{"id":1161,"date":"2019-07-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/how-the-changing-nature-of-coaching-is-influencing-coach-education-and-development-in-us-tennis\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:31","slug":"coach-education-and-development-in-us-tennis","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/coach-education-and-development-in-us-tennis\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Changing Nature of Coaching is Influencing Coach Education and Development in US Tennis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Jul 09, 2019 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

How the Changing Nature of Coaching is Influencing Coach Education and Development in US Tennis<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Coaching & Development<\/a> <\/div>\n
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Paul Lubbers of the USTA explains that as athlete development grows in sophistication so must coach education and development pathways.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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Paul Lubbers, Director of Coach Education and Sports Science at the United States Tennis Association [USTA] sees coach education is logical next step on from athlete development.<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n

\u201cAs we\u2019ve learnt more and knowledge has developed, science and research has come into play,\u201d he tells the Leaders Performance Institute. \u201cWhether that\u2019s sports science, injury prevention, sports psychology, strength & conditioning \u2013 all sports science started to integrate and grow in importance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the work that\u2019s being done with athlete development, the curriculum for coach education and development becomes more specific in employing all of the modalities that we have. The tactical, technical, physical, emotional, the sports sciences, social sciences \u2013 now it\u2019s all applied along the pathway.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis matrix of what coaching means and what the role of the coach means has expanded exponentially over time.\u201d We explore the implication of this evolution for the USTA and the coaches it works to educate and develop along its player pathway.<\/p>\n

What are some of the qualities needed by a modern tennis coach?<\/strong><\/p>\n

PL:<\/strong> It\u2019s to have a really strong coaching and teaching philosophy that aligns the work that our coaches do with our national players but also teaching a coaching philosophy that we teach and create an alignment with the private sector in this country. The coach today still needs a coaching philosophy and still needs an operating system and a belief system that guides them every day because they\u2019re faced with a lot of decisions as a coach and if you don\u2019t have a strong belief system that\u2019s based on character development, that\u2019s based on practices of right and wrong and an athlete-centred approach you can be going in different directions before you know it.<\/p>\n

What are some of the challenges faced by those inducted to your program?<\/strong><\/p>\n

PL:<\/strong> Most people begin coaching by coaching the way they were coached, from their experiences. We have the discussion and get individuals to reflect on their beliefs \u2013 why do you believe this as a coach and what are the influences on that? If you were coached by somebody fantastic, if as a professional athlete you had great coaching experiences, that\u2019s fantastic for you, but what if you had a coach who is less than perfect and you adopt those same coaching practices? It goes back to being reflective and asking why do you coach the way you coach, what is your beliefs system, and then aligning around the technical, tactical, ideas of right and wrong, and ideas of professionals and what that means, what are the non-negotiables in your environment with athletes, with teams, with staff. That\u2019s the foundation of a good coach.<\/p>\n

To what extent are you managing these coaches\u2019 expectations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

PL:<\/strong> There are some coaches who would like to be in the box and on TV. But some of the best developmental coaches have an unbelievably robust business and for them to be able to work with a young player, for us to be able to create a relationship with them, to develop trust, when they offer a player to us, we recognise the work that they are doing and we keep them involved in the process. I think that\u2019s getting much better and I\u2019m not seeing coaches saying, \u2018I\u2019m coaching because I want to be in the box\u2019. It goes back to the philosophy: why are you doing this? Is it to help kids have a better life and to develop skill to their potential as an athlete or are you doing it because you want to win and be recognised? I don\u2019t think we run into that very often.<\/p>\n