Newsletter - United States Professional Tennis Association

SPORTS SCIENCE FORUM
Applications of “Surveys” for the Tennis Teaching Professional
Dr. Robert Heller, USPTA Boca Raton, Fla.
Simple surveys can be used in a
number of ways for you and your facility
to maintain a “winning edge” with your
students and members. One type of
survey is a “customer satisfaction”
or evaluation survey. This survey can
be given or mailed following a lesson,
clinic or club event. It is a great way to
get feedback which can then be used as testimonials
to interest both new and existing members/students
and to use to promote future events. If the surveys are
completed anonymously you are more likely to also
pick up on criticism that you can use to improve future
lessons or events.
There are two main ways to structure the survey. In
the first instance you present a series of open ended
questions:
What did you think of the clinic today?
Are there any suggestions you can offer to improve upon
the clinic?
In the second instance, you provide a list of categories
that the responder evaluates according to a scale of
some kind. For example: On a scale of 1-5 please rate
your LEVEL OF SATISFACTION with 1 indicating LEAST
satisfied and 5, MOST satisfied.
The level of instruction was suited to my ability level.
The amount of material covered was adequate.
The instructor communicated information effectively.
A second kind of survey is the “interest type.” Here
you are looking to identify interests and needs of your
members to aid in planning future events and programs.
Again, you can use either the open ended format, “What
types of events would you like the club to offer in the
coming season that we currently don’t offer?” , or the
“select and rate” method: “On a 1-5 scale how much
interest would you have in attending a mental skills for
tennis clinic?, Cardio tennis program, etc.”
I have personally found that using survey’s of individual
clients I have worked with and also following clinics and
presentations has given me valuable information I would
not otherwise have received and helped me to continue
to grow and improve as a professional.
Dr. Robert Heller, is a psychologist, sports psychology
consultant and USPTA tennis professional based in Boca
Raton, Florida where he teaches peak performance strategies
to individuals and groups. He can be reached at www.
mentalskillstennis.com e-mail info@robertheller.net and by
phone, 561-451-2731.
23