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B-RAY the question is do you want to get better and can you afford to get some help. Yes getting a pro like an instructor to help you would be a good thing. He may just need to hit with you for 15 minutes to see what style of play you have and then be able to fine tune or tweak a couple of aspects of your game. It may take a couple of hour long sessions however. As for strategy yes he can help you with the mental side as well so that you can get better at closing matches out and advancing in the draws. It's sad that your coach is just a coach in name alone and doesn't coach the team at all. He may not have any competitive experience with which to share any experiences with you guys. The best thing would be to find an ex competitive player and have him or her coach the entire team thereby creating a more competitive environment and everyone learning from him/her as well as each others experiences. Tennis although it is an individual sport is also a team sport in your situation and although you want to do better personally I am sure your entire team would like to as well and thereby move your team up in the standings. See if there is someone in the area that might be available and then see if all the other players are as serious as you and if you have to then maybe all chip in for some time with them. Your coach should be fine with this since it will make him look better too even though he doesn't deserve it but he may want to chip in too or get the school to do some fundraising. But yes you should seek some help if just for you to advance your career and perhaps take you to a scholarship if you have the potential. Check out Brad Gilberts website sportskool it has a tonne of great videos and pointers.

Hey

I think that you are at the level where an instructor won't do much good, you need a professional coach. They can be expensive some are about $80 an hour so this might be a bit pricey. Another option is to join a high performance jr. program, where you play a few times a week with a coach and a couple other high performance players, some of these programs also include fitness.

No matter where you go to train it will be expensive so make sure that you choose a good coach. A little tip is make sure that they are USTA certified (Master is the top then P1 then P2 then P3). If you are outside the US almost all countries have a national certification program e.g. Canada has coach ratings 1-5.

Hope this helps

I also played varsity tennis this year as a freshman so I know a couple things. If there's a coach thats right for you then you should take lessons from him/her at least once a week and maybe go to clinics. I go to a clinic three times a week which includes an hour of fitness which keeps me in good condition so look for something like that in your area. You could also pay the private coach extra to help you with fitness and all that.

There are three types of tournaments: novice, satellite and open.

Novice tournaments are for beginners. Satellite is for people who are too good to play in Novices but are not yet good enough to play in Opens. And open is the final level where you will play very good people. Maybe start with a novice or satellite and work your way up to opens.

I'm a tournament and varsity player as well:

If you really want to get good you will need a trainer. My tennis trainer teaches tennis and fitness but not all do. Go to a local tennis center/facility ask around and find out- you may want a seperate fitness trainer if you really plan on major improvement.

If there is a pro in the area, I strongly recommend a few hour lessons with him to work on not only strokes but theory and actual game situations. A good pro will really fine tune your skills, and since tennis is a thinking game, you will be able to win harder games if you have knowledge. Seriously, if two players at the same skill level play each other, or even if one is better, the smartest player will win the match guarenteed.

Oh, by the way, congrats on being 1 on your team.

every good player has a coach for a reason. you cant get that far just relying on yourself. a trainer is a good idea to get if your very serious about tennis...but there are many exercises you can do by yourself that help. if you want to start exercising for things specific to tennis try starting with a speed ladder, since much of tennis is dependent on short quick movements, not long distance things such as running.

hope that helps and good luck.

u should talk to the head of the sports department in ur school. I once had a coach like that. I got really frustrated at him when he didn't want to rally with me and when he ask him what to do he just told me to practice. I talked with the club manager and soon he was fired for not teaching.

A highschool coach should help u guys from fitness to strategy and correct u when u are doing something wrong on ur strokes

i really suggest talking to the head of the department, he is bringing nothing but shame on to u and the school.

take private lessons. its totally worth it, but a little expensive. u'll notice huge changes in your game and motivation in no time.