Mar 13, 2025
The competition in tennis is one of the fiercest in the sporting world. Unlike unique sports such as hockey, which is mainly played in the northern hemisphere, or American football, which is primarily played in North America, tennis is a global sport. This worldwide reach means that players from every country compete for the limited spots available on college tennis teams and for the highly sought-after international rankings on the professional tours. Given this intense competition, it is essential to provide our players with the best possible chance of success, which includes hiring the most qualified coaches.
There are several stages in a player’s career that require different coaching techniques to maximize potential. For example, a professional player on tour needs a coach experienced in strategy and mental aspects of the game. In contrast, a junior player aged 8-10 requires a coach who is skilled in teaching the fundamentals of the sport and has the patience to work with younger children.
In this blog, I will focus on the junior competitive stage for players aged 11-18. With the wide variety of coaches available, each possessing different skill sets, how do you choose the best one for your players?
Many parents share common concerns when selecting a coach for their child. A primary consideration is whether to choose a coach based on their solid playing background (experience) or their high level of certification (education). While many coaches may claim to have an impressive playing background, being able to outperform you or your 11-year-old child does not necessarily indicate that they have competed at a high level. A coach who has played in the top six for an NCAA Division 1 university ranked within the top 100 in the U.S., or who has achieved an ATP or WTA professional ranking, can be considered to have significant experience and can be seen as a competitive player. Anything less should be classified as recreational experience.
On the education side, there are various certification systems worldwide. I consider a coach with a Level 2 certification or higher from the International Tennis Federation (ITF), a Level 2 certification or higher from Tennis Canada, or a Professional 1 rating from the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) to have a high level of education in coaching. Ideally, it is best to find a coach who possesses both a successful playing career and advanced certification. Although such coaches are rare and hard to find, their value is exceptional. When parents and administrators must choose between a coach who is an outstanding player and one with a high level of certification, I personally lean towards selecting the former—a former player.
One of the most important aspects of any academy or high-performance program is the presence of a high-performance environment. This environment is characterized by the intensity you observe when athletes are training. In successful programs, athletes consistently leave the court sweaty and exhausted, which is a clear indicator of the effort they are putting in.
Having a former player as a coach can significantly enhance the creation of a high-performance environment. Coaches who have played at a professional level or for a top NCAA Division 1 team understand the challenges and demands of such an environment. They know what it takes to succeed and often expect the same level of intensity from their athletes. Additionally, these coaches bring a wealth of effective training experiences from their own backgrounds, which can be invaluable when planning training sessions for their athletes.
While it is possible for someone who has never experienced a high-performance environment to create one, it is rare and unlikely. Such individuals might rely on drills they have invented themselves, rather than those they’ve successfully executed. I would prefer to know that my child is training with a coach who can draw from a repertoire of drills they personally enjoyed and found effective during their playing days, rather than someone experimenting with untested drills or exercises.
Experience plays a vital role when selecting a coach. One major advantage of having a former player as a coach is the valuable insights they can offer to athletes. This is why many professional athletes choose to hire former professionals for their teams. How can a coach guide a player on handling pressure in a match if they have never experienced that kind of pressure themselves? Every former player has practical tips to help athletes navigate high-pressure situations during matches. Their personal experience translates into a wealth of knowledge that can greatly support your child’s development in tennis. While highly certified coaches may possess theoretical knowledge, their lack of firsthand experience can make their advice feel inconsistent.
Former players also tend to offer superior scouting information to their athletes. One time I was at a tournament helping the athletes from my club when I noticed one of our girls was losing a match that I though she could win. I commented to her mother that if her daughter started playing more towards her opponent’s forehand, she would take the match. The mother looked at me as if I were crazy. She said that her daughter’s opponent had a great forehand and that her last coach, who had not had a lot of experience competing, had told her to keep it away from the girl’s forehand.
I explained my reasoning by saying that while the opponent had a powerful forehand when receiving easy balls, it was clear that she didn’t trust her forehand. The mother of our player asked me how I knew that. I simply showed her that every time the ball went down the middle of the court, her daughter’s opponent would run around her forehand to hit a backhand. No one would ever do that if they preferred their forehand. Although our player lost that match, I made sure to be there for their next encounter and shared my insights. Consequently, she never lost to that player again. Without expert advice from a former competitor, our player might have continued to lose to that girl year after year and may not have achieved the successful career she later had (top 700 ITF).
Everyone knows that a picture is worth a thousand words. So, consider the impact of a coach with a strong playing background compared to one without. Who would do a better job of demonstrating to the athletes how to best perform a skill or execute a drill? The athletes will be in awe by the skill level displayed by the coach with a great playing background and will be motivated to emulate it, having been given a clear picture in their minds of how to perform the skill correctly.
While some coaches without extensive playing experience can explain drills clearly or demonstrate skills effectively from a static position, such cases are not only rare but also lack the same motivational impact of seeing a master perform the skill. Former players excel at demonstrating skills and, and thus, do a better job of inspiring their athletes to perform better.
It is also much easier to respect and listen to a coach who can beat you! Someone who has succeeded at reaching a level of play that an athlete aspires to achieve. The confidence players have in their coach—along with the coach’s confidence in their own abilities—directly impacts the players’ faith in the training program.
How much confidence can an athlete place in a coach who has never participated in an open singles tournament or one who has, but never advanced past the first round?
One of my coaches was the late, Lorne Main, a former professional tennis player from Canada. Lorne won the 55 and over World Championships in the first year I worked with him and, at 55, he could still beat my 15-year-old self. You better believe I listened to every word he had to say.
We had other great coaches in my academy like Pierre Lamarche (The Bear) who played for Mississippi State University and Ari Novick who had played Marquette University tennis in the US. I respected every single one of these coaches and was inspired by their playing background. It was partly that confidence in them that gave me the confidence to reach top 6 in Canada as a junior and to become an All-American for the University of Colorado!
In an ideal world, I prefer to hire coaches who have both a history of playing at a high level and possess a strong level of certification. Having a high level of certification shows to me that the coach is dedicated to their profession and improving as a coach which is always an attractive trait. This is why my wife, who is also my business partner, and I consistently offer professional development opportunities to our coaches.
When combined with the unique insights that former college or professional players can bring, this creates a solid foundation for fostering a high-performance environment within our program that consistently develops high-level athletes.
It is essential to select coaches who have both a significant competitive background in tennis and who are dedicated enough to becoming the best educated coaches as well. However, if one of these high-level coaches is not available, I recommend choosing a coach who has a competitive background in tennis and understands the training and competition required to reach excellence. Such coaches can inspire athletes and effectively demonstrate what it takes to become true high-performance competitors. For these reasons, I only consider coaches who have attained high levels of play for our academy programs at Aforza. Confidence in your coaches is everything to young athletes!
Inquire about your coach’s playing and educational background and visit our staff page to learn more about our incredible team of coaches.
