Homeschool Hack For Junior Tennis Players That Go To Regular Schooling

One of the most common questions I get from junior tennis parents is should my child home school? Is it the only way they can develop into a division 1 collegiate athlete?

And I get that question not because they’re in love with the idea of homeschooling. It’s because they feel like they’re being forced into it by the current junior tennis structure. Most parents don’t actually want their child to homeschool. They want to keep them in regular school.

Well I have a way to work around part of the issue. I can’t help you with your school being upset about absences due to tournament travel, but I can help you in regards to a better training environment. It’s going to be a huge commitment, but if you’re considering homeschooling, you’re already extremely committed to doing everything possible for your child’s success.

So here we go.

A big advantage homeschooled players have is the ability to practice more, and have more efficient practices. They simply train during hours that are not busy times for tennis clubs. The recreational players are either at work or in school, so the homeschooled kids have more courts at their disposal.

Because of this, they can spread out, actually play practice matches and get coached match play. They can do full court drilling, have a better player to coach ratio, and do so for many hours.

Kids who go to regular schooling almost never play practice matches. Never do full court drilling. Play a lot of half court and doubles points, don’t always have a great player to coach ratio, and only play for 1.5-2hrs per day.

Well to work around this (now here’s the hack): ask your child to dedicate every weekend to tennis, and take a day off during the week instead.

Not just to play tournaments, but to train as well.

On the weekends, kids don’t have school, and tennis courts are more available. This means kids have the flexibility to play tennis all day (just like homeschooled kids), and can spread out to do proper drilling, and get coached practice match play (just like homeschooled kids)

And instead of taking a Saturday or Sunday off, your junior player will take a weekday off instead (preferably Monday).

This way, your child will be closing the gap on the amount of extra reps and practice matches home schooled kids get versus kids like yours, who go to regular school.

When they’re not practicing on the weekends, they’ll be playing tournaments instead. During tournaments kids already play 3-5 hours of tennis a day. That’s what homeschooled kids do. So now instead of only doing that when they’re playing tournaments, they’re going to do that every weekend.

I told you this was going to be a big commitment! Dedicating every single weekend to tennis may seem like a lot, but if you and your child are already considering homeschooling, you’re ready to make this type of commitment anyway. So try this homeschooling hack first before making a big change. Play 3-5 hours of tennis, plus fitness on non-tournament days, every Saturday and Sunday, and see how things improve for your child.

Good luck!