Big Names, Big Organizations, Preaching Big Lies!

If you are a high performance coach then teach "high performance players." If you have experience with juniors then teach "kid's tennis," but please don't decide one day to "preach" what you aren't!

Did you know that we are one of the only professions that still does not test for competency each year! Imagine if you went to a doctor who was not educated with the most modern medical training. Yes, there are excellent organizations like the USPTA and USPTR that have ongoing tennis education courses but there is no yearly exam that measures the competency of a professional coach. These ongoing education courses are excellent but the truth is that coaches who do not participate still can make a prosperous living by teaching even though their skills and teaching techniques may be out of date.

All right, now there is another "group" of coaches who are great at teaching "both" adults and juniors! This group of coaches are well educated, well rounded coaches who know their limitations and are realistic with their abilities. These coaches are truly special, they do what they can and try not to be what they are not. If I start talking about Nick, Dennis or Vic we'd all know who exactly I am talking about, right? We all know that these well-respected coaches have developed a reputation for coaching certain clientele or specializing in a field of tennis coaching. I am so glad that these coaches realize that they help tennis the most when they do what they do best! If your claim to fame as a coach is to have taught players like an Agassi or Hingis, then by all means tell the world and soon you'll have more already accomplished players knocking down your door to get those precious bits of advice that will make their game that much more potent. But a huge problem lies when high performance coaches start "preaching" that they know how to develop an absolute beginner, a very young child just stepping onto the court for the first time. If the don't have enough experience with this level of player, then there are likely to be big problems.

Last year, I was speaking at a very respected tennis conference and had the unfortunate experience of listening to a speaker discussing "kid's tennis." As a background, this coach (name withheld) was a former #1 past high performance player, turned successful high performance coach. At this conference, however, he had decided to speak on "kid's tennis." I thought this was rather interesting, so I found the time to sit in the audience to listen to and learn. Well, what I heard shocked the heck out of me! The things he said and did on the court with these kids would have failed him in any kids tennis course run by most tennis federations. Being a past course conductor for Tennis Canada, I would have failed him for sure! Why was this well-respected high-performance coach being given a speaking platform where he would have influence over fellow coaches on a topic he was not qualified to lecture? I heard that his big multimillion-dollar sponsor was happy as clams to hear that this coach "found" another topic to educate the masses. Now, it would be different if this coach taught juniors and kid's tennis in his own club(s) but to preach what to do with kids when he had obviously only basic knowledge was simply ridiculous! I sat in the audience dumbfounded, then a few of my fellow speaker friends came by and exclaimed with a great vigor, "what the heck was this guy talking about...what do you think?" You could imagine what I said.

Perhaps this speaker thought, as many others do, that teaching "kid's tennis" was easy. Perhaps he saw that grassroots tennis was growing, and thought, "hmmmm I am reputable, I have a big name, why not, it's easy money." I've never the reverse, where a "kid's tennis" speaker suddenly promotes himself as a "high performance tennis coach." But for some reason there are a whole bunch of high performance coaches suddenly jumping head first into grassroots teaching and preaching that they know what they are doing! Big names thereby use their big reputation, formed in a specialized field of tennis, to suddenly change speaking platforms into a tennis coaching area that they have absolutely no experience in. This coach, a very respected high performance coach and avid conference speaker, decided to switch his area of expertise from top players on the tour to "kid's tennis." As I sat in the audience with a few other speakers from the conference, we were all shocked hearing what this coach was sharing with his audience. The information was not up to date, the terminology was atrocious, and he made recomendations that were definite no no's in kids tennis' unwritten laws. This guy broke all the rules and then wrote some new terrible ones. The real scary thing is that many coaches will "listen" and accept what this guy said! They accept what he said simply because of his name, a name that was made reputable because of coaching in another field!

So what can you do to recognize imposters? Here is a list of things to consider before you decide to follow someone's advice:

1. Try not to be fooled by "Big Names." Remember a former world #1 Swedish player who tried to come back on the pro tour using a wooden racquet? Well this professional had a "Big Name." Remember what happened to his comeback? "Big Names" do not mean automatic excellence.

2. Is the material that is being "shared" written by him or her or is it a culmination of "other" speakers' work. Why listen to a speaker who only capitalizes on other coaches' work?

3. Read the speaker's biography. This is a delicate matter--really take time to read through this material.

4. Analyze whether or not the topic being discussed compliments the speaker's background.

5. Ask other coaches in the conference who this speaker is, have they heard him or her speak, and, if so, what topics?

6. Is he or she a specialist on what he or she will be lecturing on?

7. After the lecture you might want to ask yourself if this speaker is a salesman or a spokesman for tennis.

Having well known "Big Name" tennis players or "Big Name" coaches promoting "kid's tennis" is great. I loved the fact that Sampras, Agassi and Hingis wrote supportive comments about my "kid's tennis" book. What I don't agree with is when a player or coach considers himself or herself a "specialist" in the "kid's tennis" field when they are not. I heard a rumor recently that a high profile - high performance coach (very well known) will soon make a (hush hush) "Big Money" deal with a prominent multi-million dollar organization to perform "kid's tennis." The "Big Name," with the "Big organization name," will be promoting "kid's tennis" because they think it will make "Big Money." Is this good? Well, put it this way--if you had a medical emergency would you call an orthodontist?

Shame, shame, shame.

Till next month,

Reg

This column is copyright 2001 by Reggie Vasquez Jr., all rights reserved.

Reggie Vasquez Jr. is one of Canada's leading tennis coaches for juniors. He is actively involved with Tennis Canada's grassroots player development. A frequent and enthusiastic speaker at tennis conferences, he is certified by the U.S.P.T.A., Tennis Canada and the U.S.P.T.R.. For almost 7 years he was a head coach for the Canadian Davis cup Captain's Academy at the Canada's National Tennis Center. He has been a Tennis Canada - National Youth Tennis Center Leader for over 8 years and is presently a head coach of an Elite Tennis Academy. He has experience working with juniors from the absolute beginner to the international caliber tennis player. Reggie is also a published author on junior tennis. His personal web site has additional information on his book, the Tennis for Kids. The Tennis for Kids can be ordered directly at a discount using this link to the Amazon.com online bookstore.

Questions and comments about these columns can be directed to Reggie by electronic mail at reggie@tennisserver.com.