Finding the perfect tennis lesson is not always easy. Tennis lessons come in all shapes and sizes, targeting both new players and ones that have been competing in tournaments for years. These different programs can vary widely in their effectiveness. Many coaches will have plenty of tennis experience themselves, however that does not immediately make them qualified as far as teaching those same skills to students. The best tennis lessons can only be found through thorough investigation of a tennis coach and his program. There a few things that you can look for, even as an inexperienced tennis player, to easily identify what kind of tennis program you are looking at.

Reasonable Cost for Group and Private Tennis Lessons

Putting a limit on the amount you’re willing to pay for lessons is not unreasonable. Teaching professionals can have very different pricing schemes even in the same area. You should compare these prices and find the one that best works for your specific situation. Different lesson pricing is most commonly broken into fees for groups and private lessons separately. The cost of a private lesson is significantly higher because you don’t have anyone else to help split the cost of the coach’s time. Beginners will find that group lessons are quite effective, especially when the classes are correctly limited to a small number of students. They are able to get a good amount of instruction, while still being able to socialize with a group. This keeps a newer player entertained and interested in tennis more easily.

A good price for group tennis lessons should be around $20 each session. A session might consist of anywhere between one to two hours out on the courts. This amount of time is perfect for introducing drills and providing instruction to the different players of the group.  A group format can be very effective for beginner tennis lessons.  Private lessons will always end up being considerably more expensive than this. Coaches often need to be much more involved as well, which can drive the price up even further. You might expect to see private lessons costing as much as $50 an hour on average.

Is Your Tennis Coach Qualified?

Whenever you find a tennis teaching professional, your first question should be “What makes him qualified to teach tennis?” A tennis coach should either have the reputation or certifications that show they actually know what they are doing out on the court. If it isn’t made obvious on a business card or ad posting, feel free to ask about a specific coaches qualifications. The USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association) has a certification program that trains teaching professionals. Checking if your pro has one of these is a great start, but it shouldn’t be an end-all. These certifications come in many different levels. Just having received one does not qualify a coach to teach all different levels of tennis. Find out what a coach’s specialization is and determine if it fits your needs.

For a introductory level tennis player it can be very hard to accurately determine how qualified someone is to teach them tennis. While it isn’t possible to quickly determine someones coaching ability from a few simple observations, you can get a good general idea about the quality of their teaching. Most importantly you can recognize general factors that contribute to either very good or very bad tennis lesson programs.

• Look for lessons that limit the class size to under six. Four people per lesson is preferable, but good coaches can get away with having a few more students in a class.
• Students should be constantly moving and active around the court. Bad lessons suffer from inactive students forming long lines along the fences. This is very easy to spot and should be the first sign to look elsewhere.
• People taking the lessons should actually be enjoying themselves. Tennis is a fun sport and a good coach will interact with the students to engage their interest.