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For many decades now young Bermudian teenagers have left Bermuda to go away to boarding school. Due to Bermuda's isolation this is almost a must if young Bermudians want a broader exposure on the athletic field. For junior athletes tennis has historically been a tough sport to harness the skills needed to compete at a good collegiate level. Only a handful of Bermudians have started on their college teams in the last 30 years.

Currently their are a few juniors away at Tennis Academies.

Since the early 80's Tennis Academies are all over the place and promise to mould young junior tennis players into outstanding adults.

Tennis academies aren't cheap. Chris Evert's Academy is $45,000 while Bollettieri and Saddlebrooke are $60,000. This includes boarding and training, but not travel costs to tournaments.

Some very good players do come out of tennis academies, but they are a money making business. In order to attract good players they offer them scholarships. A reason they are so expensive is that the less accomplished players are usually footing the bill for the players that might make it on the tour.

Good coaches will help attract talent to their respective academies, but these coaches won't spend equal time with all of the students. Having spent time at a few of these academies over the years I was surprised at the large number of lower level teaching pro's.

Smaller academies are now the trend because the students get more individual attention. The coaches develop more of a relationship with their students and actually want to see their student's tennis ability develop. Some boarding schools actually have good tennis teams, and offer a more well-rounded experience both academically and athletically.

Even at the best tennis academies only one per cent of the students will make enough money at tennis to support themselves. Falling back on something after tennis is inevitable, so academics are going to come into play.

In this regard boarding schools are far superior to the academies that offer only half a day of school, or even classes on the Internet. Other islands have made huge strides in recent years in developing their juniors. They have a system and a plan in place. Bermuda is falling behind.[[In-content Ad]]

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