The Absurdity of Most Online Tennis Courses Part 3
In Part 1, I discussed how most online courses are bloated and inefficiently organized, which detracts from what the student really needs: time to practice on court.
In Part 2, I argued that most online students need the followup and guidance from the course professor or a professional specialist—which is often lacking—to make technical progress. Any course without professional oversight at home or a connection with the online professor is almost sure to fail its students.
My third observation and criticism of most online courses is that many times they cannot deliver on the promises made. Sometimes these promises are delivered with over-top-sales pitches and high pressure sales tactics worthy of a late night infomercial, or perhaps a third-rate used car dealership.
It is embarrassing and damaging to the reputation of our industry when online coaches market hyper aggressively or through manipulative sales campaigns. At the end of the day, good people are spending money on these programs. They should not be unduly pressured; nor should they be over promised amazing results. They should not be preyed upon or mislead.
For example, recently there have been a number of campaigns to sell courses on the kick serve. I have seen some very irresponsible marketing in regards to these courses. The idea that a mid-level club recreational player between 3-4.0 NTRP can learn an effective kick serve is completely bogus. The sales pitch—that this level player really needs a kick serve to move up the club ladder—is also baloney. Furthermore, trying to learn a kick serve could be potentially injurious to the player—not to mention a big waste of time.
As I have mentioned in Part 2, it is very difficult to learn technique on one’s own. Not impossible—but very hard. Most will fail. The online consumer should be aware that the success rate is relatively low without help from a specialist coach on court at home to help or rigorous oversight via distance from the course creator. Jeff Salzenstein calls this kind of “blended learning” the future of the industry—and he is right. However, online students are often told that the course itself is all they need to succeed. That is misleading.
It is virtually impossible for the average lower level club player to learn a kick serve that will actually be effective, especially ladies. They simply cannot produce enough racquet speed to make a real kick. Often they do not have the ROM (range of motion)—sufficient flexibility and mobility. They can easily injure their shoulder or back, especially if practicing on their own without supervision. These players would be much better off focusing their time on another area to master.
Parents also have to be very careful teaching this serve to young children. There are many pitfalls that can cause injury. See my article on the Top 5 Common Mistakes here:
It worries me that online coaches are heavily promoting courses on advanced skills like the kick serve without knowing the online student and making sure that they are capable and physically prepared to learn such a difficult and potentially injurious stroke.
The bottom line is that I would like to see online tennis coaches tone down the aggressiveness in their marketing campaigns and be more responsible in the presentation of the skills they choose to teach via distance learning. Some online gurus are less predatory than others. I applaud those leaders who demonstrate sales and marketing integrity.
Online sports coaching has incredible potential for the future. I’m a big believer in the power and effectiveness of good online learning courses and environments. In fact, I am excited to have started my own online school. However, in these early years of the industry, those of us online have to be more responsible both in what we sell—and how we sell it.
Let’s tone down the aggressive sales campaigns and be more circumspect in how we present the skills and techniques we teach to the world. In this way, the tennis consumer is protected and so is the reputation of the tennis industry—and the everyday coaches who are the backbone of it.
Chris Lewit is a leading coach, author, and educator. Learn more about Chris.