Selecting Junior Coach or High Performance Academy considerations

[ace18]

This is all really excellent information, I appreciate everyone's feedback and very thorough ideas. My kid is 13, has been in a tennis academy for 14 months. He's been playing for under 2 years and has progressed very rapidly. The academy he attends has lots of kids of varied levels, however, his group, the tournament group is small, ~7 kids. 12-14 years old. There is only one other boy in my son's group. I believe that the instructors are solid. One of the instructors played on the tour, one coached at Bolletieri. They are not the main instructors, however.

There are a lot of live ball drills, mostly live ball drills. A few nights a week, this tourney grip is mixed in with the high school group for a few hours of live drills. The kids in my son's group have all been in the academy for several years and there is definite player favoritism for those that have trained longer. My son, being the least tenured member, doesn't get the love of some of the favorites and that's ok. One thing mentioned above, a coach should go watch one of the players tourney matches. I know its happened for the other kids in the group, but not my son. It didn't bother me much until I read comments from above. Now it does. When my son plays tourneys, I report back to his coaches what happened, etc with the hope that they can work on some of the issues the following week in academy.

When my son started in academy, he was very new to tennis. He started in the 12U group, green dot, I think they were called development. They had a great coach and that coach, had them run, run lines, run hills, etc, at the end of practice. I loved that conditioning part. Now when my son shows up for his tournament group, they run two laps around the court, sometimes do some ladder, shuffling-footwork drills, but nothing else. That bugs me. When I played as a junior in the 70s, I ran, i did push ups and situps and weights as I aged, all on my own. What I lacked in certain tennis skill areas I made up for being in great shape and not tiring. We plan to implement yoga into our family lifestyle and purchase a chin up bar for my son so he can get stronger.

So, I feel that my son may benefit more if he's at an academy that has a larger group, more boys, differed competition. The only other boy in my son's group is almost a foot taller, hits a huge ball. My son can challenge, wins sets off of him, but development wise, would it not be better for him to have an opportunity to play with other boys? My son does play sets with the girls as well, 2 of the 5 are better than him right now, but he's closing the gap quickly.

He really likes the kids in his group, they are all friends but he does talk about attending another academy in the future. The academy has produced several college scholarship athletes each year. Only reason I make this point is that they have developed some players to go to the next level so its not a crappy academy.

I've heard people say that small groups are good, more personal attention, more ball drills, etc. The academy is close to where we live, huge benefit. Do you stick with what you have or start venturing outside of the academy based upon what you know now? Its not cheap sending your kid to academy and if you are going to commit and pay academy fees, you should get the most of your money.

 

[BMC9670]

I've heard people say that small groups are good, more personal attention, more ball drills, etc. The academy is close to where we live, huge benefit. Do you stick with what you have or start venturing outside of the academy based upon what you know now? Its not cheap sending your kid to academy and if you are going to commit and pay academy fees, you should get the most of your money.

Sounds like you have a good situation. You have to find what works for you. Seems your son has a small group within a larger group and is challenged.

Personally, I've settled into kind of a hybrid with my son. I coached him up until he was 12, when he then outgrew me. So, he went to an academy 3X per week. Lots of kids. Varied competition, etc, but very little individual attention. The coaches pushed privates but I couldn't afford it. Did this for almost a year. Now, I have him and another boy his age/skill with a private coach, 2 players with 1 coach semi-private, 1X per week in combination with academy clinics 1-2X per week and either a tournament or practice match on weekend. He's just turned 14 and plays 3-4X per week and gets some individual coaching (and yes, this coach does go to tournaments), some group clinics, and some matches. Feels like a good balance and his game and results continue to improve.

For the fitness side, he gets some at the clinics, but I mainly do it my self. I was a college track and field athlete and can provide the tools and guidance for fitness.

 

[PsychoTennisDad]

This is all really excellent information, I appreciate everyone's feedback and very thorough ideas. My kid is 13, has been in a tennis academy for 14 months. He's been playing for under 2 years and has progressed very rapidly. The academy he attends has lots of kids of varied levels, however, his group, the tournament group is small, ~7 kids. 12-14 years old. There is only one other boy in my son's group. I believe that the instructors are solid. One of the instructors played on the tour, one coached at Bolletieri. They are not the main instructors, however.

There are a lot of live ball drills, mostly live ball drills. A few nights a week, this tourney grip is mixed in with the high school group for a few hours of live drills. The kids in my son's group have all been in the academy for several years and there is definite player favoritism for those that have trained longer. My son, being the least tenured member, doesn't get the love of some of the favorites and that's ok. One thing mentioned above, a coach should go watch one of the players tourney matches. I know its happened for the other kids in the group, but not my son. It didn't bother me much until I read comments from above. Now it does. When my son plays tourneys, I report back to his coaches what happened, etc with the hope that they can work on some of the issues the following week in academy.

When my son started in academy, he was very new to tennis. He started in the 12U group, green dot, I think they were called development. They had a great coach and that coach, had them run, run lines, run hills, etc, at the end of practice. I loved that conditioning part. Now when my son shows up for his tournament group, they run two laps around the court, sometimes do some ladder, shuffling-footwork drills, but nothing else. That bugs me. When I played as a junior in the 70s, I ran, i did push ups and situps and weights as I aged, all on my own. What I lacked in certain tennis skill areas I made up for being in great shape and not tiring. We plan to implement yoga into our family lifestyle and purchase a chin up bar for my son so he can get stronger.

So, I feel that my son may benefit more if he's at an academy that has a larger group, more boys, differed competition. The only other boy in my son's group is almost a foot taller, hits a huge ball. My son can challenge, wins sets off of him, but development wise, would it not be better for him to have an opportunity to play with other boys? My son does play sets with the girls as well, 2 of the 5 are better than him right now, but he's closing the gap quickly.

He really likes the kids in his group, they are all friends but he does talk about attending another academy in the future. The academy has produced several college scholarship athletes each year. Only reason I make this point is that they have developed some players to go to the next level so its not a crappy academy.

I've heard people say that small groups are good, more personal attention, more ball drills, etc. The academy is close to where we live, huge benefit. Do you stick with what you have or start venturing outside of the academy based upon what you know now? Its not cheap sending your kid to academy and if you are going to commit and pay academy fees, you should get the most of your money.

Great post. I'll give you some feedback on a couple of your points.

Tournaments
First about having a coach at a tournament. It's critical for development. Some coaches will come out to a local event and watch for free. Our last academy they came out at the larger local events and it was great. They need to seem how he competes,structures point play, see him mentally break down all of these things are necessary for continued development. A good coach will have his notebook handy and write things down while watching the match. Now they dont have to watch the entire match they will typically watch a few games to get a good sense of what they are doing well and what needs work. That's all you should expect. For travel events our academy split the cost depending how many kids played that event with the coaches. The coach will typically warm them up in the morning and watch parts of matches throughout the weekend. One of our coaches will even take a kid after a match and work on something (mini private lesson) WOW now that's a good coach. NOW the GOTCHA. You need to be careful in how you approach the coach you dont want to alienate yourself and or sound whiny. You need to talk to the coaches and ask them to watch your son so they can provide feedback. You might offer to record a match and have him review with your son or the group as an exercise. Some academy's are all about nickle and diming. Some academy's typically the smaller ones are extremely generous with their time and go way out of the way to help the kids. First thing I would do is setup a meeting and DO NOT turn it into a COMPLAINT FEST! Be positive come prepared to ask some well thought out questions. Make sure you give credit where credit is do and stroke their EGO. A lot of coaches are EGO MANIACS!! You will go a lot further in stroking their ego's than complaining about how your son doesn't get enough attention.

Favoritism is definitely a big part of any academy. However A good coach will typically favor a kid that has a great work ethic, great attitude (not a whiner), unselfish (playing with other kids not as good) and always gives 110%. Be honest is this your kid? The reality is there may be one or two out of the entire group. If you watch enough practices you can easily point out the overachievers. The coaches do this because they feel they are easier to work with, they listen well and are a good role models for the other players. Yes it's favoritism but because they see potential and they want to help them achieve it. Now some tips for your son. He needs to ask questions to the coaches. Coach is this the right way to swing at my forehand? Coach what can I do to improve my slice etc... Tip two: Have him ask the coaches if he can get a basket of balls and hit some serves before practice. This shows interest on his part. The coaches LOVE that. That's an easy way to become the coaches "pet". Also pay attention to how your kid reacts during practice as opposed to the coaches favorites. What are they doing different? In our case my son is the best kid in the academy but it didn't start off that way. After a few years he worked up to being the pet. Now he gets a lot of attention more so than any other kid. I feel guilty about and have mentioned it to the coaches from time to time as sometimes they dont necessarily do intentionally. But more often than not they do.

Competition Level
We have kids at multiple levels. My son is playing in the B16's and B18's he doesn't really have a better player to hit with other than his coaches. I'm pretty sure he can beat his coaches now. But that's not to say he doesn't have a good sparing partner to play with. As long as your son can hit with someone at the same level or better in doing live ball drills under instruction from the coaches he should be good. I too would like to have the coaches bring in better older players but it's not an option right now. But with that being said the coach invites other clubs to come over every week for match play.

Conditioning / Preventative Maintenance / Food
At the Jr level conditioning has become very important for several reasons. First for endurance he needs to play at maximum efficiency with mind and body to be consistent. I cant tell you how many matches my son has played against a better player but the kid breaks down in the second or third sets. Either mentally or physically. It's all about conditioning. You hate to see a kid loose because he gets tired. The kids that have an edge are the kids that are physically able to play multiple matches with out getting tired. I should also mention that your meal planning is crucial before during and after a match. Make sure your kid nibbles on a protein bar / cliff bar during a match and that he is WELL hydrated a day or two before the tournament. FOOD PREPARATION IS CRITICAL to success. A good academy sets time aside during the day for Yoga / Dynamic Stretching / Strength / and Cardio conditioning. All this being said you need to find an academy that has a GOOD BALANCE of the points mentioned above to achieve maximum performance out of your young gladiator.

As I mentioned in previous post you need to setup a meeting at least once a quarter or bi-yearly with the coaches and discuss his progress, what are his goals in tennis, what needs improvement etc... Come up with a "program" to achieve success. The last meeting I had at our old academy the coach took the time to write a nice 2 page document on what he needed to work on.

I would always look for a smaller academy over a larger one. A two person team working out of a small club will ultimately give your child more attention. The question is if there a good coach or not. Is the intent to make money or do they do it because they love kids and are passionate about what they do. A former pro doesnt equate to a good coach either. If your at an academy try and get privates and establish a relationship with one of the coaches. If your taking a private on a regular basis the coach will eventually start to favor him and help out.

Hope that helps and sheds some light

-PsychoDad Out

 

[tennis_balla]

No tennis academy, program, national training centre or private coach has ever made someone a champion. If this were the case, places like Bollettieri's, Macci's, Sanchez-Casal, Saddlebrook etc would be churning out top players every year. That doesn't happen. It has to come from within, from the player.

An academy, private coach, national training program, etc are just tools that are used along the way. The main element that drives everything (or should) is the player. Not the parents, not the coach, not the fitness trainer. Can be part of the best development program in the world, play with the best players, get taught by the best coach but if the player doesn't want it, its gone to waste.

A mediocre program with a player who is hungry, self disciplined, gives it their all and has the drive will always have more success than a world class system with a player putting 70% effort in.

 

[BMC9670]

No tennis academy, program, national training centre or private coach has ever made someone a champion. If this were the case, places like Bollettieri's, Macci's, Sanchez-Casal, Saddlebrook etc would be churning out top players every year. That doesn't happen. It has to come from within, from the player.

An academy, private coach, national training program, etc are just tools that are used along the way. The main element that drives everything (or should) is the player. Not the parents, not the coach, not the fitness trainer. Can be part of the best development program in the world, play with the best players, get taught by the best coach but if the player doesn't want it, its gone to waste.

A mediocre program with a player who is hungry, self disciplined, gives it their all and has the drive will always have more success than a world class system with a player putting 70% effort in.

Totally agree... when talking about producing champions. For the other 99%, providing the right environment for improvement and more importantly, nurturing their interest and love for the game is sometimes a delicate balance. Many of us know our kids won't be pros, but still want them to develop and grow in the game for it's many benefits.

 

[tennis_balla]

Totally agree... when talking about producing champions. For the other 99%, providing the right environment for improvement and more importantly, nurturing their interest and love for the game is sometimes a delicate balance. Many of us know our kids won't be pros, but still want them to develop and grow in the game for it's many benefits.

Of course, but parents have to be realistic. Is it really worth it sending junior to a tennis academy half way across the country when he's lazy as f%$# and thinking the coaches there will straighten him out? That's a bad plan! Not saying it can't happen, but 90% of the time it won't. As a coach, you can see who's gonna work hard, who's not, who's there cause parents are rich or pushy or just delusional within a few hours of meeting the kids.
That may sound harsh, but its reality. However, that's not saying these places should be avoided and only for the ones who wanna work hard. All I'm saying is you get out of it, what you put into it.
I'm talking about "high performance" programs only here. This isn't only for juniors wanting to be pro players, but potential college players as well which there are a lot of.

 

[BMC9670]

Of course, but parents have to be realistic. Is it really worth it sending junior to a tennis academy half way across the country when he's lazy as f%$# and thinking the coaches there will straighten him out? That's a bad plan! Not saying it can't happen, but 90% of the time it won't. As a coach, you can see who's gonna work hard, who's not, who's there cause parents are rich or pushy or just delusional within a few hours of meeting the kids.
That may sound harsh, but its reality. However, that's not saying these places should be avoided and only for the ones who wanna work hard. All I'm saying is you get out of it, what you put into it.
I'm talking about "high performance" programs only here. This isn't only for juniors wanting to be pro players, but potential college players as well which there are a lot of.

Agreed... now if only tennis parents could be realistic!

 

[ace18]

BMC9670 and PsychoTennisDad, I knew I could count on you guys .

My son had been doing weekly privates for about 3 months. Yes, ouch on the pocket book. He had some raw but good technique that needed some tweaking, he's very athletic. I used to teach in college but I could only take him so far before he stopped listening to me. I really like the idea of the Private Coach split amongst 2 players for semi private. The boy in his group was doing that yesterday with a solid 16 year kid in the academy, the private looked awesome. I've cut back his lessons to once or twice a month. His serve was really weak and its gotten much better thru privates, still a way to go, but its not a liability now. His groundstrokes have improved. And this has nothing to do with academy but my kid is amazing at volleys, incredibly quick/soft hands, . When we hit, we spend over 50% of the time volleying at each other from service line in. Love it...

Home fitness program you mentioned, we are on it with yoga and chin ups. We will be implementig some trail running as well to include some speed and endurance training. I need to get in shape, lol. At this point, it doesn't appear the academy is going to work on this aspect so we need to do that on our own.

I will set up another meet with the coach regarding tourney's, plans for the future and achievements. We talked at the beginning of January regarding tourneys, privates and development. His coach was kind of all over the place, nothing written down. I will come better prepared. If I pull out a notebook, perhaps it might get him thinking about organization. I will also ask for tourney attention for the next tourney my son plays. I too think its super important. I have my opinion on what is going on and what my son needs to work on after a tourney match, but the coach might see it a different way. They are the coach, I removed myself from that equation.

Favoritism statement, my son is edgy, has a temper and has gotten in trouble at the academy. He busted a frame at academy not too long ago, that didn't go over well. I see why he doesn't see any favoritism and I understand. He needs to work on himself and perform 110%. That's on him and we've had that conversation often. His buddy that he so badly wants to beat, as I mentioned, is almost a foot taller and probably 40 lbs heavier. My son is little like an 11 year old. I tell him, bud, you need to work harder than anyone out there right now and that his time will come when he gets bigger and stronger and he will then have the ability to end points quickly and have much more court coverage.

I think his main coach is passionate about what he's doing and how he's grown his academy over the last 8 years or so. I do get on my son for not asking questions, and to make a point of talking to one of the coaches while the other kids are breaking for a drink. He's a little reserved and doesn't want to challenge himself with that, but we are working on that confidence. I know you mention former tour pro's don't always make good coaches and I agree. This one is really good, she's foreign, excellent with the kids. She is about 5 ft tall, she knows about being a player of small stature, I keep telling my boy to sponge off her because she knows what its like to get the best out of her serve by making the body work hard to generate depth and pace. She is only part time though and wouldn't be on option for private coaching.

After meeting with the main coach and watching how things develop over the next few months, I'll see what direction to go.

Thanks again for the valued feedback.

 

[PsychoTennisDad]

No tennis academy, program, national training centre or private coach has ever made someone a champion. If this were the case, places like Bollettieri's, Macci's, Sanchez-Casal, Saddlebrook etc would be churning out top players every year. That doesn't happen. It has to come from within, from the player.

An academy, private coach, national training program, etc are just tools that are used along the way. The main element that drives everything (or should) is the player. Not the parents, not the coach, not the fitness trainer. Can be part of the best development program in the world, play with the best players, get taught by the best coach but if the player doesn't want it, its gone to waste.

A mediocre program with a player who is hungry, self disciplined, gives it their all and has the drive will always have more success than a world class system with a player putting 70% effort in.

Totally agreed 100% but this thread is about making sure parents have guidance about which "tools" to select and what to look out for in an academy. If you dont have the right tools your kid is at a disadvantage. Two totally different things. If the kid doesn't have the drive or heart he will never reach the highest levels but that's not to say they cant learn many great life lessons along the way. I hope my kid doesn't burn out he posses all of these attributes. As long as he's happy and continues to love the game and doesnt burn out there is no telling how far he can go. I will support him along the way.

 

[ace18]

So fast forward 5 months. My sons attitude and on court antics got the best of him/us in May. We finally yanked him off the court in the middle of a match because we were done with him ruining our weekend with his on court McEnroe. We pulled him from Academy for the summer.

After much thought, we decided that perhaps a change of scenery would help. Thru the advice of a friend, we hired a personal coach. Our son was clearly not having fun at academy nor in tourneys.

After his first private with the new coach, he was smiling from ear to ear. This coach was a former tour player and had coached at many of the high performance academies in our area. We gave him the option, continue for a month trial with the new coach, or just play for fun. He wanted to move forward with the new coach.

We are now starting our 3rd month with this new coach and I can't describe to you the improvement, confidence and increased fitness we've seen. This coach really works hard on technique and conditioning. My son's strokes have improved a ton, but better yet, his attitude.

This coach uses bands, weighted balls, dumb bells, focuses on lateral drills, treadmill work, balance balls, the coach does it with him. The coach was a top junior and knows what it takes to get it done. My son's former academy had the kids jog around the courts twice for warmup with a few little shuffling drills, big whoop. I could never see them take the time to get on a treadmill with one of their students.

At academy, he spent say 12 hours a week, mostly drills. He spends just under 6 hours a week with his new coach and he's blossomed. We've kept him out of tourneys, for the most part. He's played in 2, done very well, zero temper tantrums and looks like he's having a blast.

Recently, he said that he wanted to go back to the Academy so he could be with his friends, but maintain his new coach for privates. We were open to what he wants to do and let him decide. In the end, I think he realized that he likely wouldn't improve as quickly going back to academy so he's committed to his new coach. He isn't interested in playing tournaments any time soon, and we fully support until he's ready. I think he wants to make a big splash when he's ready.

So, thus far, the change for us has been incredible, most importantly the change in his attitude.

 

[maxxy777]

Former tennis players is always better option as a tennis coach.
They invested to much time,money and effort in the sport not to have some integrity.
Now same are better then others but in the worst case they are all decent.
On the other hand non ex player coaches are frustrated because they dont have any authority on their own so they need to make up stories.
Like i coached Federer when he was little and i will make you a champ ,i have a licence and so on.Like one licence which is made in couple of months reading books that can replace years of hard work and playing tennis.
And a lot of those coaches are no were near decent coaches.They can even do damage.
Some are good tho and even better then ex player coaches but its a gamble.

 

[antony]

My coach says crazy parents make his job a whole lot harder

 

[NMTennis]

Psychotennis Dad and Ace18 - How did things work out? 5 years later...did changes you made in 2016 with your kids tennis development work out ok?

 

[giantschwinn]

You can push a kid all you want. If by age 14, they don't want it for themselves, you are better off focusing on doing well academically.

 

[PsychoTennisDad]

Psychotennis Dad and Ace18 - How did things work out? 5 years later...did changes you made in 2016 with your kids tennis development work out ok?

I think the stress of rankings ultimately had a big negative impact on their mental game especially during their Jr and Senior years of high school 16's. On a tangent, I will say I would highly recommend if your kids are home schooled to have them play High School tennis. Especially if the school has 1/2 days and lets the kids out early so they can still train at their respective academies. No so they can train with the team, but so they can get better acclimated with the social interaction of other kids their own age. I thought my kids had a huge leg up compared most of the other kids in school. They were well disciplined, made good choices, understood consequences and most important understood the value of hard work, all things learned the hard way with tennis. Both my kids were ROCK STARS in high school both got straight "A"'s both were on the Deans list both were honored academically and athletically with awards.

It would not be uncommon for me to run into someone at the Grocery store and hear people talking about how good the kids were in their matches. Most parents are totally clueless as to what it takes to get your kids at a level where they can play college tennis. They have NO IDEA of the level of commitment required by both parent and child. With that being said the mental stress they had to deal with on court took it's toll on both of my kids rankings, which ultimately affected the level of college they could choose. My son played three or four tournaments in a row and couldn't win a match. Couldn't hit a backhand or return of serve for a solid six months. However he slowly recovered he also had more college options and was recruited as Southmore / early Jr in high school so that took quite a lot of pressure off him but once he "committed" he didn't play that many events. At the end of the day he knew he wasn't going to play professional tennis so he picked the best school that would give him the best opportunities for advancement once he graduated. This is a very very mature line of though for a 16 year to decide on and even think about at the age of 16.

So how did things work out??????? Wait for it.
Both kids play tennis in college. My son is a senior now play's #1 and is Captain of his team D1 college. My daughter also plays college tennis D3. She plays #1 at her school.

I'm very proud of both kids. Tennis has taught them many wonderful things that they can take with them beyond the sport. I still think though that the USTA SUCKS! The help still flows in the wrong direction.

 

[giantschwinn]

Agrees USTA sucks. 4 game sets sucks. I started setting up my own matches with kids instead of playing in USTA events.