How Good Are Online Teachers?
I subscribe to quite a few of the online teachers that sell their lessons on the internet, and have come to some conclusions about how useful they are. As an active USPTA teaching pro and avid tennis player, here’s my two cents on how useful it is. (Disclaimer: I have no commercial interest in any sites mentioned).
First, there is a lot of stuff out there, and it’s aimed at entirely different audiences. For example, Fuzzy Yellow Balls seems to be oriented more towards beginners, while Jeff Salzenstein seems to be oriented more towards intermediate and advanced players. Look around and you’ll find the right level for you. For myself, I find that just subscribing to many of the online instruction services and getting the small tips that are free gives me plenty to work on, just by itself.
But are the paid lessons worth it for the average player? I mean, it’s one thing to see an online lesson, but another to go out there on your own and apply what you learn, and that’s what it’s all about, right? When learning strokes, one of the many values of a live coach, on the court with you, is that you get immediate feedback. Not to mention someone who is feeding you endless balls in an appropriate manner, thus giving you valuable repititions. But, as you know if you’ve read this far, it’s hard to get your opponent or even your regular practice partner, to feed you balls and give you feedback (as if he/she could in the first place!). Unless you are lucky enough to have a practice partner that is willing to work on your game, what’s a person to do?
Here’s an example from my own game: While attending a USPTA conference, I volunteered to return serves and have my technique discussed. The presenter was making the case that a backswing on the return of serve was not necessary. This was right up my alley, as I try to return high-velocity serves almost like a volley, meaning no backswing. Much to my chagrin it was pointed out that my racquet actually pointed to the back fence. Okay, so I made up my mind not to do that, to have no backswing at all. Well, I felt that I had no backswing. But it was pointed out by several hundred people, that I was still taking the racquet back. Arrrgh, I would have sworn that I didn’t . I tried again, even consciously resisting taking it back. And same result – my racquet was still pointing back to the fence. Without feedback, I would not have changed a thing!!
In my experience, the only way I know to get the technical feedback I want (if no one is around to give it to me) is to film it myself and then review it. Not a perfect solution, but maybe the best and easiest under most circumstances. Reviewing can be done on court if you have your laptop, or afterwards in the comfort of your home. Either way, you get good visual feedback if you know what you are looking for.
So, in the end, to answer the question “are online tennis instructors worth the money?”, I’d have to say a definite yes. And if you can figure out a way to get feedback on what you are trying to do, it’s worth twice as much and you can make some real progress. By the way, it’s really interesting to review and see how your strokes improve (or don’t!) on a yearly basis.
If you have an opinion on online teaching and/or anything else in the blog, feel free to leave a comment below.
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