If you're among the millions of tennis players who will take a group lesson to improve your tennis this year, read on. Although there are four W's to picking a pro, most players will start and end their selection by only addressing the why, where, and when. The why is easy. Tennis is arguably the best lifetime sport in the world and on-going improvement will yield the most personal satisfaction. The where and when are also simple decisions based on convenience. But don't let your decision-making process end there. The fourth, final, and most important "W" is who you will select as your tennis teacher. The six tips in this article are designed to make your tennis teacher selection scientific which can make the teacher-student relationship either a successful marriage or a passing fling.
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roving freely from student to student, encouraging them and making corrections. In this scenario, the students will hit more balls - one out of every two, instead of one out of every four if they stand in lines.
By Joe
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sessions with the same pro. The most capable teachers will have a high student-retention percentage of students who take one session of group lessons after another. However, relying solely on referrals is not foolproof since your tennis-playing friends may be hitting a lot of balls in their lessons and having fun but may not be improving as efficiently as might be satisfying for you.
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CONTINUING EDUCATION In the United States alone there are over 100 tennis teacher workshops held each year. Don't be too shy to ask your prospective pro which conferences he or she attend.
STUDENT RETENTION Speak to a couple of the students and find out what percentage of the class has taken repeated
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ar predominantly visual and kinesthetic. This means that you will learn most effectively in an environment with highly visual target areas and a very active environment. Make sure you don't select a highly talkative teacher since the average adult only has an attention span of 42 words. Explanations of more than fifteen seconds normally fall on deaf ears.
COOPERATIVE LEARNING Instead of a group tennis lesson with the pro feeding balls and giving long-distance instructions across the net to four students standing in a line, look for a cooperative learning environment with the students feeding balls to one another and the pro
HERE COMES THE JUDGEl Benjamin Cardozo High School's Boys' Tennis Team Ranked Fourth in the Nation. The aggressive, hard hitting play of the boys' tennis team at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside, NY, propelled the team to NO.4 in the nation, according to the National Federation of High School Tennis Coaches' first national rankings, published by USA Today on Jan. 8.
Though Benjamin Cardozo is a perennial Eastern powerhouse, coach Howie Arons acknowledged his surprise at a national ranking in the top 5. "I thought we were a solid top 10 team nationally, but for a New York City team to finish in the top 5 in the nation, that's unbelievable and a tremendous honor." Led by seniors Erik Zmara and james Malhame and justin Natale, all top-ranked USTAJEastern Section players, Cardozo finished the '97 season with
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Joe Dinoffer is a USPTA Master Professional and is certified by the USPTR, having logged over 30,000 hours of tennis instruction in more than 50 countries around the world. He speaks frequently and international
at national
tennis teacher workshops
and is
the publisher of 'Coach Tennis America," a monthly audio magazine for coaches. He is also the president of Oncourt Offcourt, Inc. and has written three books and produced 11 video tapes for tennis players and coaches, and can be reached through his website: www.oncourtoffcourt.com.
a 23-0 record, winning the prestigious New York City Mayor's Cup for the ninth time in ten years. Three other high schools in the Eastern Section made the standings as well. Ranked eighth in the nation is the girls' squad from Horace Mann in the Bronx, and, earning a No. 17 ranking, is Livingston, New Jersey's Newark Academy, led by Eastern's dynamic duo, seniors Jamal Parker and Rahman Smiley. Greenwich High School was one of six schools to have both their boys' and girls' teams represented with the girls ranked No. 20 and the boys No. 24.
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