Pros and cons of the various video / instruction sites

[Thud and blunder]

Hi all, trying to make sense of the various options here, viz TennisOne, Hi-Tech Tennis, Tennisplayer.net, FYB Premium, some other stuff I probably don't know about.

For those with experience of multiple sites, how would you compare them, and which one(s) would you recommend?

 

[LeeD]

The one or none that works best for you is the one that complements your game, helps you out the most, and you can understand it.
Everyone is different. That's why there are different instructional tapes, different tennis shoes, different tennis rackets, and different SO's in life.
Watch as many as possible, take from each as much as you can, but embrace the one that works for YOU.

 

[Thud and blunder]

There's a strong element of truth to that, certainly. But all of these are subscription sites, hence polling opinions from the good and wise people here before shelling out the old hard-earned.

 

[John55]

I like both tennisplayer and FYB. I learn "stuff" from both sites and enjoyed the differing view points and instructional material.

I still use both, but if I were to chose one, tennisplayer has a slight edge because for me it was easier to understand the site's layout and follow the video instructions (verse some of the left handed video instruction and long winded discussions at FYB).

 

[cg.tennis]

I'm not a subscriber of TennisPlayer. But when I look at TennisPlayer site, I always feel dizzy. I don't know why, it's probably because there're just too much information. Perhaps keep it simple like FuzzyYellowBalls is a better approach.

 

[supineAnimation]

I think it also depends on your skill level and experience as a player. But if you're 3.5 or under I would suggest you take at least a few lessons from a good pro/coach. I think you can really improve your game using online instruction once you're a solid 4.0 and up, but before that you really need a pro who can be there and see what you're doing right or wrong and what you're not doing that you should be.

 

[ManuGinobili]

I think it also depends on your skill level and experience as a player. But if you're 3.5 or under I would suggest you take at least a few lessons from a good pro/coach. I think you can really improve your game using online instruction once you're a solid 4.0 and up, but before that you really need a pro who can be there and see what you're doing right or wrong and what you're not doing that you should be.

Very wise! One thing about using online instructions is that you have to have the ability to filter out the right info that will benefit you and retain them, and also be critical of yourself and know what you're doing wrong.

 

[new_tennis_player]

I'm literally afraid to watch the online instructional stuff. My concern is that I'll get contradictory information from various sources and get confused in the process.

Right now, instruction in class, and learning by playing with/against intermediates is working great for me.

Learning from a live instructor, and through actual competition is your best bet.

I think it also depends on your skill level and experience as a player. But if you're 3.5 or under I would suggest you take at least a few lessons from a good pro/coach. I think you can really improve your game using online instruction once you're a solid 4.0 and up, but before that you really need a pro who can be there and see what you're doing right or wrong and what you're not doing that you should be.

 

[HunterST]

I'm literally afraid to watch the online instructional stuff. My concern is that I'll get contradictory information from various sources and get confused in the process.

Right now, instruction in class, and learning by playing with/against intermediates is working great for me.

Learning from a live instructor, and through actual competition is your best bet.

Agreed. Online instruction is a great supplement, but it's just that, a supplement. A good coach and practice are what is crucial.

That being said, my favorites are Fuzzy Yellow Balls and Essential Tennis. ET is a lesser known website and is a friend of FYB, they have awesome podcasts and videos!

 

[Thud and blunder]

Agree with most comments so far. There's clearly no substitute for one-on-one with a quality coach; these sites are an add-on (or an imperfect substitute for those without access to quality coaching). Secondly, I agree that you need a certain level of meta-understanding in order to be able to process the information properly.

But leaving that to one side still leaves me with the problem of comparing the various sites. My input: in the past, I've subscribed to TennisOne and Hi-Tech. TennisOne has a lot of material, perhaps too much, and it's not all that organised. Hi_tech has relatively little material, but it's good quality and tightly focused. No idea what to expect from the others.

Hunter, thanks for the heads-up on Essential; had never heard of it. Will scope it out...

 

[charliefedererer]

I can only comment on TennisOne and TennisPlayer.net. Both are good sites. But the in depth analysis on TennisPlayer.net is more thoughtful and goes to deeper levels. The high quality video makes points crystal clear.
I must say that I like hearing and seeing lots of material, and rather than finding it confusing, it seems like certain articles just choose to highlight somewhat different points. And certainly different players use different techniques to great success.

 

[86golf]

Personally, I've learned more from watching myself than watching others. Before you invest in a web service, be sure you have a good camcorder.

With affordable HD cameras these days, youtube is full of high quality college matches.

I agree a good coach is a good investment but the problem with coaches is the fact that they don't follow you around to watch your matches and some get in a rut of just feeding balls.

The opportunities for improvement these days are countless with the web, video and your local pros.