What is the right mix of private lessons and practice games for 3.5 player

drnantu

New User
I am a 3.5 player who go to tennis court 4 days a week. (I also go to the gym and basketball court 2-3 times a week).

For the past few months, I have played a lot of practice matches with various 3.5 people (found through tennis BBS, clubs, tournament, etc). I gained a lot of match experience. But I fell it is not helping me with my techniques. For example, I very rare use drop shoot as I have no confidence of doing it in a real match.

I have a decent serve and groundstroke. I have not been taught volleys or overhead. I developed those two from watch video instructions (meaning not a lot of repetition during practice).

I am working on improve the racket head speed at the moment. After that, I plan to work on the volleys and drop shot.

My goal is to improve my game to 4.0 - 4.5 in about a year. To achieve the best result, what would you recommend for a good mix of private lessons and practice games every week (say 3 practice games + 1 private lesson or 2 private lessons +2 practice games ...)

I wonder what a typical training schedule is for tennis school kids. I have heard that they go for training with coaches in the morning and play matches in the afternoon, (so 50-50?).
 
The limitation is usually a financial one. And there are great differences in player's potential for rapid improvement, dedication and concentration, and level of competition and hitting partners outside of lessons.
A good tennis coach will feed you balls and do combination drills to reinforce good technique and strategy, and quickly spot faults and help you correct them.
It certainly is a good idea (and fun) to play matches with your freinds, and do hitting sessions with them. But they are not going to give the you the repetition to make shots and combinations automatic as quickly as with a coach.
If there is someone local you have in mind, discuss the frequency of the lessons with him. The recommendation may change as you continue the process, and as improvement occurrs.
 

raiden031

Legend
Well the more time you spent with a coach/instructor, the better off you will be. If your time with them is limited (say 1 hour per week), then what you do during those times away from them is critical.

Going from 3.5 to a borderline 4.0-4.5 player in 1 year is a little bit too ambitious for most who don't have unlimited time and money. Someone who is a 3.5 really needs to work on their strokes more than anything. I believe that if you master all the strokes, you can become a strong 4.0 without even having any kind of strategy. Of course it seldom works like this because lower level players usually gain alot of match experience despite having technical problems with their strokes. Its just more fun to play matches and cheaper than working with a coach.

If you want to improve fast though, you are better off spending most of your time working on your strokes, but also get in some match experience as well to learn to deal with pressure and improve your shot selections and learn to face a variety of styles of opponents.
 
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aphex

Banned
I am a 3.5 player who go to tennis court 4 days a week. (I also go to the gym and basketball court 2-3 times a week).

For the past few months, I have played a lot of practice matches with various 3.5 people (found through tennis BBS, clubs, tournament, etc). I gained a lot of match experience. But I fell it is not helping me with my techniques. For example, I very rare use drop shoot as I have no confidence of doing it in a real match.

I have a decent serve and groundstroke. I have not been taught volleys or overhead. I developed those two from watch video instructions (meaning not a lot of repetition during practice).

I am working on improve the racket head speed at the moment. After that, I plan to work on the volleys and drop shot.

My goal is to improve my game to 4.0 - 4.5 in about a year. To achieve the best result, what would you recommend for a good mix of private lessons and practice games every week (say 3 practice games + 1 private lesson or 2 private lessons +2 practice games ...)

I wonder what a typical training schedule is for tennis school kids. I have heard that they go for training with coaches in the morning and play matches in the afternoon, (so 50-50?).


50/50 sounds about right...

you want to improve your shots/technique but also you want to learn how to play matches because playing matches is completely different...your level drops a lot compared to practice sessions...
 

Ad0ut

New User
Good comments by everyone else. If you find yourself financially hampered taking too many lessons, you could also simulate it (to some degree) by finding someone else who is interested in improving and doign some drills together.
 

drnantu

New User
Thanks everyone. So I should take as much lessons as financially possible and work on the strokes. Also find partners who are interested in doing drills. Perhaps spend 30-50% of the court time playing matches with various opponents to gain experience and mental toughness.
 
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