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Teaching tennis to youth is about much more than simply tennis instruction. To become an accomplished athlete in any sport, a child must buy-in to the work required and develop a burning desire to be successful. At the same time, coaches have the opportunity to positively influence the lives of athletes and help students build character, work ethic, and the many life-skills associated with their sport.

All coaches should take time to develop their own written Coaching Philosophy. This living document may take many shapes and surely should include one’s principles of coaching, one’s goals and a personal mission statement. This practice will help coaches stay focused on the most important aspect of coaching – the privilege of character development.

The famous late UCLA basketball coach, Coach John Wooden, led the UCLA basketball team for 27 years winning ten NCAA championships. Coaches of all sports would benefit from reading his autobiography, They Call Me Coach. This highly successful coach put his players first, and he valued character development most. At the base of Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” lie the corner stones of Industriousness and Enthusiasm. In the middle of the base lie Friendship, Loyalty and Cooperation. It is worth noting words not included at the base or anywhere in the pyramid – words like ranking, pedigree, or talent. Wooden makes it clear that changing lives was the most important thing, and he clearly placed the emphasis on developing the athlete’s character first. Wooden also said, “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”

Coaches should strive to find ways to keep character building traits in the forefront of programming. Some have displayed signs with famous quotes, such as Arthur Ashe’s “One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.” Another facility displays a large character-building word at the top of the fence on each court. Instead of going to Court 1 or Court 2, players go to the Honesty court or the Perseverance court.

Another way to keep life-lessons and character building in the forefront is to begin each clinic with Words of Wisdom. A coach introduces a character-building word or quote. The coach asks what the word or quote means to the athletes, and how it may apply in their school or daily lives. Thought provoking discussions and opportunities for growth likely follow. A few minutes spent in this practice reaps untold benefits.

Rumor holds that Epictetus, the famous Roman Tennis Coach and Philosopher, 55-135 A. D. said, “Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Give yourself fully to your endeavors. Decide to construct your character through excellent actions and determine to pay the price of a worthy goal. The trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths. Remain steadfast, and one day you will build something that endures, something worthy of your potential.”

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As coaches, we wear many hats. We are racquet technicians, salespeople, personal trainers, employees, mentors, and friends. With the number of students that come on and off our courts, there can be a tendency to overlook the bonds or influence that we have on our young players. But what happens when that bond of a student putting trust into a coach goes from, “sure I’ll take lessons from this coach” to the mindset of “this is the coach that will take me to the next level”? This is the journey of an evolving player who has worked with me over the past few years.

The journey starts off with a young hungry pro looking to add students to their book. Building trust is an important first step. By observing future students at their high school matches and engaging in conversations, finding common interests, this can be achieved.

I first met Kelsey during my first summer at Green Bay Tennis Center in one of my high school drill groups. Seeing a player that was both highly coachable and had a hunger to get better, the dialog between the two of us began.

After watching her compete at sectionals and giving it her all, we had agreed to start our journey as a team. Learning about her perfectionist mindset, goals were developed in our first lesson. Kelsey and her family were familiar with the team mindset, because an individual coach can only do so much for a student. Her family agreed to the process of open conversations of additional work off court to help achieve her goals.

At that time, her two goals were to become a stronger varsity player while promoting a healthy mentality. In finding out that Kelsey was a competitive gymnast, the main roadblock that was presented was it had to look and feel good ALL THE TIME. For gymnastics it’s extremely important, but in tennis, it’s okay to occasionally win a point without the best form. The way that we approached the perfectionist mindset was through a volunteer program called Buddy Up Tennis. This program involves paying it forward to those that have Down Syndrome and teaching the game of tennis to them. This helped her understand that some players are able to perfect skills quicker than others.

While Buddy Up Tennis helped, the shutdown from COVID-19 killed the momentum that was built up from her post season training. During the shutdown, Kelsey’s mother sent videos of her daughter doing agility work on her own and itching to get back on court.

During this time, we discovered that she wanted to go from just being a better varsity player.to competing in the state tournament. Taking the team approach, her parents were on board with the new plan.

Everything was set in stone until her season got delayed until early March. We looked at a new plan that allowed her to have up to two days of competitive training, one match a week, and a day to be with friends on court. This allowed her to have a day to reset and be ready for the following week of training.

Within the last few months, Kelsey approached me and asked, “After high school, am I good enough to play college tennis?” Surprised and excited that she was driven to continue competing, we formed a new plan to continue her competitive journey.

So where has this journey come from both as an athlete and as a coach?

Kelsey has gone from hitting once a week to multiple times a week while juggling her academics and job. She’s begun to ease up on the perfectionist mindset, by reminding her that striving for perfection is healthy. However, she needs to accept that while mistakes will be made, you become a better tennis player by learning from your mistakes. Kelsey has come a long way, once a highly competitive gymnast, to now, a talented tennis player within three years. For myself, this journey has improved my skills as a coach by becoming more adaptive and learning all the aspects of the game. This will ensure that I can deliver the best training sessions each time a player steps on court with me.

Lastly, the time I have spent with Kelsey has served as a reminder that we (coaches) are role models, mentors, and influencers on young athletes that are hungry for their next challenge.

Coaches serve a greater purpose than just looking to make a dollar. We are here to provide the joy of a life sport and encourage those that want to strive for excellence in it.

Learn valuable sport management knowledge, program development, the basics of marketing, budgeting, human relations, facility operations, and more. Completion of this specialized education will prepare students to become a USPTA-certified Director of Racquet Sports, accredited by USTA.

The USPTA announced it will partner with the University of Florida (UF) School of Health and Human Performance to deliver its new Director of Racquet Sports curriculum. Once students complete the curriculum and pass the final exam, they will be eligible to receive the new designation of “USPTA-certified Director of Racquet Sports.”

UF is delivering the curriculum in two ways, through a continuing education option and as a part of the Sport Management Masters degree program. Both programs are 100 percent online.

Students interested in a full, 36-hour masters degree receive the curriculum through a specialization program within the degree. The Sport Management masters is rated by bestcolleges.com as the leading Sport Management masters program in the country, and it is enrolling now (https://sm.hhp.ufl.edu/).

Students interested in the non-credit, continuing-education track can apply and begin on June 1, 2021, and complete the self-paced curriculum in as few as three months. The continuing education option’s initial cost will be $1,995 — a discounted price from the regular price of $2,395.

Tennis professionals who earn their Director of Racquet Sports Certification from the University of Florida will be able to differentiate themselves in the job market as someone who has pursued the most extensive content available in our industry. Long-time USPTA Elite Professional and former Gator AllAmerican player Kim Bastable will be directing the program.

“This curriculum is perfect for tennis professionals who want to transition into leadership positions in tennis and racquet sports,” said John Embree, CEO, USPTA. “Following two years of development from some of the brightest minds in the USPTA, we are thrilled that the University of Florida, which has such a strong reputation amongst institutions of higher learning, has agreed to deliver this education for the betterment of our industry.”

“The University of Florida is very excited to partner with the USTPA on the Director of Racquet Sports specialization,” said Michael Sagas, Professor and Chair for the Department of Sport Management at the University of Florida. “We believe this curriculum is an excellent complement to the existing core curriculum in sport management and look forward to working with leaders in the tennis industry to expand their knowledge, expertise, and relevance.”

“The Director of Racquet Sports curriculum meets the increasing industry demand for professional development and competencies in all areas of the tennis and racquets business in private clubs and public facilities,” said Kim Bastable, M.S. USPTA, UF Director of Professional Tennis Management. “We are excited to provide the delivery of USPTA and USTA’s strong curriculum because the tennis and racquets industries need more leaders, and this program will create both competencies and a leadership network.”