One Week at IMG Academy: Getting a Taste of Student Athlete’s Life
I learned that IMG Academy is a world-class boarding school for student athletes in grades 6-12, where adult lessons in golf and tennis are also offered, lasting from one day to five days. I was instantly amazed by the opportunity to immerse (and hide) among high schoolers and get a taste of the life of a student athlete.
Jessica and I chose the longest option, the five-day camp! Every day we have 4 hours of group lessons (10a-12p, 2-4p), and we added an extra package of four 1:1/private sessions with a coach (“breakthrough lessons”).
We stayed at the Legacy Hotel at the Academy (we shared a room so the fees came down a lot). The adult program offers a shuttle service that takes us to the courts. It’d be a 30+ min walk without the shuttle, so we needed this cool golf cart ride 🍃! Breakfast at the hotel is also delightful -- the food variety is good!
During the group sessions, there are always 2-4 coaches who help break the group into smaller sizes to work on different games, and we rotate after 15-20 minutes. Every day the group size changes a bit — we had as few as 8 total and as many as 19! For a few 5-day camp participants like Jessica and me, there has been a lot of repetition, but that’s needed! Jessica was saying the other day that the exercises had intrigued her into playing doubles. I'd say the same for me too. I always avoided doubles cuz all I learned to enjoy was rallying…on the baseline. But tennis should be so much more than that. In the doubles drills, there’s so much emphasis on collaboration through communication and footwork.
Jessica and I reflected on what we might tell a friend if they are interested in coming to the camp. We hope you’ve already had a good amount of hours with tennis before you join (we always recommend having private/small group lessons for absolute beginners based on our own experience). Then, get familiar with tennis terminologies. I got all confused when the coach was talking about things like “lob” and “drop shot.” For someone who watches very little tennis and grew up rallying near the baseline, to me, these terms were describing almost negative shots and only honorable when one sees them as accidental. At the camp though, I have to practice lobs and drop shots intentionally.
Another part of preparation could be just general exercise. The lessons are certainly not as intense as a HIIT session (I can’t do that, Pamala), but it could be a lot in the sun. Wearing lightweight long sleeves and sun-blocking shirts will help. No visors but caps — our scalps got sunburnt after day two.
All the training was done on green clay, and on the last day, the red clay ❣️. For most of us, it was our first experience with clay courts. It’s preferred because the clay surface is supposed to be less harsh on the knees. However, it acts less predictable than hard court, which gives me a hard time. One of our classmates had not played outdoors once, so the sun and wind(!!) were also adding a lot of uncertainties to their game.
Overall, it’s a humbling experience. I will hopefully continue to play, reflect, and up my game. Let me know if you have any questions.
