COACH MCCLAIN
I cant say more about the man in the city that just knows how to break down every stroke, peace by peace, I'm the wife of Matthew, so I don't write a lot of reviews, he's taking lessons from someone else on yelp, that is very good, but I'm very competitive and I want to kick my husbands tale:) what I like most about Coach is this, he's very friendly easy to talk to, sometimes I may just want to take time out to talk about my life problem's and coach is always very attentive , its one thing to have a coach that you cant wait to play tennis with, but its another thing to have a coach that knows when your having a bad day, and just need a moment to vent, playing with my husband is wonderful, but he hits the ball a little to hard for me, I'm a beginner, what coach does, he hits the ball so easy, and he always tells me get the racket back, don't worry if it bounces once or twice, just get the racket back and move your feet to the ball.
Well that makes it so easy for me, because he hits it softly and it gives me time to work on my stroke, I hope to one day be able to hit it hard, but Coach Mcclain, tells me just work on your technique, and have fun and it will all come into play, yes I do pay more then my husband does for a private lessons $80.00 an hr, can seem like a lot of money, but I would rather pay more money and learn twice as much as someone that pays $40.00 an hr, coach Mcclain breaks down all the strokes, and when I hit balls over the fence which is not so much any more, he feeds me another ball , so that I don't think about it, he probably doesn't know I realize that , I think when your looking for a coach, one of the most important things to look for is a friendly patient coach, and someone that not yelling at you, like my coach did in PE class in highschool, that's why I never wanted to play again, the PE teacher just kept yelling at me, watch the ball, coach Mcclain is very gentle and kind, and I must add very professional, when we have a lesson schedule for 7am he's sitting on the courts at 6;45am he's never late, and as a working professional, I really appreciate that, thank you coach Mcclain
I look forward to my next lesson, if your looking for a coach that can help you improve your game, and has loads of patient, you will not be sorry, now I cant wait to kick my husband's tail
Cathy Taylor
- Johannes F.
- San Francisco, CA
- 0 friends
- 4 reviews
Coach McClain is the perfect guy if you're looking for someone fun, skilled and down-to-earth to help you get into tennis. My friend and I've been taking lessons with him for a few months and we've both noticed our technique improving and that playing tennis on our own is becoming a lot of fun.
Coach also has a fantastic sense of humor. We have the most random hilarious conversations on the court. Coach loves talking shit about how we're getting old and are the reason rents are going up (we're both 26 and work in tech); all of it is in good spirit and obviously makes playing way more entertaining!
We play doubles fairly frequently and get excited whenever we get a lead on him. He'll often let us get a few points ahead and then absolutely destroy us with some absurd shots. You know it's going to be a great day whenever we can return even one of those. Few things are more fun than winning a game against coach. Even losing games is a blast!
Coach is really an extraordinary guy and I hope to keep practicing with him for a while even after I'm fine playing solo!
- Lesley G.
- Knoxfield, Australia
- 92 friends
- 1 review
- 1 photo
I'm from Australia, came to San Francisco for a holiday and wanted some tennis coaching.
Really enjoyed my lesson with coach McClain, he gave specific instructions to help me improve.
Most of all I had a super fun time!
Thank you for fitting me in to your busy schedule, really appreciate it!
- Claudia O.
- San Francisco, CA
- 70 friends
- 111 reviews
- 23 photos
I took my first lesson with McClain the other day and it was fantastic. I had NO back hand when I walked onto the court and now I feel like I have the skills to build a great back hand. I can't wait to take more lessons. McClain is a super nice person and is clearly the best tennis instructor in SF. If you are serious about tennis, you need to call McClain.
- Graham G.
- San Francisco, CA
- 0 friends
- 5 reviews
I've been a student of Mcclain's for a few years and I highly recommend him! He has a great instinct for how to analyze your strengths and weaknesses and then explain how to improve your game in small, manageable steps. He's also very personable and always makes you feel comfortable and happy to be on the court. I look forward to every lesson and enjoy them thoroughly. Two thumbs up!
- Aristotle S.
- San Francisco, CA
- 23 friends
- 15 reviews
Okay, there are a lot of positive reviews about this guy, so I'll continue to take more lessons and try to find out some flaws. He focuses on technique which is key, because I have none and the results you'll see with the first lesson. My two handed backhand was none existent, well it went from a soap bubble return to an actual volley. He deserves some stars for that.
Green eyes? I thought this guy was a chump for wearing contacts trying to impress the ladies, but they are real deal he says. Plus, this old man has a forehand stoke that's impossible to hit. By impossible I mean give me a few months. Till then wait for my next review. Cheers.
- Alexandru C.
- Mountain View, CA
- 103 friends
- 5 reviews
I started taking lessons with Coach McClain to improve my technique and he's been doing a wonderful job with that. He's patient, observant and jumps in at the right moment to correct a mistake in my game. He's also repetitive if he notices the same mistake, which is really great because if I make a mistake when I'm not training with him I can already hear his words in my head. I think that's a great coaching technique!
All in all, I just wanted to give him a thumbs up and recommend him to everyone out there looking to pick up where they left off, or just picking up this beautiful sport altogether. He'll be a great coach and he'll help you coach yourself!
The last time I played tennis was back in high school during a summer more than 10 years ago. The coach thought I could never play because my hand-eye coordination was amongst the bottom of the pack. To my delighted surprise and excitement, McClain instilled confidence in me again and I've been able to not only hit the ball but have a fun time!! Taking lessons from McClain is definitely one of my best investments I've made, and I wish I had found McClain earlier. Having the right person to patiently show you and give you the pointers really made a difference. McClain is very observant and it wasn't before long that he noted my eyes weren't following the tennis ball.
