HS Tennis Coach with Full Time Job

C

chic

Hall of Fame
Reached out to a local HS coach to see if he needed any volunteers or if I could offer stringing services. He also runs a local tennis and writing/reading program in the area and I was looking to volunteer some time and be more of the community.

Asked him to pass me along to his counterpart for the girls team, as there was no one listed in the directory (figured it might just be him running double duty.)

He responded saying the girls team was looking for a head coach if I'd be interested.
This is definitely more commitment than I planned to jump into but I'm thinking I might be able to make it work.

Was hoping to hear from other coaches or involved HS parents if they have any warnings or cautions I should consider beside the obvious.
I work full time in tech (hardware) sales but my schedule/manager is pretty flexible.
I play in the mornings 6-8 or 6-9 5 days a week.
I figure if I cut that to 6-8 everyday, work 8:30-3:45 then hold practice 4-530 and check emails at night I can swing it.

iirc from high school; spring season in the northeast is only ~2 months.
Especially if I can find a volunteer assistant or two to cover days where i may not get out until a little later seems possible.

Curious any feedback people may have before I go apply.
Thanks in advance!
 
Aren’t you the 28 year old 3.5 with the 110-120mph first serve and 95mph 2nd serve according to your other posts. If I take you at your word, it means that the rest of your game sucks majorly. Stay away from those high school kids:cool:
 
socallefty said:
Aren’t you the 28 year old 3.5 with the 110-120mph first serve and 95mph 2nd serve according to your other posts. If I take you at your word, it means that the rest of your game sucks majorly. Stay away from those high school kids:cool:
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I mean I'm a 4.0 now based on recent results but yeah I'm definitely better at serving than the rest of my game :cry:

I don't think I'm like, a teaching pro, but it's still a cool opportunity and the school have found someone more qualified that's interested I guess
 
chic said:
I mean I'm a 4.0 now based on recent results but yeah I'm definitely better at serving than the rest of my game :cry:

I don't think I'm like, a teaching pro, but it's still a cool opportunity and the school have found someone more qualified that's interested I guess
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If you have never taught before and are an intermediate player, I don’t think it is good for you to become a HS head coach. I’m sure there will be girls that are better than you on the team who have received proper coaching for many years - how will you help them get better?

You should ask the men’s coach if he needs a volunteer as per your original plan, learn the ropes of teaching/coaching and then maybe branch out on your own. Just my two cents.
 
My local HS boys team won state team championships the last two years and several individual singles and doubles titles over the last 5 years. The coach is a 3.5 doubles specialist who coaches both the boys and girls teams (boys and girls play in different seasons so they don't overlap). He has a full-time job in medical device sales and it hasn't hampered him at all.

Here are my outsider observations because my son has been on the team.

1) he knows he can't hit with the singles players and doesn't try to. All of the singles players have their own coaches who don't want the HS coach futzing with their players. He sets the 3 singles players on a court and has them play 2 v 1 for the whole practice
2) it's a real advantage having a doubles specialist as a coach because tactics matter so much in doubles. He spends the whole practice working with the doubles pairings on specific tactics and match situations. He also works a lot on volley technique.

I say go for it!
 
socallefty said:
If you have never taught before and are an intermediate player, I don’t think it is good for you to become a HS head coach. I’m sure there will be girls that are better than you on the team who have received proper coaching for many years - how will you help them get better?

You should ask the men’s coach if he needs a volunteer as per your original plan, learn the ropes of teaching/coaching and then maybe branch out on your own. Just my two cents.
Click to expand...
The majority of HS coaches don’t teach tennis because they themselves can’t play. They just schedule practices, handle administrative and logistical stuff.
 
travlerajm said:
The most successful college coaches are often guys who didn’t play at high level, but bring something unique to the table that allows the players to get an edge.

Dick Gould - ok high school tennis player - was a lot more successful coach than ex Top 40 ATP guys Whitlinger and Goldstein.
Click to expand...

I don't think it will happen today. Too much competition and certification requirements.
 
socallefty said:
If you have never taught before and are an intermediate player, I don’t think it is good for you to become a HS head coach. I’m sure there will be girls that are better than you on the team who have received proper coaching for many years - how will you help them get better?

You should ask the men’s coach if he needs a volunteer as per your original plan, learn the ropes of teaching/coaching and then maybe branch out on your own. Just my two cents.
Click to expand...

This is a fair enough opinion.

As far as girls who are that good, if there are any, I'll try to align with their club coaches to keep things productive.
It was indicated by the men's coach I'd mostly be dealing with kids who had never held a racquet, and that he would help me get my bearings.

Just gonna be honest with the AD about my background/lack-thereof and no hard feelings if they find a more experienced instructor.

But if I don't take it now who knows when the opportunity would come up again.

J011yroger said:
Man, go for it. Most HS coaches can't play at all.

I have a blast with my girls team, of course they are totally spoiled but whatever.

Just do it for a season and see how you like it.

J
Click to expand...

Yeah decided I'm just gonna apply based on the general response here.
If it works out cool, not sure I'll have the opportunity again.
If it's too much I'll struggle through a season and try to help recruit a better replacement for next year.


--

Appreciate all the resources people posted as well. Wasn't exactly what I was going for with the thread but I'll pour through them if I do get the job.
Hell maybe I'll pour through them even if I don't just to help my own game lmao.
 
chic said:
This is a fair enough opinion.

As far as girls who are that good, if there are any, I'll try to align with their club coaches to keep things productive.
It was indicated by the men's coach I'd mostly be dealing with kids who had never held a racquet, and that he would help me get my bearings.

Just gonna be honest with the AD about my background/lack-thereof and no hard feelings if they find a more experienced instructor.

But if I don't take it now who knows when the opportunity would come up again.



Yeah decided I'm just gonna apply based on the general response here.
If it works out cool, not sure I'll have the opportunity again.
If it's too much I'll struggle through a season and try to help recruit a better replacement for next year.


--

Appreciate all the resources people posted as well. Wasn't exactly what I was going for with the thread but I'll pour through them if I do get the job.
Hell maybe I'll pour through them even if I don't just to help my own game lmao.
Click to expand...

Just msg me privately if you need any help or advice.

J
 
chic said:
This is a fair enough opinion.

As far as girls who are that good, if there are any, I'll try to align with their club coaches to keep things productive.
It was indicated by the men's coach I'd mostly be dealing with kids who had never held a racquet, and that he would help me get my bearings.

Just gonna be honest with the AD about my background/lack-thereof and no hard feelings if they find a more experienced instructor.

But if I don't take it now who knows when the opportunity would come up again.



Yeah decided I'm just gonna apply based on the general response here.
If it works out cool, not sure I'll have the opportunity again.
If it's too much I'll struggle through a season and try to help recruit a better replacement for next year.


--

Appreciate all the resources people posted as well. Wasn't exactly what I was going for with the thread but I'll pour through them if I do get the job.
Hell maybe I'll pour through them even if I don't just to help my own game lmao.
Click to expand...

Lots of fun if you have the right group of players and parents.

Not much to add to the many posts.

I am no longer a head coach but do lots of non-paid assistant gigs. I coached boys, girls big schools.. small schools ..public and private. USTA Junior Team Tennis ..USTA Captain... and some D3 College.

My advice other than all the all the great stuff posted above is to figure our the culture of the school and the AD and office staff. Those are key in having smooth seasons.

Good luck... I am guessing lots of folks on Talk Tennis have done the coaching gig. Great place to get advice..
 
SteveI said:
Lots of fun if you have the right group of players and parents.

Not much to add to the many posts.

I am no longer a head coach but do lots of non-paid assistant gigs. I coached boys, girls big schools.. small schools ..public and private. USTA Junior Team Tennis ..USTA Captain... and some D3 College.

My advice other than all the all the great stuff posted above is to figure our the culture of the school and the AD and office staff. Those are key in having smooth seasons.

Good luck... I am guessing lots of folks on Talk Tennis have done the coaching gig. Great place to get advice..
Click to expand...
Went and met the AAD yesterday (AD out on bereavement for a bit) seemed supportive and laid back. Sounds like a smaller team, 6 girls registered, maybe 12 max will sign up by the season. She said that historically tennis doesn't really have any issues with academics so there is a policy but I won't have to worry about it much.

Apparently, season starts next week so they're really hoping I can do it. Planning to say yes and try it for this season at least but I need to finalize the tradeshow schedule for work today/tomorrow and make sure I won't miss too much of the season (1 week is fine 2 would be iffy).

Gonna drill into the district / council documents this week then hopefully come back to this thread this weekend and plan out practice for next week. Maybe read How To Coach HS Tennis if I have time.

No matches till next month so I am thinking more cardio/conditioning heavy for the first two weeks. Along with some basics if there are any true-beginners on the team...
 
travlerajm said:
The most successful college coaches are often guys who didn’t play at high level, but bring something unique to the table that allows the players to get an edge.

Dick Gould - ok high school tennis player - was a lot more successful coach than ex Top 40 ATP guys Whitlinger and Goldstein.
Click to expand...
Dick Gould also played tennis for Stanford in the late 1950s (to 1960). But I don’t believe that Stanford was really an athletic powerhouse back in those days — certainly not on par with USC or UCLA in tennis.

Had heard that Gould had quite a good eye for immediately picking up on players flaws in stroke & footwork mechanics.

He undoubtedly had other skills that made him an effective university team coach. He was able to recruit the likes of Roscoe Tanner & John McEnroe in the late 60s & 1970s
 
SystemicAnomaly said:
Dick Gould also played tennis for Stanford in the late 1950s (to 1960). But I don’t believe that Stanford was really an athletic powerhouse back in those days — certainly not on par with USC or UCLA in tennis.

Had heard that Gould had quite a good eye for immediately picking up on players flaws in stroke & footwork mechanics.

He undoubtedly had other skills that made him an effective university team coach. He was able to recruit the likes of Roscoe Tanner & John McEnroe in the late 60s & 1970s
Click to expand...
I worked for coach Gould in the early 90s both as an instructor at his adidas summer camp for top juniors, as well as helping chart match stats for the team.

He had a “system” for teaching tennis to beginners that was actually impressive in how well it worked.

He also had various system philosophies for how he coached his players that were ahead of his peers. For example, if a freshman recruit came in bombing pure flat serves at 50%, he didn’t like that. He would insist on adding a little bit of bend to the first serve to get the % up. Sort of a Moneyball for college tennis thing.

He also enjoyed success by recruiting only American born players, something no one does today. He could basically get all the top us players and make it Stanford vs the rest of the world, and still dominate.
 
The other thing that you might consider is if you are able to leave your job early enough to jump on a bus when the team has an away match. Depending on where you live, daylight can be an issue for court use.
 
ey039524 said:
The other thing that you might consider is if you are able to leave your job early enough to jump on a bus when the team has an away match. Depending on where you live, daylight can be an issue for court use.
Click to expand...
Yeah I did have to figure this out.

My company is pretty flexible so it should be a non issue if I just build the season schedule into my calendar ASAP.
 
Just do it. I ended up getting my coach certification to solidify things for the school and get my background checks. Many of the kids have never even pikced up a racquet, so it is a great experience to help them get started and have fun as part of a team. Some things you learn, or at least I learned with boys and girls:
  • Whatever time you THINK you will spend, double it.
  • Be ready to deal with LOTS of emotions and some drama. Just create good boundaries up front as a coach, not a friend in that sense.
  • You will fall in love with it, so whatever time you may have doubled, you will probably end up spending even more offering to help kids outside of scheduled practice and matches.
  • Have fun. Don't get wrapped up in anything more than being there to support the young folks.
Cheers.

Oh, and EDIT to add: Make sure to check with your local Pro Tennis Assoc to see if they host HS coach training and seminars. We did some at our HS and it was wonderful to learn with other newer coaches and through seasoned pros. And fun for our kids since I used them for demos. :)

img-1637_orig.jpg
 
Having done it for 30 years, I can say that coaching high school tennis is not about teaching technique during the season. It's about motivating, building team spirit and fun. Partially about strategy depending on the abilities of the kids. Technical change is for the off season.
 
socallefty said:
Aren’t you the 28 year old 3.5 with the 110-120mph first serve and 95mph 2nd serve according to your other posts. If I take you at your word, it means that the rest of your game sucks majorly. Stay away from those high school kids:cool:
Click to expand...
Most HS coaches are not real high level players. Average is 3.5 to 4.0. You run drills and work on skills for some players. The high level players probably have their own coach and play juniors. Just leave them be. You should know how to coach tactics/strategy in matches. I commend him for taking a volunteer HS coaching job involving 15 to 20 teenagers.
 
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its a catch 22

you need the respect of your players to be a good coach.
yet if you suck at the sport, you don't get any respect from your players. how serious will they take you?
 
ichaseballs said:
its a catch 22

you need the respect of your players to be a good coach.
yet if you suck at the sport, you don't get any respect from your players. how serious will they take you?
Click to expand...
They will respect you if you deliver good practice sessions.

I had two volunteer coaches in HS, one could play to a low level, the other couldn't play. No one listened to or respected the first guy because he was too rigid with his ideas of how you should play and he just wasn't very encouraging. Everyone loved the other guy, we could laugh at his awful forehand but he knew it was awful and so we would listen to his advice.
 
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JohnYandell said:
You get respect by the way you treat your players.
Click to expand...
Creating a safe place for them to improve and have fun is the most important thing I always worked on. Setting reasonable expectations and goals from day one is also very important. I always had a preseason team meeting with all players, coaches and parents when possible to share those concepts. Everyone has to be on the same page. These are goals I always worked towards. Respect, attitude, improvement, hard work and community. Some times we failed. We always did our best. The wins come...
 
ichaseballs said:
its a catch 22

you need the respect of your players to be a good coach.
yet if you suck at the sport, you don't get any respect from your players. how serious will they take you?
Click to expand...
It’s not a contest between you and the team. If you’re honest with them and tell them what level of player you are they will respect that. At least your being sincere. If you have adequate skills to teach them basics and even more advanced that’s even better. But, you don’t have to be a former college player or HS standout. Be creative with practices. Create a team ladder and encourage them to challenge. Be fair and encourage them to play tennis. Coach tactics and strategy during competition.
 
One of my hitting partners was asked to be an assistant coach for a high-school girl's team (there are two high-schools in the city). He's a former college and open player and he was retired at the time so he had the time to do it. He is very good at looking at, understanding and deploying tactics and strategy - and, generally sizing up a player and figuring out their strengths and weaknesses. His main comment was to avoid situations that could be considered compromising. I'm sure that he was great at coaching but that's what he left me with as far as coaching goes.

One of my other hitting partners has also coached high-school tennis and he is also excellent at figuring out your strengths and weaknesses really quickly. I think that figuring that out early in matches can help players improve their match play quite well. He's a former college player too.

One of my former hitting partners was coach of a local high-school boys team for a lot of years on a team where I've only seen one serious player and it was his nephew. There were many that went out for the team that didn't own racquets. They signed up as a checkbox for college admissions. The athletes signed up for basketball, baseball, and football. So he coached a very weak team for 20 years i think. I haven't played with him in probably a decade as he had to give up tennis due to injuries. He is a former high-school football player.

I assume that you can analyze strokes and movement and figure out technique issues.
 
Took the job, two of my friends (4.0 guy and 4.0-4.5 woman) are helping out.

16 girls on the team ranging from total beginner to maybe 3.5 ntrp. Most of the girls are definitely more athletes playing tennis than tennis players - so there's plenty to teach even the better players.

Great attitudes so far and I'm not losing many seniors this first year!
We'll have some fun and see if I can do a full season then address for next year XD
 
chic said:
Took the job, two of my friends (4.0 guy and 4.0-4.5 woman) are helping out.

16 girls on the team ranging from total beginner to maybe 3.5 ntrp. Most of the girls are definitely more athletes playing tennis than tennis players - so there's plenty to teach even the better players.

Great attitudes so far and I'm not losing many seniors this first year!
We'll have some fun and see if I can do a full season then address for next year XD
Click to expand...
Congrats! Have fun and try not to take it too seriously. If you can find this guide USTA ... it is great. Players love to compete in fun games.

"Top 10 games every coach should know". Used to be a section on USTA site for coaches.

Games like Team singles, Wipe out, sky ball, Triples..... etc..etc
 
chic said:
Reached out to a local HS coach to see if he needed any volunteers or if I could offer stringing services. He also runs a local tennis and writing/reading program in the area and I was looking to volunteer some time and be more of the community.

Asked him to pass me along to his counterpart for the girls team, as there was no one listed in the directory (figured it might just be him running double duty.)

He responded saying the girls team was looking for a head coach if I'd be interested.
This is definitely more commitment than I planned to jump into but I'm thinking I might be able to make it work.

Was hoping to hear from other coaches or involved HS parents if they have any warnings or cautions I should consider beside the obvious.
I work full time in tech (hardware) sales but my schedule/manager is pretty flexible.
I play in the mornings 6-8 or 6-9 5 days a week.
I figure if I cut that to 6-8 everyday, work 8:30-3:45 then hold practice 4-530 and check emails at night I can swing it.

iirc from high school; spring season in the northeast is only ~2 months.
Especially if I can find a volunteer assistant or two to cover days where i may not get out until a little later seems possible.

Curious any feedback people may have before I go apply.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
my $.02.. as i was considering this as well (was asked to be a coach at 2 hs), but couldn't make it work with my job...
the current "coaches" at the schools were physEd teachers, so would be an upgrade for even a good 3.5 player to coach IMO, since most kids on the hs team are basically beginners... so teaching grips alone with be an upgrade.

main 2 challenges in coaching imo, are
1. logistics - eg. scheduling with schools, reserving courts, emails, transport, etc...
2. drills - figuring out the appropriate group drills for a specific level (eg. beginner) - i really like david smiths books/drills/ideas on coaching large groups of hs/beginners... simple progressions, and includes getting kids themselves to rotate through being feeder

i'm in tech too, dev side... maybe i should switch to sales like you, so i can make this work :P
where in the northeast are you, anywhere near nyc?
 
nyta2 said:
my $.02.. as i was considering this as well (was asked to be a coach at 2 hs), but couldn't make it work with my job...
the current "coaches" at the schools were physEd teachers, so would be an upgrade for even a good 3.5 player to coach IMO, since most kids on the hs team are basically beginners... so teaching grips alone with be an upgrade.

main 2 challenges in coaching imo, are
1. logistics - eg. scheduling with schools, reserving courts, emails, transport, etc...
2. drills - figuring out the appropriate group drills for a specific level (eg. beginner) - i really like david smiths books/drills/ideas on coaching large groups of hs/beginners... simple progressions, and includes getting kids themselves to rotate through being feeder

i'm in tech too, dev side... maybe i should switch to sales like you, so i can make this work :p
where in the northeast are you, anywhere near nyc?
Click to expand...
Yeah I have a physical copy of the smith book otw!

Luckily with my friends helping out we have been able to keep it to 4-6 kids per court/per coach. But the solo coaching days are a bit more crazy.

We have been doing lots of grip and stroke progression drills the first week before I really let them 'hit' much. Also a lot of footwork and getting to ready position. Almost the entire team likes to stand racquet pointing down after one shot!

I'm right outside Boston, in tech but hardware side. Sales is great but for flexibility I think the bigger factor is being at a small company <30 people ;)
 
chic said:
Yeah I have a physical copy of the smith book otw!

Luckily with my friends helping out we have been able to keep it to 4-6 kids per court/per coach. But the solo coaching days are a bit more crazy.

We have been doing lots of grip and stroke progression drills the first week before I really let them 'hit' much. Also a lot of footwork and getting to ready position. Almost the entire team likes to stand racquet pointing down after one shot!

I'm right outside Boston, in tech but hardware side. Sales is great but for flexibility I think the bigger factor is being at a small company <30 people ;)
Click to expand...
i have some college visits for my daughter coming up... targeting boston area.. maybe we can hit?
also a big fan of topspin pros... (if in school budget)... have had 4 beginners on one getting reps before going to dead ball feeds, can also use for footwork patterns (using cones, lines, etc...)
 
learn how to feed properly. No topspin, use a continental grip. That's the gist of what's needed.

My two sons are on V and JV. The V coach was a teaching pro.

The JV coach isn't. He can't even feed. He has the kids feed. They can't feed either.
 
ey039524 said:
learn how to feed properly. No topspin, use a continental grip. That's the gist of what's needed.

My two sons are on V and JV. The V coach was a teaching pro.

The JV coach isn't. He can't even feed. He has the kids feed. They can't feed either.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm decent at feeding from the net, luckily. Some of the kids would definitely struggle with topspin feeds at this level
 
Thread 'Cheering in Highschool Tennis?' http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/cheering-in-highschool-tennis.750085/

New thread based on some experiences this season would love people's input.

Update on the team they're 8-6 with one more match today. Greater than .500 records goto state tournament (they got rid of the division tournament for some reason) so as of yesterday's win they made it in!
Last year they were 6-10 so things are moving in a good direction and the tennis is looking pretty good compared to 8 or 9 weeks ago.

The other coaches and I are having a blast so probably we'll keep with it until someone really qualified steps up or work prevents us from being involved.
 
chic said:
Reached out to a local HS coach to see if he needed any volunteers or if I could offer stringing services. He also runs a local tennis and writing/reading program in the area and I was looking to volunteer some time and be more of the community.

Asked him to pass me along to his counterpart for the girls team, as there was no one listed in the directory (figured it might just be him running double duty.)

He responded saying the girls team was looking for a head coach if I'd be interested.
This is definitely more commitment than I planned to jump into but I'm thinking I might be able to make it work.

Was hoping to hear from other coaches or involved HS parents if they have any warnings or cautions I should consider beside the obvious.
I work full time in tech (hardware) sales but my schedule/manager is pretty flexible.
I play in the mornings 6-8 or 6-9 5 days a week.
I figure if I cut that to 6-8 everyday, work 8:30-3:45 then hold practice 4-530 and check emails at night I can swing it.

iirc from high school; spring season in the northeast is only ~2 months.
Especially if I can find a volunteer assistant or two to cover days where i may not get out until a little later seems possible.

Curious any feedback people may have before I go apply.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
coincidentally the hs coach for my daughter's team ask if i wanted to be the coach this coming fall season... i've shifted my sched (tech) 7-3p to make myself avail...
the team ranges from utr2-8 (but mostly utr2-4)
should be fun. we can compare notes... :P
 
nyta2 said:
coincidentally the hs coach for my daughter's team ask if i wanted to be the coach this coming fall season... i've shifted my sched (tech) 7-3p to make myself avail...
the team ranges from utr2-8 (but mostly utr2-4)
should be fun. we can compare notes... :p
Click to expand...
I had/am having a blast with it!

Strongly recommend if you have hitting partners who might want to help you out getting an assistant who can come sometimes/cover you for practice if you're working outside the school.

But yeah DM me anytime or post here.
 
I help with my daughter's high school tennis team, and am not an amazing tennis player by any means. My wife is the coach of that team, and she's not even as "good" as I am. But the fact is, for high school sports, the coach's primary jobs are: get the kids safely on and off the bus, handle administrative requirements, run well-organized practices, and know the rules well-enough to deal with other coaches and athletic directors. If you know more than that and can even play the game well-enough to hold your own against the kids, that's really awesome, and obviously something to strive for, but it's bonus. Between my wife and I, with this being her first year in the job, she's taking the team to the state championship tournament for the first time in seven years, and they swept their opponents through the entire regional tournament.

As the previous posters said, your best players have private lesson coaches, and the ones that don't are going to learn a lot from playing against those that do. Bottom line: schools need coaches, and they're struggling to get them. Even if you're not a great player, you're better than them disbanding the team, and you'll probably be able to do a better job than you think. The single biggest qualification for a coach isn't personal skill: it's just plain caring about being there for the kids. Schools can't keep teachers (I'm a high school teacher, I know this for a fact), so keeping coaches is even harder. At my daughter's school, the swim coach is just whoever they found and told to do it: this guy is the art teacher and they picked him because someone saw a photo on his Facebook page of him surfing years ago.

Just my 2 cents.
 
My sons' season is over:
The JV coach I disparaged earlier (above) can actually play. Apparently, he joined in some live ball w/ the kids and is a solid player. Not sure why he can't feed.

He also messed up the lineup and thought he could get some points by "stacking doubles" w/ the singles players vs. a good team. After the first round, my son's team got 1 game out of 3 lines of doubles.

I'll amend my previous post to being able to do 2 things:
1) feed balls for drills (like live ball); and
2) don't mess w/ the line up, thinking you can out-strategize the other coach.
 
ey039524 said:
My sons' season is over:
The JV coach I disparaged earlier (above) can actually play. Apparently, he joined in some live ball w/ the kids and is a solid player. Not sure why he can't feed.

He also messed up the lineup and thought he could get some points by "stacking doubles" w/ the singles players vs. a good team. After the first round, my son's team got 1 game out of 3 lines of doubles.

I'll amend my previous post to being able to do 2 things:
1) feed balls for drills (like live ball); and
2) don't mess w/ the line up, thinking you can out-strategize the other coach.
Click to expand...
Luckily, I have a deep team and the singles players don't have the positioning practice. I know they can't switch in to doubles well and are better than everyone else at singles.

We do lots of feeding and drills. I will say learning to feed takes a bit of work and feeding from various positions even more so. As a coach though, I will say without multiple coaches it's hard to de effective drills with more than 6-8 people depending on the drill. Managing 20 of them is a lot especially at the lower levels.
 
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