Group Lessons Group Lessons
Facilities
Location
A.C. Nielsen Tennis Center
530 Hibbard Road, Winnetka, IL 60093
P: (847) 501-2065 ext 0
F: (847) 501-3057
Hours
Monday – Sunday: 6:30am – 10pm
Friday through Sunday closing hours may vary based on demand.
Junior Group Lessons
Our junior group lesson program uses a progressive, skill-based pathway designed for ages four to 18. Students move through the levels based on their ability to demonstrate the necessary skills rather than a pre-specified time frame, ensuring every player receives the necessary instruction to improve.
Find Your Pathway
RED 1
This level is for junior players just starting to play. Students will learn the ABCs of tennis — agility, balance, coordination, and speed. Players are exposed to tennis games that allow them to have fun while developing essential skills, like proper stroke technique required to send and receive shots. Fun is emphasized to help students cultivate a lasting passion for the sport. All new students will receive a racquet on the first day of class.
RED 2
This level is for junior players with little to no tennis experience or who have completed RED 1. The curriculum is focused on helping students further develop the ABCs of tennis — agility, balance, coordination, and speed. Students will learn how to initiate a rally, how to judge the projection of a ball’s location and move in response to it (reception and centering), how to control the racquet at the point of contact, and additional skills that will provide a strong foundation for their future tennis development.
RED
This level is for junior players just starting to play tennis. Activities focus on further developing the ABCs of tennis — agility, balance, coordination, and speed — while cultivating the on-court skills required to serve, rally, and score. Before advancing to ORANGE 1, players must demonstrate a solid understanding and consistent execution of basic techniques.
ORANGE
This level is for junior players who have minimal experience playing tennis. The focus at this level will be on developing on-court athletic skills while learning and refining the techniques necessary to serve, rally, and score. Before advancing to GREEN 1, players must demonstrate a solid understanding of basic technique and consistently execute it during rallies with peers.
GREEN
This level is for junior players who have limited tennis experience. This class is taught using a green dot ball and focuses on developing sending/receiving skills, sound footwork, and racquet mechanics while incorporating comparable athletic skills developed in other sports. Players will learn how to properly position themselves to execute groundstrokes and volleys, hit with purpose, serve and sustain a rally with varying speed and duration. Before advancing to YELLOW 1, players must demonstrate a solid understanding of basic technique and consistently execute it during rallies with peers.
ORANGE 1
This level is for junior players who have completed
RED 2 or RED. Students are introduced to various spins and grips on both forehand and backhand strokes, and when to use each. The curriculum focuses on developing the ability to place the ball in open spaces intentionally. Before advancing to the next level, students must demonstrate their ability to be consistent with ball placement and conduct medium length rallies to six to eight shots. This level is typically the longest when compared to other development stages.
GREEN 1
This level is for junior players who have completed ORANGE 1 or ORANGE and seek to develop further consistency in shot execution and proper technique for recreational tennis. Each player will learn to identify their strengths and how best to apply them in a game setting.
YELLOW 1
This level is for junior players who have completed GREEN 1 or GREEN. Players are exposed to a full range of drills focused on technical and tactical skill development, including movement, recovery, and decision making.
HIGH SCHOOL REC
This level is for junior players who are interested in expanding their technical and tactical skills for recreational tennis. Emphasis will be on developing strategies for offensive and defensive play, and ball control consistency, direction, depth, and spin. A variety of adaptive skills will be introduced using dead ball drills, live ball drills, and match play situations.
ORANGE 2
This level is for junior players who have completed ORANGE 1. Tryouts are required to advance to this level. Players will be introduced to the 60” court and taught control, spin, and positioning strategies to consistently sustain a rally and cooperate with a partner. Emphasis will be on developing and maintaining proper technique during points and serves — both of which are required to advance to the next level. The last 20-30 minutes will include singles and doubles games to help students develop skills and teach scoring. Players should practice on-court skills twice per week.
GREEN 2
This level is for junior players who have completed ORANGE 2 or GREEN 1. Tryouts are required to advance to this level. Players will work on executing patterns of play, varying the spin and pitch of their shots, demonstrating the correct footwork pattern to strike the ball, and capitalizing on their strengths against an opponent’s weaknesses. Players learn and experiment with various play styles, including serving and volleying, and defensive and neutral tennis. While in this level, we recommend that players practice court skills twice a week and participate in one or more USTA tournaments.
YELLOW 2
This level is for players who have completed GREEN 2 or YELLOW 1. Tryouts are required. At this stage of the pathway, players have chosen tennis as their primary sport and are regularly participating in USTA tournaments. The curriculum focuses on enhancing strengths by developing strategies that align with skills.
HIGH SCHOOL
This level is for juniors who are playing on a high school team. The objective will be to improve competitive match-play performance, emphasizing footwork and positioning, match play tactics, mechanics, mental toughness, and sportsmanship.
Adult Group Lessons
Women’s
- Day and evening classes
- Beginner to Advanced III players
Men’s
- Day and evening classes
- Intermediate I to Advanced III players
Co-Ed
- Indoor and outdoor cardio tennis: Intermediate I to Advanced III players
- Drop-in tennis: All levels; contact Paul Moran to reserve a spot
We encourage all new participants to make an appointment with a pro to ensure appropriate placement. Please contact Alexander Shubny at (847) 501-6135 before registration. Participants may also determine their skill level through the descriptions below.
Beginner (1.0 – 1.5)
Has limited or no experience and is still working on getting the ball in play.
Advanced Beginner (1.5 – 2.0)
Needs on-court experience. Beginning to develop their form and can get the ball in play at a slow pace, but exhibit an inconsistent toss.
Intermediate I (2.0 – 2.5)
Learning to judge where the ball is going but court coverage is weak. Can sustain a short rally at a slow pace with other players of the same ability.
Intermediate II (2.5 – 3.0)
Fairly consistent when hitting medium-paced shots. Can successfully place shots most of the time and sustain a rally, but is not comfortable with all strokes and lacks execution when trying for directional control, depth or power.
Advanced I (3.0 – 3.5)
Has achieved improved stroke dependability with directional control on moderate shots, but still lacks depth and variety. Players are starting to develop a spin.
Advanced II (3.5 – 4.0)
Has dependable strokes, including directional control and depth on both forehand and backhand shots. Uses various shots, can place the first serve and force some errors, and demonstrates good positioning. May be starting to master the use of power and spins but tends to misjudge ability on difficult shots.
Advanced III (4.0 – 4.5)
Starting to master the use of power and spins. Can control depth, anticipate shots, and handle a mixed sequence of volleys. Frequently has outstanding shots and sound footwork. Tryouts required.