Time for coaching...

[anubis]

Hi,

So I have bit the bullet and will have my first tennis lesson this weekend... my first lesson ever in over 20 years of playing. I hope to undo a lot of bad habits and get my UE's down.

My question is: how much should I tell my instructor when we first meet? Part of me wants to tell him all the way in which I feel my weaknesses are. Another part of me wants to just keep quiet and let him observe me and THEN decide what my weaknesses are.

Thanks

 

[skiracer55]

First of all...

Hi,

So I have bit the bullet and will have my first tennis lesson this weekend... my first lesson ever in over 20 years of playing. I hope to undo a lot of bad habits and get my UE's down.

My question is: how much should I tell my instructor when we first meet? Part of me wants to tell him all the way in which I feel my weaknesses are. Another part of me wants to just keep quiet and let him observe me and THEN decide what my weaknesses are.

Thanks

...you're not going to fix everything in one lesson. There's a really good article in the current Tennis re picking and working with a coach. Your first lesson, you're really just establishing your relationship with your coach and trying to figure out a game plan for what you want to do.

Second, if you already know what your weaknesses are, hopefully, you know how to fix them already. Remember that the game of tennis is wide and deep. The current trend is SW loop forehand, for example...but I have coached some folks who are dyed-in-the-wool Eastern, and they make it work well, because they know what it's pluses and minuses are, and do the right stuff to make it an effective stroke. So those aren't weaknesses, they're just variations.

On the other hand, if you're serving with a forehand grip, that has to go. Yep, I know...you can put serves in the court with a forehand grip, but you're never going to get the pace, spin, placement, and variety that you can with a Conti grip and good stroke mechanics.

So those are the considerations, see how your first session goes, and take it from there..

 

[dizzlmcwizzl]

I don't know what type of commitment you are making to lessons but I will share what I did and so far it has worked out wonderfully.

I am a professor with loads of free time in the summer. About 5 years ago I started taking lessons in the summer committing to 7-8 weeks of lessons 1x per week.

The first summer I asked to work almost exclusively on volley technique. The second summer I wanted to concentrate on the backhand ... then serve return ... you get the idea.

Basically what I did was identify the thing that was bothering me the most about my game at that time and then asked him to concentrate on making that component better. Now my pro refused to limit himself to working on those things alone, but he did make the things that were of foremost concern to me the focus of our lessons.

Bottom line ... I made an extended commitment to lessons and then followed through on this. That is what has made all the difference in the world.

 

[Cindysphinx]

I will share my experience with lessons.

I've taken them for years. Private, clinics, what have you. I enjoy them, they help, and they are fun.

In my experience, it is best to let the pro guide you on what you should work on (assuming this lesson is the start of a long-term process). Yes, tell him what you think is wrong, but also work on what he thinks is wrong. After all, if he can't look at your game and find the areas of greatest distress and devise a plan to fix things, maybe he isn't the best pro?

Do avoid the pitfall of trying to fix many things at once. It takes a long time to undo one thing and replace it with something better. If you try to correct multiple problems, you will wind up with a mish mash. Work on one thing, fix it, own it, move on.

In my case, I came to my pro as a 2.5 beginner, and I believed my FH was great and my BH was awful. The pro believed the opposite: my BH was much closer to being technically correct than my FH. I thought he was crazy -- I felt like I lost my points off of my BH -- but he was right.

Nowadays, my pro is *still* trying to fix my FH (it is three USTA levels better), but still a bit jacked up. We work on the FH some, because he is adamant about it. But we also work on my goal of learning to hit better approach volleys and finishing volleys. So it's 50/50.

We will work on my BH drive, slice, serve, transitions, touch shots and overhead another time.

 

[Jay_The_Nomad]

Talk to your coach and voice your thoughts.

Not all coaches are gifted observers who can pick everything up in tha 60 minutes.

So talk and pick their brains and formulate a learning strategy.

 

[Ash_Smith]

A good coach will ask you at the beginning and then make their own assessment also (with a bit of luck to two opinions will mesh together!)

good luck and enjoy.

cheers

 

[Limpinhitter]

Hi,

So I have bit the bullet and will have my first tennis lesson this weekend... my first lesson ever in over 20 years of playing. I hope to undo a lot of bad habits and get my UE's down.

My question is: how much should I tell my instructor when we first meet? Part of me wants to tell him all the way in which I feel my weaknesses are. Another part of me wants to just keep quiet and let him observe me and THEN decide what my weaknesses are.

Thanks

First, not knowing you from Adam, it's possible that your assessment of your own game (those things you perceive to be strengths, weaknesses, etc.), is inaccurate, irrelevant, or both. You are paying for his/her guidance and advice. I would suggest that tell him how long you've been playing, what your goals are, and ask him to observe your game, assess your strengths and weaknesses, and give you a roadmap for improvement.

 

[joe sch]

A good coach/instructor will improve every aspect of your game. Depends on how much time you can commit to the plan ? Your paying so you can ask for help in certain areas. It would be nice to commit to many hours and get your game improved from the ground up ... footwork, fh, bh, approaches, volleys, serves, and return of serves. You can also get coaching in playing smart and constructing points. Tournament players need coaches to analyze matchplay to improve the ability to win more points/matches.