Farhad Zangana Tennis Academy

A West Island academy built for year-round progress

If you live in or near Montreal’s West Island, you have probably seen the same scene in every season: small groups rotating briskly through live-ball drills, a coach filming from the side fence, and a few kids hanging back after class to play extra sets. That is the daily rhythm of the Farhad Zangana Tennis Academy, a program designed to make steady progress possible twelve months a year. The idea is simple and effective. Keep court access consistent across seasons, maintain small ratios so players keep moving, and build habits that translate to real matches.

A founding story rooted in the court

The academy began in the 1990s when a young coach named Farhad Zangana started running groups and private sessions around the West Island. He was not building a brand or a campus back then. He was growing a training culture by showing up, season after season, and refining a shared language for grips, spacing, footwork, and decision-making. Three decades later, the same person still directs the program, holds a Tennis Canada Level III certification, and continues to coach on court. That continuity matters. It keeps the day-to-day consistent, it anchors the technical approach, and it ensures that every new coach who joins the staff learns the same cues and priorities.

What began as a single coach with a clipboard has become a true year-round school. Recreational and competitive juniors train side by side in a unified system. Adults share the same clean technical language without feeling like they are intruding on a high performance track. Summer camps add volume, video feedback, and low-pressure competition that gives younger players the habit of keeping score and solving problems under time pressure.

The setting: West Island convenience with four anchor venues

Montreal’s climate forces good planning. The academy leans into that reality with a multi-site model that prioritizes proximity and reliability over flash. In the warm months, groups train outdoors at municipal and school courts around Dollard-des-Ormeaux and Senneville, with the broad campus at École des Sources playing a key role. When temperatures drop, squads move inside to partner venues in Saint-Laurent and Baie-d’Urfé, where hard courts keep the bounce consistent all winter.

For families, the geography is a practical advantage. Sites sit close to residential neighborhoods and major arteries, which makes after-school scheduling more realistic. Parents can drop one child at a ninety-minute session, run errands, and be back for pickup without a cross-town commute. The multi-site setup also spreads demand across time slots, so winter groups are more likely to find sensible evening and weekend windows.

Why the setting matters for player development

Tennis progress is not about hero days. It is about hundreds of decent days in a row. Montreal’s seasons make that hard unless you plan for it. The academy’s approach is to build a year-long arc that changes surfaces and venues but not standards. Players see similar spacing, similar ball speeds, and the same coaching voice whether they are on an outdoor municipal hard court in September or an indoor hard court in January. That continuity reinforces technique and makes the mental transition into competition much smoother.

Facilities and tools: simple, focused, and season-proof

This is a commuter academy rather than a residential campus. Surfaces are primarily hard courts, inside and out, which helps players learn predictable bounces and repeatable footwork patterns. The goal here is not luxury. It is repetition with purpose.

• Hard courts year-round, outdoors in spring, summer, and fall, and indoors through the winter.
• Small training ratios that keep players moving and give coaches time for individual feedback. Competitive squads commonly train four to one. Recreational groups are capped around six.
• Regular video analysis. Coaches film from the baseline or side fence and use short clips to highlight grip, spacing, or contact changes in real time.

The technology is intentionally portable. You will not find a biomechanics lab or a set of immovable gadgets. You will see phones, tripods, and tablets used frequently and efficiently. For most developing players, that tradeoff is right. Feedback lands within minutes rather than days, and more minutes end up spent hitting balls rather than waiting for a turn on a machine.

Recovery, conditioning, and the quiet details

Because the program runs across public and school facilities, recovery tends to focus on practical habits: dynamic warm-ups, short cool-downs, simple mobility work, and a strong emphasis on hydration and sleep. Conditioning is built into court time with tennis-specific intervals and sprints, plus occasional dryland sessions when gym space is available. The academy’s coaches are strict about movement quality. Split-step timing is trained in almost every drill. Direction changes are coached with a focus on a low center of gravity and efficient first steps. These details pay off in matches, when pressure amplifies small habits.

People first: the coaching staff and how they teach

Farhad Zangana sets the tone. His philosophy is direct and athlete-focused: clean technique that holds up under pace, intelligent patterns built from height and depth, and a culture that values steady effort over quick fixes. He coaches on court weekly, which keeps drills aligned across groups and ensures that staff development is hands-on.

Supporting him is a small team with complementary strengths. Coaches Goran Zangana and Theo Robson bring high-level playing experience and serve as live hitters in competitive squads. They can push tempo, force preparation, and model footwork under pressure. Coaches Amanda Marino and Victoria Gaudreau-Vadivel focus heavily on younger and developing players, linking fundamental grips and spacing to age-appropriate rally patterns. The common thread is a single coaching language. Players graduating from a beginner class into a competitive squad hear familiar cues and build on the same foundations.

A philosophy you can hear on court

Spend a few minutes courtside and the vocabulary becomes clear. The staff talks about sight lines rather than slogans, about spacing and height rather than hero swings. Players learn to model patterns they can repeat: heavy crosscourt forehand to push depth, then redirect with margin when the court opens. Serving is trained in phases: a consistent toss, a simple target box, and a second serve that is reliable before it is aggressive. The goal is not to win a point in forty-five seconds of instruction. The goal is to help an athlete build a plan that survives a third set.

Programs for every stage of the pathway

The academy organizes offerings so players can step in at any age or level and find a clear next step.

• Junior lessons year-round. Recreational groups typically run ninety minutes with up to six players per court. Competitive squads are smaller. Advanced players may train two hours with a four to one ratio.
• Summer camps for ages five to seventeen. Camps combine daily tennis with physical work, video analysis, supervised match play, and traditions that keep the social energy high. Younger athletes rotate through skill stations and games that build tracking and balance. Older campers play weekly sets and learn to keep score under light pressure.
• Adult lessons in seasonal blocks. The emphasis is practical. Sessions are a mix of technical tune-up, tactical patterns, and a good workout without long lines.
• Leagues and supervised match play. A two-hour advanced league typically targets 3.5 level and higher on Friday evenings. An Under 12 league runs on Saturdays for green dot and early regular ball players. Coaches supervise, track basic stats, and reinforce positioning between games.

Families comparing pathways in Montreal often look at national-level benchmarks like the Tennis Canada National Centre. Farhad Zangana’s program complements that ecosystem by offering a community-based route that still thinks like a performance school.

Training and player development: a whole-athlete approach

The player pathway at this academy is built on five pillars, each reinforced weekly.

Technical development

The staff teaches fundamentals that hold up under pace: stable grips, clean contact in front, and footwork that organizes the body early. Video is used constantly to catch small inefficiencies. A drop wrist that leaks on heavy forehands is flagged on the spot, then trained with short feeds and live-ball reps. Volley work emphasizes a compact swing and a first step that recovers the middle. Serves are simplified into toss consistency, contact height, and targets before power.

Tactical growth

Athletes learn to build points with shape, depth, and speed as the first three levers, then add direction when the court opens. Session plans include situational games: serve plus one to the open court, crosscourt neutral with a short-ball trigger, and approach patterns that demand a split step before the first volley. Supervised sets and weekly leagues turn these reps into habits. Players are coached to plan the next two balls, not just the next swing.

Physical preparation

Conditioning is tennis-specific. On-court intervals train acceleration, deceleration, and recovery through points and games. Sprint mechanics are taught, paired with short plyometric blocks to improve neuromuscular timing. When gym space is available, athletes add simple strength routines that prioritize posterior chain, scapular control, and anti-rotation work. Warm-ups and cool-downs are non-negotiable. Younger players learn basic landing mechanics and balance; older players track simple benchmarks like repeat sprint ability and jump height.

Mental skills and competitive habits

Mindset is coached through routines rather than slogans. Between-point resets are built into drills. Players learn to pick a serve target before they bounce the ball, to build a breath and a visual cue into returns, and to evaluate matches with simple performance goals they can control. Camp weeks add low-stakes pressure with daily challenge courts and a Friday competition that rewards competing often and learning fast.

Educational alignment

The academy is friendly to sport-study schedules. Afternoon and evening blocks are built to reduce conflict with school while still giving competitive players enough weekly volume. Coaches communicate expectations clearly, so families can plan academics and training without constant compromises. For athletes who want to see a different model, comparing to a boarding environment like IMG Academy Tennis can clarify the differences in daily rhythm and cost.

Alumni and outcomes: progression you can measure locally

This is not a boarding powerhouse that flies banners from every Grand Slam. It is a community-embedded academy that measures success in steady upgrades. The most common outcomes are meaningful. A recreational junior who could not rally in September plays full sets by spring. A green dot player moves into a first competitive squad and learns to organize points. A sport-study athlete keeps technique clean while increasing volume through the winter. Interclub play and weekly leagues provide objective checkpoints across the season so families can see progress in real matches.

If you want to compare this community-first model to another Canadian pathway, the Ontario-based Niagara Academy of Tennis offers a useful reference point. Both prioritize clear coaching language and consistent access to courts, then scale volume as ambition grows.

Culture and community life

The vibe on court is positive and purposeful. Younger classes move constantly so no one stands in line. Competitive squads mix structured drilling with live-hitter pace so there is a real cost for late preparation or lazy feet. Coaches are bilingual, which makes communication easy for both English-speaking and French-speaking families. Because the academy draws from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Pierrefonds, Kirkland, Laval, Dorval, and Beaconsfield, players find practice partners close to home and often organize weekend hits on their own.

Camp weeks feel like a team. Video sessions are short and focused. Match play is supervised but fun, with pairs learning to call lines, keep score, and talk through tactical adjustments between sets. Traditions like Friday challenges keep the atmosphere light while still building competitive instincts.

Costs, access, and how registration works

Pricing varies by season, venue, and group size, but recent public listings offer a reliable sense of scale. Eight-week recreational junior blocks typically range from the low three hundreds to the mid six hundreds Canadian dollars depending on frequency. Competitive squads at four to one commonly sit in the nine hundred range for ninety to one hundred twenty minutes twice per week. Mini-competitive options for younger players are priced a bit lower. Summer competitive packages often run for nine weeks with two or three training days per week and scale accordingly.

Leagues are typically priced per night at a modest fee, which makes weekly competition accessible. Summer camps include taxes in the listed price and often apply multi-child discounts at checkout. Registration is online, sessions are labeled clearly by venue and time, and the program advises early booking for winter sessions and late afternoon time slots. Families with questions about scholarships or need-based assistance can inquire directly. The academy’s priority is to keep a child on court when the fit is right, and solutions are sometimes available when asked for in advance.

What sets it apart

• Year-round delivery in neighborhood locations. The multi-site model reduces commute friction and keeps training consistent through the winter.
• Small ratios that accelerate learning. Four to one in competitive groups ensures meaningful touches and timely feedback.
• Integrated video and simple analytics. Film is used weekly, not as a special event, so feedback becomes a habit.
• A director who still coaches. The person designing the program models the coaching language on court, which keeps standards aligned across the staff.
• Match play built into the calendar. Leagues and supervised sets make tactical work visible in real competition.

Looking ahead: steady growth by design

The academy’s future is built on the same pillars that got it here. Expect consistent coaching language, tight ratios, and reliable access to hard courts across seasons. As the West Island continues to invest in municipal and school sport spaces, the program’s flexible, multi-venue approach should gain even more scheduling options, especially for after-school and weekend blocks. The focus is not dramatic expansion. It is refining a system that already works and keeping it accessible to families across the West Island.

How it compares and where it fits

In a landscape that ranges from national centers to full-boarding academies, this program occupies a valuable middle ground. It is more structured than a casual club clinic, with real attention to technical detail and competitive habits. It is more flexible and affordable than a boarding environment, making it possible for a motivated junior to log hundreds of quality hours without leaving home. Families evaluating options across North America often look at iconic institutions like IMG Academy Tennis for a sense of scale and at national hubs like the Tennis Canada National Centre for elite standards. The Farhad Zangana Tennis Academy complements both by offering a local, year-round engine for steady improvement.

Is it for you

Choose this academy if you want structure without the disruption of boarding. The program suits families who value small group ratios, clear technical coaching, and regular match play, and who want sessions close to home in Montreal’s West Island. Recreational juniors get moving quickly with simple cues and lots of ball contacts. Competitive players find repetitions under pace, video feedback every week, and supervised sets that make tactics real. Adults get a straightforward pathway to improve skills and fitness with minimal waiting on court. If that mix sounds right for your goals, this is a practical, community-rooted choice that still thinks like a performance program.