Do you want to know how to become a tennis coach? If tennis is your passion and you would rather be on-court than anywhere else, high school or college tennis coach jobs may be right for you.
The job market is broad, with college tennis coach jobs available and ones at high schools, tennis facilities, and gyms. Those who are particularly established at coaching tennis can even work with pro players. Coaches help a wide variety of people enhance their tennis skills, from kids who are just getting started to elite athletes.
Whatever level you coach, teaching tennis gives you the chance to pass on the game to young and adult players, inspiring others to get as much out of the sport as you have. An outstanding coach goes beyond inspiring and motivating players, though. You share skills with your players that will be valuable throughout their lives. Plus, you serve as an example, showcasing behavior that allows students to use you as a role model.
When people wonder what it takes to become a tennis coach, a typical false assumption is that you need to excel as a player. You simply need to have a love for the sport and a commitment to helping others who have a similar passion for the game succeed in competition. However, playing experience does help (see “Gain experience” below).
Being a tennis coach can be intensely gratifying, truly a dream job for the right person. What’s more, there are many opportunities to get your first coaching experience. You could coach at middle schools or high schools, as well as Junior Team Tennis. After-school programs and camps will often need coaches too. You will likely have to volunteer until you have the experience to get a paid position.
This article explores how to become a tennis coach and how to excel at coaching once you’ve landed a position. First, though, we briefly discuss primary duties and salary expectations for tennis coach jobs.
What Does a Tennis Coach Do?
A tennis coach’s core responsibilities are similar to those who coach other sports: you need to put together team workouts and individualized training programs. You need to regularly assess skills. You need to log and track progress in various areas. You need to instruct players on tactics they can use to win points. You need to help your players choose the ideal rackets and clothes. Finally, you need to help your players play safely and keep from getting injured.
How Much Does a Tennis Coach Make, and How is the Job Market?
A tennis coach makes an average of $46,000 per year. However, coaches of pro players can make much more than that.
There are more opportunities to become a tennis coach as time passes: one projection forecast 30,500 tennis coach jobs created between 2018 and 2028 in the United States (11 percent growth).
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How to Become a Tennis Coach
Gain experience
Your experience and level of play will be important factors in your tennis coaching career. Most tennis instructors have played tennis for many years, often since they were kids, and have also competed at a high level. However, some tennis coaches don’t have the same level of experience.
If you aspire to become an elite tennis coach, take into account your level of experience and play to determine if you have what it takes to coach high-performance players. You don’t have to be a professional tennis player to become a great coach, but the more experience you have, the better your chances for success.
Get educated
To become a college tennis coach, a bachelor’s degree, and, in many cases, experience competing for a college team are often prerequisites. You may begin your career as a graduate assistant, volunteer, or assistant coach to gain the knowledge necessary to coach a team. You can also apply for internships where available to gain more experience to further your career.
It is important to consider education because an industry analysis found that more than two-thirds of tennis coaches are college-educated. While only 16 percent of tennis coaches nationally have master’s degrees, 68 percent have bachelor’s degrees. Generally, you want to get a degree in kinesiology or a similar field.
A Professional Tennis Management (PTM) program is also worthy of consideration. You can attend a PTM program at more universities now than ever before. The USTA’s Professional Tennis Management page has more information on the subject.
Clearly, college is not absolutely necessary to get coaching positions, though. If you have work experience in tennis and have demonstrated your ability to coach, you can land positions with only a high school diploma.
Get certified
Even though going through formal training and certification is not always a prerequisite to starting your tennis coaching career, many tennis programs may require you to be certified. Having training and certification also helps to show your potential employers or clients that you are aware of the latest recommendations within the sport. Getting certified through one of the two primary certification bodies (see below) will be a statement that you are taking actionable steps to make your coaching dream a reality.
Those who want to know how to become a tennis coach should specifically know the value of USTA-accredited coaching certification. The USTA, short for the United States Tennis Association, entrusts two organizations to perform coaching certifications, the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) and the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). Certification through either the PTR or USPTA expresses your knowledge of core coaching standards and practices.
To find out about getting certified through the PTR, click here.
To find out about getting certified through the USPTA, click here.
After going through the provided education materials and passing their written and on-court tests, you can become a certified member of these organizations.
Here are just a few of the positive outcomes of choosing to get certified as a tennis coach:
- At-home access to comprehensive online training
- A better definition of your career trajectory through advanced certification
- Background checks and a safe-play course (through which you are verified as a safe coach)
- Bolstering of skills and expansion of opportunities via continuing education
- Access to hands-on learning through workshops
- The ability to continue your education while participating in an apprenticeship
- Access to liability insurance
- Discounts on equipment and services.
Continue educating yourself
The tennis industry continues to evolve, including aspects such as racket technology, court surfaces, software products, player technique, and style. With so many changes and advancements in the sport, it’s imperative for tennis coaches to continuously educate themselves and stay up-to-date with the state of the industry and tennis technology.
Also, consider implementing new cutting-edge technologies into your teaching. Sophisticated, smart equipment such as KITRIS-KIT, Dartfish, and PlaySight smart courts are designed to transform matches and practices into fully interactive, shareable events. This equipment helps with measuring player performance and providing valuable analysis. You also have:
- tennis ball machines (Lobster, Tennis Cube) to help practice tennis strokes through repetition,
- training aids (TopspinPro, ServeMaster, EyeCoach) to help players feel what coaches try to teach, as well as
- sensors that attach to rackets (Zepp, BabolatPLAY, Sony Smart Sensor) and smart garments (Ralph Lauren Polo Tech Shirt) to collect and record training data
Tennis educational materials are widely available online, in books, as well as in the form of tennis coaching workshops. With access to phone apps, training software, and online teaching videos, you can conveniently find inexpensive (and sometimes free) instruction. A well-rounded education makes for a valuable, well-informed instructor.
Start with youth tennis and work your way up
The USTA has a special program that allows you to develop your coaching skills: Coach Youth Tennis. This program, designed for coaches working with any age of kids, is made up of at-home and on-court workshops. These experiential workshops are highly interactive. Go to the association’s Learning Management System to sign up for Coach Youth Tennis.
Sharpen your skills as a private instructor
You can start offering one-on-one instruction, building your resume until you land a coaching position. If you want to offer private instruction, you need to invest in equipment. Having the right gear will allow you to be more effective in your lessons and come across more professionally. You want to have between a few hundred and a couple thousand dollars to get started with private lessons, per veteran tennis instructor Chad Walner.
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How To Excel As A Tennis Coach
Develop strong communication and listening skills
Communication is a vital skill for a tennis coach since you’re an instructor who teaches the basic rules of the sport and a motivator. You must be able to clearly communicate all the information you wish to convey to your players in a way that’s easily understood. Focus not only on the content of your message but also on how others can interpret the message.
For example, you could say, “Tomorrow we’ll work on footwork,” but what you mean to say is, “Tomorrow we’ll focus on the technical aspects of executing the footwork drills we did last week.” Your student, however, may interpret that message as tomorrow being a tough fitness day or might say to themselves, “Coach thinks I’m not quick enough.” You can see how such miscommunication can have an emotional impact on the student. Make sure you’re always clear on what your players are meant to achieve and how you intend to contribute to that process.
Both verbal and nonverbal communication is important when coaching tennis or any other sport. By the same token, your students also communicate verbally and nonverbally, and you can learn to be an effective listener and a better coach by observing those signs. Athletes often respond positively to coaches who focus on good performance and don’t respond well to those who instruct only after mistakes.
Also, aim for consistent patience, especially given the possibility that something needs to be communicated in a different way.
Have leadership, time management, and organizational skills
As a tennis coach, you’re a leader and authority figure. Most of your players will follow any developmental path you choose for them. Because of that, it’s important you lead them down a successful path. Having a bad attitude toward your organization, colleagues, umpires, players, or coaches can only lead to one thing – your players behaving the same way. Turning up late, failing to bring equipment, or being unenthusiastic about practice can also give your players a reason to feed off those negative actions. As a result, poor performance and attitude may be reflected on the court. As a tennis coach, you must strive to improve the drive of your athletes by example.
Organizational and time management skills are also crucial for a tennis coach to guide the team through a season of practices and matches. Use practice plans and drills prepared in advance, as well as calendars on your phone and/or notebook to keep your schedule and players organized.
Be positive
You’ve probably heard the phrase, “You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”
The same applies to coaching. If you’re a positive coach with a good attitude, you’ll get better results from players and even attract more students to your program.
One thing most tennis players have in common is that they need a good dose of positive energy from their tennis coach. There’s no doubt that coaches need to be tough on players to prepare them for difficult on-court situations. However, it’s crucial to provide feedback in a positive way to help students with their confidence, guide them through setbacks, and teach them how to become comfortable failing (when missing shots or losing matches, for example).
Stay in practice
It’s hard to imagine becoming good at anything without hard work and dedication. Aiming to do a little better every day will be the key to your success. Get on the tennis court and use your passion to work on your coaching skills. Help develop the next generation of players and fans by first ensuring your own skills are sharp – both as a player and as a coach.
How To Become A Tennis Coach Faster
Landing your dream tennis job may be a long-term goal, or it may just be around the corner for you. Either way, you need to know the right people if you want to find out about the most exciting openings. At JobsInSports.com, we offer the premier sports network of professionals within the sports industry. Join today to begin networking and land the job of your dreams.