Sanchez-Casal Academy or Johan Kriek Tennis Academy?

[Green]

Hello,

We are looking to take our teenager to either Sanchez-Casal Academy in Naples, Florida or to the Johan Kriek Tennis Academy for a few weeks. We will need to travel to Florida and it is a bit of an expense just to get there so we really want the best experience. Does anyone have experience or opinions on what the difference might be between the two?

Many thanks!! This is all very new to us.

Green

 

[10ispro]

SC-A In Naples is still relatively new, so they have only a large handful of full time students. He/She would get alot of individual attention with a focus on developing as a whole person not just a tennis player. They have a very strict code of maintaining high performance on all fronts. from the front desk, to locker rooms to instruction, dining, lodging etc...all must be done at the highest level possible.

 

[Green]

High School player (Varsity) hoping to play college tennis. We have no idea if this is achievable but would like to give it a go.

Having looked around we narrowed it down to Johan Kriek and Sanchez-Casal. Both seem to be high-quality, smaller academies. I thougtht we might get lost at Saddleback or Bollettieri.

Our thought is to go for a few weeks both to improve and get some feedback on possibilities. We aren't ready to move to Florida and leave our school/home at this point.

We would also be open to other ideas or places (California, Arizona?).

Thanks!!!

 

[10ispro]

High School player (Varsity) hoping to play college tennis. We have no idea if this is achievable but would like to give it a go.

Having looked around we narrowed it down to Johan Kriek and Sanchez-Casal. Both seem to be high-quality, smaller academies. I thougtht we might get lost at Saddleback or Bollettieri.

Our thought is to go for a few weeks both to improve and get some feedback on possibilities. We aren't ready to move to Florida and leave our school/home at this point.

We would also be open to other ideas or places (California, Arizona?).

Thanks!!!

100% of SC-A application for scholarships have been approved. So every single SC-A graduate seeking scholarships have received them to attend universities and colleges.

 

[pandal3oy]

I was at Sanchez-Casal in Naples at in Fall of 2008. I was somewhat nervous because it was new but it was well worth it. The individual attention was like no other (sometimes too much lol). I have been to Bollettieri and unless you are someone with exceptional raw natural talent, you get lost in the group. At my time at S-C, I don't think there was more than 20 full time students. Each one was talented and dedicated. Alot were transfers from the Barcelona academy to get more individual attention as the one in Barcelona is also a mega factory from what I hear. All the juniors were great and fun. 75% of them spoke spanish and had minimal english but it was still a blast because it wasn't always about what had to be spoken. There were some students who practiced mornings and afternoons. There were others that had morning classes and practiced in the afternoons. Spanish classes were also available. It was an interesting place nuzzled in a gated resort-like area. It did get quiet at times because it is Naples afterall (retirement area) but the academy director tried to keep everyone happy with little outings once in a while. The boys and girls are in separate dormitories (more like condos) and each one was watched by an advisor which also happened to be a coach/trainer. Everyone was on a strict schedule so it was hard to get into trouble. There was alot of interaction with the coaches and the trainers. They end up knowing you as a person and your goals in life, which is great when you start looking into colleges. You find out if tennis is your future or not. Although I did like the chaos of Bollettieri and meeting hundreds of people from around the world, Sanchez-Casal will make someone very focused and disciplined with such a small academy. I have never been to Johan Kriek but I hope my perspective on Sanchez-Casal helps!

 

[Rina]

Sanchez Naples

I am also thinking about sending my son, who will be 11 in the summer, for a couple of weeks to Sanchez Naples Academy camps. We like Naples a lot, but I keep wondering if it is worth the money for just two weeks, or should we just spend that money on private lessons with his coach. If anybody can offer opinion that would be great. Can a summer camp for just two weeks really make a significant difference?

 

[jagmeister]

Just my opinion...

A couple of weeks at a tennis camp is not going to make a significant difference compared to taking private lessons from a decent coach. However, one positive aspect is the ability to practice/compete with other students who may be decent players.

 

[Rina]

Thank you

Thank you for your opinion. My husband was the first one to suggest that maybe the money spent on a tennis camp would be better spent on more lessons with his coach during the summer(plus it saves us the additional hotel and travel costs). So your input kind of confirms it for me. Thanks.

 

[10ispro]

Lessons are one thing but the major advantage of about any camp or academy setting is competition against and amongst peers. There are so many people who think taking lessons will get them to the next level but then they fail miserably in match play.

I am friends with Chuck Willeborg, the head coach for John HOpkins. He has a great story about his 1st year as coach. He walked out the 1st day of practice and saw a bunch of guys with awesome looking strokes banging groundies, stickin vollies and big serves.
Fast forward to their 1st match, everyone was blown off the court. They had no idea how to actually play tennis, but they all looked great hitting a ball.
He calls this the "Ghost of the Country Club players" time.
A bunch of kids who just took a bunch of lessons and never actually played the game at any real competitive level.

 

[pandal3oy]

Lessons are one thing but the major advantage of about any camp or academy setting is competition against and amongst peers. There are so many people who think taking lessons will get them to the next level but then they fail miserably in match play.

I am friends with Chuck Willeborg, the head coach for John HOpkins. He has a great story about his 1st year as coach. He walked out the 1st day of practice and saw a bunch of guys with awesome looking strokes banging groundies, stickin vollies and big serves.
Fast forward to their 1st match, everyone was blown off the court. They had no idea how to actually play tennis, but they all looked great hitting a ball.
He calls this the "Ghost of the Country Club players" time.
A bunch of kids who just took a bunch of lessons and never actually played the game at any real competitive level.

i agree with 10ispro. i was always told i had nice fluid strokes. well it doesnt help when the well trained competitve juniors blast things past u.

one to two weeks at a camp wont do much if u never been to an academy before. i knew some kids that would throw up the first two weeks since it was 8-5, almost like a real job.

the real reward like 10ispro said is playing against the different players. i played with people from all over the world at these academies so u will get a good mix of clay and hard courters. they will make u realize just how much u need to work on match play than technique itself.

 

[Rina]

I agree as well that playing matches is very important to tennis players. I am sure it would benfit my son to attend a tennis camp for a couple of weeks. I was reffering to what made more financial sense to us as his parents. He does, however, play a lot of matches. In tournaments, Junior League and even just in house against other kids. One thing that is surprising is that even if during drills he seems worse than other kids(often older than him) he will beat them during matches. Anyway, I appreciate all the input. Thanks.

 

[TennisCoachFLA]

I have experience at both Sanchez-Casal and Krieks. In fact I now train my child several times a week on the courts where Kriek's academy is, many times the next court over. So I see them in action alot.

Johan is amazing with the kids. They work very hard but he teaches them also about life. The kids are all like family and very, very nice kids. Your kid will come out of that camp as a better player and a better person.

Sanchez-Casal is very good also. Try to make sure Emilio is there when you will be. His hand fed drills to promote movement are second to none.

Both are small and intimate academies set in much larger upscale tennis clubs. Your kid will play on Har Tru at the Naples site, mostly Har Tru with some hard court play at Kriek's.

Honestly? Flip a coin. Either one would be a great experience for your teen. If off campus activities matter, go with Kriek's. The Sarasota-Bradenton area has much more for young people to do than Naples. But usually kids are too tired for that to matter!

 

[Slice_Down_The_Line]

Pics of Sanchez Casal in Barcelona and Castelldefels

My 14 year old son completed last week a four-week visit to Sanchez Casal just outside Barcelona. I can see already that he benefited from it enormously. He was already an advanced and motivated player and came out of the four weeks at Sanchez Casal with even more motivation and drive. It's the emphasis they put on footwork training is why we went there; plus we knew that there would be players there that could push him. Finally, we sought to have daily work on red clay.

An unexpected benefit of the trip is that my son was encouraged by the coaches at Sanchez Casal to enter into two clay court tourneys. It was a great experience for him. It gave him extra matches on top of the huge amount of fitness and tennis training he was getting. The coaches made sure that he was driven ok to where the matches were, and did what they could to weave the tourney matches around his scheduled training.

I put together some slides for those interested in learning more about how things really look at Sanchez Casal and also in Castelldefels (where the players tend to live who are not dorming). Send feedback to jmdstat@yahoo.com. The slides can be viewed here: https://sites.google.com/site/jmichaeldennis/tennisthings. If for some reason you can't see the slides, send me a note (jmdstat@yahoo.com).

 

[JustBob]

My nephew (13 1/2) was at Sanchez Casal (Barcelona) last week. He was only there for a week but loved it.

 

[Thud and blunder]

Great write-up, SDTL; enjoyed reading it, thanks.

 

[Slice_Down_The_Line]

thanks for the compliment, thud and blunder

glad to see people are finding useful the slides of our trip to AS-C in Barcelona. to be honest, wish we could have spent the rest of the summer there to enjoy the spanish life style and keep up the training. it's been a bit of let down to come back to the States and go back to our usual tennis routine. here is the link again for anyone who didn't see it the first time. https://sites.google.com/site/jmichaeldennis/tennisthings

 

[Pro_Tour_630]

thanks for the slides,

Only one comment, most of the drills were on hard court doesn't that defeat the purpose of going to spain to train and do drills on the red clay?

these kids are training on red clay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5hC0HeJDxY , your kid did most of his training on hard court,

not sure you go your money worth IMO,

I would not go there if my kid did most of his training on hardcourt. I would insist the training done on red clay, if not then off to an academy that will......

 

[eliza]

A poster wrote in another thread that Sanchez-Casal academy in FLorida is closing. Is this true?

The one in Barcelona, Spain is formidable. Even two weeks are great exposure to great tennis!!!

 

[West Coast Ace]

I am friends with Chuck Willeborg, the head coach for John HOpkins. He has a great story about his 1st year as coach. He walked out the 1st day of practice and saw a bunch of guys with awesome looking strokes banging groundies, stickin vollies and big serves.
Fast forward to their 1st match, everyone was blown off the court. They had no idea how to actually play tennis, but they all looked great hitting a ball.
He calls this the "Ghost of the Country Club players" time.
A bunch of kids who just took a bunch of lessons and never actually played the game at any real competitive level.

Great story. Thanks for sharing. It's definitely not figure skating!

 

[Pro_Tour_630]

A poster wrote in another thread that Sanchez-Casal academy in FLorida is closing. Is this true?

The one in Barcelona, Spain is formidable. Even two weeks are great exposure to great tennis!!!

closed, the naples place is now run by curly davis academy,

the FL website kicks back to the barcelona website,:twisted:

 

[eliza]

Thanks. Too bad.