Bruguera Tennis Academy

They say :


Bruguera Tennis Academy Top Team located in Barcelona, Spain, is a school specialized in young tennis players. The main objective is to provide a complete training and education to its students including cultural aspects. Top Team is a key institution in the tennis community as a training school for players, coaches and clubs. We offer advise to other schools, tennis clubs, tennis federations, and we also organize workshops and company events.
Players from more than 30 countries train in our school where individual development and cross-cultural experience are fundamental aspects of their work. The Academy has an academic school and student dormitories in the same campus. Bruguera Tennis Academy Top Team have Psychology program for the personal and sport development of the player,assistance to tournaments under the supervision of the coach, with a complete technical Staff with and the necessary services for the development of the players.





They Credo:



The disipline, the value of personal effort, the coexistencee, cultural formation and spirit to struggle are aspects which form not only part of tennis player, but which form the charater of a person to confront with success any challenge in his or her life.



I Say:

Two Bruguera's and their team definetly know what they are doing. Their Academy has the feel of a great family atmosphere. Their academic programme is second to none. They respect science in sport so you should feel very safe that your child is medically monitored properly. If you wish to master the game on clay this academy is the only place to be.

They should really however do something about their website. It's very complicated and looks more like a forum then an academy's website.

contact:
http://www.brugueratennis.com/

I have a friend, who was signed to go for 5 years, came back after one.

Have you been there?
Because i have heard totaly different things that what is quoted here...
Get one thing right. No tennis academy will tell you they are not good, bacause they all want your money...
They see you as a potential customer who is going to bring money to support their real academy players.
Most parents think their kids are going to be world No 1 and this is where the problem is...
They will feed you lies about your kids ability so that they can get money out of you...
Go there and have your kids assessed. If they think that your kids have a chance, they will offer you traning for free.
If they ask you even for a Euro, you are paying for someone else's free training.....

Quote:

---

Have you been there?
Because i have heard totaly different things that what is quoted here...

---

Dear Yannis,

I certainly aquire knowledge before I write something. Tennis Academies for me are serious things and I take in- depth research into account (personal or through people that I know and trust for more then 20 years) before I even dream to advise anybody regarding academies. I understand your personal frustrations and pain that was inflicted upon you at Patrick Mouratoglou Tennis Academy. That was your childrens and your personal experience and I respect that.
In this case you are using "hearsay" (see your quote ) to question in my knowledge a very well organised specialist for clay Tennis Academy.
Of course every Academy is going to take money for their services.
Of course every Academy will give everything for free for "Extreme Talents".
Like in every Educational organisation the best students come under their Professors patronage easily, others not, but both cases have a chance to succeed if the student is determined.

Dear Yannis,

Try not to make big claims how parents should behave and approach Academies. Everybody is different. The most important thing is that every young player reaches their optimum talent potential at different times.
I presume that you are British (because you refer to (£)pounds in one of your posts) so you should understand that Tim Henman was predicted "useless" when he was 16 years old and just a couple years later he was the 1st son of "British Tennis". Also no one was prepared to help Andy Murray when he was a young 10 years old player. So your statement:

Quote:

---

Go there and have your kids assessed. If they think that your kids have a chance, they will offer you traning for free.
If they ask you even for a Euro, you are paying for someone else's free training.....

---

It's unhelpful and to be honest with you misleading because a player that at 11 or 12 years old looks ordinary and because of that an Academy asks for a full payment from the parents, later at 16 or 17 can rise to be a very much sort after player. You don't have to look further then Novak Djokovic's case. For the sake of your children consider that not every Academy is a money grabbing machine, there are some very good Academies around. You really do not want to become one of those parents that Academies and Managers would like to avoid because they are intimidated that you will start one of your "witch hunts" against one of them if they tell you something that you don't like.
P.S
I do not have any personal or professional connection with Bruguera Tennis Academy, I only write about and defend good work
when I see it.

I am not English, I am Greek.
And I will stand by what I said:
Tennis academies are money generating industries that have to create a reasonable profit both for their owners and for their top players.
If any tennis academy think a junior is good, they will offer him a full scholarship.
If they are not it means they simply want the money to finanance the free training of the other players that they think they are good.
THIS IS A FACT.
Have you been to a tennis academy that they have said to you (or to someone else):
"Sorry your son / daughter is not good enough to be a pro...."
"Dont waste your money".
I dont belong to that group of parents, but the main problem is that very few parents can see their kids limitations. Most parents think that if their kids are a little bit good, that they are going to be pros....
and if they have money, this makes matters worse because tennis academies feed from this to maximise their profit and provide the best services to their really good players (and there is nothing wrong with this).
Why do you think most of them ask for the money upfront?
Try and get a refund from Sanchez if you have payed for a month's training and then your kid gets a back injury aftr 2 days.....
Have you? Because I have....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aliciasace

I have a friend, who was signed to go for 5 years, came back after one.

---

why did he come back?

Quote:

---

I am not English, I am Greek.

---

I apologise for claimong that you are British!!! The last thing that I want to do is upset the pride of any Greek! (ha ha ha)

You have quite a few good points in your writing but again this is the wrong thread. Here we are supposed to talk about our experiences with the Bruguera Tennis Academy.

If you want to talk about Academies in principle and how they operate, please open a new thread posting your experiences including the Sanchez Academy and then we can talk more in depth.

THIS IS ONLY FOR DISCUSSING BRUGUERA TENNIS ACADEMY. YOU DO NOT HAVE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OR FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE ACADEMY IN QUESTION SO ANY FURTHER DIALOGUE UNDER THIS THREAD IS NOT HELPING MEMBERS WHO WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE BRUGUERA TENNIS ACADEMY.
Thank you

I'm still looking for american parents who have sent or are sending their kids to Bruguera for the summer. Please contact me if you can share your experiences. Thanks.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by yannis

why did he come back?

---

i think he thought the tennius was better back here

hello,

I am looking for players who have been to the bruguera academy in Barcelona.
I want to know who it was there to practise.
My son maybe will go there to train for 10 months.
But we want to get as many background information as we can before we disceed of this is the best solution.

I hear many parents say:" My son/daughter is going to Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy". Parents say it with such conviction as if sending their child to Nick's academy means that the kids become the next Roger Federer over night. Don't get me wrong, with all due respect, Nick Bollettieri is a great coach but most of the kids attending his academy never get to see him on the court. Instead, parents pay a lot of money, $32,100 - $85,000 for full-time status, but don't know much about the person who actually conducts the training. Most of the parents don't even know what the player/coach ratio is – most academy coaches have numerous kids they coach at once.

If parents ask me if they should send their kid to Nick Bollettieri's academy, I generally do not recommend it, unless their child is already a very successful junior player on a national/international level. National/International successful junior players will receive quality training and hence the individual attention of good coaches that is needed to become successful. But if the kid is "just" a talented player, he/she will be one of many and will not receive the quality training that the top players receive. Instead, they will be on court 28 with some assistant coach who drills them till they throw-up, then they receive a hat and a shirt, and not much else. This phenomenon can be seen at tennis academies all over the country.

So, what would be a better approach?

One way to go is to find a place where player/coach ratio is low (1:2 – 1:4 max). One such place could be John Roddick Total Tennis. But the most effective way is to find your own private coach that works with you on a 1:1 basis. This is a comparable scenario to class room sizes in schools. Research has shown over the years that if you have a private tutor you will learn more than sitting in a classroom with 24 other students because the tutor can focus solely on your needs and the student pays more attention as well. It will cost you probably some more money but you get much more for each and every $ spent. I strongly believe in the notion that "quality will be remembered when the price is already forgotten."


Now, how do I find a great coach that can help me get better?

There are many coaches out there and almost each and every one of them claims to have worked with professional players. Most of the time, it's rather wishful thinking than reality, which leads me to the first rule: "Don't listen to what people say, look at what they do".

For instance, what is their completed level of education? What kind of degree did they accomplish - do they have a "Bachelor's" or "Master's"?

If someone has a Master's degree doesn't necessarily mean that they are smarter but it means that they had the determination to get through 6+ years of university classes. It means that they set out to achieve something and they started and finished the job.


Is the coach certified by a tennis teaching organization (e.g. USPTA or USPTR)?

How many certifications does he/she have? What level did they accomplish? Again, it doesn't mean that they are "better" than someone without a license but it is an indication that they take teaching seriously. If someone possess more than one license means that he/she is open to different ways/methods to accomplish something – being open-minded to different approaches. Believe it or not, there are many ways to become successful – Nick Bollettieri has one way of teaching, Ion Tiriac/Gunther Bosch (Boris Becker's former manager & coach respectively) had another way.


What is the physical appearance of the potential coach - do they suffer from the fat-and-happy syndrome? What I mean by that is, are they in good physical shape themselves for their age or are they 25 pounds overweight? Why is that important you might ask…well, for once, it's a matter of self-discipline. As a coach, I cannot expect from my student to work out hard, eat right, etc. and I can't do it myself – they should do themselves what they are preaching. Does Nick Bollettieri, Tony Roche, or Dean Goldfine look overweight? The answer is NO.

If you have a chance to watch the coach conduct a training session, watch for the following:

• is he/she on time?

• Do they have a plan for what they try to accomplish or do they just do the same routine all the time?

• Are they engaging when they teach – do you feel the coach cares if the student learns something

Being on time is a matter of respect and discipline. If they have a plan shows that they took the time to sit down, think about what they want to accomplish and find ways to implement a desired outcome. If they are engaging means that they want you to get better, not just getting paid.

These are just some of the things you can use to evaluate a potential coach. Apart from the aforementioned guidelines, it is essential to be on the same page on a personal level – coach and player should trust each other and get along personally in order to have success.

Geez, uneducated opinions should be kept hidden forever Yannis. I have coached at Bollettieri and Hopman and have no affiliation with Bruguera Academy, but I do know this. It is a very good academy. Andy Murray trained there as a junior. If I were still playing on the tour, that is where I would be training when I was in Europe. No doubt about it. And no, just because your kid has potential does not mean he will get a scholarship to an academy. That is absolute crap. You have to show some serious potential, and I mean SERIOUS potential for that to happen. Those coaches have to make a living and that is that. Why does everyone want something for free these days? If your kid is that good, after he/she turns pro, he/she will be able to pay you back if they are the next Agassi. I have watched Nick Bollettieri break many hearts with "you're a good player, but professional tennis may not be for you". He does not, I repeat, does not just throw scholarships out there. jtas, you were correct with your statement that Bruguera Academy is a worthy academy.

I am most certainly not a big fan of academies in general but Bruguera is maybe worth a try especially if you have a budget in mind. It is a no thrills academy YMCA style but with a heart and passion for the sport. As with all academies it depends what level you are and if you find your match. The price is very competitive or even cheap compared to others. During our time mostly 3 : 1 ratios on the courts:rolleyes:

I would say in general that the better of a player your son or daughter is the tougher it will be to find the group to train with. Unfortunately at Bruguera the number of players is pretty small. At the time of our stay there were 25 boarders and about 10 players that came during the day . 75% boys and 25% girls.
I would recommend it if your child is 16 or older but stay away for the 12,13,14 year olds especially if they are nationally ranked (top50). Bruguera just does not have any competitive options for those kids. For example at Bruguera´s the kids play mostly matches during the afternoons and unfortunately my son never lost more than 1,2 or 3 games per set during the 3 weeks he was there which of course was very dissapointing.(you get to play against tall 15,16 year olds that have a very unpolished erratic game with lots of power but technically very poor and basically not shot at ever learning the game properly).
If you need to use academies for your child make sure you - the parent - check before leaving the group he or she is supposed to play with, even better get names etc. be specific with the Head Coach so afterwards he cannot weazel out. With us ,I did speak with Lluis Bruguera peronally beforehand and received a sales pitch that he probably uses 100s of times every year but this is the same with every academy and I actually had to laugh about it.
Would I go back : absolutely not because yes it is very cheap but in the end the goal should be to leave the academy as a better player and in this respect Bruguera failed 100%.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by brutus maximus

I would say in general that the better of a player your son or daughter is the tougher it will be to find the group to train with. Unfortunately at Bruguera the number of players is pretty small. At the time of our stay there were 25 boarders and about 10 players that came during the day . 75% boys and 25% girls.
I would recommend it if your child is 16 or older but stay away for the 12,13,14 year olds especially if they are nationally ranked (top50). Bruguera just does not have any competitive options for those kids. For example at Bruguera´s the kids play mostly matches during the afternoons and unfortunately my son never lost more than 1,2 or 3 games per set during the 3 weeks he was there which of course was very dissapointing.(you get to play against tall 15,16 year olds that have a very unpolished erratic game with lots of power but technically very poor and basically not shot at ever learning the game properly).
If you need to use academies for your child make sure you - the parent - check before leaving the group he or she is supposed to play with, even better get names etc. be specific with the Head Coach so afterwards he cannot weazel out. With us ,I did speak with Lluis Bruguera peronally beforehand and received a sales pitch that he probably uses 100s of times every year but this is the same with every academy and I actually had to laugh about it.
Would I go back : absolutely not because yes it is very cheap but in the end the goal should be to leave the academy as a better player and in this respect Bruguera failed 100%.

---

Check us out at Smith/Stearns Tennis Academy. We have kids of all ages and most of them have high national rankings. Our girls can play with the best of them. Kids are placed on court according to their abilities so as to keep them at a high level, but also so as not to destroy the confidence of the lesser players. They have a great time and the kids really enjoy being around each other.

Went to Bruguera this summer for 3 weeks of training! maybe once it was a great place but not now!!! the training is outdated!!!