ITF ‘TENNIS…PLAY & STAY’ CAMPAIGN
A CANADIAN COACHING CERTIFICATION EXAMPLE
By Wayne Elderton
As the ITF rolls out its ‘Tennis…Play and Stay’ campaign, many counties are re-organizing the way tennis is taught, played, and even coached.
In Canada, the major elements of the ‘Tennis…Play & Stay’ campaign (modified equipment and courts, and a rating system) have been in use for some time. The result? Tennis is growing in Canada. There is even a good correlation between the facilities/coaches who fully embrace these concepts and the growth of tennis in their areas.
When it comes to coaching, a number of initiatives have been engaged in to improve coaching certification in the country. The piece outlined in this article is the new Instructor Certification Course. In 1998, a new course was created to give tennis teachers a better understanding of their role in the tennis pathway and, to ensure the game-based approach was fully implemented.
A Unique Market
In North America, a unique tennis market exists not found elsewhere in the world, public recreational tennis. In most countries, tennis is executed through tennis clubs. There are no public tennis facilities run by the municipalities. In Canada, the majority of tennis is played on public courts throughout the spring and summer. There are tennis clubs (indoor and outdoor) however, for the most part, these cater to established tennis players.
This public tennis market was ripe to be drawn into a deeper commitment to tennis. This large participation base also needed plenty of Instructors to work with them to advance their tennis experience and skill. These Instructors would typically not be full-time (seasonal work with introductory levels). They are designated “Instructor” (as opposed to “Coaches”) because they didn’t need advanced training in all aspects of tennis development (Technical, Tactical, Physical, Psychological).
The Tennis Canada Instructor Certification Course takes two weekends to complete (35 hours) and is specifically targeted to provide starter junior and adult players a positive introduction to tennis. To develop an effective coach to take players to performance levels takes much more training, but this is not the purpose of the course.
The course starts by giving the ‘big picture’ of the Instructors job, which is, growth and retention in the sport. It was designed to not be about simply teaching skills. Everything in the course is linked to the two key factors that produce growth and retention, enjoyment and improvement. It isn’t just about forehands and serves.
Enjoyment was the term chosen rather than ‘fun’. Although ‘fun’ is the more common term, the word enjoyment shifts the emphasis slightly. Many equate fun with an, ‘I don’t care about skills’ attitude. Fun is all too often associated with being frivolously entertained. Tennis is a skill sport that provides a lifetime of challenge to work hard and push your limits. Overcoming the challenges tennis provides may not always be amusing, but it is enjoyable. For example, watch kids playing a video game and you will often see them fully engaged. They’re in full concentration and focus with eyes squinted and eyebrows furled. If an activity is enjoyable players will be stimulated. If they are stimulated, they may develop motivation. If they are motivated, they may ultimately develop commitment, which is the goal. Whether the term, ‘fun’ or, ‘enjoyment’ is used is not as important as what is meant by the term used.
On the other side of the equation, if a player is only experiencing enjoyment but there is no improvement, they may not stick with it. Most people don’t stay with something if they remain unskilled. Parents won’t continue to pay for lessons if their children aren’t getting any better.
The key to maximizing these two critical elements (enjoyment and improvement) are found in using a game-based approach (GBA). A GBA maintains the enjoyment of play by scaling the game down to a level where a starter player can experience success. It creates an excellent environment for fostering enjoyment and improvement.
Instructor Course Objectives
There are five elements that go into making a tennis experience that cultivates enjoyment and improvement. These formulate the objectives of the Instructor Course:
- A Positive, Motivating Instructor: This is a big objective of the course. An Instructor who exhibits these characteristics makes tennis infectious. There is a 3-hour module geared to bring out this type of communication. It is reinforced throughout the entire course and assessed during the final evaluations.
- Playing Successfully: As mentioned above, a GBA excels at allowing players to build, ‘a momentum of success’. As players master skills and playing situations, they get excited about playing more, and playing better.
- Maximum Activity: The main point here is to kill the poor coaching practice of training players in single file lines. This kind of training encourages people to drop out. The Instructor Course gives candidates tools to organize and manage people and court activity so everyone participates.
- Being Challenged: Tennis is a great sport because one can never master it. No matter what level one attains, there is more to go. The course gives tools to organize activities that optimally challenge players.
- Building Relationships: The course is about group activities. Private lessons are a big part of tennis training however, groups are the way to go to grow the game. People have a far better chance to hook into the sport if they are networked with others of similar ability.
Instructor Course Competencies
To achieve all of these objectives, candidates are trained in competencies related to providing quality tennis experiences:
Organize Play and Playing Situations: In accord with a GBA, Instructors must be, ‘play leaders’. They are exposed to a number of different playing formats and set-ups to get people playing. They can scale the game to the age and level of the players and modify scoring to go with it.
Organise Practice: Instructors must help players improve their play with systematic practice. One of the key themes of the course is the structure of training and using a GBA.
Lead and Communicate Effectively: As mentioned earlier, an enthusiastic Instructor who is clear (visually and verbally) and whom can take charge of a group helps players maximize activity and learning.
Develop Tactical and Technical Skills: Playing tennis requires tactics. The most common and effective tactics are imparted to players as well as the techniques that lead to effective play.
Follow a Process for making Ethical Decisions Consistent with the Tennis Canada Code of Ethics: With many documented abuses of authority in numerous sports, Instructors must adopt values and behaviors that can impact players positively for life.
Conclusion
This kind of a course fits well with the ITF Tennis…Play & Stay campaign.
The ‘Course Map’ below shows the relationship of all the elements mentioned in this article. It is Tennis Canada’s goal, through this specially targeted course, to create an army of Instructors to lead the masses to adopt tennis as their ‘sport of a lifetime’. Even if these Instructors go on to higher levels of coaching certification and player development, they will always carry with them the ‘big picture’ that millions of players loving tennis is every bit as important as hitting correct forehands.
Wayne Elderton is a Tennis Canada National Level 4 coach, Head of Coaching Certification for the province of British Columbia, and was the lead writer of the Tennis Canada Instructor Certification Course, Course Facilitators Guide.
INSTRUCTOR COURSE MAP
