyhose and who doesn't miss it
I've been home for 12.5 years now. There was some part-time work early on, but the last few years have been strictly non-income earning.
People have always asked me if I am bored, especially people I knew in my prior working life. The thing is, very few people I know are genuinely happy in their work lives, based on what I see and hear. I mean, people have to work, of course. There aren't very many who wouldn't relish a few years away from it, though. I base this on the fact that I rarely hear "OMG, I cannot wait to get to work in the morning, especially on Mondays. I hope there's a really big accident so I can have extra time contemplating how much I am enjoying the traffic."
So far, I've managed to restrain myself from answering the "Are you bored?" question with "No. Are you?"
Cindy -- who spent over a decade in pantyhose and who doesn't miss it
Xisbum
Semi-Pro
I'm off next Friday, and we might be able to find another player or two to make up some dubs. Does that work for you?
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