Education

The PTM Podcast

The PTM Podcast is dedicated to helping you prepare for a career in the tennis industry on and off the tennis court. Whether you have had a lot of experience teaching tennis, or none at all, this podcast contains quick tips that you can put into practice immediately, answers your questions, builds knowledge and understanding while you prepare and continue your career in tennis.

Latest Episodes:

025 - The Ambulance Coach Jul 24, 2018

Show notes

Today’s Quick Tip Is: Stop commenting on every shot and PICK ONE THING.

Don’t try to correct each shot. There are NO REDOS anyway, just opportunities.

Instead, Try to look for the primary issue and go from there, BEFORE THE FACT. Now you have presented an opportunity to the student.

As a tester, the student was supposed to match the primary problem we saw, but the key for me was even if the primary problem didn’t match mine, that was OK as long as long as he progressed properly and the student LEARNED and improved.

Let’s start with the positive:

Now, depending on where you work, this might be somewhat appropriate because you WILL NOT be able to develop someone’s stroke over time. The two positions I can think of off hand are:

1. The Resort Pro
2. The Academy/Camp Pro

As a resort pro for 30 years, to be honest, I did not give a lot of lessons to hotel guests, my staff did, but when I first started, it was all me.

The one thing I learned was that, it was like the private lesson during the USPTA test.

I had one hour with them, so I did not want to make any major grip changes, or anything else that would:

1. Take until the end of the lesson for them to accomplish
2. Not allow me to see them the next week and how the development was going.

If it was a grip change, I would say something like, “when you get back home, mention to your pro about using the continental grip on the serve and ask what he/she thinks about it”

That still might put the pro in a bad position, because it may have been something they have been overlooking.

If I could come up with something where they could see immediate success (Usually a band-aid solution), They were happy, I was happy and they felt like it was $70 well spent.

So even if they had the wrong grip on their serve, I could still improve the serve they had and have them mention the grip to their pro back home.

Now as an academy/camp pro, you have more time, maybe a week or more to observe and develop a bit, so it is a bit easier to bring up a longer term solution.

At the end of camp, you would probably write out an evaluation that they can take home and show their pro, if they have one, but the key is that you have time (OR EVEN EXTRA TIME)

Now the Negative:

When you teach this way, you might be confusing the student.

They will have little to go on, when they want to go out and practice to improve because there was so much said.

Sometimes, a slick pro will use this method, until they see something stick and stay with that correction, but you need to be able to break the stroke down (in your mind), find the primary issue and work on that.

If you are just starting out, here is a good way to try to diagnose the issue.

1. Remember The ball goes exactly where the RACQUET tells it to go, so contact point is the key.

Spin, Speed, Height, Depth and Direction all affect how we make contact. You are most likely trying to give them the same ball most every time, especially off a feed.

2: During the warm-up, asses what is happening to MOST of their shots.

For example: 80% of their Forehands are going into the net. What does this mean? Closed racquet face at contact.

Now figure out why it is closing and focus on that.

It could be the grip, but it

If you know your progressions, this will help diagnose.

If it is a regular student, there may not be a primary issue, you are just working with them and developing their stroke or game, but I am saving this for the next episode………. So please Stay tuned.

So KNOW YOUR PROGRESSIONS

This will help you visualize where the problems may be occurring.

As a coach, you need to be able to see the stroke being hit in slow motion side by side with the visual of the perfect progression IN YOUR HEAD.

Bottom Line: Don’t get caught in the ambulance mode, especially if you are working on regular basis with a player. If you are seeing someone only once, picking the ONE THING may just make that once into a regular gig.

Good Luck,

Coach Mick, USPTA

024 - The Amtrak Train Coach Jul 19, 2018

Show notes

Today’s quick tip is: Having Your own coaching style and philosophy is definitely good, but don’t be afraid to veer off tack a bit if need be.

Remember the definition of a coach, getting a player from one place to another.

So the first is the Amtrak Train.

This coach wants to take you to your destiny on one track, one way, no exceptions, no veering off track.

First let’s look at this coach in a negative way My Way Is THE BEST WAY

This is the person who hangs around the tournaments and matches waiting to take advantage of a vulnerable player and parent.

He is trying to sell the ticket through marketing of him/her self

As the player is playing, this person is telling the parent how his/her way can change their child’s game around and what they are doing now does not make sense.

They usually promise they can take the player to a specific destination in a very short amount of time.

Another example:

On court, this pro has specific patterns that MUST be followed to a “T” and the students are not allowed to veer off track at all and in matches, the tactics MUST be followed based on the ball the player is receiving.

This coach has specific “Patterns” of play that, usually based on percentage tennis, so if allowed, you better have a good reason for breaking the pattern when the point is over.

And saying , “well I won the point didn’t I?” usually is not going to be the answer……..

This coach will usually back-up their style with all of the players that they have coached who were successful, forgetting about all of the other ones who were not.

Is this really bad though?

But what good can come out of coaching this way?

Well, it forces the students to focus on one thing. And focusing on one thing clears out all of the surrounding static that can prevent a player from improving.

In sport we call this deliberate practice or practicing with a purpose.

In a ball machine example I give a lot, I let players know that repetition is important, but the root word of repetition is “REPEAT” which doesn’t mean hitting a ton of balls, but hitting a ton of balls the SAME WAY.

This may help produce what they used to say in the past, but they don’t anymore, “Muscle memory”

Daniel Coyle, in his book the Talent Code says that there is a direct relation to the amount of deliberate practice and the MYELIN that is created though repeating things over and over the same way.

A train might travel slower than a car, but it cuts thought the forest, mountains, even under bodies of water, to get to the destination quicker.

But, If you are a cookie-cutter coach and only have one way, that will help only specific players. For example, when my son was young, I thought he was going to be real slow.

So I made sure he stood in close and played inside the baseline so he would learn how to hit everything off the rise so he would not have to run so far.

The other advantage was that he liked to volley, so doing this would get him to where he liked to play from anyway, the net, and it took time away from his opponent which is a major way to create unforced errors out of them, but we will get into this in a later episode or video.

Lucky for me, he had Fast twitch muscle but do you see how the make up of the player may cause you to use different swing patterns.

For example if he had to stay close to the baseline, his stroke pattern may have to change.

He has less time to prepare to hit the ball, so a cookie-cutter longer and bigger backswing, like Del Potro may not be very helpful because he will have less time.

Sure, it may get bigger after time because he is more comfortable, but you’ve got to think in terms of success based on player styles and what they do and were born with naturally.

Think about it, if you could work with what a player does naturally and sneak in all of those common denominators within their style, how that might make the LEARNING easier

This gets tricky, because as a coach, you have to decide what works and what may not.

In the last episode, John Wooden even said to his players, I am going to treat each one of you differently.

He said this because he knew they all learned differently and the focus to bring out the best in each player would probably have to be different.

But couldn’t this be said for the technical/tactical aspects of tennis too, based on the players natural style?

So going back to the Amtrak Train

this coach may have a list of players who were successful, but could it have been bigger if he/she coached based on the players abilities and the style that fits them best?

Sounds like a lot of work, but what do you think?

Bottom Line: Having a solid teaching philosophy is a sign of a good coach and a lot of positives come out of sticking to the plan, but don’t be afraid to make a few adjustments along the way.

Good Luck,

Coach Mick, USPTA

023 - Are You a Teacher or a Coach? Jul 17, 2018

Show notes

Today’s Quick Tip Is: Become a good teacher so that you can become a good coach.

Let me just say that teaching and coaching work together. The main ingredient here is the LEARNING.

Let’s start with teaching. What is teaching?

Teaching is about the teacher,

can they explain something clear enough for you to understand?

Teaching is basically a one way interaction between the teacher and the student.

If I were to create a video on how to hit a slice serve, I would basically be teaching you and the rest is up to you.

I sent you the video, you received it, so I taught you something.

I would show you all of the steps, but then you have to go out and hit serves by yourself.

Think about school. There is a teacher/or professor up in the front taking you through how a certain event took place or how a certain process works, sometimes in from of 100’s of students at one time.

It is then up to you to take great notes and try to understand what was said so that you will pass the test on whatever it was he/she was trying to teach you.

Now think about who your favorite teachers were in school. They were most likely the ones who interacted with you, watched you and gave you some feedback.

It made you feel good that they paid attention to you and took an interest in who you were.

Which leads us into coaching.

Look at those teachers I just described in my last example. They were bridging the gap somewhat by not just teaching.

They were focused on you

So, Coaching is about the student.

Yes, It requires teaching, but then a coach takes the next steps of watching how you perform and then provides feedback on how you can perform even better, analyzes that and it continues on and on through this cycle.

A coach will help you set goals, come up with an annual plan on where they feel you should be and provide the steps on how you can get there. There may need to be some adjustment along the way, but coaches definitely understand this.

A teacher is not as concerned about your progress, they teach and then report on how you did.

In the olden days, what was a coach?

It was a vehicle that got you from one place to another.

As a coach, you are a vehicle to get a student from point to another.

Great coaches usually do not come standard, like in the old days.

They have a lot of options included, like knowledge of technique, strategy, nutrition, fitness, the mental game and all of those the dr. Kovacs included in episode 020.

All of these things will help a player get to where they want to go, which is usually being the best player or competitor they can be

As a coach you need to come up with a plan and monitor where your players are by observing them, providing feedback to keep them on track while providing the next steps of the journey.

Your general knowledge of sport science should get you by, will also tell you if you need to bring in an expert, like a nutritionist, or fitness expert, depending on your level of coaching.

And as a coach, like John wooden said, you need to be able to treat all payers differently.

This is because a great coach knows that students learn and are inspired in different ways.

Coaches know that some students, myself included, like the command style, while some like the cooperative and even the submissive.

Any coach that says one way is the only way has slid back to the teacher role.

So what now?

Should you start with teaching or coaching

Well, if you are new to teaching tennis, you may have some great coaching advice, but you just need to brush upon your tennis knowledge.

Add on as many “Extras” to the vehicle……, you, so that you can become a knowledgeable coach and at least have a basic understanding of the science behind the sport.

While on court, you may just be following a lesson plan that the head pro made up and expects you to stay in line with what he wants to focus on, but there will be a lot of opportunities to start practicing your coaching skills.

Any moment you take to invest personally with a student, you have crossed the bridge into coaching.

It might be something very simple, like after seeing someone struggling in class, you pull them aside at the end and show them a few things they can start doing at home to overcome whatever it was they were struggling with.

Most likely it is something you can relate to.

Even a quick phone call during the week (or email) to see how it is going, puts you in more of a coaching role and that may lead to something more permanent in the future.

But please be genuine about it.

What do you think?

Bottom Line: It’s OK to start in the teaching role. Absorb all you can from the pros you work with and the pros you admire in the industry. Take what you like and throw away what you don’t, but if you are a bit uncomfortable, look for those small “Coaching windows” that will help you become more than just a teacher.

Remember, it is the LEARNING that is important And this varies.

All some need is to be told once (or taught) and some may need a little extra (or coached).

In the next few episodes, we will discuss the different types of vehicles, or coaches that may get students from one place to another.

Which one are you? well I hope you will keep listening every Tuesday and Thursday to find out.

Good Luck,

Coach Mick, USPTA

022 - Marc Gelina - The Salt Story Jul 12, 2018

Show notes

022 - The Salt Story - Marc Gelina, USPTA

The PTM Podcast Welcomes Marc Gelina, Associate PTM Director, University of Central Florida Rosen Campus.

The salt story is an analogy on how power of the mind and taking action can change your habits.

Salt is made of up two elements: Sodium and Chloride.

Take each one alone and it is poison.

Combine the two and you have the spice that used to rule the world.

The same goes for how we approach tennis.

Power of the Mind - Think and believe. What the mind can conceive, the body can achieve.

Taking action - changing your habits

Similar to your signature. If you signed your name 100 times, it would pretty much look the same from #1 to #100, but if someone showed you how to do it properly (Or differently), maybe it could improve.

When you are changing habits, remember: “A yard is hard and an inch is a sinch”

Little tiny habits can change your results on tennis.

Similar to termites (small little things) do more damage very year than hurricanes and tornados combined.

When you combine power of the mind and taking action, this is where you are going to see the most improvement and how we have to coach our students.

W.I.N. - What’s Important Now

Thinking this all the time can help keep your mind in the right place and combining this with actions.

Today’s Quick Tip: Applying the salt story to teaching

We need to teach our students to combine both.

As a teaching pro:

You can have a good plan and taking the right action.

A great plan with no action is worthless, pretty obvious.

Great drills, with no plan can be detrimental as well

For example if you just go out and have your student hit a bunch of balls, improvement will be limited, but if you have a good long term (and daily plans), this will keep you on track as a coach, because you can design good lesson plans around these goals to make sure you are achieving these, inch by inch.

A good plan and taking the right action will help your students reach their goals and you as a coach as well.

To get a hold of Marc you can go to: marc.gekina@ucf.edu

Good luck,

Coach Mick, USPTA

021 - Praise in Public and Criticize in Private Jul 10, 2018

Show notes

Today’s Quick Tip Is: Praise in Public and Criticize in Private

It sure would have kept the member and me, from feeling uncomfortable and having to explain to the member that it could wait and she was what is important now.

Believe it or not, When you criticize in private, that shows respect and when you show respect, it may give you that edge that you need.

I have even got called out in meetings before, and found out later, and it did not feel that good.

When you do it in public it only only Embarrasses the person you’re criticizing and. , Even though you may think differently, does not make you look all that good in front of everybody.

So if you have an issue with anyone, even your supervisor, try to find out a smooth way to do it privately and if you can give accolades in public, go for it.

We have a Service of Excellence program here where you can do it on a card and they all get posted for all to see.

Now while teaching, you still want to try to follow this rule. But remember, some people are more accepting of compliments, good and bad, than others.

In a group setting, it’s easy just to pull the group in and talk to them as a group if you see some common issues between, even only a few players. Or, you can pull someone aside during ball pick up and explain to them what want to see different.

Even when discipline players, pull them aside and do it privately.

I remember I had a group of cocky high school kids when I first started and they were not into conditioning in class at all and one time one of the players said, we didn’t pay to be conditioned, we paid for tennis. My response was, you just paid to sit in my office and call your mom and tell her why you are in there, if you can beat me to it.

Now I said that in front of the group and probably shouldn’t have, but you can gauge that. The rest of the class conditioned without any complaints.

When it comes to praising someone, say it out loud in class, that only will motivate others to want to try to do the same.

But be careful that you just don’t do it to one person the whole time because then that can cause some issues for sure, because now it looks like you are favoring players and that is not a good thing either.

The key for me, and this was a bit harder, was to know where everyone was in their development.

We used to do a variety of exercises when it came to conditioning

Now there was on kid that could only do ONE pushup but after 10 weeks he improved by 1000% (he could do 10) so there was a lot of room for praise in public and he won the Ironman award for most improved, even though he still did fewer than anyone.

Now, in a private, it’s fairly easy because It’s only you and them, but I found out to get someone to be more receptive to criticism, praise them first and then tell them what they need to do differently and why.

Now this might seem a bit like the command coach, so how would a cooperative coach do it?

Well a cooperative coach might ask open ended questions to get the player to come to the conclusion, like…… Why do you think most of your shots are going long? Now if they have a definite answer, right or wrong, go back and actually test it out on court. Let them use the process of elimination until they get it and if they do not choose your correction, find a way to get them to bring it out.

Just get to know your players to make the learning more efficient.

Bottom Line: be sensitive to those around you that you work with and who you coach. If you treat them as you want to be treated, then it should make for a great environment.

020 - Dr. Mark Kovacs - Sport Science Basics Jul 05, 2018

Show notes

Back when I was doing basic research after I would finish teaching on court, I started reading about LTAD.

What intrigued me were the “Windows” of development and how we had to get this important stuff in before it became much more of a challenge to develop particular skills.

The first was the window for agility, balance and coordination. The second was puberty.

What I didn’t know that with A,B and C, the window started to shut somewhere around age 10-12. Which meant it was important to have these skills developed as much as possible by then.

Now when I was a kid, it was easy, we climbed trees, played army and had P.E, every day in school., not anymore………

P.E. in a lot of schools is twice/week where I was and kids are on their devices all day, so the best way to develop these skills was to play multiple sports.

I will talk about this in more detail in a future episode, but I got 8 leaders of different sports in town and turned my 10 and under tennis camp into a tennis and sports academy, which was basically tennis every day plus and alternate sport, led by the leader of that sport in the community.

It was extremely successful, plus I got to introduce tennis to a bunch of kids who I probably would not have, because they were coming to play all the sports.

Parents loved it because they did not have to sign up their child for 12 weeks of a sport only to find out the child hated it. They could try a sport for one day and report back with no risk.

The point is, through my drive to want to learn as much as I could, this concept developed into an amazing summer experience and I retained a lot of these kids in the fall, winter and spring.

It was an easy sell to the leaders of the other sports, because they understood the science behind it, plus we promoted their programs to all of the kids at the same time. Win-win for all.

This basic concept of sport science leads us into my interview, with Dr. Mark Kovacs who will simplify “Tennis Science” as he calls it and tells you where you can get started.

Sport Science is basically all of the scientific areas that allow you to teach tennis better.

In it’s complex form, it is a combination of:

1. The physiology of the body

2. The biomechanics of the body

3, The anatomy of how our muscles and movements work

4. Sports Psychology

5. Nutrition

6. Motor Learning

7. How the brain functions

8. How we develop skillets

9. How we teach the

10. How this all integrate with how to hit a ball under stressful situations

But this IS NOT for just the top players

The goal is how we can make teaching and learning more efficient and more fun.

Skill develop is VERY IMPORTANT at all levels of play and makes you a better coach and makes you more versatile.

Where you can start:

1. USTA Sport Science Course

2. Get involved in the international tennis performance association. helps educate you on how to understand sport science and how it relates to make you a better coach and teacher.

1st Step:

The Tennis Performance Training Program

- Not heavy on the science

- Not a lot of big words

- Tries to get coaches to understand the basics in video and written form

- Lots of resources provided if you want to dig deeper in a particular area

You can get there by going to: http://itpa-tennis.org

Bottom Line: Skill development is very important at all levels, especially when players are young, so coming up with a basic plan will not only help you develop these kids but your parents will know that you get it, which makes you MORE attractive to them.

Getting both you and your platers started as early as posit;e will be an advantage for the both of you.

Links

http://itpa-tennis.org

To get a hold of Dr. Kovacs go to:

1. mkovacsphd (Twitter. Facebook, Instagram)

2. http://kovacsinstitute.com and send an email

Good Luck,

Coach Mick, USPTA

019 - Do's and Don'ts of the Tennis Pro Jul 03, 2018

Show notes

So today’s quick tip is: Following some basic Do’s and Don’ts will help you and the staff be more consistent and look more professional

When I started teaching, on my own, I had to write up policies for my staff. I came out of college as a Director at a resort in Northern Michigan.

Not because I was an amazing pro, but I think I had a lot of help from my PTM Director and they really didn’t have any programs yet, it was just an amenity, so I couldn’t screw it up that badly, Right?

I still had to come up with a whole set of programs, policies and processes on how things needed to be done.

What did I do?, well if you listen to episode 003, I copied a bunch of things from my PTM program, camps and internships I worked, called other pros and had some of my own.

To be honest, I was not great initially at developing a “Teaching Philosophy” for the program, and my focus was on just creating one.

Now I was still a Greenhorn Director and Pro, but I did want the staff to be professional and I would worry about the other stuff later. This was all pretty new to me and a bit intimidating because I wanted to do a great job

So I took our Do’s and Don’ts for the tennis professional that we had in our PTM program and applied this to our program, and I want to go over these with you today. They will be in the show notes as well

Remember that these are basic and a bit old, but I think still stand true to this day. If you were taking this in a certification course, it would definitely be more complex, but this should be a great start.

Do’s and Don’ts of the Teaching Professional

Arrive 15 minutes early.
Exaggerate alertness and expression.
LOOK PROFESSIONAL.
Follow the clubs dress code (collared shirt)
Make sure that courts and equipment are prepared in advance.
Listen to Head Pro’s instruction and objectives.
Stay on court during the whole lesson.
Help pick up balls.

DON’TS:

Show up late.
Yawn (or hug your racquet)
Lean against the net post, curtain, etc…
Talk or bounce balls while the Head Pro is talking.
Talk about work related problems with students.
Leave court during ball pick-up.

BASIC DRILL ADMINISTRATION TIPS

Get Their Attention

Be loud and enthusiastic
Exaggerate expression
DEMAND ATTENTION
Keep Them Moving

Students should not be standing in one spot too long
Most important to a parent watching the lesson
More fun for students
More fun for Director to watch
Setting Up The Drill

Explain the drill and objective
Demonstrate drill
Split students up by ability if needed
Tips For Good On Court Drill Administration

Pay attention to safety
Pay attention to drill speed
Exaggerate loudness and expression

VOLUNTARY ACTIVITIES FOR TENNIS PROFESSIONALS

There are many voluntary activities done by staff members that will enhance the program. These activities are the catalysts that will move the program from an average one, to one that excels. These “freebies” reflect your interest in the programs and will help your students feel a bit more special. These are “Extras” like we talked about in episode 001 These might include:

Hitting with students during free time, even 5 to 10 minutes will have an impact on the student and their parent.

- Helping a student select a tennis camp

- Taking students to tournaments

- Organizing a tournament or fun day

- Watching students play out of class

This is big when you want to make that good first impression like we discussed in episode 011

Bottom Line: Looking professional and acting professional will definitely set you apart from even those pros who think they are better than you. You are in the people business.

Good Luck,

Coach Mick, USPTA

018 - Jorge Capestany Scale of Worth Jun 28, 2018

Show notes

In episode 018, I interview Jorge Capestany, USPTA/PTR Master Professional.

Jorge discusses the way he judges the value of his pros by using what he call his "Scale of Worth."

The episode will have more detail, but basically this is how he determines what to pay his pros.

One thing to remember is that when we talk about income, it is very geographic, meaning that you will probably make more in New York City than you will in Jorge's home town of Holland, MI., but the costs to live in both places is very different as well.

The whole idea of Jorge's Scale of Worth is that the more valuable you are to the club, the more you will get paid.

So being ambitious is a plus and continuing to learn will benefit you in the long run.

Let's take a look at how Jorge does it:

Level 1 - Can only assist in a class. High school helper or college player, basically a ball bumper - $12/hr

Level 2 - Can lead some of the classes - $15/hr

Level 3 - Can lead ALL of the classes - $18/hr

Level 4 - Can MAINTAIN a private lesson clientele - $22/hr

Level 5 - Can recruit private lessons - $27/hr

Level 6 - Can run a USTA adult team practice - $30/hr

Level 7 - Can run an entire team (lineups, recruiting..) - $33/hr

Level 8 - Able to start NEW programs - 40% Incentive

Level 9 - Grow an existing program ( 6 to 12 players) - % Incentive

Level 10 - ALL above PLUS always available to work - $35+/hr

It is not where you think you are, but there YOUR BOSS thinks you are on this scale.

If you are interviewing for a position, these are good questions to ask, so you understand the system of a particular program

Bottom line: Your with is a direct reflection on what you can deliver for your club or facility

Good luck with this and please email me at ptmpodcast@usta.com with any questions you may have.

Coach Mick, USPTA

016 - The Milkshake Moment Jun 21, 2018

Show notes

016 – The Milkshake Moment

Today’s quick tip is: Remember the Milkshake Moment, but look to make a lot of Milkshakes, even when they don’t ask.

First of all , one thing I was taught at an early age is that the number one gift you can give anyone, is your time. Like money, we only have so much of it to give and we need to use it and invest wisely. This is where the milkshake comes in.

Ok, so here are some typical “Asks” from members at a club”

“Can you be our 4^th? Susie didn’t show today.
Can you stick around and get this racquet strung so the member can take it home tonight (He lives 20 miles away)
Can you do a 6:00 AM for tis hotel guest who is in meetings all day? Remember what Scott Did in episode 1? Scott gave the customer a “Milkshake Moment” and it landed him a job as manager and head men’s and Women’s coach at Ferris.
There is No Water I the cooler and we are out of cups
Can you apply what Stevie missed in his group lesson, due to being sick to a private lesson? Tricky because if he makes up in a group, it won’t cost you anything, but if you do the private, that is an hour of your time.
Are there any 4.5,s you could set me up with?
When someone is coming in late for their lesson as you are leaving for home

There are internal guests too (The people you work with)

Can you fill in for Doug, he did not show today
Or, “there were only 6 signed up for red ball today but 12 showed, can you help me out

Also, look to Make a Milkshake, even when they don’t ask.

Hit with someone while they are waiting for their opponent to show up
If you see someone struggling with their serve (While practicing) go give them some advice, if you know they will accept it.
Bring the sunscreen & extra towels out on a hot day
Go over if you can (I remember an hour lesson lasting over two sometimes at the end of the day)

BOTTOM LINE: Remember, when you can make something happen, even when it is not convenient, look to do it for your members and look even to make those milkshakes even when they are not expecting one ………. unless they are lactose intolerant

015 - Marc Gelina - Handling Different Levels Of Players in the Same Lesson Jun 19, 2018

Show notes

Today, I interview Marc Gelina, the Associate PTM Director at The University Of Central Florida, Rosen Campus.

In this episodeWe talk about how to handle different levels of players in the same class.

Before coming to Central Florida, Marc was a Tennis Director for over 30 years and has a lot to offer pros who are just getting started and those who have been on the business a long time.

The talented players may "Revolt" if you do not have a creative practice plan.

You have to add in challenges.

The middle group needs to be incentivized by the better players.

The top players need to know that they have to dominate the Middle group.

For me, it is always a good time to work on weaker skills that need to be developed when playing against players that are weaker.

As a pro, you are going to have to work with ALL the levels.

Don't get caught just hanging out with one of the three levels.

The lesson p,an is the key.

For more on The UCF PTM Program go to: https://hospitality.ucf.edu/tennis/

Coach Mick, USPTA