The question that sorts every camp: who do you train with?
A recreational camp assembles a temporary group of visitors — mixed levels, mixed motivation — runs them through a week of drills, and disbands. A true high performance week puts the visiting player inside the academy's real training program, on court with the players who train there every day, in the structure those players follow. That single difference drives everything else: the intensity of the group sets the intensity of the week, and a visitor surrounded by committed tournament players trains differently than one surrounded by kids at a summer activity. When a camp's brochure says “high performance,” the first question is: is there a separate “camp group,” or do visitors join the academy's actual squads?
What a serious training week includes
Beyond the group, high performance weeks share a recognizable shape. The daily volume looks like a training day, not a clinic — closer to a school day than a two-hour session. The coaching ratio is small enough that technical corrections actually happen; at Saviano the cap is 4:1 players per coach. Video analysis is part of the week, not an upsell. Physical work is scheduled and coached, because a hard training week without structured conditioning is how visiting players get hurt. And there is real match play under coach observation, because competing is a skill and camps are one of the few places to practice it against unfamiliar opponents.
Two quieter markers are worth checking too. Surfaces: a week that trains on both hard and clay courts teaches things a single surface cannot — point construction and movement on clay, first-strike tennis on hard. And individual attention that survives the week: does anyone assess the player on day one, set one or two priorities, and tell the family at the end what to work on next? A serious program treats a visiting week as a slice of development, not an isolated event.
| Recreational camp | High performance week | |
|---|---|---|
| Training group | Temporary group of visitors, mixed levels | Integrated into the academy's regular squads |
| Daily volume | Half day, drills and games | Full training day — on-court blocks plus physical work |
| Ratio | Often 6–8+ per coach | Small enough for corrections (Saviano: max 4:1) |
| Video analysis | Rare | Built into the week |
| Physical training | Games and warm-ups | Scheduled, coached conditioning |
| Match play | Casual, unsupervised | Structured, observed, debriefed |
How it works at Saviano
Our model is integration, all year. In summer, the summer program runs June through August in weekly blocks, 7:45 to 3:00, and visiting players train inside the full-time group — same courts, same coaches, same structure. Pricing as published for 2026 is $1,209 per week full day or $753 half day. During the season, the same thing is available as week-to-week training: flexible weekly blocks, often used for tournament preparation, again inside the full-time group rather than a side program. Over school breaks, holiday camps run Thanksgiving, winter and spring break from 10:00 to 5:00 — full days, not mornings. All of it runs on lighted hard and Har-Tru clay courts with video analysis and Athletix physical training, under a staff hand-selected and mentored by Nick Saviano, who is typically on court daily.
When to schedule a training week
Timing matters almost as much as the camp. The classic use is two to three weeks before a big event — enough time to raise intensity and absorb corrections without arriving tired. Summer suits longer builds: stacking two or three weekly blocks back to back produces the kind of volume a school-year schedule never allows, which is why summer is when most visiting players make their visible jumps. Holiday weeks work as a mid-season reset — a concentrated block over Thanksgiving, winter or spring break while school is out. What to avoid is the week immediately after a heavy tournament stretch, when the player needs rest more than load; a good academy will say so when you ask, which is itself a vetting signal.
Questions to vet any camp
- Do visitors join your regular training groups, or a separate camp group? This is the high performance question. Everything else is detail.
- How many on-court hours per day, and what fills them? Ask for an actual daily schedule, hour by hour.
- What is the player-to-coach ratio at peak? Get a number, then count heads when you arrive.
- Who coaches the camp? The academy's real staff, or seasonal hires who leave in August?
- Is there video analysis and structured physical work, or just court time?
- How is match play run? Observed and debriefed by coaches, or kids sent to a court to “play sets”?
- What level are the players my child will share a court with? A camp that asks about your child's tournament results before answering is a good sign.
Who high performance weeks are actually for
Two groups get the most from them. Tournament players preparing for events — a focused week at higher intensity than home training, timed before a national event or a college showcase, sharpens match readiness in a way scattered lessons cannot. And families test-driving an academy: a training week is the honest audition, in both directions. You see the real coaching, the real group and the real culture; the academy sees the player. Many families use a summer or holiday week exactly this way before considering anything longer. Who they are not for: beginners and casual players, who will be overmatched and would enjoy a general camp far more — our guide to tennis camps in Florida covers the full range, recreational options included.