JrTennis.org

Define your tennis goals

Before choosing a coach, I feel it’s essential to define your long and short term goals.  What do you want to accomplish with lessons?  Learn the game and get some exercise, play in college or high school tennis, raise your ranking or be a professional tennis player?  These goals will determine the amount of tennis practice you will need to achieve your goals, the cost as well as the level of coaching necessary.  It will also help define whether a group, private or academy setting is the best way to achieve these goals.  Once you define these goals, then choosing a coach will be easier.

Some traits I look for in a tennis instructor:

• Makes lessons fun
• Is encouraging, praises the student, doesn’t put them down or get frustrated
• Has patience and keeps their cool
• Teaches proper technique and corrects bad form concisely in a way the student understands
• Teaches good sportsmanship, etiquette, footwork and rules in addition to stroke production
• Doesn’t wait for perfect strokes before teaching strategy
• Is a good role model and ethical
• Arrives on time, is reliable, professional, gregarious, and enthusiastic about tennis
• Is organized, has a plan for what they will be teaching and communicates it to the parents and player
• Listens well
• Communicates well
• Wants to work together as a team with the student and parent
• Has a good rapport with students, is able to clearly explain the drills and techniques, and students easily follow their instruction
• Doesn’t overwhelms the student with too many instructions
• Creates realistic game situations, rallies and doesn’t just feed balls
• Caters lessons around the student’s individual abilities and talents
• Uses a coaching style that works for your junior
• Is recommended by other students and parents
• Balances pushing a player to exceed while still allowing the student to be successful
• Helps a player build confidence as they develop
• Help organize and encourage match play for the student when they are ready
• Encourages players to compete and helps plan competition schedules
• Supports students by attending matches or tournaments to observe the student in match situations
• Have other students at a similar age and level