The Rafa Nadal Academy: The truth about the Rafa Nadal Experience - Is it worth it?
As a Tennis Director in Spain, it’s always smart to keep your ears open to what’s happening in the world of tennis training. Good coaches need to freshen & update their own skills & programs regularly. With such great coaches in Spain, I’d be a fool not to learn from them myself. Coaches talk. Whispers between coaches about the Rafa Nadal Academy seemed positive. I started doing my adult programs at the Nadal Academy and the facility IS exceptional. So is the price tag. So what’s really under the surface? Is the Rafa Nadal Academy worth the price?
The Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca, Spain directed by Toni Nadal teaches young tennis players the importance of seeing each training session as a competition. How hard work each day is the pathway to achieve a players personal goals on and off court. The academy offers weekly camps and annual programs.
Rafa Nadal Promo Code 2024: Indietenis
I hung out with former Rafa Nadal Academy Coach, Francesco Mendo who spent a year at the academy, ranked on the ATP, a lead coach on Indie Tenis adult programs and explore the inner reality of the Rafa Nadal Academy.
Francesco Mendo
Rafa Nadal Academy Cost. Is it worth it?
Francesco: The price is around $60,000 / year. For an individual week it’s a little over $2,000. Understandably the price looks very high for the majority of people to be there either annually or weekly but I believe that it really is worth it.
Why?
Because it’s not only for tennis but to give the kids an experience and education that is 360 degrees. So if you were to pay the annual price you have school included and the classes are not more than 10 - 15 people in a class. You have daily tennis lessons with professionals from around the world. Professionals with outstanding leadership and backgrounds from the head coaches at the academy.
Take into account that you’re also paying for fitness training + all meals. You're boarding at the academy. And someone is constantly chaperoning the player during the course of a year.
Your kids will have free time of course. But they’re monitored constantly for safety, protocols, training, and education. The academy makes life easier for players to focus on their tennis.
The Rafa Nadal Academy set out to offer an experience. For people who can afford the annual cost the kids are meeting people from all around the world. They’re learning to speak English. And after the Rafa Nadal Academy training, the players can go onto college in the USA.
The value that Toni Nadal gave to Rafa in terms of hard work, humility and dedication can be felt throughout the academy. To be a respectful person, to respect others and the facilities.
So what the academy is offering to their players at full throttle is an overall enjoyment playing and learning the game on a deeper level with other players having the same experience.
So for this package cost I think the price is in alignment with the overall value offered.
Having 1st hand experience with the academy - I stand behind recommending the academy to a player serious about their larger goals around tennis.
Now, of course, people can say they like another academy more or the training at another academy is better. They can say the meals or the fitness is better of course. But to find a place that can give this experience to players at the same time? The Rafa Nadal Academy is unique.
Plus Mallorca! It's a paradise for the environment, the weather, the weekend trips & activities around the island together. So socialization is on point for such an independent sport.
Also to have all this experience packed within 1 week of tennis training + boarding + pool of players at a competitive level and weekend activities for summer tennis camps? Yes, of course, I see the value.
Tennis academies: What’s the court ratio?
Francesco: Of course we have no more than 4 players at a time on court. For annual players of course there are no more than 4 players but normally there are only 2. And a maximum 3 because keep in mind some players are traveling for tournaments. Other players can be injured or have other things to do towards their studies. And sometimes they play individually.
So the quality of attention that the coach can give to the players is super super high.
How do Holiday & Summer camps work?
Francesco: For the summer tennis camps or Easter holiday camps, it depends on the week. But even with a high volume travel week, there are NEVER more than 4 players and we work in rows.
(iclude: INDIETENIS on your reservation form to receive a discount.)
So we’ll take 3 or 4 courts in a row for 2 hours and we'll do coordinates.
What is that?
Well, one court will work technique, 1 works strategy, another one point play. But always alongside a coach and never with more than 4 players to a court.
It has happened sometimes that we were doing a lesson for 2 people at the same price. And sometimes when there are many people, courts are always capped at 4 people.
So this is super quality attention within a big academy. And you & I both know Rhonda, this is rare!
Is the Nadal Academy well organized? Who’s leads performance schedules and training?
Francesco: The lead coaches are Toni Nadal of course, who’s a permanent fixture at the academy. Other exceptional coaches there are; Marc Gorriz, Gabriel Urpi, Tomeu Salva, Joan Bosh and of course, Carlos Moya.
It’s not easy to organize all the coaches and to make sure everything runs smoothly with an academy so large. The good thing is the attitude of the coaches. If something does go wrong the coaches work cohesively to remain calm, ease any situations and alleviate stress. So that they can quickly turn it around and get back to business, smoothly.
Normally the head coaches are Gabriel, Joan and Marc Gorriz. Everyday we meet with our individual team and once a week all coaches meet with them & Toni Nadal and our head coach.
Once a month at the least, we'll meet with everyone to know how other groups are working and what’s not. And also give and get feedback as we move forwards, developing players.
This was a huge help. Because as you know, the head coaches are very famous for having such professional experiences. So younger coaches eat this experience up and really learn from it.
To be on court, to travel with the players, the younger coaches are spending so much time with the players, but always with the supervision of the head coaches I mentioned.
Of course, coaches do make their own decisions. But the confirmation always comes from the lead coaches. It’s well supervised.
Also there’s a program where everyday all the coaches have to present a schedule to sign and comment on each player's performance and goal achievement.
So at the end of the month we’d have real statistics on each player's real improvement. Or what we’d have to do and change for that player to get them there in the coming weeks.
Believe me, coaches appreciate how well organized the academy is. They take real pride in learning from the lead coach team.
Is there a periodization plan for annual players with a goal to play college or professional tennis?
Francesco: Very important question! And I like very much the way they handle this plan at the academy. At the same time there’s a lot of players and it’s challenging to give each player everything he needs.
For example, the main method we use is the method of Toni Nadal. That’s the path followed by the academy. At the same time, Toni’s aware that everyone is unique. Each player has different needs and talents and goals!
“A tree that is unbending is easily broken”
The goal is to know as best as possible each player. So we can give them what they need. Sometimes we break some rules. Some people prefer to play more matches. Some prefer more baskets - more work.
We make the plan per player so that they each have the best training & experience!
There’s also the goals.
Not every player has the same situations and goals. Some players are there because they want to be very good players. So their plan will be different from a player who's there just to have a tennis experience, knowing one day they would like to go to college. Of course their path will look different.
If there’s one thing they could improve is the number of hours on court. In my opinion, they´re training a little bit too much.
They’re training in a 2.45-minute session every day in the morning from Monday to Saturday. And we’ve discussed that this is a little bit too much for the kids if they’re like 14 yrs old.
Also for the older ones I feel that after a while the body starts to become tired and this can cause injury.
So this is where I don’t agree 100% with the method of the amount of hours on court.
But of course, for people who attend for only 1 week, it’s super nice. Because they can do a full training with so many hours on court + fitness and everything.
For annual players, the ones traveling for tournaments + the high on-court training schedule and those stresses - I think it’s a little bit too much.
Now the academy is giving annual players the opportunity to rest when they request it.
What certifications do the coaches need?
Francesco: Coaches send their CVs and coach-player videos. So the academy can see what kind of level we have as a player and as a coach.
Then, we all start with the Summer tennis camps.
For 3 months (9 weeks) they track coaches to see how we work, our feeding, commentary and responsibility factors.
After these 3 months, some of us are asked to stay on and collaborate with the Rafa Nadal Academy during the winter and year-round. In essence, we’re on probation for 3 months while they rate coaches performances before bringing coaches on full-time at the academy.
If I’m honest, this is stressful but also weeds out poor coaches.
Oftentimes you can have a great CV, or have some experience as a coach. But maybe they don't fit as a person for what Rafa Nadal is looking for because they put so much attention on the quality of the person. More than the quality of the coach, which is important, but you can always learn new coaching things.
It’s important at the Rafa Nadal Academy for them to have people they can trust. For these people who call themselves coaches are serious. That they have a good work ethic and are people who know how to work in a team.
How are players grouped at the RNA academy?
Francesco: For annual players they do groups by age of course because they go to school, they’re in the same class.
For every age 12 & 14, 16 &18 they have two different groups.
For example, 18 & under has the groupings - HIGH COMPETITION and NATIONAL COMPETITION.
High competition means people are there to improve as a competition player while they’re studying.
The national competition players are there to study, to have an experience and to play tennis at the same time. But may not have the highest rankings. And may not travel to play the top tournaments.
But each age category breaks down into these two subset categories.
For players coming for 1 one week or for a summer tennis camp, it’s all about the level. Doesn’t matter the age. They’re going to put you in the same group as your level. Doesn’t matter if they’re girls or boys, the main thing is the level in tennis.
During the weekly program and during the summer - on Sunday, we use to do like 2 rounds of 1.5 hrs where we evaluate the groups.
So that by Monday groupings would be made by level. So Monday we’re off and running prepared as an academy for training.
The goal is always to give the best experience and to give players a group to feel motivated to play with.
Is Rafa Nadal Academy a good place for all levels?
Francesco: For young players who go to the academy for 1 week and they’re fans of Rafa Nadal, it’s a dream come true. They have the chance to see Rafa because of course this is where he trains when he’s home. They train in a sport they love and be on the campus, it’s amazing.
They have the chance to meet many people from all around the world that have the same passion in tennis, I think that it’s super cool.
Normally, the focus isn’t only on improving their tennis but to have an experience. To have a one week vacation in the Disneyland of tennis.
This is the Rafa Nadal Experience.
They can enjoy tennis, sports at 360 degrees and I think it’s an incredible memory. If parents have the opportunity to send their kids there it’s a win for the parent and player.
What do players do off-court at Rafa Nadal Academy?
Francesco: Well, for annual players they don’t have a ton of freedom because they are under 18. Meaning they’re under the responsibility of the academy. So during the week in the evening players could go take an ice cream in the town of Manacor.
On the weekends they either play tournaments or stay in the academy with their friends relaxing because they’re training a lot during the week.
For the summer tennis camps from Monday - Friday they train.
On the weekends they go play soccer, padel, surf or hang out at the beach with a chaperone enjoying the island.
For adults, it’s a bit tougher. The academy doesn’t have this kind of service.
Adult clients who come to the academy without a car can be tricky.
There’s no public transportation. Manacor isn’t in the best spot like Palma or Port de Soller for entertainment on foot.
But without a car, it’s impossible to enjoy the island.
How does the academy encourage socialization in such an isolated sport as tennis?
Francesco: The con of playing tennis is likely that it's an individual sport when you're living and bonding with your competitors.
“The Rafa Nadal Academy is unique in that they focus on the real opponent - which is yourself.”
The Rafa Nadal Academy is unique in that they focus on the real opponent - which is yourself.
It’s very important to have your independent goal clear.
A player's unique individual goal needs to be very clear. All players should have this. Then work for that goal.
Your opponent on the other end can be a friend who helps you to train and increase your abilities. From a value perspective, this is very important.
Have YOUR goal clear. Know that you’re trying to push yourself to reach your ultimate potential independent of the player on the other end.
So that you see your opponent as someone who is helping you - challenging you to check yourself. Are you getting close to that goal? Further away from your goal?
Socialization at the RNA strives to make sure players don’t look at other players as enemies. But as resources to understand where they’re at with their own path.
Who sets the player's tournament - travel schedules?
Francesco: The head coach is in charge. He makes the decision with all the coaches about which tournaments and how many tournaments.
How many tournaments depends on the level and of the goal of the players.
Every time the player travels they have a coach with them. That coach is in charge of no more than 5 traveling players per tournament.
As a coach for Rafa Nadal Academy, what did you take from the coaching experience?
Francesco: I think the answer is clear communication.
It’s not easy with such a big team and all the different sectors like; tennis, marketing, fitness, physio prevention, and cultures. Because everyone comes with a different language, culture - everything.
A communication goal means you have to meet a lot with lead coaches to make lead coaches aware as soon as there’s a problem.
To share the problem so a proper decision can be made.
To face the problem with a positive attitude and not complain but to help each other to get better.
Rafa Nadal Academy: Not all tennis academies are created equal. Some do more damage than good.
Francesco: Great question! The perfect academy, the perfect club, coach, or team doesn’t exist.
The player must know what he or she is looking for and what he needs.
And if the player doesn’t know what he’s looking for, he should try something.
Have an experience. Try. Make mistakes. Find out what he/she likes and doesn’t like. Try again to find another place, coach, team or whatever is going to help them get better.
You know, I had many coaches. I went to different academies. I used different tennis methods to train myself. Then with my own experience, I was able to figure out what was working for me and what wasn’t.
When I went to The Rafa Nadal Academy academy to work for example as a coach, they’d ask me if I liked to train here in the academy. I said yes.
Why?
Because I knew what I was looking for. I knew that an academy like Rafa Nadal could help me with my work aspects.
At the same time, I knew the RNA wasn’t perfect. But for me, those kinds of problems weren’t so big. I knew I could handle problems because I knew myself.
So for any parent or player, I’d say to TRY.
See what you like and what you don’t. Because there are players that like a more authoritarian coach. And players who like a softer coach.
We’re all different.
So when a player isn’t happy it’s not always the mistake of the academy or tennis coach. Sometimes it’s not a fit that can work.
Of course, if you want the most attention, you should go to a small club. A place where you know everybody and they can accommodate you.
What’s happened in the RNA is that we have many players coming every week. We try to give them the best coaches & everything, but sometimes it happens that we don’t get that good fit between coach and player.
What I do know is that as a new academy, the RNA always strives to improve its methods. And that in & of itself is a very good thing. Because as you know, most big academies look for numbers - not value.
Many parents feel a player needs to be on court 6 hrs. a day to make a good tennis program. In spain, I find programs on court are shorter but more intense and structured.
Francesco: The most important thing any parent or player should keep in mind is that they are finding their own style.
There are players that need to train like 8 hrs. on court, hitting balls and basket drills, etc.
And there are players that can make the most of 1.5 hrs. on-court training and can have the same result.
Maybe they have to work on different areas, ya know. Maybe less on court and more on the fitness part or more on the mental. Or maybe play more tournaments. Because they’re very motivated when they play more tournaments.
Let’s say that when players start I would recommend in general, 2 hrs. tennis + 1 hr. fitness working on power and fitness conditioning in the morning. And the afternoon 2 hrs. of matches and 1 hr. of prevention.
This would be the program I’d start with to know the players. And then for each player depending on their goal - if they want to be very good - I would start to make some changes.
Maybe that player who wants to be very good needs to train 2.5 hrs each day in the morning +1.5 in the afternoon. Maybe 3 hrs. Only tennis.
It depends because really what I’ve discovered and what the RNA is highly aware of is that we are all unique and different.
So we need to start with a general path. Then we drill down more specifically to help him/her to bring forth their best potential.
Because some things can work for one player but not for another one!
Rafa Nadal Academy Promo Code 2024
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