Classic Strokes Tennis Lessons

We are dedicated to helping you either learn to play a great game that you can enjoy for a lifetime or improve your current level of skills.

Our perspective is to help you build a firm foundation and consistently repeatable set of skills that you can then improve on your own with more play instead of more lessons (although we won't refuse to give you more lessons if you really want them!) 

Our Attributes

I learned classic tennis strokes from a great teacher and am very happy to share my knowledge and experience with you.

The lessons are designed to be active and fun (and hopefully you will enjoy my sense of humor) and you will also probably get a good workout.  For a more experienced player, we try to work with what you are already doing but attempt to help making your existing strokes more compact and consistent.

Beginners will enjoy a steady progression from learning good footwork, developing hand/eye coordination, "grooving" a consistently repeatable stroke on both forehand and backhand, and learning a basic spin serve for accuracy and control.

From my own match playing experience, all players will also learn good match playing strategies and the importance of shots that you have a high percentage of hitting well. 

Who We Are

"We" are a combination of my classic forehand, backhand, strong serve, and good fitness that can be shared with you.

My tennis background is that I was a competitive junior player in Florida, was taught by a very skilled Australian pro who emphasized the same classic and simple strokes, and that I started "teaching" tennis by teaching my former wife (who is a competitive 3.5 player, and we are also still friends) and my two children who have played on their high school teams.

My teaching "career" with other students started in the summer of 2008 when I moved into an apartment building that by chance had a tennis court.  No one was using the court and so I thought "why not give tennis lessons."  That was the beginning of Classic Strokes Tennis Lessons which has been fun for me in helping aspiring and experienced players and also apparently fun for people who have scheduled lessons.

Our teaching court location is very convenient for most of San Francisco as we use a private court that is about three blocks north of the Civic Center (on Franklin between Turk and Eddy)and a map is on our contact page.   We can give lessons at a court of your choice, however, but there is a $5 surcharge per lesson for the additional time and transportation expense.

Lessons are available seven days a week but it is usually helpful to schedule about a week in advance for a weekend lesson to get a time that is best for you.  I also have a pretty active playing schedule myself and play matches two or three times a week and so scheduling at least two to three days in advance for a weekday is also helpful to get a time that works for you.