[jbone_0307]

Ok me and my coach just started working....again. We started bout 2 years ago and it was really busy so we decided to stop. Its $20 an hour and well ill just get to the point. He just want everything to be picture perfect. Hes making me switch my groundstrokes from open stance to closed and i dont feel comfortable because i feel unprepared for the next shot and also it feels as if im gonna trip. Hes a really good perfectionate coach but in a way is it right to develop you own individual strokes instead of being uniform. They work just as good as the open stance. He wants me to hop step and all of that and no offense no tennis player is thinking about that while playing. Their just trying to reach the tennis ball. What should i do?????

 

[alfajeffster]

Ok me and my coach just started working....again. We started bout 2 years ago and it was really busy so we decided to stop. Its $20 an hour and well ill just get to the point. He just want everything to be picture perfect. Hes making me switch my groundstrokes from open stance to closed and i dont feel comfortable because i feel unprepared for the next shot and also it feels as if im gonna trip. Hes a really good perfectionate coach but in a way is it right to develop you own individual strokes instead of being uniform. They work just as good as the open stance. He wants me to hop step and all of that and no offense no tennis player is thinking about that while playing. Their just trying to reach the tennis ball. What should i do?????

First, I would ask him why he wants to switch you to the closed stance. Obviously, he sees a benefit. Go into detail what he sees, and where he is going with this switch, since you are already comfortable with open stance. He may be seeing something you don't and trying to develop a talent you're missing. He may be developing you into a serve-and-volley player!!! Don't stop him- if you stick with it- you'll clean up in nearly all your matches, because people don't know how to play against a serve-and-volley style any more.

 

[DA FOREHAND]

First, I would ask him why he wants to switch you to the closed stance. Obviously, he sees a benefit. Go into detail what he sees, and where he is going with this switch, since you are already comfortable with open stance. He may be seeing something you don't and trying to develop a talent you're missing. He may be developing you into a serve-and-volley player!!! Don't stop him- if you stick with it- you'll clean up in nearly all your matches, because people don't know how to play against a serve-and-volley style any more.

Not always true, I play quite a few s&v, and I love having the target, it cleans up my shot selection. I have a strong return off both wings that I can dip at the net-rushers feet(thank-you Steffi) and that comes in very handy in dubs and singles, in fact my returns usually set up my partner at the net.

 

[jbone_0307]

i dunno

 

[TennisHack]

Maybe he's trying to start over from the beginning. Closed stances and footwork are the very first things taught in lessons. You should have a closed stance on your backhand, and if you have one on your forehand it forces you to exaggerate uncoiling your shoulders to hit through the shot.

If you're paying for it, you have a right to know why he's doing these things.

 

[joegerardi]

I agree with TennicsHack. I got my coaching certification from Van Der Meer's Academy, and if I get a new player, I (almost) always move them to a closed stance to start with. Once I see they are striking the ball cleanly, consistently, and with authority, (AND where they are aiming) then I will open them up a little if that's what they want, and they have the ability. It's the "learning to walk before you can run" method, and it works.

Your best bet is to simply ask him why. A coach/student relationship is different from teacher/pupil, inasmuch as you should both be working towards a common goal, as opposed to just a learning situation. If you don't have the option of talking things through, it can cause frustration like you are feeling here.

..Joe

 

[CapFan#1]

I would be cautious of this instruction. @ $20 and hour, it sounds very cheap (not that price means everything), but usually a private lesson goes for $60/hour!

His instruction all depends on your skill level. It sounds like you have been playing for awhile and are atleast an intermediate. If that is the case, I would push on the open stance ground strokes. That is the way to go, esp. at a higher level. I have taken many lessons form many different pros, and you have to be careful. It is a lot easier than most people think to get a teaching certification through the USTA. One pro I used to work with specialized in doubles and she would always push every pupil to serve and volley. Now that is a great play IF you have the ability, but many of these players would have done better to serve, and take the return as an approach shot to move into the net. But they followed her instruction, and with their weak serves, they got killed every time. Turns out this "Pro", who is USTA certified, is merely a 4.0 club player with a certificate.

In the end, if you are not comfortable with this pro, find one you are and go with them.

 

[joegerardi]

CapFan#1:
I don't see what price has to do with it. I charge $30 for 90 minutes (but I incorporate rest periods into my lessons) and there is NO pro in the entire Savannah, GA. area that charges more than $40.00, including former ATP players, and the former coach for the Colombian Fed Cup Team.

Also, the USTA does NOT have any kind of certification program for instructors. There's the USPTA and the USPTR, but neither of these are affiliated in any way with the USTA.

Next, the pro's rating has NOTHING to do with their ability to teach- Nick Bolletieri is a terrible player, and is probably ranked somewhere around 3.5 in NTRP ratings, and he's produced at least a couple of competent players. ; Brad Gilbert was never truly a world class player, but he's done OK for himself...

Lastly, whether the player is beginner, intermediate, or advanced, the fundamental disciplines might be lacking. perhaps the coach sees a need to work on them.

As I stated previously, the best thing to do it talk to the coach about it. Find out why they have the player working on certain things.

..Joe

 

[*JR*]

Lastly, the pro's rating has NOTHING to do with their ability to teach- Nick Bolletieri is a terrible player, and is probably ranked somewhere around 3.5 in NTRP ratings, and he's produced at least a couple of competent players. ; Brad Gilbert was never truly a world class player, but he's done OK for himself...

True (and add Gullickson, RIP). But Nick is like the GM of a (multi-sport) factory, I don't consider him a teacher per se like ASV's brother Emilio @ Sanchez-Casals in Barcelona. Also, there's a "Peter Principle" about ppl "rising to the level where they're incompetent" (as they stop "rising" and stay there). For example, Meghann's coach Rafael font du Mora is great @ developing kids; as Meghann's erratic career shows, @ the WTA level he's in ova his head, IMO.