Pros & Cons of Online Schooling

Do we need to use online schooling? Does my child have a chance to make it in tennis, if she doesn’t do online schooling? In all my work with junior tennis, this is probably the question I get most often from parents. I am thinking back, and I honestly can’t remember one parent presentation or workshop, where the question wasn’t asked. The answers are no, and yes. Having said that, it is a family decision and what works for one family, doesn’t always work for another family. So, how do you like the answer, “it depends?”

Before we dive into the topic, I need to give a disclaimer that I do not have an unbiased opinion. I was able to be #1 in the country, play ITFs, all the Junior Slams, play at Stanford, and compete on the WTA Tour for eleven years and stayed in school. My parents did a great job of being creative with my school, my school was accommodating, and they made it work. Education was primary in our house with my older sister at Stanford on a tennis scholarship as well.

There is a joke in our house that if we did home or online schooling, we don’t know who would have killed whom first?

I was certainly not an easy child…stubborn, independent, and did not enjoy anyone telling me what to do and when to do it. My mother suffered from the same affliction (imagine that), yet as a parent, it looked like someone who did not tolerate anything less than 100%, having to tell you what to do more than once, or you not doing it. Yes, we had very peaceful teenage years. Online school in this situation… who would kill whom, first?

Now that you know where I am coming from and after doing the research for this article, I have a much better understanding of why some families chose this route. I have spoken to over 25 families with children at various levels of national and international play, half a dozen college coaches, and over 20 high-performance junior tennis coaches. I certainly understand, and lived, the pressure tennis can put on the family and school and how online schooling is a solution to many of those challenges.

Pros & Cons of Online Schooling

Cons of Online Schooling

1. Level of Education

Depending on the local school your child would have been attending, many parents feel the online school is inferior to the traditional school education. That certainly isn’t the case for all families and all programs. One of the families did not like the local school, and now their children can do the Stanford high school program online. Here is a link to the best rated online high schools. Please do your due diligence in making sure the program is accredited and accepted by the top colleges. I know of several situations where the player had to give up a D1 scholarship because the school didn’t accept the diploma. The parents were all in agreement that one parent needs to take ownership to be committed to supporting the education and keeping an eye on the curriculum.

2. Cost

Online schooling is costly when you try and replicate the education from a traditional high-level school. Most tennis families use Laurel Springs. In this program, you pay per class, per lab, per AP, per everything, and very often have high costs in tutoring for the challenging classes. There is also the added cost of increased coaching and training in the mornings, when the child would otherwise be in school.

3. Challenging Family Dynamics

Online schooling can create challenges at home in many ways. The time and organizational management of the academics and the tennis is not to be taken lightly. One parent can be relegated to the role of micromanaging academic progress and assignments. If you are a stay at home parent, then the natural break in time between a parent and child during school hours is lost. If you are a working parent, there are now parenting and driving duties that fall into your workday. Many families appreciate the “academy” environment that handles the school schedule.

4. Social Imbalances

In traditional schooling, our children have interactions and friendships with children who have a wide variety of interests…sports, performing arts, or robotics, just to name a few. To take them out of school, it can create an imbalance or deficit in their social interactions, social growth, social IQ, and social confidence. Some of the kids can struggle with a lack of experience and tools to handle social environments away from the tennis courts.

5. Injuries

The more hours they spend on the court, the higher their risk of overuse injuries. The amount of stress fracture injuries we see in junior tennis is higher than ever. There is also a higher risk of imbalance injuries as they get older from too much tennis, a one-sided sport, during their growth years. (Click here for exercises to counteract the one-sided back injuries)

6. Cheating

I am going to call a spade a spade…the amount of cheating that occurs with online programs is appalling! And, it is often the parent and the coaches accommodating this behavior. I have seen first hand parents give the kids websites with answers, write their papers, hire people to take entire classes, and hand them an iPad during a test so they can look up answers on a separate device. Truth is stranger than fiction. Can’t make this stuff up!

7. Transitioning into College

It can be a big challenge for kids transitioning into college and into a traditional class setting. How long has it been since they sat in a class with other kids? Had to participate in a class discussion in person? Had to conform to a class schedule and not just do schoolwork when it fits into their tennis schedule? And had a live person to person interaction with their teachers? These are all very real stressors for the students in transition. Do not take them lightly!

Pros of Online Schooling

1. More time for practice and training.

Freeing up more time during the day is one of the most obvious and the main driver for a family’s choice to enroll in online schooling. Instead of only having the hours after school to get all the practice needed, you have the entire day, where courts are easier to find, coaches have more hours, and a wider variety of training is possible.

2. Less Missed School with Tournament Schedule

As the kids get older and work their way up in the rankings, they may choose to play ITF events. These tournaments wreak havoc on the school schedule as they are all one-week events. In December, you have Eddie Herr up next to Orange Bowl. And yes, right during high school exam periods. Try explaining that to an AP Euro teacher in high school! In online schooling you avoid all of these challenges.

3. Value Added Family Time

The second highest reason for online school from our families is the value added to your family time. Now that the kids can get tennis and training in during the day, the evenings can be spent as a family. Imagine how easy the family dinners have become! It is a more balanced environment for siblings as well.

4. Injury Prevention

As we know online schooling allows for more hours on the court, which can mean an increase in overuse injuries, but it can also mean having more hours for cross training, prevention exercises and treatment, that you would not have had otherwise.

5. Life Skills and Experiences

Online schooling gives kids many skills beyond traditional education. The kids become very organized, independent and self-directed. At the higher level of international junior play, the kids are exposed to different cultures, traveling and building friendships with kids from all over the world

6. Positive Social Environment

The kids who are not in traditional schooling make a stronger effort to interact and bond with their tennis friends/peers. In general, the tennis environment is much healthier than in traditional high school. There is much less sex, drugs, and violence in our protective tennis environment. Many parents appreciate that their kids are “exposed” to less.

As you can see, many of the “cons” are also “pros.” This is why the decision is a personal decision for each situation and each individual family. What works for one family won’t work for another family, and your family may be like mine, somewhere in the middle.

Do not EVER think that your child can’t make it to the high D1 level without choosing online schooling. We just finished the process for the USTA Scholar-Athlete Scholarships, and the applicants were primarily in traditional schools with excellent grades and high national rankings.

Your child’s coach is your child’s coach. You are the parent. Don’t let the coach confuse the two. Tennis is a “part” of your child’s life. Your family “is” their life. Don’t let a coach tell you how to parent to your child. If a coach ever says you “have” to do online school or they won’t get a D1 scholarship, or they won’t have a chance for the pros, go find another coach.

I love the advice from a coach who I have the highest regard in coaching the elite level of juniors… “You don’t home school to become a better player. You home school because you are such a good player that the schedule dictates it.”

In our family, you went to school first and figured out how to make the tennis work. Some families do it the other way around. The kids play competitive tennis first, and parents figure out how to make school work. As a parent, it is up to you, and only you, which way of thinking is best for your family.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below, via social media replies, or contact me by email.