Getting More Out Of Your Tennis

Usually I spend a coiuple of minutes getting to know the student's tennis background and then I ask them what is their goal for the day.  Once that is established, I observe their technique and see what they are doing right and what they need to change (if anything). At the half way mark, we take a water break (sooner if it is warm) and get their feedback on how they are progressing before continuing or moving on to something else.  At the conclusion of the lesson, I summarize what we have done and offer suggestions on how to maintain what we have covered.

I have played tennis for 45 years in leagues, tournaments (amateur) and for fun.  I am a USPTA certified instructor that has taught tennis for the last 25 years to people of all ages and ablities from 6 year olds to 90 years old. I have done mostly private lessons, but also have done quite a few semi-private and group lessons.  I have also been trained for tennis instruction for people in wheelchairs and junior development.

I teach private lessons for $60.00 per hour, semi-private lessons for $70.00 per hour and group lessons for $80.00 per person for four one hour sessions.  I have also done drop-in drills for $20.00 per person for one hour.

My Manager/mentor Jim Schmidt told me I should start getting students for lessons before he retires so I might get his position.  It wasn't long before I had a good amount of new students, a number of them that became regulars for quite awhile.  I kept a lesson journal for every student so I got to know their style of play and chart their progress. Teaching tennis has been very fufilling for me as I see my students and former students on the court having fun.

I have had beginners of all ages,elementary, junior high and high school students, college players, ex-pro players in tennis and soccer, housewives on league teams and senior players. A lot of beginners that never had lessons before and quite a few players that had laid off for a number of years that missed the game and wanted to get back on the court.

I had a six year old girl that was going from hitting as a two-handed left handed backhand to switching to a two-handed right backhand and if that wasn't enough, she hit some one-handed forehands and backhands on both sides!  I asked her "Franchesca, are you right-handed or left-handed'?  She just shrugged her shoulders and said "I don't know"!  That girl got a lot of shots back by the way.

I would advise them to take the time to practice between lessons so they have more time to establish their timing,  depth perception and consistancy.  This will give them a chance to evaluate their ability and develop more confidence while playing.

The first question is "Am I having fun?". If the student is having fun, then they are going to be more willing to take the time to get better. The next question is "What am I going to do with my game?".   Do I want to get enough basics to hit every once in awhile or do I want to see how far I can go? Once that is figured out, they should ask themselves "Will I make time for this?".