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PERFORMANCE ANXIETIES IN TENNIS-PART 1

Posted on August 4, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
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PERFORMANCE ANXIETIES

 

“Juniors need to understand that during matches, negative emotions come and go like flights landing and taking off from an airport. They can choose to hop on the looney flight or simply let it take off without them.”

 

During match play, negative emotions reveal fear and insecurity, while positive emotions reveal confidence and control. The ability to control one’s emotions is a critical high performance skill.  Emotional intelligence is a learned behavior.

 

“Emotional Development is just as important as stroke development.”

 

Below, I’ve listed four categories of common performance anxiety symptoms.  If you suspect that your child’s fear of competition, confrontation or adversity is affecting their performance, it may be time to gather the coaches for an emotional training session. Ask your child to check any below symptoms that they feel describes them on match day. Design a new action plan to overcome each issue.

 

Match Day Symptoms

Physical Symptoms:

  • Shallow, fast breathing
  • Increased muscle tension throughout the body
  • Increased perspiration
  • Feeling dizzy and weak in the knees
  • Feeling that your body is on the court but your mind is somewhere else

Mental Symptoms:

  • Inability to focus one point at a time
  • Over thinking (choking)
  • Under thinking (panicking)
  • Reoccurring thoughts of failure
  • Worrying about others opinions of their performance
  • Obsessing about others rankings & successes

Emotional Symptoms:

  • Self-doubt in strokes as seen in “pushing”
  • Self-doubt in stamina & strength as seen in reckless shot selection (to end points prematurely)
  • Nervousness, hesitation & fearful performance
  • Stressing about uncontrollable variables
  • Not taking the time to enjoy the moment

Behavioral Symptoms:

  • Not performing match day routines & rituals
  • Hurrying & fast pace walking
  • Having mini tantrums, racket cracking or mindless fast walking/play
  • Forgetting the basic ball striking functions
  • Allowing the opponent or situation to control your playing speeds

 

THE “PROS AND CONS” OF HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS

Posted on May 7, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!

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THE “PROS AND CONS” OF HIGH SCHOOL TENNIS

 

Playing high school ball is a rite of passage issue for the high performance athlete. The benefits of high school tennis lean towards life experiences rather than excelled tennis growth. There are exceptions to any rule, so let’s take a deeper look at this interesting question.

The answer is a bit complicated. It greatly depends on your child’s level, needs and goals. It also depends greatly on the level of the possible teammates and coaching staff at your child’s high school. Some high school teams I work with are better than most college teams.

Is High School ball right for your athlete?

Mark is a student of mine. He is a SCTA sectionally ranked player in the top 20. His national ranking is around 60. He is diligent about his tennis and spends about 20 hours training extremely hard every week. He has reached the semis of three national events and his long term goals are to play for Peter Smith at his dream school USC.

His dad is a former player and they are certain he will play a minimum of two years on the ATP futures and challenger tours after college. At his high school, there is one other fairly serious player on the team. The high school coach is a super nice guy. He is the biology teacher. He is coaching because he used to play high school ball and enjoys the game. The coach runs an “optional” fee based 6 week pre-season training camp. Of course, paying and attending greatly increases an athlete’s chances of playing varsity for the team. Now let’s review the positive and negative sides of high school ball for Mark and his family:

 

POSITIVE Side to Playing High School Tennis:

 

Plenty of Court Time!

On non-match days, they hit about 2 hours a day, grooving strokes, running through tennis drills and exercising. On match days they play matches and watch team-mates play matches.

Wonderful Team Atmosphere

Although tennis is an individual sport, playing high school tennis provides the players with the benefits of team sports. Such as camaraderie, cooperation and social interaction skills.

Fun Peer Group Socialization

Team tennis encourages players to be more sociable in different environments. They have to deal with different people, who may or may not be their friends. The van trips alone, to and from matches are a blast.

Big Fish in a Small Pond Experience

Mark feels average participating in nationals at his ranking level. At high school he is the king! Even the cheer leaders know him.

Low Cost

Mark’s parents wrote a check for $650.00 to the booster club for the whole 4 month!

Less Driving To Lessons and Tournaments

Mark’s parents don’t have to worry about driving him anywhere.

 

 

 

NEGATIVE Side to Playing High School Tennis:

 

Developing Bad Habits

After spending four months on court with less devoted “hobbyists”, Mark develops bad work ethic issues, poor shot selection and poor mental toughness.

Quantity versus Quality Practice Time

Most often Mark is goofing off with intermediate teammates or even assisting them with their games. While on the court, he’s even texting friends and making plans for Friday’s party.

Quality of Match Level

Mark wins 8 out of 10 matches 6-0. Winning most matches easily may be great for his ego but not for his long term development. Mark needs a competitive environment to continue to grow and improve.

College Scholarship Factor

According to top Division 1 coaches speaking at my seminars, Coaches look at national rankings and ITF rankings. They don’t consider high school ball as a High Performance Level.

The Success Formula

Remember that the success formula is spending approximately 20 hours of serious training every week for approximately 10 years. Is playing high school tennis for 4 consecutive months 4 years in a row in Mark’s developmental plan?

Rebuilding the Level

It actually takes an additional 2 months of serious physical, mental and emotional training after the high school season ends to re-establish the high level Mark was playing before the season. Now, factor in a six month loss in training time. As Mark chose to de-stress and have fun playing high school ball for 4 months. His rivals who have chosen to skip high school tennis have continued to improve their games as well as their rankings.

 

Bottom Line: Playing High School Tennis

It is important to reiterate that most high school age players are not as devoted as Mark. Others may be just as serious but need to de-compress and simply play social tennis for a season or two. If so, I recommend playing their freshman year to get a little famous at their new school and then again their senior year after they have signed their letter of intent to play for their college.

I encourage taking some time to consider all these variables. If your child is more of a “hobbyist”, high school ball is one of the best experiences available.  However, if your child is a phenom, a compromise may be in order. It may be best to have a meeting with the coach and/or athletic director and organize a win-win schedule. Often top players and their parents can negotiate a workable schedule with the high school coach.

For elite players considering high school tennis, the following three topics should be addressed (negotiated) prior to committing to the high school season:

1) Skipping most practice session in lieu of their private sessions.

2) Scheduling to only play the tougher rival matches.

3) Playing enough matches in order to qualify for the season ending state championships.

 

 

SIGNS OF A HIGH IQ TENNIS COACH

Posted on May 1, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!

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SIGNS OF A HIGH IQ TENNIS COACH

 

Here are a few insights to remember when seeking a new coach. Great tennis coaches offer the necessary hands on involvement with as little coddling as possible.

 

“Great coaches don’t need you or your athlete…you need them.”

 

They deeply understand the depth of the science behind the strokes while considering the athletes personal flair. A great coach offers structure with the freedom to explore. Lastly, a great coach is a team player who always puts their students’ needs above their own.

Characteristics of an Elite Tennis Coach:

  • Optimistic.
  • Encourages observation of his/her lessons.
  • Listens to you and your child.
  • Combines fun and laughter with serious learning.
  • Doesn’t use a one size fits all approach to development.
  • Understands personality profiling, brain typing & body typing.
  • Organizes a deliberate customize blueprint for your child’s development.
  • Eager to view your match charts and match video analysis (during scheduled lesson times.)
  • Help define parental roles and responsibilities.
  • Knowledgeable of the essential components of a high performance tennis player.
  • Understands the importance of positive parental behaviors.
  • Assist in organizing an entourage of mental/emotional trainers, off-court fitness experts and physical therapists- as needed.
  • Assist in the logistics of raising athletic royalty.
  • Available for monthly entourage team meetings.
  • Welcomes parent’s emails and progressive dialogue.
  • Helps organize the player’s weekly developmental schedule.
  • Assist in organizing the player’s tournament schedule.
  • Encourage parents to use tools such as: Reading Raising Athletic Royalty.
  • Conducts parental workshops.
  • Recommend that the parents educate themselves through seminars, workshops and educational materials.
  • Teach life lessons through the sport of tennis.
  • Willing and able to be a mediator between the child and the parent.

 

Parents, world class coaches are very hard to find. Finding one with free time in their busy schedule is even tougher.

 

“Plan on compensating your elite coach for their time on court and off court. If you find one with the above characteristics, hold onto them for dear life.”

 

FINDING THE RIGHT TEACHING PROFESSIONAL

Posted on April 28, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
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FINDING THE RIGHT TEACHING PROFESSIONAL

 

“When selecting a pro, you’re not just paying for the hour on court…
but hopefully you’re paying for the thousands of hours of experience the coach has acquired solving similar issues.”

 

Initial instructors are usually chosen by proximity, cost and availability. Once your youngster moves into the competitive stage, it’s time to identify the styles and personalities of coaches that fit your child’s needs. Yes, it is perfectly acceptable to have more than one coach. In this day and age, top players have an entourage of technical teachers, hitters, mental and emotional experts, off-court athleticism experts and physical therapists.  The key to success is unity among the entourage.

 

A great example is ATP star Sam Querrey. When I worked with Sam in his early teens we focused on the mental/emotional side of his development. His parents Chris and Mike always employed a terrific team of hitters, coaches and clinics to provide world class instruction for their son.

 

Profiling a coach before a relationship begins is recommended. Most confident coaches will welcome you to simply sit and observe their lessons before committing to lessons. There are many factors to consider when seeking a new coach. The first is what personality and style best suites your athlete?  Listed below are eight types of coaches that you may be employing along your journey.

 

 

Coaching Styles:

The Detailed, Analyzer

The Off Court Fitness Expert

The Kind and Fun Loving Coach

The Hitter

The Emotional, Psychological Coach

The Strategizer

The Academy Recruiter

The Drill Sergeant

 

Facts to Consider When Selecting a Pro

Finding a Pro is easy. Finding the right Pro will require more thought and leg work. You may be using different types of Pros for different reasons. Below are a few insider tips to help you hire your entourage of coaches:

  • In every region, only a very small percentage of pros actually teach the top players. (There are very big differences between teachers and recruiters.)
  • Look for a coach who’s enjoying what they do, it’s contagious.
  • Seek out a Pro that is so busy, that they don’t need you.
  • The 10,000 hour rule applies! Being a master coach is a learned experience.
  • Seek out a Pro who understands your child’s unique Brain and Body Type (Genetic Predisposition).
  • Make sure the coach is asking questions, customizing and targeting their lessons.
  • Ask every player that beats your kid, “Great match…who is your coach? Where do you train?”
  • Ask a prospective coach, “We’ve heard great things about you, may we come and observe a few of your lessons?”
  • Pay the coach to chart a match and devise his game plan for improvement. Meet regarding his observations and suggestions.
  • Ask for a resume and who they trained under. (As a teacher- not as a player.)
  • Look for a coach that encourages independent thinking versus dependent thinking.
  • While there are exceptions, a former ATP/WTA challenger player does not always translate into a great teacher. The most successful tennis coaches were not the most successful tour players.
  • Be wary of a Pro that discourages you from hitting with other Pro’s, hitters or trainers!

 

SPECIAL NOTE: To avoid confusion, employ one coach per job at any given time. Two different coaches employed to fix a serve may prove to be extremely confusing for your child. Conflicting information and battling egos spells trouble!

 

“It often proves beneficial to secretly observe a coach or academies without the coaching staff knowing you are a future client.
This experience will provide you with an honest assessment of their program.”

 

MANAGING ACCELERATED LEARNING

Posted on April 26, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!

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MANAGING ACCELERATED LEARNING

 

It’s our job as tennis coaches and parents to organize accelerated learning.

 

“Accelerated learning is the art and science of applying quality over quantity.”

 

Accelerated learning starts with you, the parent. The first step in managing the process is digesting the information presented in The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Once you have immersed yourself into the process of athletic development, you are better equipped to assist your coaches in prioritizing and accelerating your athlete’s learning curve.

A marvelous example of applying accelerated learning is recognizing when the athlete should stop focusing solely on block learning repetition and shift to the multi-tasking harmony of integrating each component together.  Accelerated learning starts with managing the development of consistent skill sets through flexible skills training.

Consistent skill set training is simply focusing on developing one component of the athlete’s game in isolation.  Examples include:

  • A motor programming sequences that needs to be followed to ensure a sound fundamental stroke.
  • A specific mental strategic-shot sequencing pattern designed to beat a retriever.
  • An emotional protocol rehearsed to help close out a 5-2 lead.
  • An athletic component such as agility around the tennis court.

Flexible skill set training is integrating the “games approach” to learning. High level tennis players have been taught to quickly quantify game situations, make multiple pre-set situational decisions and execute the correct responses. Cognitive processing skills need to be integrated early.

 

“A common mistake I witness around the globe is the obsession of focusing solely on acquiring perfect fundamental strokes in a block learning environment.”

 

I recommend introducing multi-tasking drills and problem solving situations as soon as possible. This is a form of stimuli overload. Examples include: Adding a stress related emotional element to a stroke production drill. Combine on-court quickness with a specific sequence of patterns. By overloading the athlete’s stimuli in practice, the uncomfortable becomes more comfortable. Being okay with feeling uncomfortable prepares the player for the integrated approach needed in match play.

 

Different sports require different brain functions and development. A world class figure skater or gymnast simply focuses on recreating the exact sequence. Their performance goal is to match their exact pre- determined routine. In their performance they only recreate, they don’t create. So, would they train with flexible-skill sets? Not likely.

Should a tennis player train flexible-skill sets? You bet! Playing sports like basketball, hockey, soccer or tennis are requires random split second decisions making skills. It’s about adaptation, creativity, spotting options and aborting missions. Flexibility and millisecond decision making “on the fly” are critical functions in flexible skill set dominate sports.

KEYS TO ACCELERATING LEARNING- TENNIS

Posted on April 24, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!

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KEYS TO ACCELERATING LEARNING

 

How do you take a kid with potential and develop them into a proven champion? What predetermines their success? How do you convince them that they’re special? What factors build passion? How does a parent and coach develop a consistent winner?

 

Let’s use my step- daughter Sarah Fansler as a quantifiable example of gauging the development of a kid’s potential. Most would agree that Sarah had a flair for the game. She was ranked top in the nation. Sarah won multiple gold, silver and bronze balls. She won a total of 10 U.S. National titles.  She’s played the junior U.S. Open twice and the adult U.S. Open once before the age of 16. She was honored as he NCAA College Freshman of the year while at USC.

Now, let’s uncover her underlying story and take a deeper look at Sarah’s training regimen. As a junior player, Sarah had spent six years training full time. That’s about 20 hours a week or a thousand hours a year practicing in the manner in which she was expected to perform. Sarah only followed a deliberate, customized developmental plan.

Sarah did a private lesson with me from 6:30am -7:30am before getting ready for school. Sarah’s after-school regimen included playing full matches against paid college players and/or off-court training at a specialized gym called “Get Fit”, a Vert system off-court training center. After dinner Sarah and I drilled for an additional hour and a half. On weekends, Sarah played tournaments.

Sarah followed my Customized Player Evaluation (Found in section VII) – a formula for deep accelerated learning. Her training regimen was more intense than the typical training program of an average high performance player. The hidden factor to her tennis success was her hard work on and off the court each week. The accelerated learning process catapulted Sarah above her rivals.

 

“You can’t simply place your athlete in with the group… if you actually want them to get ahead of the group!”

 

So, was Sarah’s success due to her natural gifts or was it earned through a planned process? My answer is that approximately 20 percent of Sarah’s junior success was due to her natural talents, 80 percent was due to her learned behaviors. The development of life lessons was a major factor.

So talent is actually measured by the preparation before the performance. Often professionals say “I didn’t just win this event today…I won it through the last three months of customized preparation.”

So, my question to the parents and coaches is: What’s your deliberate, customized developmental plan for your athlete?

IDENTIFYING AND MOTIVATING TALENT

Posted on April 22, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
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IDENTIFYING AND MOTIVATING TALENT

 

So, you’ve got a promising young talent, that’s a great start. Now how do you manage that talent, their entourage of coaches, academies and teams?

Let’s look deeper into the facts and myths of talent. There are a lot of myths surrounding the word “Talent.” If sheer natural talent was gifted to an individual, then the naturally talented would drift to the top without effort. Unfortunately, by the time a junior reaches the competitive stages of the game; their sheer physical talent isn’t enough. Why? Because at the high performance level, most of their competitors are also solid athletes, but with great work ethic, deep desire and a deliberate, customized developmental plan.

I know… many of you reading this may be thinking:

 

“Yeah but…My kid was endowed by my superior gene pool; they inherited my awesomeness …so they are obviously destined for greatness.”

 

While that may be true, success at the higher level demands a bit more than genes. It takes years and years of applying a customized deliberate developmental plan.

Talent is considered by most to be a genetic predisposition, a sense of natural ability handed down through the family gene pool. Expert educators in various fields agree that every decade one truly gifted individual walks through their doors. Does this mean that most truly successful people aren’t genuinely talented or does it mean that talent is more than merely good genes?

 

“Junior talent is only a foreshadowing of future greatness.”

 

Talent is a kid with potential. No, it’s even more than that. It’s a kid with potential with parents who were deeply involved in the development of skills and the stimulation of passion. So, what does this new definition of talent mean for the rest of us mere mortals? It means that if a child has parents who are determined and passionate about the game and extremely patient and persistent, they’ve got a real shot at greatness!

In every field talent is a learned behavior. What do Wayne Gretsky, Yo-Yo Ma, Bill Gates, Bobby Fischer, Tiger Woods, Mozart, Miley Cyrus, Bruno Mars and Michelangelo have in common with tennis greats? They were all children who developed a remarkable talent from an early age. A spark became a flame as they persistently developed their talent. What seems now like a god given natural gift is actually a deliberate, customized learned behavior.

In my opinion, most of the ATP and WTA professionals you watch on television did not demonstrate early phenomenal promise.  You can YouTube most of today’s stars playing tennis at the earliest stages. Guess what you’ll see? A bunch of average looking kids enjoying the process of learning. They simply were solid athletes, with potential who were nurtured the love for the game.

 

“Talent is determination, passion and persistence.”

 

A question often asked during my tennis parent workshops is, “How do we motivate our athlete?” When it comes to instigating the hunger, it may prove wise to understand what “buttons” to push as you encourage your special athlete. There are two very powerful psychological forces, extrinsic and intrinsic that parents and coaches should identify when motivating their athletes.

Extrinsic Motivation: Implies being motivated by outside forces. Examples include: Praise- and lots of it!  Belief in their abilities by the entourage, trophies, awards, playing for a D-1 NCAA squad, ensuring a better future, money, and/or fame.

Intrinsic Motivation: Implies being motivated by inner forces. Examples include: a love for the mastery of the game, the need to win or the hatred of losing, keeping up with a successful siblings, seeing someone just like them succeed so they believe they can also succeed, finding the journey challenging and enjoyable.

MATCH DAY STRETCHING

Posted on March 29, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
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 MATCH DAY STRETCHING

 

Preparing the body for the upcoming competition should be a major priority. Serious players seeking peak performance and injury prevention should incorporate a customized stretching routine.

 

“Current sports science research suggest that elevating the core body temperature is recommended before dynamic stretching begins.”

 

Pre-Match Stretching Routines

Customizing their routines is a great way to assist your athlete in being accountable. If your player does not have a fitness trainer, I suggest asking them to formulate their very own dynamic stretching routine by using Google: YouTube dynamic tennis warm up routines.

Pre-match warm-up routines will be an important part of your athlete’s match day stretching regiment. Dynamic stretches help warm-up and elevate core body temperature.

Pick two lower body dynamic, mobile stretching routines.  (These are tennis-specific movements aimed to prepare your lower body for the actual demands of match play.)

Pick two upper body dynamic stretching routines. (These prepare your shoulders arms and core for the demands of a high performance match.)

 

Post-Match Stretching Routines

Post-match static stretching routines are used during the cool-down phase. While standing or sitting still, elongate muscles and hold the position. This allows the muscles to be stretched farther in order to increase range of motion.  Once again, assist your athlete in being accountable. I suggest asking them to customize their very own static stretching routine by using Google: YouTube static tennis warm up routines.

Pick two lower body static stretching routines. (These are tennis-specific rituals aimed to cool down their lower body after the actual demands of match play.)

Pick two upper body static stretching routines. (These cool down their shoulders, arms and core after the demands of a high performance match.)

 

Benefits of Stretching:

  • Improves range of motion
  • Reduces the risk of injuries
  • Reduces post-match soreness
  • Reduces fatigue
  • Increases power

 

“Part of an elite players entourage is an off court tennis specific trainer. Consult a certified trainer to customize your athletes stretching routines and rituals.”

 

EQUIPMENT PREPARATION-Part 2

Posted on March 27, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
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OPPONENT PROFILING

 

Top competitors are continually seeking an advantage. One of the best strategic (mental) and calming (emotional) advantages comes from scouting an upcoming opponent. Casually observing is one thing, but profiling the opponent is a skill set. Each playing style has an inherent group of strengths and weaknesses. Opponent awareness is an important part of match day preparation. Player profiling involves looking past strokes.

NOTE:  Whenever possible, as I coach players from the 12’s to the ATP/WTA pros, I apply the below profiling topics.

 

Opponent Profiling Scouting:

  • Primary style of play.
  • Preferred serve patterns (especially on mega points).
  • Preferred return of serve position and shot selection on both first and second serve returns.
  • Favorite go-to rally pattern.
  • Dominant short-ball option.
  • Preferred net rushing pattern.
  • Stroke strengths and weaknesses (Advanced players should also consider the strengths and limitations of strike zones.)
  • Movement, agility and stamina efficiencies and deficiencies.
  • Frustration tolerance, focus, and emotional stability.

Opponent profiling should continue from the pre-match phase, all the way through the actual match and into the post-match. Intelligent athletes even jot down notes regarding the opponent’s game on their post-match match logs. This is used as a reminder for the next time the two meet.

 

Looking Past Strokes:

During the warm up, the uneducated player/parents/coaches often think Player A has the match in the bag.  But what they do not realize is that Player B often wins because of their ability to identify and execute a game plan exposing their opponent’s weakness. Player A may have great looking fundamental strokes but “hidden” flawed mental and/or emotional components. Player B may have average looking strokes, but an incredible proficiency in their mental game. Hence, giving player B the edge due to his ability to isolate weaknesses or exert emotional intelligence at crunch time.

ELITE TENNIS PARENT JOB POST

Posted on February 13, 2022 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

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ELITE TENNIS PARENT JOB POST

 

Before we dig deeper into the more serious components of the tennis parent’s role, let’s first laugh a bit about what a “Tennis Parent Needed” internet job post would look like…

With “tongue firmly in cheek” I created the below piece for Tennis Magazine which ran last year. The point of detailing this incredibly difficult and sometimes thankless job is to acknowledge the love and dedication that go into developing and nurturing your child’s life skills.

 

 

Tennis Parent Job Description:

  • Positive team player needed for 168 hour per week position.
  • Candidate must possess a universal desire to be screamed at, talked down to and be willing to be hated 5-6 days a week.
  • Successful applicant must have an uncanny sense of “Buddha like” calmness in an often psychotic, stressful, chaotic environment.
  • Candidate must be willing to work early mornings, late evenings and most weekends.
  • Candidate must be willing to forget about their own personal interests, workout routines, sports and hobbies.
  • Candidate must not expect to go on vacation due to the year round tournament obligations.
  • Successful applicant should plan on missing traditional family holidays due to Thanksgiving Nationals, Winter Super Nationals, Spring Break/Easter Bowl, Labor Day and Memorial Day Events.

 

Requirements:

  • H R Skills– Interviewing, hiring and firing tennis coaches, trainers, hitters and off court specialists…with the enthusiasm of Donald Trump.
  • Accounting /Banking Skills- Possess an extremely thick check book and be willing and able to max out all of their major credit cards.
  • Designated Driver- Must be willing to put 100 thousand miles on the family car and enjoy most of your meals behind the wheel.
  • Expect your child to occasionally go “Tennis-Brain Dead“- Be willing and able to except that your child will occasionally forget everything they were taught during the last $5000.00 worth of lessons and blow several events a year.
  • Scheduling Manager- World class juggling skills required to organize the ever changing schedules of booking practice courts, times & logistics, hired hitters practice partners, lessons and events.
  • Booking Agent– Flexible skills required to book last minute airlines, cars and hotels.
  • VIP/24 Hour Courier Service: Laundry service, racquet re-stringing service, drug store pharmaceuticals pickup and delivery service, bed time psychology sessions.
  • Fashion Coordinator/Personal Shopper- Purchasing only the latest and greatest shoes and matching clothes.
  • Maintenance Knowledge– General Maintenance of equipment such as racquet re-gripping, clothing malfunctions, shoe lace replacement…
  • Parental Intuition- Must have the uncanny ability to become expendable and invisible in a seconds notice and/or appear bright eyed/ happy to help two minutes later.
  • Match Performance Review- Must be willing to evaluate a crummy performance by first pointing out fifty positive observations but NEVER share negative feedback without starting WWIII.

 

Wages and Expenses:

  • There is no pay for this position.
  • All the work and travel related expenses will not be reimbursed.