'FREE TO AIR'

Don't you just hate pay TV ? NAB Cup Footy is on at the moment and unless we have Foxtel we can't watch it , most disappointing, great Tennis on too but will have to see it on You Tube at a later date. Tennis used to be 'free to air' until certain Organisations took it over and claimed it as their own and now everyone pays for it . Certain 'authorities' that i won't name just in case someone else threatens me with a law suit for speaking common sense may just take offence so i will refrain, have claimed the game of tennis as their own , not sure how it all happened. If you pay a Membership to a Tennis Club then the money doesn't all go to the Club , a generous portion goes to a 'higher being' , this fee for simply being just that 'a higher being'. These Clubs have probably been made from dirt into fantastic facilities from local fundraising perhaps plus Govmt grants , even sometimes generous local Businessmen , the case at one local club i know for a fact. So why is it that the fees go elsewhere ? It's because the game has been taken over by greed and egos plus people who have found a way to make the sport what it is today , quite simply a Business.
I have said on many occasions that i believe the game is a 'Rich Person's Sport' ; Why does the cost of learning have to be so high ? Some will use the excuse of Litigation to justify their $60- $80 hourly fees , others will simply be sheep and follow the leader ' he charges it , so that's good enough for me'. 
My Parents would never have been able to afford for me to play full time tennis in Queensland back in 1985 as i did if the game had been what it is today , back then it was affordable , more players were taking the court and players were still interested after the age of 16 , very few now pursue it after this age. 
Look at the way local clubs now do things , most have big glossy signs on the fence with a sponsor's name or 'higher being' information , or both , plus a 'Coach's name with a list of times but usually not costs . They want you to call them  regarding lessons and then they will sell you their product like a car salesman does , complete with a 'guarantee' that they will have you playing like a Champion in no time , most are gullible enough to go for the sales pitch. $80 - yep this guy must be 'The Man' . Don't get me wrong there are actually real Tennis Coaches out there who can deliver a product that if you really want to get better then they will be worth the fee , I would say less than half can justify their existence.
Do I think i am worth $80 an hour with a Level 2 accreditation and 26 years of Experience ? Ha ! that's laughable , i can teach the game well and i can pick up what someone is doing wrong in 2 or 3 shots and can correct it within the session, yet I don't believe that a high hourly rate will justify it. The problem is with tennis that it takes a long time to get it right as a student and great players aren't made in an instant so why not make the process affordable ? Wouldn't this prolong careers and make improvement a certainty? 
Come on Glenn that makes way too much sense buddy.....
The game is not what it used to be but I am doing my bit to make it not only affordable but to give the public a realistic outlook on things . My honesty with certain players' ability may not be what some people want to hear but i will tell it how it really is , if it costs me then i can live with it .
No one 'owns' the game of tennis . When you hit a ball perfectly it probably feels like when a surfer rides the perfect wave , no better feeling . No matter at what Tennis Club you do it at or which 'Coach' you do it with it shouldn't cost people a small fortune for the 'privilege' of  being there. I used to jump the fence at my local club to play 5 sets with a mate , twice or three times a week , that's how i got better, 'Free To Air' ............