Hi, My level of play, beginner - intermediate. age 24, male, Basic strokes - ok Footwork I think not good, play once or twice a week. I'm looking for trainings to improve my skills and footwork. But I mind joining KIDS in training, joining seniors should me too extreme for my level of play. any suggestion? If individual training, how much is the cost? what will I learn? can I pay per class I attend? Thank you.
Hi Dixiedomer. Lots of questions in there, so lots of answers! How do you know? I'm asking questions now - you have to get used to that, because it's the only way anyone can get to know exactly what you need / want! Everyone's footwork is "not so good"! But you know that about your game, so that's very helpful. Any coach will point that out to you anyway! …and anything else your coach spots! That's understandable. But there are as many adult improvers as there are juvenile improvers - probably more, actually! So you have to mix it with other adults. You will be more skilful than many, and less skilful than many, but that is not important, because the coaching environment is non-competitive - apart from you personally competing against your own old habits, that is! Sure, you will take part in short play sessions with other learners, but that is not in a competitive spirit (although you'll be trying your best to play well) but is to inform your coach about where his / her learners' good points and soft spots are. That just depends on the coaching environment. You'll need to research coaching opportunities in your area to discover that. But a good coaching system should take you from where you are now, to where you want to be, within your capabilities.
From my experience, i dont really care who i train with. Quality of coaching is important. I had a trial session for potential private lessons and the guy ended up to be a tool. Went to clinics hosted by a college ran by the varsity coach and i learned way more in a group setting. There were about 20 of us and he grouped me along with 6 other players to be trained by one of his assistants.We worked like a DOG every class, and it was awesome. The key is how hard are you willing to push yourself. You are never too old to learn something. Improving is all about how much you will listen to quality coaching and how much effort you put in during practice. Even if you have to train with seniors, so what? No one should laugh at you, and if they do, it's them being stupid, not you.
