Laguna Beach Tennis Academy

A hillside academy with a coastal engine

Laguna Beach Tennis Academy grew out of a straightforward idea: serious coaching should be accessible, personal, and rooted in the community it serves. Founded and directed by former top Southern California junior Andrew Mateljan, the program formalized in the early 2020s after years of one on one lessons, junior clinics, and tournament support around Laguna Beach. What began as a local coaching hub has evolved into a full pathway for juniors and adults, from first racquet to high performance, delivered across a network of well kept public courts in the hilltop neighborhoods above the Pacific. The atmosphere is open and unpretentious. Instruction is direct, encouraging, and demanding in the ways that matter most: sound technique, repeatable patterns that win points, and fitness habits that travel with a player.

Why the setting matters

Laguna Beach is a coastal microclimate. Mornings tend to be cool and still, afternoons can turn breezy, and evenings are temperate well into the year. For tennis, that weather profile is not a footnote. It allows the academy to schedule high volume court time year round without relying on indoor backup. Training happens primarily at two hilltop parks that sit above the marine layer and catch a steady ocean breeze:

• Moulton Meadows Park: two lighted outdoor hard courts enable evening sessions, with a perimeter path used for warm ups and short conditioning blocks.
• Alta Laguna Park: four outdoor hard courts that anchor the after school training window and weekend match play.

Seasonally, the academy may also use the Laguna Beach High School courts for youth sessions and match play, depending on school and city schedules. This distributed campus model encourages players to adapt. It is not a country club with a single gated entrance. You are training where locals play, alongside runners and families catching the sunset. The upside is volume and variety: more court hours at different times of day, wind that teaches you to aim through movement, and live match noise that strengthens focus. The tradeoff is shared public space, so families plan around community events, learn two or three training addresses, and bring layers for the coastal breeze.

For families comparing options nearby, the academy sits between neighborhood based programs and private club settings. If you want to understand a club centered environment close by, explore the nearby Newport Beach training. Laguna Beach Tennis Academy remains firmly public court based, which keeps the emphasis on reps, real conditions, and access.

Facilities and support

All courts are outdoor hard courts, free of membership bottlenecks and well suited to high repetition drilling. Lights at Moulton Meadows extend training into the evening throughout the year. Strength and conditioning is integrated on court with agility ladders, medicine balls, mini bands, and resisted movement. Players learn simple sequences they can repeat at home. The academy augments this with an online partner platform that delivers video guided mobility and strength sessions between training blocks so gains continue even on off days.

Recovery is practical and built into the session flow. You will see stretch protocols for hips and shoulders, arm care routines for servers, hydration standards, and a few minutes of breathing work after tough live ball segments. For formal sports medicine, families typically use local providers in nearby Laguna Niguel, Irvine, or Newport Beach. The staff provides general guidance on routines but does not replace licensed medical professionals.

There is no dorm or cafeteria on site. For short seasonal camps the academy offers a boarding included option via arranged lodging, and for most families the model is commuter based with daily pickup. Parents receive precise instructions on where to meet coaches at each park, when to rotate locations, and what gear to bring for afternoon wind and sun. If you seek a fully residential model during the school year, a boarding focused program such as the boarding focused Weil Tennis Academy may be a better fit. Laguna Beach Tennis Academy focuses on high frequency training for local and visiting players who prefer coastal conditions and a flexible schedule.

Coaching staff and philosophy

Founder and Director Andrew Mateljan sets the tone: respectful, competitive, and detail oriented. Group values are posted and repeated during water breaks: respect, positive attitude, hard work, competition, and fun. The staff includes experienced Southern California coaches who handle different rungs of the pathway, from red ball fundamentals to high performance sparring and match charting. Group sessions are capped at small ratios so technical feedback stays specific, and tournament players can book private hours for deeper video review or serve labs.

The coaching framework is progressional and transparent:

• Fundamentals first: grips, contact points, and footwork patterns are drilled at tempo until a stroke holds shape under light pressure. Players use target zones and tempo ladders to measure progress.
• Patterns next: serve plus one combinations, cross to cross discipline, neutral ball depth, and transition choices are practiced in defined games. Players learn to build advantage before changing line.
• Compete early and often: points appear daily, with scoring and constraints that force a player to use the skill of the day. Pressure is introduced progressively so confidence builds with evidence.
• Reflect and adjust: short post set check ins build self coaching. Players log what broke down, what held up, and what to address before the next round. Tournament players carry these notes into match weeks.

Travel coaching is available for Universal Tennis and United States Tennis Association events. Coaches provide match notes and clips so the next week’s plan connects to what happened under pressure. This loop tightens the link between practice and competition and helps prevent the common trap of drilling skills that do not survive live points.

Programs with clear pathways

Parents often ask how a player moves through the academy. The pathway is straightforward and designed to be readable from the first visit.

• Junior Champions, roughly ages 4 to 13: red, orange, green, and early yellow ball groups build clean swings, basic serving, split step habits, and simple patterns. Sessions run 60 to 90 minutes multiple days per week. Families can choose one to four sessions per week and add optional weekend match play to learn scoring, routines, and court etiquette.

• Youth Development, roughly ages 8 to 18: the core after school block, typically 4:30 to 6:00 pm on weekdays. Drills increase in complexity, footwork sharpens, and points arrive in structured formats such as cross to cross with planned line changes or approach plus volley sequences. Players are encouraged to enter local draws and track their Universal Tennis profiles. Pricing is modular by frequency so families can scale up as commitment grows.

• High Performance Program, ages 12 and up by approval: two formats exist. A day block targets homeschooled or flexible students who can train late morning to early afternoon. An evening block serves tournament players in traditional school schedules. The tone is businesslike. Live ball drilling moves quickly, conditioning is tighter, and match play is filmed or charted when practical. Monthly tuition reflects the intensity and frequency, with drop ins available when travel or school demand a lighter load.

• Adults: beginner series that teach foundations, intermediate and advanced groups with point based training and situational doubles, LiveBall for cardio and decision speed, and private lessons for goals such as a more repeatable second serve or net confidence. Adult groups are separated by level using the National Tennis Rating Program scale.

• Camps: a College and Pro Pathway summer camp runs in intensive blocks with daily drilling, competitive play, and classroom style sessions on the mental game and planning. A commuter price and a boarding included option are available for visiting juniors. Expect a full training day, followed by recovery or evening seminars.

The academy posts up to date schedules and locations so families can plan. Payment policies are predictable by design, with clear due dates, prorated starts, and makeup rules for weather.

If you are mapping the broader Southern California landscape and want a larger, centralized high performance environment in the same region, consider the Irvine Advantage Tennis Academy as a regional comparison point. Laguna Beach Tennis Academy offers a leaner, commuter friendly model that many families prefer for its flexibility and coastal setting.

Training and development that travel to matches

Technical development is treated as a movement problem rather than a static checklist. On court cues are simple and repeatable: load early, shape up and out, find the outside of the ball, land balanced. Serves are built from toss rhythm and shoulder sequence first, then spun in with targets and height windows to reduce fear of double faults. Players learn to shape crosscourt and change line only when advantage is built. Approach choices hinge on ball height and opponent position rather than impulse.

Tactically, players rehearse patterns that translate to tournament play: first strike depth, crosscourt forehand hold with delayed line change, pressure through the middle to take away angles, and high percentage recovery positions. Doubles groups practice return depth, first volley to the middle, and poach reads with consequences for late decisions. Charting is kept simple enough to execute on a public court: serve percentage, rally length buckets, and whether errors came from forced or unforced decisions.

Physical preparation is consistent. Warm ups include ankle and hip activation, a short sprint ladder, and lateral deceleration work so players can stop cleanly without fear. Conditioning at the end of a block is brief and sharp to avoid overload during heavy tournament weeks. Off court, the partner platform gives players simple strength and mobility sequences with video guidance and progression. The goal is not to build power for its own sake but to produce repeatable movement quality that keeps skill available on day three of a long event.

The mental game is treated as a set of habits rather than slogans. Players use a between point script that resets the body, checks the score and plan, and commits to a single ball flight for the next shot. Journaling after sessions captures two wins and one specific improvement so the next practice is not guesswork. Parents are encouraged to ask process questions rather than outcome questions on the drive home, which keeps attention on controllable inputs.

Alumni and outcomes

This is not a boarding factory with a wall of professional headshots. It is a focused regional academy that builds strong high school contributors, tournament ready juniors, and late blooming adults who compete with purpose. Success is measured in steps that families can see: clean technique under pressure, Universal Tennis jumps across a season, varsity roster spots, credible doubles skills, and calmer body language in third sets. When players aim for collegiate tennis, the staff provides honest placement guidance, helps build schedules that match level, and assembles highlight clips that reflect a player’s real game rather than a collection of perfect feeds.

Culture and community

Because sessions run on public courts, there is a natural mix of locals, visiting families, and adults coming straight from work. The tone is friendly but directed. Coaches keep water breaks short, ball carts full, and transitions fast. Weekend match play doubles as community time where juniors see older players model warm ups and routines. Parents gather above the fences rather than on court, which gives coaches control and athletes room to work. That boundary helps younger players mature, and it keeps the practice environment focused without losing the supportive feel of a neighborhood park.

The academy also invests in coach education. Staff members trade session plans, film short clips of best practices, and run intern style shadowing for younger coaches. Guest pro days appear on the calendar when schedules align, adding fresh voices to confirm core principles rather than distract from them.

Costs, access, and planning

Tuition is transparent and scales with frequency. For youth development blocks, families can expect per session and monthly pricing that rewards more days per week. High performance evening programs are priced to make daily training realistic for serious students, while the day block carries a premium for the greater duration and intensity. Adult drop ins and monthly memberships keep entry barriers low for parents returning to the sport. Private lesson rates vary by coach seniority, so a director session can be booked for a technical overhaul while a staff coach can be reserved for high rep hitting. A summer camp commuter option is available, and a boarding included option exists for visiting players who need short term lodging. There is no published scholarship program at this time. The academy offers prorated starts, makeups for weather closures when possible, and a clear cancellation window to help families manage school calendars.

Families who want a pure club setting with restaurant and lounge amenities can compare the experience to the nearby Newport Beach training, while those seeking a larger centralized performance campus may look to the Irvine Advantage Tennis Academy. These comparisons help clarify whether you prefer a neighborhood hilltop model or a single campus approach.

What stands out

• Location and conditions that teach ball control in real wind and changing light, not only in protected environments.
• A clear pathway from red ball to high performance, with measurable standards for moving up.
• Small group ratios that keep technical feedback specific and timely.
• A commute friendly schedule, including evening high performance blocks for traditional students.
• Coaches who travel to tournaments and tie the next week’s plan to live match data.
• Practical strength and mobility support that players can repeat at home.
• A summer camp with a boarding included option for visiting athletes who want a concentrated training block in Southern California.

The limitations are just as plain. There is no on site dorm, dining hall, or indoor court. Court access follows city usage, so families learn two or three training addresses, and parking can be tight on busy evenings. The upside is an environment that models how tennis is really played, with enough structure and expertise to make meaningful gains.

Future outlook and vision

The academy continues to grow its high performance windows for both day and evening students while keeping beginner and adult entry points open. Expect tighter integration between on court work and off court strength and mobility so training carries across school breaks. The staff will continue to expand college guidance for motivated juniors and publish more measurable standards for group advancement. Short coach education modules and guest pro days are slated to appear more often as schedules allow, ensuring that the teaching voice remains both consistent and current.

Is it for you

Choose Laguna Beach Tennis Academy if you want serious coaching without the trappings of a private campus, if you like training in coastal wind rather than hiding from it, and if a clear pathway with honest feedback sounds better than vague promises. It suits juniors who thrive in small, fast moving groups, families who can manage a commuter model, and adults who want focused sessions that respect their time. If you need a full boarding school experience or guaranteed indoor courts, a residential program such as the boarding focused Weil Tennis Academy may serve you better. If you want coaches who teach what wins points and build habits that last, Laguna Beach Tennis Academy is worth a close look.