Shopping for the right tennis lessons can be difficult. There are all kinds of lessons that target both new and advanced players, but not all of these programs are equal. Some coaches will be experienced tennis players themselves, but be woefully inadequate when it comes to actually teaching the skills to their students. Picking the best tennis lessons requires a thorough background of research and looking into the coaches providing them. Here are a few things you can do to make sure the teaching pro you go to is qualified and will provide an excellent all around tennis lesson.
The Cost of Group or Private Tennis Lessons
The first concern for anyone on a budget is the cost of the lesson. Take note of a number of different teaching professionals in the area and compare their prices. Prices for lessons will usually be broken down into separate fees for either group or private lessons. Private lessons will be more expensive simply because the cost won’t be split among different participants. For beginners a group lesson is certainly reasonable, especially when you are just learning introductory skills and benefit most from getting out and hitting some balls. While private lessons may be preferable for developing skills in advanced players, group lessons have their place in tennis development as well.
For the best value, look for group tennis lessons that are around $15-20 for a session. Sessions will usually be an hour to an hour and a half. This is a good amount of time to mix in a variety of different drills while still providing plenty of instruction to the different participants. If you are looking for private tennis lessons, you should expect $30 an hour to be the minimum going rate.
Finding a Tennis Professional with Proper Teaching Authority
Teaching professionals should have some type of certification that shows that they know what they’re talking about. Inquire about a coaches background or training that qualifies him to teach lessons. In the United States this will likely be in the form of a USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association) certification. Be aware though that these qualifications cover many different levels of teaching tennis. Just because a professional is USPTA certified does not mean that they are specifically qualified to teach advanced tennis. If possible you should find out what the coaches specialization is. This is especially important for youth tennis lessons because interaction with the kids is an important skill to have.
A common concern is measuring the ability of any given coach to actually teach the skills of tennis. Especially for someone that is just starting tennis, how can you effectively quantify how good someone is at teaching it? The answer is to use some general guide lines that will indicate whether a teaching program is good or bad. While these heuristics may not always exactly reveal the quality of a tennis coach, they can give you a good general idea of how well he manages a lesson.
- Number of people in a group lesson shouldn’t exceed 4-6. Any more than this and players are not receiving enough individual attention.
- Students in the lesson should be actively engaged at all times. Excessive use of drills that involve the coach feeding to one student at a time is a sign of a weak tennis lesson program.
- Are the students having fun? This is most important in beginning and intermediate lessons. Students will not remain interested in tennis if the drills and lessons are slow and boring.
Finding the right private or group tennis lessons is all about doing your research and understanding the qualities that make up a good program. If take the time to scout out a good coach and program, you won’t be disappointed with the results.