Find a Coach

Finding a good coach for your child takes patience, diligence, and requires some simple research.

Tennis Pro, Charles Mosley believes in the 3 P's.

Professionalism

    Appearance (Well groomed, tidy and appropriate apparrel)
    Punctual (On time)
    Grammar (The ability to use words that a child can understand)
    Articulate (Expressive)

Passionate

    Enjoys what he or she does (You should be able to clearly see this thru coach/student interaction)
The ability to establish rapport will make it much easier to coach a child. The energy from the coach should be reflected thru the students.

Patience

    Particularly when working with kids. Kids do not all have the same personalities, so it is important that a coach has the ability and creativity to make necessary adjustments depending on the kid.
It can become very difficult to find experienced coaches who are willing to work with kids 10 & under. The attention span of a child between ages 3 & 7 is about 30  seconds, so it requires the coach to be creative in finding ways to keep their attention. (Hardwork, but worth the challenge).

Early Stages

    The first few years of development are the most crucial. This is where most coaches fail and some do not want any part of. When teaching sound fundamentals it is imperative to teach kids proper grips and swing patterns. This develops muscle memory. I recall helping a coach once at a summer camp and I asked him why he was not teaching the correct service grip. His exact words were, "well, I will teach them later. Right now I just want them to get the ball over". I felt a little bad for the kid, because in my opinion, the kid was getting good at doing it wrong. Sacrificing or compromising good mechanics will hurt development long term. To be honest, it will be challenging to find a coach willing to work with kids under 8 years of age. So it is impeartive to do your homework.

Track Record

Titles & Labels don't guarantee success !

    A coach can have all the titles and labels in the world and yet lack a credible track record in coaching and developing young kids simply because they lack the necessary communication skills required to be affective at coaching young kids. Honestly, kids could care less about about sports science or economic issues. All they care about is having fun in whatever they are doing. Established coaches have a track record and proven & successful coaches have a good & consistent one. Don't be shy, ask around your community or area you would like to find coaching for your child. Also, coaching is very competetive so many times your best information may not come from other coaches, it actually comes from the parents. Coach Charles recommends you try out ALL coaches in your area before making a decision on what training program to start your child in. In fact, he highly encourages that because this could make or break your child's enthusiasm in the sport of tennis. Ask parents of highly skilled kids WHO developed them, particulary in the early stages.
Watch a private lesson or two with a coach you are interested in coaching your child. I recommend you take lessons from a few coaches before you make a final decision. Most coaches offer a complimentary lesson at no cost.
Check references and credentials. Experience and level of play are important as well...... Established coaches should have no problem sharing this information.