点评:The sceptics were a majority, when my friend K and I told them that we planned to spend the Berlin winter vacation at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor/Spain: The training is not as good as it used to be, they said, the coaches are inexperienced, the groups are too big, Manacor is an ugly town, Mallorca in early February will be cold... But we went, nevertheless. We booked a one week tennis training camp, including 2 hours of tennis + 45 minutes cool down each day from Monday through Saturday plus 4 off-court sessions at 60 minutes lecture (and Q&A) concerning relevant topics, i.e. strategy, tactics, psychology, numbers and more. It proved to be an excellent decision: We enjoyed the advantages of the beautiful Mediterranean island in the calm and relaxing off-season, with mild 17 degrees Celsius during the day, trees full of oranges, lemons and tangerines, flowers and the scents of nature everywhere, the Mont Puig mountains in a (near) distance, and the (still empty) beaches of Porto Cristo and other places a mere ten kilometers away. Indeed, Manacor as such is not a place you’d normally visit when going to Balears, but the excellent quality of the Nadal residence, the academy, the fitness and cross training centers, the indoor pool (in summer they open the outdoor pools, too), the spa and several nice restaurants/cafés and a club house definitely makes up for it.
We had booked rooms at the residence, including an excellent breakfast buffet, and never regretted it. The rooms come with a one-hour-per-day tennis or padel court offer for the guests, and they are big, very modern, and very well equipped. I had opted for the double room, and I enjoyed the view to the tennis courts (center court and others ) and the big swimming pool, the daily bottle of water, the coffee and tea and the little water boiler to prepare hot drinks. A mini bar, a plush bath robe, spa shoes and several useful things you might need in your bathroom, if you forget to bring them – toothpaste + brush, comb, amenity set... – give you a feeling of luxury. As does the nicely designed, modern and light-colored furniture.
All the time we felt welcome, pampered even, and well-fed – with lots of healthy options, fruit, salads, nuts and much more at all times: We were too lazy to go out (i.e. explore the region) for dinner in the evening and simply enjoyed the buffet or à la carte menu on offer at the Roland Garros restaurant. (The Wimbledon and the US Open Restaurants were closed, when we stayed at the Academy; off-season would be the reason, we assumed). However, our main reason to travel to Mallorca wasn’t food, but sports.
Our days began with 2 hours of tennis on two courts, in an international group of 4+2 players with 3 (three) coaches. Two of them – Victor and Alberto – usually stayed with their students, the third one – Sergio or others – spent his time alternating between the courts and offering help and/or very useful advice at the baselines for the individual players. Tracy and Anna had booked the full day camp, which included two more hours of tennis in the afternoon. Each daily tennis on court was dedicated to one topic in particular, whereas the sixth and last day was spent on the shots or drills we wanted to do, and hadn’t done so far, plus a few matches / match games at the end. Maybe it is more difficult to offer so much attention – 2 coaches per court – to the players in summer, when there are more tennis playing guests for the camps, but the overall approach would be the same.
In addition to our group tennis coaching, I had booked one or two hour(s) of private coaching every day. I played with two different coaches, Nelson and Tama, also on clay, and they always asked me, what I wanted to do, instead of imposing their own ideas on me, which I liked a lot. A “goodie” we all enjoyed was a Wingfield session every afternoon, which was fun and extremely helpful, I considered. See yourself play – that’s an excellent chance. Tama was our Wingfield “master”, and we enjoyed it very much.
At the premises they have 45 tennis courts, clay and hard court, all very well kept. Most of them are outdoors, some are under a roof, which protects the players from rain and on hot sommer days from the sun. There is also a “real” indoor facility for the pros and the pros-to-be, who study at the Rafa Nadal Academy. Plus 19 padle courts indoors and outdoors, and I saw a pickle ball field, too. Guests at the residence can rent a tennis court free of charge for one hour per day. But my friend K and me spent our “leisure time” exploring the island, enjoying the spa and the hammam or working out at the gym. We also watched some interesting matches, since an ITF Youth Tournament took place during the week we spent at the Rafa Nadal Academy.
All in all, I’d clearly recommend the Academy to all tennis enthusiasts. I enjoyed the international vibe –players and coaches from all over the world, the latter young, dynamic and very competent. We had fun, we learned a lot, we laughed and played, we enjoyed the always good mood all over the place, the helpfulness and efficiency of the teams – on the courts, at the Sport Desk, in the shop(s), in the museum – a mini-exhibition version currently, because of renovation works, but impressive, nevertheless – in the club house and restaurants, at the reception, in the spa... Literally everywhere. For those of you, who come by car: There are lots of parking spaces (including a garage), all free of charge. Otherwise, you can rent a shuttle to get you from Palma de Mallorca airport in cozy 45 minutes to Manacor. This is a facility to be enjoyed the whole year. So, why not plan a sporty retreat there one of these days?
翻译:当我和朋友K告诉他们我们计划在柏林的寒假期间去西班牙马纳科尔的拉法·纳达尔网球学院时,大多数人都持怀疑态度:他们说,那里的训练不如以前好了,教练经验不足,班级人数太多,马纳科尔是个丑陋的小镇,二月初的马略卡岛会很冷……但我们还是去了。我们预订了一个为期一周的网球训练营,包括周一到周六每天2小时的网球训练和45分钟的放松运动,以及4次场外讲座(每次60分钟,含问答环节),内容涵盖战略、战术、心理、数据等相关主题。事实证明,这是一个绝佳的决定:我们在淡季享受了这座美丽地中海岛屿的种种好处,这里宁静祥和,白天温度宜人,约为17摄氏度,到处都是挂满橘子、柠檬和柑橘的树,鲜花盛开,空气中弥漫着大自然的芬芳,远处便是普伊格山,而波尔图克里斯托海滩和其他一些地方的海滩(至今仍然空旷)也只有十公里之遥。的确,马纳科尔本身并不是巴利阿里群岛的热门目的地,但纳达尔公寓、网球学院、健身和交叉训练中心、室内游泳池(夏季也会开放室外游泳池)、水疗中心、几家不错的餐厅/咖啡馆以及俱乐部会所的卓越品质,绝对弥补了这一点。
我们预订了公寓的房间,包含丰盛的自助早餐,而且从未后悔过。房间宽敞、现代化且设施齐全,客人可以每天免费使用一小时的网球场或板式网球场。我选择了双人房,很喜欢房间的景色,可以看到网球场(包括中央球场和其他球场)和大型游泳池。每天提供的瓶装水、咖啡和茶,以及可以冲泡热饮的小热水壶,都让我倍感舒适。迷你吧、柔软的浴袍、拖鞋,以及一些浴室里可能需要的实用物品——牙膏牙刷、梳子、洗漱用品套装等等,都让人感觉很贴心,以防你忘记带。设计精美、现代简约的浅色家具也同样如此。
我们始终感到宾至如归,甚至可以说是备受呵护,而且吃得也很好——随时都有丰富的健康食品可供选择,包括水果、沙拉、坚果等等。晚上我们懒得出去(也就是去周边地区逛逛),就直接在罗兰·加洛斯餐厅享用自助餐或单点菜单。(我们入住学院期间,温布尔登和美国网球公开赛的餐厅都关门了;我们猜测可能是因为淡季的原因。)然而,我们去马略卡岛的主要目的并非美食,而是运动。
每天的训练从两个球场上的两个小时网球课开始,我们是一个由4名球员和2名国际球员组成的小组,配备3名教练。其中两位教练——维克多和阿尔贝托——通常会陪伴各自的学生,而第三位教练——塞尔吉奥或其他教练——则会在两个球场之间轮换,在底线为球员们提供帮助和/或非常有用的建议。特蕾西和安娜预订了全天训练营,其中包括下午的两个小时网球课。每天的训练课都围绕一个特定的主题展开,而第六天,也就是最后一天,则用来练习我们想练但之前没有练过的击球或技巧,并在最后进行几场比赛/练习赛。也许在夏季,由于训练营的客人更多,要像现在这样为每个球员提供如此多的关注——每个球场配备两位教练——会更加困难,但总体的教学方法应该是一样的。
除了团体网球课,我还每天预订一到两个小时的私人教练课程。我分别和两位教练——尼尔森和塔玛——在红土场上训练,他们总是询问我的想法,而不是强加自己的想法,我很喜欢这一点。我们都很喜欢每天下午的温菲尔德训练课,我觉得既有趣又非常有帮助。亲眼见证自己的训练——这是一个绝佳的机会。塔玛是我们的温菲尔德“大师”,我们非常享受和他一起训练的过程。
这里拥有45个网球场,包括红土场和硬地,维护得都非常好。大部分球场都在室外,部分球场有顶棚,可以遮风挡雨,在炎热的夏天也能遮阳。此外,这里还有一个真正的室内训练馆,供职业球员和未来职业球员使用,他们就读于拉法·纳达尔学院。另外,这里还有19个室内外板式网球场,我还看到了一个匹克球场。入住该公寓的客人可以每天免费租用网球场一小时。但我和朋友K则把“休闲时间”用来探索岛屿、享受水疗和土耳其浴,或者去健身房锻炼。我们还观看了一些精彩的比赛,因为在我们入住拉法·纳达尔网球学院的那一周,正好赶上国际网球联合会(ITF)青少年锦标赛。
总而言之,我强烈推荐这所学院给所有网球爱好者。我很喜欢这里的国际化氛围——来自世界各地的球员和教练,尤其是年轻、充满活力且非常优秀的教练。我们玩得很开心。我们学到了很多,我们欢笑玩耍,享受着这里始终洋溢的愉悦氛围,以及各个团队的热情和高效——无论是在球场上、运动服务台、商店里、博物馆里(目前由于翻修工程,博物馆只是个小型展览,但依然令人印象深刻)、俱乐部会所和餐厅里、前台里、水疗中心里……几乎每个地方都如此。如果您开车前来:这里有大量的停车位(包括一个车库),全部免费。或者,您也可以租用班车,从帕尔马机场出发,只需45分钟即可轻松抵达马纳科尔。这里一年四季都适合休闲度假。所以,何不安排一次运动之旅,来这里放松一下呢?