You’ll have seen products that come with government health warnings. Don’t do this or this might happen. My question is this, should the junior tennis journey come with a financial health warning? And I think the answer is YES!

If your player ends up spinning on the hamster wheel which is performance junior tennis, it is going to cost you. Individual lessons, group sessions, rackets, tournament fees, travel costs, strings, shoes, clothes…the list could (and does) go on and on.

The reason for this episode is that I don’t think anyone really warns parents of what the costs are going to be. And I think they absolutely should.

So what is the price of a tennis journey? Just as everyone’s journey is different, so everyone’s costs are different. But I want to put a marker in the sand to give some sort of indication of what you’ll be looking at. And that is the point of this episode.

Ahead of publication, I shared the costs listed in this episode with some tennis parents and asked them what they thought. The majority thought I had been conservative. That the journey costs more. I find the cost I came up with mind blowing - but the fact is it is probably on the conservative side for many families who are on this journey. That’s even more mind blowing

I don’t want this to be a depressing episode - the benefits of a tennis journey are many and have been covered extensively on this podcast. And this absolutely isn’t me having a go at tennis coaches and their charges - coaches work incredibly hard often in unsocial hours and need to earn a living. I do, however, think parents whose children are starting on the journey should be aware of what could be in store cost wise.

Maybe in time we can do an episode on solutions to the problem of junior tennis costs - but for now let’s start with what the costs are…

Music Credits

Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden

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Let me start with a confession - at times I’ve found being a tennis parent challenging! The trials and tribulations of the ‘performance’ tennis journey have surprised and at times shocked me.

So three experts coming together to create an online course that aims to help tennis parents navigate a positive path through the journey has to be a good thing!

That’s exactly what Dr Liya Jacob (wellness coach and tennis parent), Chris Johnson (Level 5 Master Coach) and Ellie-Rose Griffiths (former GB jnr no.1) have done.

An online course called Winning Tennis Parents full of helpful information and tips to help parents help themselves and their players.

The course is live now and costs £49.99 - less than a pair of new tennis shoes or a couple of individual lessons!

I found this episode and the course mega useful and I hope you will too!

The episode is really a taster for the course and after listening I’d really encourage you to go that one step further and enrol on the course. I’ve gone through the course and all the materials and it is excellent. I think it will help me with our tennis journey.

ENROLL ON THE WINNING PARENTS TENNIS COURSE NOW

Music Credits

Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden

Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

PLS NOTE: There is some swearing in this episode and it is not one that is suitable for children.

What’s it like to be the no.1 12U player in the World? To be the youngest player ever to be signed by the IMG management company. To win a full scholarship to one of the most famous tennis academies in the World.

Reckon the future for that player and his family was bright? Fame and riches around the corner?

Today’s guest, Todd Ley who hails from Adelaide in Australia, was in exactly that position. And has written all about that part of the journey and what happened next in a searingly honest book called Smashed.

As you’ll hear today, what happened next was not fame and fortune. What came next was darkness and at times despair. A chapter which Todd is now moving on from as he rides the rollercoaster of life working in the world of coaching - and I hope setting down what happened in the book will help him do just that. It has certainly helped me think about the journey we are on as a tennis family and why we are on it. It has helped me gain perspective of what is important and for that I thank Todd.

Today’s episode may not be easy listening at times, you might not agree with everything Todd says, but do take a listen because Todd’s story and messages will I think help our family and our tennis journeys and I hope it will maybe help yours too.

Visit Todd Ley’s website to find about more about the book and BUY A COPY OF SMASHED NOW

Thanks to FeedSpot for naming My Tennis Journey as a Top 5 UK tennis podcast - much appreciated! You can see the list here: https://podcast.feedspot.com/uk_tennis_podcasts/

MUSIC CREDITS

Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden

Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0