THIS tennis coach is WASTING your money!

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Are tennis lessons a waste of money?
Tennis players spend hundreds and even thousands of dollars a year on tennis lessons. Whether it's private coaching, group club lessons or a private clinic, students are always eager to get on the court. But are you improving? Do you even want to improve? We're taking a deep dive into why tennis players take lessons, and if it's even worth it...
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#tennis #essentialtennis #tennislesson

[@EssentialTennis]

Get 15% off ALL Diadem gear here: diademsports.com/discount/ET15 Their racquets, strings, grips and balls are all fantastic!

[@mikegottemoller4275]

Ian, I offer my lessons as tribute for you to come and video. I offer free lessons to my tennis players during the summer (I'm a high school tennis coach). As a high school tennis coach, we work on groundstrokes, serves, and volleys. I won't charge you for the lesson (or anyone else either at this time) and I'm about 2 hours from Milwaukee. My goals in offering free lessons are centered around building the tennis community and thereby improving our team. Your presence at a free lesson would really help towards accomplishing these goals.

[@EssentialTennis]

Wow, I respect that so much, Mike! You're a good person! The game is lucky to have you.

[@mikegottemoller4275]

@@EssentialTennis I happen to think that there are a lot of high school tennis coaches that are doing similar things all across this country. That means, that I'm no one special. Thank you for your content and dedication.

[@danieltowers9328]

This is the beauty of online instruction. We can just scroll through and find whose instruction we want to take on board. I've learned how to hit a kick serve, my one handed backhand and kinetic chain from scratch just watching videos

[@-Munditimum-]

Great to see Joel after a while. Great job on the book guys. There was much that surprised me in the book. I ended up reading it 3 times and every time, I would get ideas from it. Amazing. This is great content and quite fun to watch. I must say that as much as I enjoy watching great interviews like this, I miss the good ol' fashioned sitting around the table with people. Anyhow, this was fun. Cheers! M

[@pfl9311]

I often find that former tennis pros (ITF or ATP) end up being the worst coaches, when it comes to teaching players who are 40+. That's because they just don't get it that your body does not move as well as that of a 20 yo, and they keep insisting on making your strokes "look like" what they're supposed to look, and they go through the same drills that they've been taught by their coaches when they were young. That does not work for a 40 or 50 yo. What we older players need is ways to hack our own game, to force us to convert our bad habits into new good habits. We've heard the 'proper" technique drills ten thousand times before. We know them better than most 30 yo coaches because we've actually played tennis for longer than they've walked this earth. What we need is new ways to teach our older bodies to do the right things with the resources we have at our later age. And also, we need you to make if fun. Why? Because we're not gonna be playing Wimbledon anytime soon and that's not the reason we keep playing tennis. We need the mental edge, we need the instruments to make an old dog do new tricks. And that's what's worth our money. Some coaches just don't get that. Others do, and they're worth the money.

[@bournejason66]

But there’s a reason why all pros more and less look similar because that’s the way it supposed to play. Doesn’t Ian also compare his students stroke to pro players?

[@EssentialTennis]

Very well said, pfl9311!

[@williewasahippie]

Speaking of wasting money and hurting tennis (not everyone can afford to play/take lessons at a country club). What is kind of killing tennis in parts of the west coast is when coaches strike a deal with the cities/schools to have the high school courts all to themselves and lock out the public from accessing the courts. They literally put locks on the doors to the courts when they are not using them for their clinics!

[@bournejason66]

Exactly. Often times one coach takes over two courts with just 4 students.

[@Whisper555]

Some coaches are toll collectors. Some players say they are adamant about getting better, but when you show them what they need to do to actually get better, "lets just hit some balls" Finding coaches that know what they are doing, are passionate enough to follow through with a good coaching methodology with a receptive student that are physically capable and can conceptualise what is required are matches that rarely occur. Tennis is not easy and requires a lot of physical capability and proprioceptive skill to even execute the correct motor patterns.

[@EssentialTennis]

Preach.

[@goldencalf5144]

God, this guy seems like a nightmare student. He expects the coach to be able to read his mind.

[@gjs212]

This is such an honest conversation and one I have been having in my head for the past two years as I’ve tried to navigate and figure out a path for my child in tennis. There is just so many cookie cutter lessons and classes out there. This is the most reassuring talk I have heard regarding tennis coaching, lessons, and classes. Thank you!

[@PreiliMuri]

Reminds me of a lesson during a tennis "camp", where a really good coach started the lesson by asking "So what do you want to do? Just have fun or technique?", so we got a really back to basic lesson...loved that, even if some of it was redundant for me. The struggle is real with not only coaches, but also the group of people you end up going to sessions with. I guess I'm in the camp that even if I can't get it to the level of "played when I was a kid" (this is said way too often to make me think the aim is to teach me the "real deal"), I want to be taught the true basics (with no fun) just what goes where, when and how, and reapeat it til it's ingrained. Otherwise I'm just guess-working every time I get to the court. Sadly, I don't have that much to choose from, so I guess I have to start speaking up about what I want to coaches I have.

[@Chrigi4223]

That was such a great talk between the two of you! I've taken so many lessons and yet I'm still waiting for that clicking moment after a tennis lesson when I finally "get it". But I've come to the realization that this is just a fallacy. My forehand won't just change over night. I'm very grateful for all the content that you provide. You show us a realistic way to improve our game by identifying bad habits and trying to replace them with better ones in a very structured and not overwhelming way. You support this by showing us actual footage of real lessons with amateurs like myself on how to implement new habits. And you're not afraid of pointing out that changing habits is hard and requires a lot of work. I wished more coaches would follow your teaching philosophy. I would even be satisfied to see at least one coach in my local area that utilizes video analysis - what a pity. I guess bad coaching is just a universal problem, or has anybody ever seen an actual good guitar teacher in his/her local area? But as you've pointed out, different people want different things. So, maybe I need to count myself to this minority of people you've mentioned, looking for something entirely different from "standard" coaching. Keep your good work up, Ian, and also a big thanks to Joel for joining in!

[@suneanderson9952]

Here's 3 things that guarantee you will improve, unless you already do this. 1, If you can't play soccer, or at least tennis soccer, you can't move on a tennis court. 2, Ball touch, juggle with the ball in various ways. 3, Understand what a swing is, look up the definition of what any swing actually is. This takes no money, no coach and no tennis court.

[@27blanx]

Directionals are the holy grail of tennis.

[@paulgowler5181]

I had a few lessons about 7 or 8 months ago at my local club. I stopped them because all we were doing was hitting forehands for an hour and maybe spending ten minutes serving. He would say that I would get good just through repetition, but I knew that was wrong. I knew I could be ingraining bad habits, which I found later I had been. He would say things like, get under the ball, brush up on the ball, and I'd be thinking fine but what does that look or feel like? There's no point barking orders at someone if you're not going to show them how to do it. He would also say working only on my forehand would improve my backhand because the improvements would translate, and I sort of felt that was wrong, too. Yeah there are similarities, like the kinetic chain, loading and unloading, but the shots are really different. When he would get me to serve, he would give me basically no instruction other than about the height of my toss. He didn't use video and seemed uncomfortable when I suggested it. A while after I took group lessons with him because I felt I could at least hit with some people. He would spend most of his time chatting to one of the students while he ignored the rest of us serving. I remember one lesson he wanted us to hit overheads but gave us no instruction on what to do. He just hit lobs and expected us to return them. I stopped going even thought I had prepaid for the lessons. Several months later, I decided to get group lessons again but at the next level up and last I knew they were led by a different coach. When I turned up it was the same coach. Everyone that had been in the group lessons I had taken before were still with him and despite it being several months later were no better than they were before. I went to one lesson then demanded my money back. It's put me off coaching for life, I think. I basically taught myself how to play tennis using KZbin videos and this book.

[@dexgodbey]

Hey Ian...So on point. I just ordered your book. Joel's a hoot. And makes great, valid points. What you guys were talking about here was clear to me about 30 years ago with both of my daughters. They were ages about 10 and 13 then and regularly played junior tournaments. Both ended up playing at the college level. Their coach at the time was a world-class former ATP pro ranked inside the top 20 in his playing days. Unfortunately, he talked to them in the same way. He "taught" and "coached" them in the same way. And had them develop identical strategic and tactical games. The unfortunate part of that was they were and are completely different at a fundamental level - in their DNA which is reflected in their Temperament Types. I didn't fully understand this at the time. After all, this was a world-class pro. Ahhh...but how much better might they have been if he'd had the knowledge and skill to not teach and coach them the way he wanted or thought they should be taught and coached, but rather in the way THEY wanted and needed to be taught and coached to reach their full potential? I'm going to Joel's website to see if we can hit if/when he's ever in my area - The northern part of San Diego. A far cry from Wisconsin. Thanks for all of your coaching and insight. I've learned a bunch and improved my game a bunch over the years from your Essential Tennis Videos. Much appreciated.

[@Morphination71]

If you drop in Huntsville, AL, Joel, come hit!

[@Tonetone389]

Haven’t listened to full vid yet. My thoughts on the volley sit. Would have to have watched it to really know was the “right” thing to do. However incorporating backhands into the forehand volley work is scaling difficulty. It’s possible that your were developing a movement solution that was not going to be effective when you play the full game. So increasing the variability may help break that movement solution or invalidate its effectiveness. Which is good information for a learner. If the increased difficulty had to negative effect on your ability then maybe it would have to be scaled back. But being in your comfort zone is not always the best zone for learning

[@HastingsHart]

Ian at 20:11: “Why do people show up at a country club? It’s not because they want to have some deep, meaningful, challenging journey of self-exploration through tennis to challenge their deepest beliefs and understandings about the universe.” Wow, Ian, this is actually a pretty powerful description of what I want out of tennis. Long story, too long to tell here, but reading The Inner Game of Tennis when I was a teenager changed my life, as have many encounters with myself on the tennis court over the years. Or should I say “selves,” as in Self 1 and Self 2. Thanks to you and Joel for a fantastic discussion.

[@EssentialTennis]

You're my people, Hastings! Keep up the great work.

[@marktace1]

I’m not sure he was getting poor instruction. Left hand across is a pretty standard approach when someone is jamming themselves. As far as throwing in a few backhand volleys, doing the same thing too many times in a row can be counterproductive so it probably was a good idea. Let’s face it, you need to shop around and find someone you are compatible with. I’ve had guys I used primarily as a hitting partner, coaches I relied on for technique, and one woman who I planned to use as a drill coach who managed to make some technique improvements while doing lots of transition drills.

[@tennispals]

I am not a tennis pro but I do take the lessons once a week. I try to learn something once a session in order to become a better tennis player. I don't know if I will ever get there but to break old bad habits is one of the hardest things to do that I encountered. I first learn the continental grip, when I was younger, then I was using the Eastern Grip and now I am semi-western grip. It is confusing for my brain but I like to challenge myself in the different ways to hit the tennis ball. :) Keep learning and we will all get to be better tennis players.

[@pencilcheck]

I also have experience coaching my friends in the past, so I understand the dillmma, should you focus on dumping everything you know and hope he/she will improve the way you improve? or should you focus on one thing and what should you focus on? Knowing that this will not change much in the long run. More often than not, this one thing you need to explain in 5 different ways, as most wouldn't get it right away. And the moment you are changing and taking too long, your students will lose interest in even trying to understand as it is too hard for them to spend that energy to learn. Also, if you are coaching someone who doesn't know you, how do you appear "knowledable"? If you don't say any buzz words you might be seen as incompetent because unfortunately most tennis students judge their coaches by how many buzz words they know and how fast and often they mention and talk about it. Imagine you are trying to evaluate a lawyer to help your case. Do you instinctively chose those ones who can spew tons of big words and famous cases or someone who only ask questions and say easy words?? But those questions and easy words might be the solution you are looking for?

[@scooterc2006]

In college in another sport there were what we called coach obvious- make the tackle, make the catch were the depth of coaching. Then there were real coaches- move your hands this way to make that catch...use your feet to position in this manner for that tackle. Same as I have noticed in tennis. There are those that see the probs and help make corrections. And then there are those who just tell you stooopid crap- watch the ball, you racket is too open blah blah. All obvious but how do I correct???

[@hilawes]

I appreciate that Ian kind of moderated or qualified some of Joel's statements.

[@nathanmiller6051]

A great and important conversation guys thanks! a very difficult complex subject, the Coaches I know would tell me " listen Nate I don't care about what you know, or how some Pro hit their backhand in 1978, if you don't start moving your feet this lesson is over!" haha 😅 definitely helps if you know your Coach and they know you 🙏

[@tennispals]

Having gone to IMG Adult camp (4x week) and Harry Hopman Tennis Academy Saddlebrook (3x week) - I enjoyed being around other tennis players to go to Academy and invest in themselves and work on their tennis strokes. The bottom line you have to remind yourself what you need to do and work on. As Ian said, repeat yourself over and over and it might make you a better player. If this doesn't work out - try pickle ball. :)

[@scissorsharp9032]

I see all 3 of our club coaches go through the same routine every lesson, no matter who they had with them… one of the coaches has a teenage son which plays nationally and they do different drills but anyone else it’s the same sh**… hitting for a while, “up” he yells, then 10 mins of serves at the end.. Luckily I’ve only paid for one group session and it was cheap, sadly it was awful with absolutely no help from the coach other than to feed another ball into play. I’ve only played since November and focusing on your yt help and others, i do a tonne of drills and target practice with my own ball machine and now I’m already a serious contender at my club in singles.. ALOT to still work on but I know for sure these ppl getting coaching aren’t improving nearly as much or as quickly as me. Ian your a fantastic coach, I hope your students are as dedicated as you are to improving them.

[@melfox215]

I don't know the details for schooling of coaches in the US. In Germany there are 6 different levels of coaching. First, a coaching recruit has to pick between a schooling to become a coach for recreational students or become a coach for competitive students. Both these 'careers' begin with the lowest level that is a c licence. Most of all coaches in Germany have a c-licence. Even most of the supervisors don't have a better licence than b, whereas coaches with an a-licence are very very rare. As the schooling is being organized by the local (=state) tennis association, usually there is only 1 or 2 classes a year. Each class takes about 6 months with theory lessons, internship, practical lessons and, of course, a final exam that includes showing tennis skills, organizing and executing a coaching lesson while teaching one ground stroke plus finally a theory examination. That being described in detail, most of the coaches here are used to coach mid age beginners, kids or seniors that play lower competitive tennis (at best somewhere 3.0 to 3.5 level). So coaching a 4.0 is by far not the common task. Let alone a 4.0 that has very specific expectations. As a player that is somewhere 4.0 myself, I know there are only few coaches in my region that can provide the knowledge and skills to help me improve. Therefore my strategy is to talk to great players and try to receive some hints or get into contact with very good coaches (somewhere b-licence level) to be coached by them. Sometimes, they refuse coaching as they don't do the coaching for living and prefer to coach the best juniors or even the best players of the state. So getting a coaching lesson is not that easy. That is why I need to watch all these online coaches like Ian or others to try improving my game. 😉

[@jtorrico]

Same goes for high school tennis teams. How many high school coaches are actually there with both knowledge/ability and willingness to grow tennis players and their skills?

[@VeganBeerMonster]

The pro was right when she insisted not to feed at the start of the lesson. I don't understand the assumption why the student would know better than the pro. Feeding is the most inefficient type of teaching. Next time you watch a feeding lesson, count how many balls are being hit during that lesson, and compare that to the number being hit during a hitting lesson. Of course the student will find it easier to keep the distance to the ball when being fed, but isn't the point of the lesson to become a better player under realistic playing scenarios?

[@benjamins15779]

Great video. Im 50 yrs old and I had been playing tennis for just two yrs. With that being said, Im in Arizona and I would love to find a good coach who care to teach and not just "having" fun.

[@EssentialTennis]

I hope you find one soon!

[@benjamins15779]

@@EssentialTennis if you ever do some traveling to Arizona and do some clinics, I would love to train with you. 🙂

[@johnhew1034]

Where are you in AZ?

[@benjamins15779]

@@johnhew1034 HI, I'm near Luke AFB.

[@johnaronson5974]

I'm watching this video, therefore it must be helpful... ha Sorry, you do ask and answer questions all students must ask in order to meet their own expectations when signing up for lessons or finding a coach that meets their needs. Your next book? OBTW this subject could also be applied to golf lessons.

[@nominal]

Why it's hard to get better...adults need to play hours a day to really drill down new techniques and help physical fitness. Assuming they already have a good base of skills. Great video. Most pros I k ow are afraid to offer too many tips, people get easily agitated.

[@EssentialTennis]

Totally agree!

[@julianpenfold1638]

I'd say this is 50-50 between coaches and pupils. There's a tendency among coaches, not just in tennis but in other sports too, to give a default lesson no matter what, but a lot of that is because a lot of pupils like the idea of taking lessons in something but are not really prepared to do what's required for real improvement. At the end of the day, coach and pupil are consenting adults who choose to "go along to get along". If that's not what you want from a coach, find another one. Some coaches "audition" pupils maybe sometimes due to ego but perhaps often because they only want to work with people with a genuine desire to improve. That's fair enough but unless they are in demand they may find their client list is somewhat short. Ideally the coach should pick up on what their pupil really wants, but it's up to pupils to speak up for themselves too. A coach who is honest with their pupil may find that honesty is not what people want. Good news is that we can access information and debates about coaching and coaching methods much more easily now with KZbin etc so we can consider what we want out of lessons - but most will not do so.

[@paulgowler5181]

I understsnd what Ian is saying about coaches having to provide what (they think) the customer wants, but would it be so terrible to have that conversation at the outset? What's wrong with saying to your students, look we can be really relaxed and just have a little fun on court and maybe you'll get a tiny bit better, and there's nothing wrong with that. But if you want to get more than a tiny bit better, it's a lot of hard work, a lot of frustration, you're gonna feel u comfortable and sometimes you might want to give up, but if you stick with me and stick at it I promise you will get better

[@FYProduction]

I made the mistake of asking the coaches "What are your tennis strengths?" on the first day of a week-long tennis camp, then ended up offending the coaches (maybe because they lack the tennis strengths).

[@wolpetto]

Hi Ian, I love your content.I am a coach myself and I made the same experiences you did. Many students just want to have a good feeling while keeping their habits/routines. Small changes are ok as far as they do not have to leave their comfort zone. The problem is that most students need major changes in order to drastically improve…

[@marktace1]

Why is it so difficult to get better? It takes thousands of hours and some people aren’t very athletic.

[@Tennis_MenACE]

At my current club, the coaches run a group session where the players do hitting drills, hitting to each other basically simulating match play situations. They, the two dozen players that have been involved, have been participating in this group training session consistantly for about... probably three years now. The coach who runs this scam, has been running the exact same three drills & only the same three drills exclusively. No switching anything up, no focusing on any other areas of the game. Just mindlessly bashing the ball back & forth to each other like there's no tomorrow coming. None of them have improved. Not techniquely. Not tennis IQ wise. Not athletically. They all basically pay this woman, a former WTA doubles player who was ranked inside the top two-hundred players in the world at one time... for a hit up. As if they couldn't organise what they've been doing for the last two years themselves. She takes two sessions a night, each player dishes her about $20. She makes anywhere from $120 to $200 plus a session. On a good day, she makes as much wages as the average person makes working a five day a week job... inside three hours. They pay her to babysit them. That's what it boils down to. Me & my crappy intercity league team, with no coaching, having no contact with any coach anywhere, rarely practising together & playing maybe once a week on average, still manage to win the competition with ease. All that money spent at the club to get better by the religiously coached opposition. No results. At the end of the day, life is what you make of it. I get that. But you dont have to look far to spot the blantly untrue. Both in person, & online. Like learning an instrument, or learning to play chess, ball striking is such a basic activity made infinitely complex by man & yet, we have dumbasses telling us it's easy & that all you need to do is brush the ball, all while you pay them to advise you about a. Ball. Striking. Sport. Both Ian & Joel are both right. Most coaches don't have adequate coaching skill sets. What they are doing is criminal. The coach Joel saw doesn't want to think about it, because it will expose the fact that she doesn't have a clue what will make Joel's volleys better. Whether it's knowingly or unknowingly, most coaches are comitting fruad. Telling people horse shit & then taking their money. In any other profession, that sort of swindling would not be tolerated & would probably be punished with prison & a whopping, ginormous fine.

[@KatherineMH]

Almost all coaches in St. Pete sadly

[@suneanderson9952]

This is so interesting! But what comes first to my mind is still that it feels a lot like you are putting yourself very high up in the coaches hierarchy and a lot of coaches who just do exactly what Joel wants far down. I enjoy watching your videos and think you are trying to do what you think is the best for your students, however... there's a lot of misconceptions in your coaching, I don't think it's bad though, because you try your best and that's what matters. Players should be happy to have such a dedicated coach, but it does disturb me quite a bit that this video is about miss crediting a lot of coaches who has to deal with players like Joel. Nothing against him, I'm sure he's a great guy, but who comes to their club and wants to tell the coach what they should do and work on, even though it might be completely wrong or right. But the point is, every coach needs to try to do what they think is right and they might be or they might not be, just like you! Sometimes your advice is correct and sometimes it's wrong.

[@sergiymorgun8585]

This is great and very honest conversation but it is fascinating how you guys are just cruising around the problem and can't simply point the elephant in the room, which is THE MONEY. Tennis coach (or a teacher, or other mentor) is not a "profession" but a life's calling thing. When it turns to some sort of a "business" then we have all those problems, automatically. Student can't just "hire" a coach. He doesn't know better and that is why he is a "student". Otherwise, he is not a "student" but a person who wants to have some fun and simply can afford it. And that turns a coach into an entertainer.

[@warriorzentennis]

I have had some amazing coaches in my time on court. I have learned the most from the coaches who not only taught me but mentored me as well. Any coach who is only concerned about the money is not a great coach in my opinion.

[@EssentialTennis]

So glad to hear you've found quality coaches!

[@warriorzentennis]

@EssentialTennis he who teaches learns. One of my coaches from high school drastically improved my life and helped me to find confidence. So happy I can coach the younger generation now!

[@jamshurricane]

This guy has a problem with authority

[@bournejason66]

Isn’t putting the left hand out a way to keeping you from too close to the ball? Not sure why Joel is complaining about it

[@EssentialTennis]

You don't understand why Joel was frustrated at the coaching he received?

[@bournejason66]

@@EssentialTennisI don’t for this particular one. If a student doesn’t get it, wouldn’t you try a different way to explain it?

[@nick0424]

Joel, people are paying for fun. The tennis coaches have to provide fun. People don't want to do the hard work of breaking habits. It's actually painful to change habits. You have to overcome hardwiring and that hurts.

[@markmap4677]

Aside from all of the "technique" required, there's all of the underlying core foundational components that have to be developed: strength, stamina, flexibility, balance, movement, speed, agility. And all of it requires a lot of repetition, discipline, and a certain level of natural athleticism,. Watch pro training videos and we can see why the club level player struggles or even quits and takes up pickleball.

[@mteca5093]

Good students make great coaches....so if All your coaches are bad maybe your 😢

[@dgreenbee7]

Your suggest that your criticisms, "You're getting ripped off" are fairly universal among tennis coaches. And yet, if you look at any kid who's consistently had lessons over several years they are often pretty excellent players. In fact, I think it's rare you see someone get to 4.5 and above who hasn't had lessons. So over time you must conclude that lessons do work.

[@marktace1]

Actually with kids a lot of what they learn comes from copying other players. Camp environments tend to be learning environments for kids. Adults tend to need more instruction so they shouldn’t go to a camp expecting to get a lot of instruction.

[@pp2hb]

There are a lot of mediocre coaches for sure. But teaching adults are hard.

[@bradfordsimms715]

Is a good player a good coach ?? will a good player that had talent for a sport as a kid remember the steps to learning. a complex movement.. Do players at a high level know what they are actually dong ? Tennis and golf are the most complex moves in sport and the instruction is really bad.

[@rainsprinkle1965]

I would love to see bad coaching example. Maybe you can pretend to be one instead?