A Day in the Life of a Tennis Coach
To all my fellow tennis professionals….Have you ever told somebody you’re a tennis coach and been asked, “but seriously…what’s your full time job.” If you told them your schedule, which includes early mornings, late nights, weekends, paperwork and lost tennis balls I’m sure you could earn anyone’s respect. Richard Foley is one such coach who isn’t lucky enough to enjoy a 9 – 5 working day. Richard, the director of the Victorian Tennis Academy in Melbourne Australia, confronts the various challenges of being a tennis professional with the love of the game as his motivation. Consider a typical working day…
The day starts with a before school squad lesson at Presbyterian Ladies College in Melbourne from 7:20 – 8:20am. This usually means rising at 6:30am as the courts are a 30 minute drive from home.
Following the squad lesson it’s a drive back to the Orrong Park Tennis Centre. The time in the car is not wasted as I make phone calls on the “hands free” to follow up inquiries and arrange any meetings or lessons for the day.
Once at Orrong there is a chance for some breakfast and a strong coffee to really wake me up. The Adult Cardio Workout is next on the agenda at 9:30am. This is one of the most popular programs at the Victorian Tennis Academy with over 100 participants each week enjoying the fun and fitness of a high energy tennis work out. For the ladies who attend the session it is a great alternative to the gym; keeping them fit and improving their tennis.
The Cardio Workout is completed by 11am and this is a small window to do some paperwork. Tracking overdue accounts, scheduling new lessons, replying to emails, staffing various shifts at the centre, paying invoices and monitoring racquet stock levels are amongst the dozens of administrational duties needed to keep the business going.
Often my paperwork is interrupted by one of my 25+ staff who has a problem. They maybe going away and need to organise cover, they may be having a problem with a student or asking for a pay increase (most often). Dealing with these problems is part of the manager’s job.
All too soon it is lunch and time to head off the Loretto Mandeville Hall to take a lunchtime program from 12:50 - 1:30pm. This usually involves transporting of equipment like racquets, balls, nets etc… from place to place which means my 4WD gets a pretty good workout every day.
After the lunchtime program I might get ½ hour to have a sandwich and read the paper…often something will come up and I’ll eat in the car on the way home from coaching.
By 2:30pm its time for our weekly coaches meeting. All the staff are expected to attend and the head coaches go through all the drills and activities for the week. With young coaches in the organisation this planning and preparation is essential and one of the most important times of the week. All the coaches will use this time to hit with each other and this is great, because spending all the time hitting the ball to students can be exhausting and you don’t have the time or energy to practise your own game.
Once the meeting is over after school classes will typically run from 3:50pm – 7:00pm or later if there are squads or adult classes scheduled. Group, private, beginner, advanced, adult, junior…I teach all types of lessons during this time when as many as 100 students will visit our centres each afternoon and evening.
By the time things have been packed up and messages answered I may get home for a bite to eat by 8pm. It can be exhausting, but satisfying and for any coach who doesn’t love the game it will burn them out quickly. It is very important to have some down time – I usually take Sunday’s off unless there is a tournament – so that you can prepare yourself mentally and physically for the week.
Dealing with all the unique problems faced by tennis professionals takes a lot of patience and energy. The myriad of tasks a tennis professional has to complete each day would drive most people crazy. The tennis professional is often an important person in their community; bringing people together to compete and enjoy sport; motivating and inspiring young people; and providing fun and enjoyment for families who have precious little time together these days. Yes, tennis professionals can be proud of their “real” jobs and the important role they play in today’s society.
By Tina Dodd
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