I often talk with tennis parents about their children and how they want to find the best coach for them.

But so many times the parents have no clue what makes a good tennis coach.

Most of the times they rely either on:

• word of mouth
• past successes of the coach (his name)
• how she looks and behaves (nicely dressed, working hard on court)
• where the coach works (if she works in a tennis academy or this prestigious club THEN she must be good)

All these factors are too superficial and can be very deceiving in your judgment and choice of a good tennis coach.

Here are 5 factors you need to check with your potential tennis coach to determine whether he is the right choice for your child:

1. What kind of person is he?

If you are seriously considering competitive tennis for your child, then you know that her career will last only up to 30 or 35 years of age.

After that she will have to pursue her own career in other or maybe even tennis related fields.

Which means that your child needs a mentor first, someone who will be a good role model not just for successful tennis but also for life.

2. Is your coach really an expert in tennis coaching?

There is a big difference between playing tennis well and coaching tennis well.

I remember reading an interview with Pete Sampras and he was asked how he hits his amazing forehand. He said: “I don’t know how to explain, it’s so natural.”

Goran Ivanisevic was also asked to explain how he hits his serve so well. He said: “I toss the ball up and hit really hard.”

Both of these players are extremely talented and would have a lot of trouble teaching someone how to hit a forehand or a serve.

3. Can the coach communicate their knowledge in easy and understandable way?

The key to good tennis coaching is the communication, not the expertise by itself.

A coach may be able to analyze every single little part of the forehand stroke but telling and explaining all this to the player will overwhelm and confuse them.

Observe your potential coach in a few sessions and note how many instructions he gives and if his students can follow them easily.

The end effect of tennis coaching is not proving that you are a tennis expert, but that the student becomes an expert tennis player.

4. Is the coach up to date with the latest teaching methodology?

This is especially important if you are considering a person older than 40 years.

That means your coach probably learned to play and coach tennis 20 to 25 years ago.

Those are the times of wooden racquets and old, rigid tennis technique.

In my experience, many of older coaches have not made the transition to the modern style of tennis and modern teaching methods.

The most common mistakes of old school are:

1. Perfecting the technique and looking for perfect form of the stroke instead of looking for effective shots

2. Feeding balls from the basket instead of creating realistic game situations

3. Having a group of players stand in one line and hit the balls they feed or either play back instead of making sure that everyone is involved in some activity ALL of the time

4. Correcting mostly the technique (elbow forward, bend your knees, racquet back, …) instead of correcting the type of shot (faster, slower, higher, more top spin, …)

5. Waiting until the technique is perfect and then starting to teach how to play (strategy) instead of combining both from the start

Most younger coaches have been trained in the modern way (game based approach) and the latest ITF, PTR and USPTA seminars all teach tennis coaches how to train in this modern approach.

Most older coaches either don’t attend current tennis seminars or don’t apply what they have learned and stick to their old teaching style.

Old habits die hard.

5. Do you need a tennis coach or a tennis teacher?

If you have a child from 7 to 18 years old, then they need a tennis teacher and a tennis coach.

A tennis teacher is someone who can teach the tennis technique, footwork and most common tactical plays in a very effective and understandable way.

A tennis coach is someone who guides an already developed player with advice and tips to maximize their potential.

As I mentioned above many older coaches are not really good teachers, but they are very good tennis coaches.

They have lots of experience and have made many mistakes (that’s how you become an expert) so their advice is typically very good.

So decide what exactly are you looking for – a tennis teacher or a coach? In perfect scenario you would find a person who is both, but if you have to make a choice, think which choice is better right now.

These are the most important questions you need to consider before choosing a tennis coach. There are many more so feel free to ask me more specific questions in this topic and I will gladly share my opinion.

As with everything let me emphasize that this is just my personal opinion and I suggest you ask a few more reliable sources (coaches, organizations, …) for their opinion and then make the final choice.

Related posts:


• How Are Juniors Training Tennis In Europe And Why Are They Better Than Americans?
• The Non-Competitive Approach To Tennis And Life
• Private vs Group Tennis Lessons
• 10 Keys To The Fastest Improvement In Tennis
• Coaching High School Boys Team – Q&A

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2007 at 10:52 pm and is filed under Tennis Coaching, Tennis Parents. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.