Low cost coaching

Born2WinTennis · Club Coach

Low cost coaching

Oakland2002 · All-time great

Good on you, that's excellent value, and it is a barrier. I think the key is getting into state junior schools and then encouraging facilitating kids who show promise or enthusiasm to carry on outside. My worry is you will attract the same kids who would come at £6 an hour.

Picked my daughter up from footie, all the girls are athletic, parents are of modest means, most have brothers and sisters, money is a real issue and they only get to play one sport, only one plays tennis as well.

It is a really well run club but it costs £30 a month, kit, training once a week under lights and match fees all in. I think that's excellent value but the majority of parents consider it expensive, but generally make the sacrifice because the parents (dads) love football.

Frustratingly there is one lass who you would pick out to play tennis, plays a year above her age group on merit and yet tallest in the side, dad ex pro footballer, daughter very quick, athletic and keen. I have suggested she try tennis but she has two siblings and the family all choose football, however if she had picked up a racket at school it might be a completely different story.

I hope your sessions go from strength to strength.

-- Edited by Oakland2002 on Wednesday 10th of June 2015 08:26:32 AM

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

Born2win, you're an inspiration. I wish you absolutely all the best.

Just to compare, (and always in the hope that the LTA might have a look), the prices at a modest French club (one picked at random that I know) are:

5-7 year-old - 30 euros for full year membership (gives her the right to book any court, any time, for free, as often as she wants, specially useful for 5 year-olds with good telephone skills!) + 75 euros for lessons for the school year which gives 1 -2 hours of lessons per week (group of 4-6, one hour or two as selected by the club, depending on level).

8-12 year-old - 50 euros full year membership, 100 euros for school-year lessons (as above). Or 200 euros for 3-4 hours per week - group of 4 max. (based on aptitude and sometimes including 1 hour individual) plus team entries etc. etc.

13-18 year-olds - same membership. 130 euors for 1-2 hours of lessons. 250 euors for 3-4 hours lessons per week (group of 4, sometimes including 1 hour individual, group physique training, play in adult team too, as well as junior teams, team practices if wanted....).

Shhh · Challenger level

I can drop my primary age kids off at varies footy schools in holidays, usually 10am to 3pm for prices between £10 & £15. They take their own pack lunch, its separated quickly for abilities and kept pretty fun. If you look hard there are other sports around (including tennis) but they don't seem to capture that soccer-camp holiday-club type feel that parents are looking for.

A1 tennis academy · Satellite level

We would help out at A1 Pharmaceuticals LTC , Orpington

gary@a1plc.co.uk

Born2WinTennis · Club Coach

Coup - how do the fund/sustain coaching at the 5-7 year old level with payments of only 75euros for a whole school term? Do the coaches work for less money or does the club or federation subsidise it?

Shhh - we did run a summer camp last year and are looking to maybe do 2 weeks this year instead of 1.

Gary - will email you.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

It's 75 euros for the whole school year, not the term.

And, yes, it's subsidised, by the club. Although it's part and parcel of a bigger thing i.e. the club manages its own finances, so it can choose to subsidise its école de tennis or not. But if it wants local council grants, or sports council extras or whatever, it's important to have a thriving junior department. So it also receives funding indirectly that way too. But most clubs subsidise their junior part, and very willingly. It's simply what a club does.

Also, there are a lot of junior coaches (level 1 or whatever). They don't get paid that much. In fact, many of them are the 3.1/2.2 or whatever ranked young players (17 year-olds, say) who do the course to earn pocket money to help out with tennis expenses.

So if you do the maths for the example, there are about 35 weeks in the year, so each child is paying 2 euros per week. With 6 kids, that makes 12 euros per week, per hour. The junior coach is probably only being paid that much (with maybe some club benefits thrown in).

So the 5-7 year olds will just about wash its face.

The older elite lot is where the subsidies are really needed but that's a smaller group. And the club is happy as those kids will play for the adult team and help them in the league.

Born2WinTennis · Club Coach

Coup Droit wrote:
It's 75 euros for the whole school year, not the term.

....most clubs subsidise their junior part, and very willingly. It's simply what a club does.

This sounds great, so why on earth does this not happen over here? The equivalent price at Sawbridgeworth tennis club near me would be £390 for a full school year 39 weeks of one lesson per week. Say that's 450...6 times the French price! I can only assume the huge profit from this goes partly to the club and partly to the head coach.

I'll email the LTA with a suggestion that they force all registered clubs to offer £99 coaching for a full school year! Or £10/month if paid by direct debit to spread the cost over the full year.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

What does a junior coach get paid here?

As I said, there's actually no subsidy for those 5-7 year-olds - it works out right (just factoring in the cost of the coach's pay, not pro-rata-ing club running costs etc., or trying to make a profit off the kids)

If 6 kids pay £2.00 per hour, and the school term is about 35 weeks, that's £70 for the year per child, and the coach gets £12 per hour.

Up it to £2.50 and the coach gets £15 per hour.

It all works fine - I don't see the problem.....

emma · Strong Club Player

I really like initiative and creativity B2WT and wish you all the best.

do you have a website? maybe you could put paypal on it for anyone who would like to contribute to help. there are a lot of people now who are fed up with giving to charities and seeing their money spent on admin and expensive salaries but would prefer to buy equipment to help.

just wanted to put up this link as well for people in other areas who may be looking for tennis lessons for their children.

https://www.tennisforfree.com

Born2WinTennis · Club Coach

thanks emma, good idea, but as I run it as a loss-making (hopefully break even in the future) business, not a charity, I wouldn't feel comfortable with people donating money. They could however donate equipment!