Transitioning from Music Education to full time Tennis Teaching. Any advice from current coaches/teaching pros for someone entering the career?

ekucheraw

Rookie
Hi all, title says pretty much everything. I've been a 5-12 band director for the last few years and never saw myself doing anything other than that, teaching tennis was always the "after school 2nd/3rd job" and hobby. I've played my whole life and had coached a few students before graduating and starting full time teaching. After school I was the head coach of the High School team as well as working at the local racket club with kids and adults of all ages and session sizes.

Statements on the fact I needed 3 jobs to make rent and bills every month aside (thanks education), I was given an opportunity recently to work with another club as a full time tennis instructor and I've accepted the job. I have experience in coaching kids and adults of all levels, but wanted to hear from the current experts: what's something you wished you known when you started?

Thank you all, have a great rest of your day!
 

kevin qmto

Hall of Fame
I was a teaching pro at a local club for 11 months about 2 years ago. The pay was decent, though I only worked part time. 3 days a week they’d give me a block of 4 hours. And all I did was red, orange, and green ball classes. The orange was actually the worst as these kids were over the spectacle of being on a tennis court and were really only there because their parents signed them up. They would goof off the most.

In the summer I got to do high school level coaching and that was much more fun. I probably wouldn’t have quit if that was the majority of my duties.

I left when I got a decent paying full time job. About 6 months after I left, my boss asked if I wanted to come back just to work some weekends, and I said: “if it’s just going to be red, orange, and green classes I’m not interested.” And of course he was like: “well, that’s all I have for you.”

So that’s that, he hasn’t called me back since. I’m not much for children, I’m not a baby sitter. I like to teach people who are already passionate about tennis and getting better at the sport. I could do the little kids classes, but I never enjoyed it, and would be looking at the clock frequently.

So basically what I’d ask you is, what are you going to be teaching? General tennis clinics focusing on fun n’ fitness? Or more of a tennis academy approach and really focus on improving specific skills and working on mechanics.
 
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ekucheraw

Rookie
So basically what I’d ask you is, what are you going to be teaching? General tennis clinics focusing on fun n’ fitness? Or more of a tennis academy approach and really focus on improving specific skills and working on mechanics.
Little column A little column B, which is fine by me. I taught band to 5-12th graders, general music to K-6 at times, and don't mind working with all sorts of skill levels and levels of development. I'll be helping lead the ROG ball clinics, taking on private lessons, likely heading pickleball programming (since I have quite a bit of experience in that on the side), and assisting in the elite level clinics for the advanced High School competitors and such. My education philosophy involves meeting every student at their level and taking them to the next, so being able to do both is important to me as an educator I guess.
 
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