Set of the campus of a 160-year-old college in central Massachusetts, Amherst is one of the oldest and best run of the nation's summer tennis camps. The formula is simple: rather than pay big bucks for posh accommodations and food, campers hole up in dormitories and eat in the dining hall, which means the largest part of their fees go to the tennis itself. At Amherst that means roughly five hours a day of well-oiled group instruction plus one or more private lessons and the option of as much additional play as you can handle.

You may not be able to handle much. While not a boot camp, this is one of the more demanding programs, partly because of the sheer number of hours spent on court, partly because of the intensity of some of the drills. At the same time it is one of the most social. In a typical week, the camp may have 25 campers on a weekend, even more during midweek. There are also three "Singles Weeks" each summer, which get even more participants. Big tables in the dining hall foster easy camaraderie, tennis shorts or skirts and T-shirts are the uniform of the day, and there's some sort of tennis activity—typically a round robin—scheduled every night plus a weekend "Dorm party" and informal gathering at a local pub in town.

On my last visit, campers ranged in age from late 20s to more than 60. Many had come alone or with friends, though so had numerous couples.

Tennis Features

Pro Shop: 413-542-3700

Tennis Staff. Reiny Maier has run this camp for 27 years. He played No. 1 for a Wisconsin State University at Whitewater and was a teaching pro at Nick Bollettieri's original junior camp in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. He later worked with Harry Hopman, who was one of the co-founders of the original Amherst Camp program. He heads a staff of roughly a dozen pros, a few of whom have been a part of the Amherst program for more than 10 years. Most are or have been college players; a least a few, like Maier, teach school during the rest of the year.
Maier chooses pros based on their ability to communicate and on their people skills, and then works with them to ensure that everyone teaches the same methodology. So you are not going to get the pro on one court telling you something significantly different when your group changes instructors. Maier variously roams from court to court, supplementing his pro's expertise with his own, or takes charge of teaching one of the courts so that several groups get to hear his take on what they need to do to improve. He has a well-honed ability to quickly find and assess technical problems in strokes.
Tennis Programs. This is essentially an all-day program, with solid group instruction running from 9:10 a.m. (after a brief stretch) to 11:45 a.m. and then again from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Student:pro ratios never exceed 4:1, and campers change instructors every 25-40 minutes. Everyone also gets one or more ½-hour private lessons (the number depends on how many days you've booked) and a written evaluation by the pro covering all the strokes, not just those you work on in privates. Videotaping, which used to be a big part of the program, is no longer done on weekends but remains a part of the midweek program. After camp ends (and before it begins), the courts are available for pick up tennis, and a few driven individuals always seem to show up early or stay late to play or hit as if they weren't getting enough opportunity in the clinic. After dinner every evening there is some sort of gathering, whether a cocktail party, lecture, or round robin. Campers themselves have been known to organize their own pub crawl.
Courts & Fees. The college has two banks of courts arrayed above and below the soccer fields in the northeast corner of the campus. Juniors typically utilize the upper complex of 8 courts, leaving adults the 6 clay and 14 hard courts below. Adults drill on the clay courts if groups are small enough, and on both the clay and the hard courts when enrollment exceeds 24 (or when dampness makes the clay unusable). There are also three indoor Supreme courts (a type of rubberized carpet) at Amherst, hardly enough since there is a simultaneous junior program; however, the Nike camps also have access to those at Smith, Holyoke, and Hotchkiss, giving them 11 indoor altogether. Court fees: None.

Your Call

Here's what others have had to say about NIKE Amherst Adult Tennis Camp.

• ""—D.H., Adv. Int., July 2008

• "I continue to recommend this camp to others, and have friends going this year. I've been twice. Much tennis, much fun. I'd go every year if I could. On the tennis side, you receive pointers from a number of experienced instructors as they rotate through your court of four similarly-leveled campers.
  Drills are competitive and fun. Instructors and staff have a sense of humor, recognizing we're there for fun while improving our games. On both my visits the private lessons I had were with college age players who could have used a little more seasoning as instructors; but nevertheless they gave me some valuable pointers that continue to help my game. On my second visit it rained for two of the four days, moving us indoors to local colleges. This worked fine.
  On the social side, "downtown" Amherst, a small college town, is a short walk away with good restaurants and shops. Accommodations at Amherst College dorm are fine and the whole experience is a good value dollar-wise. At least half of the campers are repeaters each time I've gone."—R.N., Adv. Int., April 2008

• "I've been to the Amherst camp for six of the last seven years. It's been the highlight of every summer. And every stay is different, characterized by the people I meet and by how my tennis is improving. In fact, I use Amherst as a kind of measure. I've been to other camps (Saddlebrook, for example), and I must say that Amherst is the most grueling. For one thing, it's not a resort. You won't have a spa to retreat to at the end of the day or, for that matter, a soft bed in an air conditioned room. Although you will have a lovely New England college town within easy walking distance.
  But the focus will always be the tennis. And with 5+ hours each day (+ being the evening round robin doubles), you'll be with people of like mind, who think that playing so much tennis makes for an ideal vacation. What Amherst lacks in the teaching of modern technique or with video analysis, it makes up for in its efficiency. It is extremely well-run and its coaches are well-trained. The 1/2-hour morning private lesson is among the most intense private lessons I've ever had. So there is a good balance between learning and playing.
  There are negatives. The dorm facilities are dorm facilities and the dining hall food exactly that. There are also quite a few junior camps going on simultaneously. This can make mealtime inadvertently competitive. And Amherst isn't the good value that it was years ago. But Amherst is like spending a holiday with family. It's pleasantly familiar, yet surprising. On top of that you get to play tennis 'til you drop. And you will."—K.H., Adv., April 2008

• "I love the Amherst Tennis Camp. It is not glamorous and is all about tennis, but I like that. The instruction is great, though I think this is the director's last year so I am not sure how things will change."—A.P., Adv. Int., April 2008

• ""—J.P., Adv. Int., March 2008

Other Recreation

Fitness Center. The college's pyramid-shaped athletic center is open to students who haven't had enough work on court. It houses an indoor lap pool, squash courts, running track (which circles the three indoor courts), and an extremely well equipped two-floor fitness center with windowed rooms variously devoted to free weights, cardiovascular equipment, and weight-training machines.

And ... There are nature and bike trails near the campus and a local golf course.

Children's Programs

There are no children's programs; however, there is a concurrent junior tennis program.

Lodging

Added put in new dorms for the summer of 2005, and Maier is thrilled about these new accommodations: "The main lounge is air-conditioned, has fireplace, pool and ping pong tables, and a large room for social events," he says. "Not only will we be able to hold orientation there, but you will now be able to just walk out the back door and in less than a minute be on the courts. It will house all our singles, and the rooms are big enough to accommodate couples. Ladies, real bathrooms will be a step a way and your pillow will be in reach after five exhausting hours on the court." You still have the option of staying instead in a local inn and enrolling as a day camper, but then you don't get breakfast or dinner, both of which are social occasions.

Restaurants

Rather than having a restaurant, Amherst feeds campers cafeteria style in its dining hall. The food there is better and more varied than you may expect. Choices change nightly but can include turkey stuffed with rice, beef teriyaki, or fettuccini with chicken primavera sauce. There are pastas and vegetarian choices every night, as well as a salad bar, cooked vegetables, fresh fruit, ice cream, and other desserts. Drink choices range from juices and sodas to coffee and tea. No alcoholic beverages are served, so forget lingering over dinner with a glass of wine. During my last visit, campers rated the food "quite good," for the most part, only complaining of occasional inconsistencies—one night the choices were hamburgers or deep-fried veggie cutlets—and of the unusually early dinner hour, which is usually scheduled 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

See Also

The most obvious comparison is with the other college-campus programs:

• Swarthmore Tennis Camps, Pennsylvania
• Sweet Briar College/Van der Meer Tennis, Virginia

Otherwise, look at some of the other intensive camps, all of which have better accommodations, particularly for couples:

• John Newcombe Tennis Ranch, Texas
• New England Tennis Holidays, New Hampshire
• Total Tennis, New York

And finally, compare it to the classic boot camps:

• Bollettieri Tennis Academy, Florida
• Saddlebrook Tennis (Hopman) at Saddlebrook Resort, Florida

Travel Essentials

Seasons. Amherst operates only during the summer months from early June to mid August.

Rates.

NIKE Sports Camps
750 Lindaro Street, Suite 220
San Rafael, CA 94901
Phone: 800-645-3226 or 415-479-6060.

Say "I was referred by Tennis Resorts Online" when you book.

Reservations:

NIKE Amherst Adult Tennis Camp
C/o US Sports/NIKE Tennis Camps
4470 Redwood Hwy.
San Rafael, CA 94903
415-479-6060
Toll-free: 800-645-3226
Fax: 415-479-6061
Web Link: NIKE Amherst Adult Tennis Camp

Travel Instructions. By Air: The nearest airport is Bradley International, between Hartford, CT and Springfield, MA, 50 miles to the south. If you're driving from the airport, take Interstate 91 North to exit 19, then Route 9 east to Amherst. By Car: Amherst is 90 miles west of Boston and 165 miles north of New York City. Alternatively, bus service is available to Amherst, and Amtrak has limited service directly into Amherst just minutes from campus. Given advance notice, someone from the staff may be able to pick you up at either the bus or train station.

Links: Home | Index | Search | Specials | Calendar | Juniors | Join Our Mailing List | Contact TRO | Site Map | Rate This Resort

Maps: Northwest | Southwest & Hawaii | Midwest & South | Northeast | Mid-Atlantic | Southeast & Caribbean | Europe & North Africa

©Copyright 1999-2008 Roger Cox