Addvantage 2017 May

Inside this issue A Weekly Tribute to Our Troops – 46 Delivering a World-Class Private Lesson – 52 Communicate to Win – 56 Departments: 42 CEO’s Message 52 Inside Coaching 44 Vice President’s Message 56 Master Pro Corner 46 Beyond the Court 58 Career Development 48 USPTA’s 90th Anniversary 60 Member News Read more articles online at www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com On the cover: The Sanchez-Casal Academy in Naples, Fla., will be the host of the USPTA Clay Court Championships, May 19-21. For more information or to register, go to www.setteo.com/torneos/uspta-claycourt-championships.

CEO’s Message

Come to Orlando!

By John Embree

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n case you did not know, we will be returning to Orlando, Fla., for the 2017 World Conference after a four year absence. But this gathering of our leadership and engaged members is going to be unlike any that we have held in the past. Why? Not only will we be showing off our new eco-friendly and technological World Headquarters, but you will able to experience the brand new USTA National Campus in Lake Nona!

Part of what will make this World Conference special will be the collaboration with the USTA and its Tennis Development Workshop, which brings together community tennis providers from around the country who build programs at CTAs, inner cities and public parks. Along with our tennis-teaching professionals, this joint effort will truly be a melting pot of the very leaders who are the biggest stakeholders in growing the game. Being neighbors with the governing body in Lake Nona will have definitive advantages – pooling our resources to produce a mega-educational event like we have planned is just one example of how we will be able to work together in the future.

While we have traditionally held our World Conference in September and the USTA has usually conducted its TDW in November, we compromised on the dates and determined that this dual event would be best held in the middle of October – the 12th through 15th. Please see the Save the Date advertisement in this publication. Our board meeting will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 10, followed by our Executive Committee on Wednesday, Oct. 11. While we will have a modest selection of educational offerings on that Wednesday, the real action will

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commence on Thursday, Oct. 12. And, what a kick off we will have!

Imagine a “Disneyland of Tennis” at the USTA National Campus. Starting early that morning and running until the middle of the afternoon, we will have all of the on-court education taking place that day. You will be able to pick and choose from a wide variety of

who have done amazing work in the trenches. That evening, we will go back out to the “Home of American Tennis” for a special Battle of Divisions that you won’t want to miss!

Of course, we will have the usual social events, including the welcoming party on Wednesday night with a special twist and our division parties on Satur-

While we have traditionally held our World Conference in September and the USTA has usually conducted its TDW in November, we compromised on the dates and determined that this dual event would be best held in the middle of October.

Please SAVE the DATE of October 12-15. seminars dealing with every aspect of being a tennis professional. Walk from seminar to seminar on player development/high performance, ladies team tennis drills, 10 and Under Tennis, pro shop profitability/stringing pointers, tournament administration, etc. – everything that you are curious to learn about will be easily accessible. Come to the open house at our newly constructed office and meet our new staff. It will end an incredible day.

You will then return by bus to the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld for our usual buying show with dinner and our silent auction that raises funds for the USPTA Foundation. After that dizzying first day, there will be three solid days of general sessions and classroom sessions conveniently located in the hotel, all designed to elevate your knowledge of the latest trends in the tennisteaching world.

Friday will feature an awards banquet that will recognize not only the very best USPTA Professionals for their contribution to the game and to our association, but we will share the stage with the USTA, which will honor those

day night. In other words, the week is going to be packed with education but also some fun events that always make for a great time.

The theme for this year’s conference is Next Generation and will encompass four different tracks, including the new USTA youth brand initiative, Net Generation (that you will be hearing much more about). Because our ultimate goal is to grow the game, which is synonymous with the USTA’s, we have a professional responsibility do whatever we can to help deliver on this comprehensive endeavor.

I am extremely enthused about the prospects for this year’s conference. Doing things as we have always done them is a recipe for mediocrity. We have to look at alternative ways to deliver outstanding content and teaching tools to make our professionals better at what they do. I am confident that you will come away from this conference more energized than ever and enthusiastic about our association and the future that is ahead. Don’t be foolhardy and blow this chance to mix and mingle with the movers and shakers of our industry. h

Vice President’s Message

“Cash In” On the AIM Program

By Jack Michalko

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n late November of 2013 the Public Relations Committee, co-chaired by Jeff Hawes and Joe Roediger, brought to the Membership Committee, which I chair, an idea for a program that would promote new memberships and reward current members. They named the program AIM, which represents Admire, Invite and Mentor. They asked if it would be possible for both committees to work together to implement this.

After many months of brainstorming and research, the two committees presented the program before our membership late in 2014.

The idea was to give our current members an incentive to recruit and encourage non-USPTA pros (who have never been members) to join our association. For every successful new professional applicant enrolled, they would be rewarded $50 in USPTA Pro Shop credit or deduct $50 from their next year’s membership dues.

Professional-level members are eligible to recruit up to two new members per year.

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The recruiting member is issued the credit once the new member has applied for membership and paid their application fee and dues. The applicant must put the member’s name on the application form or they won’t be entitled to the $50 credit. No exceptions!

If you participate in this program, please remember the mentoring part. As the recruiting pro, you have the responsibility of helping that individual through the application and testing processes whenever possible. This is where you are going to earn your $50 credit. You need to be available to answer questions or obtain information for them to help make the application process as seamless as possible. The idea is make the applicant feel comfortable while going through the process. Recruiting pros are encouraged to make phone calls and send emails to the applicants to discuss how they are doing and ask if they need any assistance throughout the process.

In 2016 we had 354 members take ad-

vantage of the AIM program, far ahead of our expectations, making the AIM initiative one of the most successful programs we have ever designed. But with that being said, as I visit division conferences across the country and mention the AIM program as part of my national board update, I am surprised how many members have never heard of it. This indicates that we need to do a better job of marketing this program. If we successfully reached more than 350 USPTA pros with the current limited exposure through fliers and word-of-mouth advertising, think of how successful this program could be if we get all of the 17 USPTA divisions to promote it through email messages and advertising in their division newsletters.

The AIM program is a great way for USPTA pros to help increase our membership while earning cash credit in the USPTA pro shop or reducing their next year’s dues. So give some thought to recruiting a fellow pro who doesn’t already belong to our association! h

Beyond the Court

A Weekly Tribute to Our Troops Tennis Thanks the Troops’ Veterans Adaptive Tennis Clinic

By Stefanie Bannon, ThanksUSA

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decided to start playing tennis to get active and lose weight,” says Carol Janssens, as she walks across the tennis court. Carol, a Navy veteran of 21 years, has just finished an hour-long tennis lesson with fellow veterans at East Potomac Tennis Center in Washington, D.C. “But I keep coming back for the awesome instructors – they are the best.”

Every Friday afternoon, Carol attends a Veterans Adaptive Tennis Clinic run by military non-profit ThanksUSA and Tennis Thanks the Troops. Carol voluntarily joined the Navy during the Vietnam War, at a time when the war was unpopular and being a woman in the military was ­difficult.

The idea for the clinic emerged as a way to give back to veterans like Carol by offering an activity that could serve as rehabilitation, as well as a healthy and fun way to stay active and socialize.

The result has proven more of a success than instructors and volunteers imagined; the original participants show up week after week.

Instructor Brenda Gilmore, PTR Adaptive Tennis Certified, and her assistant Gwen “Breezy” Gilbert teach the clinic. Brenda says: “It’s been quite rewarding for me to see not only the progress of the participants but to see how they enjoy each other’s company as much as they do learning to play tennis. I think this is truly one of the highlights of their week!” If the veterans aren’t joking with each other during drills, they are battling it out in friendly competitions with the volunteers and therapists from the VA who participate alongside them. The group as a whole has come to share a bond and a passion for tennis – with some players honing skills they picked up playing in their youth, and some picking up a racquet

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Brenda Gilmore: “It’s been quite rewarding for me to see not only the progress of the participants but to see how they enjoy each other’s company as much as they do learning to play tennis. I think this is truly one of the highlights of their week!”

Veterans Adaptive Tennis instructor Brenda Gilmore sharing a bond and passion for tennis with our veterans at a weekly clinic at East Potomac Tennis Center in Washington, D.C.

for the first time.

The veterans have a goal in mind as they practice – a chance to show off their talent at the Tennis Thanks the Troops All-American Family Day Bash at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md. The annual Memorial Day tournament is a fundraiser

for Thanks-USA, in conjunction with the USTA Mid-Atlantic, and the adaptive clinic will be one of the highlights.

ThanksUSA relies on donations and sponsors to hold the adaptive tennis clinic, including grants from the U ­ SPTA Foundation and USTA ­Foundation.

The success of the program has inspired plans for additional locations throughout the country. In January, Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Orlando, Fla., hosted a clinic, with interest for future clinics in Naples, Texas and Virginia Beach. ThanksUSA hopes that the veterans who attend the clinic will not only enjoy themselves, but feel the appreciation the country has for their years of service and ­sacrifice.

The very first ThanksUSA Veterans Adaptive Tennis Clinic was held at the Montgomery TennisPlex in Boyds, Md., in July 2016. See here for local coverage – wjla.com/news/local/thanks-usaholds-tennis-clinic-to-help-disabledveterans. h

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USPTA 90th Anniversary

Professional Tennis Comes of Age

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rom the 1920s to the 1950s, professional tennis events consisted mainly of head-tohead tours featuring the likes of Bill Tilden, Ellsworth Vines, Fred Perry, Don Budge, Bobby Riggs and Jack Kramer. These professional tours “barnstormed” throughout Middle America with portable courts, gradually educating and preparing a tennis public outside of the East Coast.

The professional tours captivated the public, but professional players were shunned by the national governing body, the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA). The USLTA realized that the success of the pro tennis tours would mean the loss of the power ­USLTA gained from organizing amateur events. Thus, professional players were excluded from USLTA tennis tournaments, including the U.S. National Championships. This was also Roy Emerson joined the USPTA in 1981 the case in England, where professional players were excluded from playing all depended on the financial success Wimbledon at the All England Club. of their major tournaments, and this Beginning in the late 1960s, Texas financial success hinged on the attenoil tycoon Lamar Hunt signed more and dance of the top players. more top amateur players to profes The success of WCT also paved the sional contracts with World Champion- way for the formation of the current ship Tennis (WCT). WCT blossomed men’s pro tour – the ATP Tour. When at the country’s new indoor sports the national federations found that their arenas, and was fueled by the growth of top national players were choosing WCT televised sports and the introduction events over their national tournaments, of the tiebreaker, which allowed televithe ILTF attempted to exert sanctionsion networks to better determine the ing power over the players. Although length of a match. one national federation alone could not Before the 1960s and the success of compete with WCT, all of them together, WCT, only a few players at a time had as the ILTF, could affect a player’s potenever turned professional – the money tial welfare considerably by suspending did not exist for more. Fearful that too him or her from ILTF tournaments. As many of the top players were turnthe national federations were fighting ing professional and that Wimbledon with WCT and reaffirming their comwould cease to be the world’s premier mitment to ILTF, the players themselves tennis tournament, the All England saw an opportunity to have a voice in Club, together with the British and running the pro game. In 1972, several U.S. national governing bodies, forced prominent players met in Forest Hills to “open” tennis on the International lay the foundation for an association of Lawn Tennis Federation in 1968. Fiplayers – the Association of Tennis Pronally, amateurs and professionals were fessionals (ATP). allowed to compete together. The major While the ATP (and later the womfederations had little choice since they en’s WTA) represented the needs and

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desires of professional players on the world’s expanding pro circuit, USPTA focused on the needs and aspirations of club teaching professionals, instructors and coaches. The ATP, WTA and USPTA continue to work together to represent the entire spectrum of professional tennis, from club pros to touring pros.

The positive association between USPTA and the pro tours continues today. Former tour players often join USPTA following their touring years in order to develop club management skills and contacts needed to start a new career. Or vice versa – current USPTA teaching pros sometimes try their luck on the pro tour depending on their success in regional and national events.

USPTA teaching professionals work hand-in-hand with pro tournament organizers to run tennis clinics and special events at many ATP and WTA events throughout the United States.

USPTA speakers have also taught business and other professionals skills at several ATP/WTA Professional Courses. These courses provide career transition services to retiring players. h

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USPTA Presidents (1974 - 1984) Les Longshore Jr. (1974) was a professional tennis player, coach, umpire, English teacher and distance runner. He was a cofounder of the Southern Professional Tennis Association and the Birmingham Track Club. He ran in every Vulcan Run marathon and completed 37 marathons, the last in 2002 at age 76. He was a USPTA member for 50 years.

Tex Schwab (1975) introduced during his presidency the first filing system of membership data – it was recorded on note cards and kept in small cardboard boxes. There were approximately 1,000 members at the time. He was a USPTA member for 42 years.

Sheldon Caldwell (1976-78) was the “father of ADDvantage magazine,” which was first published in 1977. As president, his goal was to recruit more members into USPTA, and also to improve the way the association communicated with the members and the industry.

Honorary Members

Alex Gordon (1976) served as president during a very turbulent time in USPTA’s history. Under his leadership, the board was completely revised and the USPTA began to experience unprecedented growth and progress. As a coach, he was first hired on as head professional at Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego in 1946. He taught there for 10 years and then returned again in 1960 and remained there until 1976. The San Diego resident passed away during his term as president. The Alex Gordon Professional of the Year award was named in his honor, and he was inducted posthumously into the USPTA Hall of Fame in 2007.

Katrina M. Adams Pauline Betz Addie * Jack M. Barnaby * George E. Barnes * Bill Bell * Steven Bellamy Asher J. Birnbaum Mike Blanchard * Vic Braden * Jane G. Brown George H.W. Bush Mary Carillo Ralph E. Chambers * Natalie Cohen * Robert B. Colwell * Robert A. Cookson *

Hunter L. Delatour Jr.* Fred A. Earle Jr.* Walter E. Elcock * Jimmy A. Evert * Allen Fox, Ph.D. J. Howard Frazer John Gardiner * Lucy S. Garvin Sam Giammalva Abe Golden * Dick Gould J. Randolph Gregson * Alex Guerry * Gladys Heldman * Mervin A. Heller Jr.* Slew E. Hester Jr.*

George Bacso (1978-80) was USPTA’s Director of Certification and Academies for many years.

He traveled the world conducting Certification Exams, Tennis Teachers’ Courses and Certification Training Courses (PTCA I). Bacso was instrumental in developing the current USPTA certification process and worked with USPTA’s national tester network. He also served several years as the president of the USPTA Eastern Division. He received the USTA National Education Merit Award and the national ­USPTA Professional of the Year Award. Bacso also received the inaugural George Bacso Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and he held a Master Professional rating. He was inducted into the USPTA Hall of Fame in 1994.

Tim Heckler (1980-82) was USPTA’s CEO for 30 years, from 1982-2012. Prior to that, he served on the USPTA Executive Committee and national Board of Directors. He was USPTA Professional of the Year in 1979 and a Master Professional. As CEO, Heckler guided the Association through a period in which it increased its membership fivefold and its annual income tenfold, established USPTA as the foremost organization of teaching professionals in the world, and revolutionized ­USPTA’s operations through computerization. He was inducted into the USPTA Hall of Fame in 2000.

Bill Tym (1982-84) served as USPTA’s executive director of USPTA from 1975-78 and helped create a standardized certification test. Tym was named USPTA Professional of the Year in 1982, College Coach of the Year in 1989, and Touring Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2002. He also received the George Bacso Lifetime Achievement Award from the USPTA in 2001 and the International Tennis Hall of Fame Tennis Educational Merit Award in 1981. He was inducted into the USPTA Hall of Fame in 2007.

Franklin R. Johnson Gordon D. Jorgensen * Robert J. Kelleher * Billie Jean King Don Klotz * Eve F. Kraft * Jack Kramer * Robert Lansdorp Rod Laver Julia A. Levering Claudia Long * Clarence Mabry * George R. Mac Call * Dan Magill * Stanley Malless * David R. Markin *

Harry Marmion * Alastair B. Martin * Mark McCormack * Hilary Paul McGuire Walter Montenegro * Ed Moosbrugger * Jason Morton * Bill Mott * Chet Murphy * Chuck Norris Desmond Oon, Ph.D. Fred Perry * Anne M. Pittman * Bill Price * Marvin P. Richmond * Ted R. Schroeder *

Alan G. Schwartz Pancho Segura Sam Shore * Pam Shriver Stan Smith Randy Snow * Lester M. Snyder Jr.* Tony Trabert Edward A. Turville * Welby Van Horn * Jon Vegosen Paul Waldman * Martina Widjaja Roy Wilder * Paul J. Xanthos *

*Deceased

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Inside Coaching

Delivering a World-Class Private Lesson

By Chris Lewit, USTA High Performance Coach

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n different countries and cultures around the world, the importance of private lessons for junior development can vary greatly. For some, private lessons are highly prized and considered absolutely essential, and for others they are dismissed as unnecessary, wasteful and extravagant.

I have spoken with many Spanish coaches, for example, who often lament that American players – and parents – are obsessed with private lessons.

Culturally in Spain, private lessons are not considered necessary for successful development; rather, players tend to be taught successfully in groups of two or three. The legendary Spanish coach Lluis Bruguera is well known for his philosophy that strongly dismisses the need for private work in junior development, and he has undoubtedly influenced the coaching culture throughout Spain. Interestingly, some of the younger generation of Spanish coaches who are more progressive, have started to embrace private lessons – at least as an adjunct to group work.

While Spain is moving slowly toward embracing the benefits of the private lesson, the U.S. industry trend seems to be directed toward more group lessons.

Still, Americans strongly value the one-on-one nature of the private, and many of our legendary American coaches like Robert Lansdorp and Rick Macci have argued for the primacy, priority, and necessity of taking private lessons as a way to get the developmental edge.

In the New York City area where I coach, private lessons are extremely popular, especially due to the timepressured world here. Privates are simply more time-efficient for players and parents struggling with hectic and jampacked schedules.

Here are 15 keys to giving a worldclass private lesson that have helped me gain an edge on my competitors and charge a premium per hour:

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1. Arrive early and leave late. It is common sense that coaches should arrive early to prepare the court and get ready for the lesson. If you want to command a high rate for an hour of your time, you need to be prepared and ready to go at the top of the hour. Parents won’t pay you a premium if you shave minutes off the lesson by arriving late or not having your equipment ready. Parents will also be frustrated when a coach shaves time off the end of the lesson by ending early.

If you are consistently giving a 50-minute lesson while your competitor is giving a 60-minute lesson, who is going to develop their student faster? Which coach will the parent consider paying a premium to for his or her time?

2. Your player should arrive early and leave late, too. When players arrive late or even on time, 15 minutes of the lesson is spent warming them up – so the lesson is not as productive because it has been shortened by 25 percent.

Nothing says professionalism to a parent than when you ask the player to come early to hit or do his or her dynamic stretching/injury prevention program. This is another way to give more value to the lesson and a better service. In addition, you can ask the player to stay late and work on a bucket of serves, do some extra running or agility exercises, or to work on an extra skill.

In this way, you are making a 60-minute lesson into an 80- or 90-minute lesson.

The player is learning professionalism and self-discipline – and you are getting better results to show the parent.

3. Give extra time if your next lesson is late or if there is no next lesson.

This is one of my favorite customer “hugs.” Most coaches shave time at the end of the lesson by ending early. Good coaches finish on time and give their students the full hour. Great coaches add even more value. If my next lesson

is late, I won’t go to check my phone or even rest. I like to give the player an extra 10 or 15 minutes to help them. That makes a 60-minute lesson into a 70- or 75-minute lesson and parents and players really appreciate the bonus time.

4. Don’t stop the lesson when near a breakthrough. Many times I have witnessed coaches who are close to a breakthrough with a player check their watch and call an end to the lesson. Imagine how frustrating this feels for the player!

When you are near a breakthrough moment, give the player a little extra time to see if they can achieve the magic. Your player and parent will be grateful.

5. Engage parents during breaks. During water and pickup breaks, speak with parents about their thoughts and concerns.

Parents often have insight into their son’s or daughter’s personality or learning style that you may have missed. This opens up the coach-parent communication lines, makes the parent feel valued and appreciated, and can help you craft the lesson to better fit their expectations.

6. Adjust your lesson structure to the student’s personality and learning style.

I have some students, whom I call Mechanics, who love to drill and work on technical detail. I have other students, whom I call Magicians, who love to play and create patterns in a game format.

Craft your lesson according to your player’s individual needs. I’m going to play more live ball points with my Magicians and engage them in bigger picture creative problem solving. With my Mechanics, I’m going to drill more from the basket to give them the repetition they desire to work on fine points, and I will discuss theory, process, and biomechanics in more detail. Players always fit somewhere along the from line of Magician to Mechanic, a spectrum explained to me by the insightful tour coach Paul Annacone.

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I recommend Frank Giampaolo’s work, maximizingtennispotential.com, on brain typing for coaches interested in learning more about player personality and learning style differences.

7. Give homework. The lesson doesn’t end when the hour is up. I think many times the most successful coaches convince their players to practice at home and to come back the next week showing progress. Giving homework helps players take responsibility for their games and builds self-discipline. When parents see you assigning homework, they know you care and they feel they are getting extra value in addition to the 60 minutes they paid for.

8. Send follow-up communications. Another way to “hug” your customer is to send follow-up communications to parents, whether simply a text, phone call, or email, to check in on progress during the interim between lessons. These communiques can also reveal valuable insight to the coach about how the player is feeling about the lessons and could potentially help the coach craft better lessons for the future. Parents are a great resource for feedback about how your player is truly feeling after his or her lesson – but you need to reach out to them and ask. This will separate you from the coaches who only communicate during the 60-minutes lesson itself, and not so much outside the court.

9. Use video judiciously. Video can be beneficial, and technology for tennis is progressing at an exciting rate. However, coaches should be very careful in a private lesson about taking too much time to set up and review video.

I have seen many coaches waste a lot of the time in a 60-minute lesson just setting up and shooting video, let alone analyzing it.

I prefer to use video economically.

If you have an assistant for your private lessons like I do, the assistant can be in charge of the video and this is a very efficient way to do it. If it’s only you, be quick and don’t waste valuable time. It’s better to get the clips and do the heavy analysis later. You can send your thoughts via email later rather than take too much of the lesson time analyzing video.

Tech-savvy parents can also be used to assist in taking the video, which can save you time.

10. No phones ever! I see many coaches checking their phones during lessons, and I think it’s becoming an epic problem. Put the phone away. Wear a watch.

Don’t use the phone to check the time because parents or students could get the wrong impression that you are on your phone during their valuable time.

The phone can be used for video analysis but be brief – and only use it for this purpose.

During water and pickup breaks and any lesson down time, a great coach should be communicating with and motivating the student, going over concerns with parents, or planning the next drill progression to help the student get better.

11. Have parents pickup balls. Ball pickups can waste valuable time. Some coaches use pickups purposefully to shave time off the hour; others do it inadvertently.

Have the parents do it if they are around. Explain to them that if they pick up, you may be able to squeeze a little more valuable time out of the lesson and get a breakthrough for the player.

Most parents will appreciate your concern for providing them with the most value for their buck.

To teach responsibility, have the player pick up the balls at the very end of the lesson, perhaps even while your next lesson is beginning, to maximize time.

12. Skip the warmup. Many coaches will have a light warmup with a player, sometimes for 15 minutes or more. If a coach does this consistently, he or she is giving a 45-minute lesson as opposed to a 60-minute lesson each week. Players receiving 60 minutes each week will progress faster than players taking a 45-minute lesson.

I like to have my players come early and hit with mom or dad on an adjacent court so I don’t have to waste time warming them up. As discussed previously, players can also come early and do their physical warmups, too. Thus the private lesson is productive from the very first minute.

13. Hand feed. American coaches frequently teach from 60 to 80 feet away from their students and often feed with the racquet from across the net. In many parts of Europe, the coaches spend significant amounts of the lesson time on the

same side as the player using hand feeding. The benefits are that the coach can see the player’s body and technique more easily from up close, communication is easier, and the coach has better control of the feeding tempo and placement.

Try to vary your lesson by using some live ball hitting, racquet feeding, and hand feeding in varying proportion based on the needs and learning style of the player.

14. Serve first. Why do so many coaches follow the tired lesson plan of warmup, groundstrokes and drills, and then finish with serve? If the serve is the most important shot in tennis – and the most complicated to learn – why is it often relegated to the last 10 minutes or less of the lesson, almost as an afterthought?

Many times I will flip this lesson plan around and perform serves first. In this way, I communicate to my students the importance of this shot. If my players are struggling, we have plenty of time to work on sorting the technique out.

By starting your lessons with serve from time to time, you and your student will have enough time to successfully tackle this challenging technical skill.

15. Ask players and parents what they need in the moment. Having a plan is important, but it’s equally important to ask the player and parent what their priorities for the lesson are, which can be impossible to know ahead of time.

Too many coaches stick rigidly to their lesson plan as opposed to being adaptable to what their player and parent are actually feeling and needing in the moment. Be flexible and listen to the concerns of your students – and their parents who pay your salary.

“Hug” your customers and give your players and parents more bang for their buck by following these 15 keys. You will be rewarded with client loyalty – and you will be able to command more per hour than your peers. h Chris Lewit, USPTA, is a USTA high performance coach and author of the best-selling book, “The Secrets of Spanish Tennis.” He trains many top regional, national, and international level players in New York and at his boarding academy and summer camp in Southern Vermont.

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Master Pro Corner

Communicate to Win

We must Prepare, Plan and Persist to Succeed

By Dan O’Connell, USPTA Master Professional

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ou walk into the locker room at the Maseru Club, Lesotho (Africa), sweaty, tired and discouraged.

“OK,” you say to yourself, “It’s a hot day.” But you know you’ve played and taught tennis under blistering African suns on hotter days. This day you feel defeated. You couldn’t get across to Mrs. Farnsworth the simplest volley – never mind trying to correct her disastrous serve. She got mad; you got frustrated and lost your cool.

When you became a USPTA Professional, you passed a test that measured Dan O’Connell and the NMMI men’s coach Danny Dominguez, with the five African players on the team. your knowledge of tennis, skill level ket that deal with “getting to know yourand teaching ability. Now here you are, abilities. When observing students’ perself” and “getting along with others.” sonalities carefully, you will realize that, failing on your first job. What’s wrong? like everyone else you meet, they need What can you do?

Learn to Communicate. All teachers can encouragement. They want understanding and sympathy and they want to be master the same tennis coaching knowlRead, Attend Meetings – Prepare. edge that Ashley Hobson, Dave Porter or liked. These needs are universal, but each Improve yourself. Read books and Karl Davies possess. But these coaches student has additional unique personalmagazines, attend clinics, workshops ity traits that govern his or her responses. have developed unique methods of comand national conventions to widen munication that have contributed greatly Ferret these out – learn to understand your knowledge. Meet professional to their success. These expert communiyour students’ responses and act posicolleagues, exchange experiences. The cators have no problem motivating or intively to reinforce their better qualities.

USPTA provides a variety of opportunities for members to improve. But fluencing students. They possess effective Your communication style should reading tennis books and attending personalities. They make a great first imbe tailored to each individual you coach. pression. They speak in a manner to influ- Beginning teachers may concentrate meetings are not enough. Knowledge of ence students positively; they possess the playing and teaching tennis alone will too much on the rudiments of the game ability to listen – to hear their students’ not make you a better coach. and ignore an individual’s reception of thoughts. Hobson, Porter, Davies and All coaches possess the same basic their instruction. A good communicator successful coaches develop communicatennis knowledge after a couple of learns to “serve” up an idea and to “retive characteristics. They have developed turn” his thoughts based on careful evalyears. Why then do some tennis-teaching professionals have more or less sucuation. You must develop both “shots” to communication skills to persuade others. cess than others? The answer may lie in be successful. When you learn to observe What kind of first impression do you their individual methods of transmityour students’ reactions to your instrucmake? Do you think about what you’re ting that knowledge to students. Transtion and also to listen to their responses, going to say? Do you speak precisely and mitting knowledge is a skill; teaching you have begun to master the art of comfluently? Do you listen? Everyone knows munication. My teaching methods and is a science. Both require the ability to someone that seems genuinely interested handle people effectively. and makes creative comments about what communication skills were improved accidently. A friend lent me Dale Carnegie’s Tennis manuals do not teach you to he or she has to say. That someone is a influence human behavior. Methods of true communicator who has mastered the book “How to win Friends and Influence People.” When I read that helpful phimotivating, inspiring and managing othart of communication. To be a good comers are innate – or can be learned. Read municator, you must learn to listen, oblosophy for living, I became interested serve, think and speak effectively. You enother books – you have to have a basic in reading books on self-improvement. hance personal relationships by carefully understanding of psychology to teach.

“The Power of Positive Thinking” and There are hundreds of books on the mar- developing speech patterns and listening “The One Minute Manager” by Kenneth

56 www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com

Blanchard and Robert Lorber helped me to recognize that sometimes I did not use all powers as a communicator on the court. These books started me on the road to thinking about my reactions to students and THEIR reactions to me.

The Student /Coach Team. Now I view the student/coach relationship as a team working to achieve goals. The team changes every hour as the next student comes on court. As a teacher, I must adapt to each student’s ability level. We hit a few balls. I analyze his strengths and weaknesses. I try to estimate his anxiety level, his competitiveness, his tennis ability and his personality. I don’t get all the answers in the first lesson, but I’m aware of what I’m after, and believe me, that is a step in the right direction. I control the lesson; I set the tone of our relationship. I develop the environment in which we play. I’m after a successful team effort. Whether or not I think my student will be the next Roger Federer, I want him to feel good about this lesson; good about himself. Then he will produce the best that is in him and have a good time. I want him to continue having fun playing tennis for the rest of his life.

Developing that philosophy took time.

I failed again and again. But, I learned more from failing with Thabo Mokenela, the Lesotho tennis star, than he or I ever expected I could learn. I pushed him too hard – I was too tough and Thabo ran off the court crying. I was negative and he reacted. I got just what I deserved.

On another occasion, I took three of my Lesotho stars to Botswana, where I was coaching the Botswana national junior squad. I overreacted again and caused one of my students to leave the court in anger. Later, the national coach of Botswana, Euphemia Tlhapane, gave me advice: “Dan there’s a time to be tough and a time to be tender,” she admonished.

Blanchard and Lorber in “The One Minute Manager” stress the importance of how to use criticism with kindness. No one makes mistakes on purpose, least of all your young tennis student. You must be careful when you criticize his performance or smart-alecky behavior that he does not believe you are angry with him.

Begin by pointing out his minor flaw and strengthen your relationship by making the student know that you are on his side; You like HIM – you simply don’t care for his ACTION, whether it is his thoughtless behavior or his faulty tennis stroke.

Use Positive Reinforcement. My failures in Lesotho and Botswana shook me up. I learned that no matter how talented the student, he needs positive reinforcement.

That’s the answer to instilling confidence in all your students. I’ve learned to encourage every student. I wiped “negative” out of my teaching vocabulary. Saying “don’t do this,” “don’t do that,” “didn’t I tell you this,” etc., will destroy motivation.

Criticism is futile. The student becomes defensive and resents the instructor. That’s not teamwork – that is defeating your purpose. Instead, use positive reinforcement. It works gradually. Learning takes time and it should be a fun experience for the teacher and the student. Concentrate on the student’s talents; reinforce them. Then you will set up a positive, improving environment.

Don’t worry only about stroke production. Worry more about developing a student’s strong mental attitude. By being positive you stimulate your student into positive thinking and action. With affection, care and hard work you will see his confidence grow. You can help your student conquer fear and develop courage. You can steer him toward selfmotivation. When I began to make sure our hard-working practice environment was surrounded by positive reinforcement and fun, success followed.

Learning progressions. It took me years to understand learning. As a young coach teaching beginners, my drills might have been either too difficult or too easy. As a more experienced coach, I improved my ability to match the skill level of the player to appropriate drills. I measured learning in a step-by-step skill progression from: (1) never, (2) to seldom, (3) to sometimes, (4) to often, (5) to always. To provide a challenging environment, the experienced coach avoids drills falling into the “never” or “always” categories. Experienced coaches chose drills at the “seldom” success level, knowing with repetition and hard work, the “often” and “always” levels will be reached. Tennis lessons are fun when drills are introduced in correct progressions, to challenge students to eventually reach the “always” level.

Plan for success – set goals. Improved teaching and communication skills prepared me for success in the second portion of my career. Besides setting goals for myself, I found it was also often important to create goals for my students. Lesotho player Johnny Lin and I created a goal. We planned for Johnny to gain a U.S. university scholarship and we reached that goal. My relationship with Thabo Mokenela improved when we set a similar goal to gain a U.S. scholarship.

Reaching Thabo’s goal became a team effort. Two years later Thabo earned his scholarship. Every student needs a dream. There must be a goal.

After 15 years in Africa, I relocated to Fiji to become the International Tennis Federation’s Pacific Oceania Development Officer. Our main program was a regional training center, hosting 10-14 tennis champions from around the Pacific. We structured our center around the motto of: “The ITF House is the home of good people, good students and good athletes.” Upon arrival to our training center, the common dream was planted into students’ minds that they would eventually earn a U.S. university tennis scholarship. After a few years, we created a “hallway of fame” to strengthen the goal of our students. Written on the hallway wall was: “This hallway is meant to honour past graduates and to inspire future champions.” Today, hanging on that wall are more than 30 individual photos of graduates. During my final 10 years, 32 of 34 training center graduates earned their scholarships. They dreamed about gaining their scholarship for four to six years while living in the ITF House. Their dream came true. We created win-win teamwork with Pacific tennis leaders and U.S. university coaches. Our island champions were given a unique opportunity.

They worked hard to reach the goal.

What goes around comes around – be persistent. My career is winding down.

I fondly look back on many successes in nearly four decades based in Africa and the Pacific. At first, I stumbled toward success. My thinking progressed. I was patient and persistent and eventually made progress. h

In 1976, the United States Peace Corps appointed Dan O’Connell as the National Tennis Coach to the Kingdom of Lesotho. During 15 years based in Africa, he taught in 20 nations through the United States Information Agency Sports America Program and the International Tennis Federation. O’Connell relocated to Fiji in 1991 to become the first ITF Pacific Oceania Development Officer. In 2012, he returned to the United States to become the Ladies Tennis Coach at New Mexico Military Institute.

www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com 57

Career Development Exams, Upgrades Cardio Tennis & PTCA I

Conferences/ Activities

(4 credits for PTCA I segment)

(Division Conferences – 6 credits)

May 13

May 5 May 6-7 May 19-20 May 20 May 20 May 20-21 May 20-21 May 24 June 1 June 1 June 3 June 3 June 3 June 3 June 3 June 4 June 5 June 5 June 8 June 9 June 10 June 15

Stowe, Vt. Huntington Beach, Calif.

Houston Eau Claire, Wis. Nichols Hills, Okla.

Lafayette, La. Tucson, Ariz.

St. Louis, Mo. Naples, Fla. McMinnville, Ore. Richmond, Va. Aurora, Ill. San Antonio, Texas Portsmouth, R.I. Rome, Ga. Hilton Head Island, S.C. Carlsbad, Calif.

San Francisco Minneapolis Missoula, Mont.

Atlanta Des Moines, Iowa

Level 2 Training Course

Cedardale Health & Fitness; Haverhill, Mass.

June 10

Level 1 Training Course Edgewood Country Club; Pittsburgh

July 15

Level 1 Training Course

Princeton Racquet Club; Princeton, N.J. July 16

May 31

Level 1 Training Course

Methodist University; Fayetteville, N.C. Nov. 5

May 21

Level 1 Training Course

Preakness Hills Country Club; Wayne, N.J. Oct. 22

May 18

Level 2 Training Course

Crooked Creek Country Club; Alpharetta, Ga. Sept. 16

May 17

Level 2 Training Course

Princeton Racquet Club; Princeton, N.J. Sept. 8

May 5

TRX Training Course Park Crossing Swim and Racquet;

June 2 Aug. 18

Charlotte, N.C. Nov. 11

New England Convention Stowe, Vt. USTA Wheelchair Train the Trainer Clinic Witchita, Kan. Southern Division Convention Lafayette, La. USPTA Eastern Convention Chatham, N.Y. Florida Division Convention Naples, Fla. Pacific Northwest Convention McMinnville, Ore. Midwest Division Convention Mason, Ohio

Level 1 Training Course

Ferris State University; Big Rapids, Mich.

Webinars (.5 credits)

Watch all recorded webinars at tennisresources.com.

* This course is held at the USPTA World Headquarters.

Exam reservations must be made at least 21 days prior to the dates listed. Each date includes an exam, upgrade and PTCA I unless noted. Exam cancellations must be received no later than 14 days before the exam, or a cancellation fee will be charged accordingly.

For more information visit uspta.com/Education.

Please visit www.cardiotennistraining.com to register.

Applicant: late cancellation fee – $95; failure to cancel – application fee is forfeited. Certified members: late cancellation fee – $25; failure to cancel – $25 plus the upgrade fee is forfeited. Registration for another exam will not be accepted until cancellation fees are paid.

Accredited Professional Coach Register your Accredited Professional Coach (APC) and specialty course credits earned with the USPTA SmartCode Education System. This uses your smartphone to instantly register your attendance to all seminars and specialty courses earning APC. To use the system at a seminar, general session or specialty course, you must scan two QR codes. One QR code is on your conference badge. The second QR code will be in your conference notebook and cannot be scanned until the end of the session or the beginning of the next session. If you do not have a smartphone, you may use someone else’s. Forms are available upon request.

58 www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com

Education requirements All USPTA-certified Professionals must earn 6 education credits in a three-year period to remain current. Go to USPTA.com/Education for a partial list of eligible activities. Please send verification (email, letter, certificate, receipt, etc.) that shows you attended the event/activity and submit it along with the date and agenda to education@uspta.org to receive your credit. (International members, Recreational Coaches and those over the age of 65 are exempt.) ­Questions? Write to education@uspta.org or call 800-877-8248, ext. 147.

USTA Wheelchair Train the Trainer Clinic An Introduction to Teaching Wheelchair Tennis When: May 17, 2017 • 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. (Check-in starts at 8 a.m.)

Where: Wichita State University-Sheldon Coleman Tennis Complex Who: Jason Allen, John Devorss, Dave Eads, Nick Taylor and Paul Walker Why: USPTA/PTR Continuing Education Credits Cost: $20.00 (Lunch provided) How: Register at https://tinyurl.com/z3tj3v8 Additional Information • Bring a tennis racquet if you have one, but racquets can be provided.

• Training will accommodate all levels of attendee.

• A high performance camp will follow the training. Attendees are welcome to stay and watch.

Contact Jaren Glaser at (913)-967-9929 or glaser@movalley.usta.com for more information

Member News • Diane Gildemeister, who just turned 70 years young Dec. 27, and daughter Katrina ­Gildemeister Barnes, both USPTA members, won the National Super Senior Mother Daughter in Port St. Lucie, Fla., held at Club Med Jan. 13-15. It was postponed from October due to the hurricane. There was a round robin of five.

They defeated the former No.1 ranked team from California, then Texas and Pennsylvania.

Gildemeister works part time at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with her husband Federico (Fritz) and both daughters, Katrina and Marissa Chapin.

• Sherry Bedingfield, a USPTA Professional with over 50 years of playing and teaching experience, has written a book called “Doubles Tips and Tactics.” Throughout her career, doubles has been very important to her and she is intensely passionate about women’s doubles. Her book will help all players improve their play, especially the club level ladies. The key concepts covered are: 1) doubles positioning; 2) shot selection – what type of shot to hit, where to hit it, and the right time to do it; 3) strategic play calling according to the score; and 4) the importance of communicating with your partner. To order contact Sherry at doublescoach@gmail.com.

• Working with professional and elite junior international tennis players with coach Gavin Hopper has inspired author Mark A. Beede in writing “From Go to Pro – A Playing and Coaching Manual for the Aspiring Tennis Player (and Parents) – Developing the Elite Tennis Player” (published by Xlibris). A manual for players, coaches and parents, this book shows the way to excellence in tennis, the sport for a lifetime. With sections on technique, organizing practices, handling the rigors and pressures of competition and practice, developing a competition schedule, and parenting, this book guides in all aspects of mastering tennis. Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

• USPTA Elite Pro Jak Beardsworth recently released his second book, “Tennis Game Theory: Dialing in Your A-Game Everyday.” His first book, “More Than Just the Strokes (2005), reached Amazon’s top 10 in the tennis instruction category. It is a compilation from 50 years in the game as a player, teacher and coach. The book has received praise from Jim Loehr, Dick Gould, former top 10 Bonnie Gadusek and other notables, and is available on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Inscribed copies can be purchased directly from Beardsworth by emailing him at JB1tennis@comcast.net or by accessing his website www.JakBeardsworthTennis.com.

• A new novel written by USPTA Professional John Gruberg, ”Tennis Hobo” is not about the glamor of the big time, but rather, it is the untold story of someone who makes all that possible – the teaching pro. “This is a story that begs to be told,” said Sean Sloane, USPTA Master Professional. Chris Magyary says it reminds him of his past as a touring pro as well as the things he is dealing with right now on the teaching court. “This is my story too,” says Roger Kahn, “there were tears in my eyes when I finished the book. Gruberg’s imagination and deep understanding of tennis makes for a true celebration of the game’s inner workings, and of life.” USPTA Professional Dick Gould calls Tennis Hobo “a great, entertaining and FUN read.” “I can relate to it. A great tale!” says USC men’s tennis coach, Peter Smith. For more information go to Amazon.com or TennisHobo.com.

ADDvantage magazine editorial offices USPTA World Headquarters 3535 Briarpark Drive, Suite 202 Houston, TX 77042 Phone – 713-978-7782 / 800-USPTA-4U Fax – 713-358-7794 email – magazine@uspta.org

60 www.ADDvantageUSPTA.com

Managing editor Circulation

Kimberly Forrester Kathy Buchanan

Office hours: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Central time ADDvantage is published monthly by the United States Professional Tennis Association.

• USPTA Professional Mervyn Webster died on Feb. 10 in Dallas, Texas, after battling early onset Alzheimer’s for more than 10 years. Webster was born on September 20, 1949, in the town of Bloemfontein in South Africa. He was a topranked junior player and a member of the Junior South African Davis Cup Team.

As a college player at Wichita State University, he won the Missouri Valley singles and doubles titles three times and qualified for the NCAA singles championships from 1969-1971. He also played a series of exhibition matches from 1972 to 1979 with Cliff Drysdale, Bjorn Borg, Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver. Webster is best known as a coach of juniors and professional players on the ATP and WTA circuits (1986-1994). He coached World Team Tennis in Springfield, Mo., for two years (1995-96) and the Wichita Advantage for four years (1991-94), winning the World Team Championships in 1993. He was a USTA National Coach and the USTA National Coaches Commission Coordinator. Webster was the USPTA Touring Coach of the Year and USPTA Missouri Valley Coach of the Year (1994) and won the USTA/USPTA Community Service Award for Outstanding Commitment and Dedication to the Sport of Tennis (1996). He was awarded the “Grassroots Star” with the Tennis Industry Association “Free Tennis Lesson Blitz” in Wichita (1996); served as the Tournament Director for the Virginia Slims of Kansas (19861990); and was inducted into the Missouri Valley Tennis Hall of Fame (1998). As a volunteer, ­Webster served the USTA for over 20 years holding numerous sectional and national positions.

NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS President First Vice President

Chuck Gill Gary Trost

Vice Presidents

Past President CEO Legal Counsel

Alan Cutler Feisal Hassan Ken McAllister Jack Michalko Diane Selke

TM

Tom McGraw John Embree George Parnell

The opinions expressed in ADDvantage are those of the authors and not necessarily those of ADDvantage or the USPTA. Copyright© United States Professional Tennis Association, Inc. 2017. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any portion of the magazine is not permitted without written permission from USPTA.