Abstract
The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of outdoor and indoor schools, and to study the reasons for students′ selection of outdoor or indoor schools in commercial tennis clubs. Focusing on a tennis club that owns outdoor and indoor schools, we conducted research.
In order to examine these questions we conducted 2 studies, as follows:
【Study1】: To clarify characteristics of outdoor school and indoor schools, we conducted qualitative research with coaches in A tennis club.
【Study2】: We studied considerations about reasons for student′s selection of outdoor or indoor schools in a commercial tennis club, focusing on the characteristics of outdoor and indoor schools found in Study1.
The main findings are summarized as follows: Firstly, we clarified 9 factors in outdoor and 15 factors in indoor schools as characteristics. “Freedom from cancellation of lessons caused by bad weather” , “freedom from influences of natural environment” , and “comfortable air-conditioning equipment” were the main factors among the reasons for students′ selection of indoor schools. On the other hand, “playing tennis in nature” , “playing tennis in changing seasons” , “playing tennis in a sense of openness” were the main factors for choosing outdoor schools. In addition, “improving response capabilities for changing circumstances” and “getting an edge on tennis competition” were the main factors among the reasons for selection of outdoor schools for students who participate in tennis competitions.
Characteristics of “improving open skill” and “getting an edge on tennis competitions” in outdoor schools contribute to improving competition power among students, and “encouraging a sense of distance” and “little nasty bounce” in indoor schools are important, because even beginning students can enjoy rallying and games, but most of the students weren′t aware of these characteristics. So, it is important for managers and coaches to educate and promote customers to be aware of these selling points in tennis club management.
