Tennis. How to Raise a Champion
Evghenii Macarov

© Evghenii Macarov, 2023

ISBN 978-5-0060-7250-3

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.

Gospel of Matthew, ch.15, v.14.

This book is written for parents whose children are taking their first steps in tennis. A great desire to help their children realise their potential and give them the best often leads to the opposite, because in order to give the best, you need to be knowledgeable in the field. But often the lack of experience and ignorance of the topic leads to mistakes and hinders the child’s development in the sport.

Yes, we see the examples of the Williams sisters, Sharapova, Nadal, whose parents and relatives played a huge role in their development as great champions. But we do not see hundreds of thousands of other examples where parents played a negative role, thereby burying their children’s sporting careers.

In my thirty years of working and travelling around tournaments, I see many problems associated with parents and their children. These problems are similar and have common roots. This is what motivated me to write this book.

The aim of the book is to open your eyes to these problems and try to solve them at an early stage. The book contains not only a general outline of the problems, but also specific instructions for action. I hope that this book will help you to avoid many difficulties in your difficult endeavour.

CHAPTER 1

Opportunities

Our purpose in this world is to learn for the sake of discovering new unfathomable worlds. The unknowable worlds are innumerable and they are all here before us. We are only at the beginning of the journey.

Carlos Castaneda

Big tennis is one of the most popular sports in the world, which is not only fun but also has a positive impact on a child’s physical and psychological development. Big tennis lessons can help a child develop many skills such as concentration, self-discipline, confidence, perseverance and patience. Big tennis also helps children learn how to solve problems and make quick decisions under stress and tension.

Many famous people have played tennis but did not become professional tennis players. Presidents, bankers, aristocrats, world stars – they all play tennis. It is an elitist sport, which means that when your child takes part in it, he or she becomes closer to the elite of society, and other opportunities open up for him or her in life through the socialising and connections he or she can get.

Overall, practising big tennis can provide a child with many benefits, both physically and mentally. It can also help him develop social skills and expand his social circle. Here are a few statistics that can confirm the benefits of big tennis for children:

According to a study in the USA, children who play big tennis have higher levels of physical activity and general fitness than children who do not play sports. A study in Australia found that playing tennis improves coordination, balance and reaction in children. A survey in the UK found that more than 50 per cent of children who played big tennis improved their academic performance and were able to do better in school. In the U.S., about 4.6 million children aged 6 to 17 years old played big tennis in 2019. And also, studies in Canada have shown that playing big tennis helps children develop emotional resilience, improve mood and reduce anxiety levels.

Regular tennis lessons can help you live almost 10 years longer. This has been shown in a study by Danish scientists involving 8,600 volunteers of different ages. 9 years and 7 months – that’s how long big tennis extends life on average. Badminton has slightly worse indicators: it helps to live 6 years longer. Football, running and cycling have even less effect: the first one extends life by 5 years, the others by 4. Just imagine that by playing tennis you can give your child ten years of life!

These statistics confirm that the practice of big tennis can have a positive impact on the physical and psychological development of children.

Tennis scholarship at American and European universities is one of the popular ways to get education and advance in the career of a professional tennis player. These scholarships are usually awarded to tennis players who demonstrate a high level of play, as reflected by their ITF ranking. The higher the ranking, the better education facilities different institutions can offer.

In the United States, tennis scholarships are available through the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic programme. This programme is designed for student-athletes who want to continue playing their favourite sport and pursue higher education. A tennis student-athlete who receives a scholarship through the NCAA programme must meet certain requirements in terms of level of play and tournament success, as well as academic and athletic programme requirements.

In Europe, scholarships for tennis players are available through various university athlete support programmes. In the UK, for example, such programmes are offered at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and through the British Tennis Federation. Other European universities may also offer scholarships for tennis players as part of their sports programmes. Typically, tennis scholarships at American and European universities cover tuition, room and board, and provide financial support for participation in tennis tournaments. This allows tennis players to combine higher education with continuing their sporting career, and gives them the opportunity to prepare for professional tennis in the future. So by investing in sports, you may be investing in your child’s future education.

Professional tennis players are athletes whose level of training allows players to participate in professional tennis tournaments around the world. Great sport implies monetary rewards, usually prize money, sponsorship contracts, advertising revenue, souvenir sales and other sources.

Prize money is the main source of income for professional tennis players. Prize money at tennis tournaments depends on the level of the tournament and ranges from a few thousand to millions of dollars. For example, prize money at Grand Slam tournaments can reach $2—3 million for singles winners. Some tennis players may also receive additional bonuses for playing in certain tournaments or for achieving certain results.

Sponsorship contracts are another important source of income for professional tennis players. Major sports brands and other companies may contract with famous tennis players to use their name and image in advertising campaigns. Tennis players can receive significant amounts of money from sponsors, depending on their level of fame and success in tennis tournaments.

Other sources of income for professional tennis players may include income from the sale of merchandise, the sale of rights to use photographs and videos, income from their own clothing and shoe lines, and income from investing their savings. The earnings of professional tennis players can vary greatly depending on their success in tennis tournaments and contracts with sponsors. Some tennis players can earn hundreds of millions of dollars over the course of their careers, while others earn much less. For example, the highest paid tennis player in history is considered to be Roger Federer, who earned over $130 million from prize money alone. His earnings also include income from sponsorship contracts with brands such as Nike, Rolex and Mercedes-Benz. Other famous tennis players such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams have also earned huge sums from tournaments and sponsorship contracts.

However, the earnings of most professional tennis players are not that impressive. For example, low-ranked tennis players earn much less, often not even covering their tournament expenses. In addition, the earnings of professional tennis players can depend on many other factors, such as taxes, agents’ and coaches’ commissions, as well as travelling and accommodation expenses during tournaments.

Either way, professional tennis can be very lucrative and attractive to those who excel in the sport.

CHAPTER 2

How to choose the right tennis coach

For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Gospel of Matthew 7, verse 8.

I would like to draw the attention of parents whose children are already playing tennis or just want to start playing this sport. The first important step for a successful tennis education is to choose a coach or a tennis school. Often parents, when choosing, are not interested in the level of education a school provides. They are more concerned with logistics: how to get there faster, proximity to home, etc., and this is where the biggest mistake lies!

Imagine that your child is sick. And his or her illness requires special treatment. You wouldn’t go to a doctor with a bad reputation in your neighbourhood, would you? You would choose a good doctor who can provide the best treatment. Similarly, when it comes to your child’s tennis education, you need to make sure that the coach you choose has the right knowledge and experience to give your child the best developmental opportunities. And the reasoning that let him show something here first and then we’ll move him to a better school is often flawed. When you learn from a bad coach, you lose not only time, but also your opportunities for development in tennis. So choosing the right coach from the start is key to success.

If you have just brought your child to the initial selection group, I would advise you to pay attention to how the training is conducted. To distinguish good teaching from not very simple enough, count how many times the child hits the ball, if the count is in the hundreds, then everything is fine, if the count is in the tens, then do not stay in such a group. From the very first lessons, training should be full of kicks! It can be hits on balloons, on big balls, etc. The main thing is that it should be easy for the child to handle. The balls should be adequate to his development, then the lessons will be interesting and effective and allow the player to develop quickly. If the child stands in a queue with other children to hit the ball, and the rest of the time is spent on warm-up and show exercises, far from tennis, then run away from such a group, as the training will be long and ineffective and already at the initial stage of training the athlete will lag behind his peers who are engaged in a more effective programme.

So, dear parents, look for the best for your children, don’t make excuses for yourself, give your best!

That’s how I would advise you to proceed:

First of all, look at the coach’s CV: whether he or she has had a sporting career, what kind of education, but most importantly, what kind of work experience, what age groups of children he or she has worked with and what results his or her students have achieved. It is important to consider not only championships as children, but how their careers developed when they became adults.

You should realise that if a coach is young and taking the first steps in their career, if they have little experience and are working on their own without an experienced mentor, they are unlikely to be able to provide a good education for your child. After all, it is the young coach who is getting the first experience, not your child who is getting the education.

Statistics confirm that experienced coaches often achieve better results than novice coaches. For example, studies show that experienced coaches with more than 10 years of experience can improve the performance of their athletes by 30% compared to coaches with less than 5 years of experience. Additionally, experienced coaches often have broader knowledge and skills that can be beneficial to a child’s development not only in sports, but in life in general. They can teach a child ethics, responsibility, strategic thinking, and other important skills. Therefore, when choosing a coach for your child, you should pay attention to their experience and reputation. Experienced coaches who have a positive reputation and have been successful with their athletes will often be more effective in teaching your child.

There are also specialists who have many years of experience, but at the same time there are no special results for his pupils. These “pros” for many years have never been able to acquire professional skills for teaching children, because they have not set themselves goals and have never strived to succeed in their work. Their interests usually lie in other areas and work is just a means to maintain their standard of living. They have no interest in it, and, as we know, no incentive means no results.

The main advantage of such coaches is the ability to convincingly tell “fairy tales”, blaming everyone around for their failures, well, of course, in the vicissitudes of fate…

Run away from such “pros”, they have hundreds of disappointed children and parents under their belt.

It is important to realise that experience does not always guarantee quality work. In some cases, trainers may have many years of experience but may not have the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively teach and achieve results with students.

If a coach does not have positive feedback from parents and students, as well as results at competitions, it is worth considering whether it is worth contacting such a person. It is important to choose a coach who not only has experience, but has also proven his competence in working with students and achieving results. In addition, it is important to choose a trainer who is a good fit in terms of character and working methodology. Every trainer has a different approach to training and it may not always be right for you. Therefore, it is important to choose a coach that the student will feel comfortable with. As a result, when choosing a coach it is worth considering not only their experience, but also their results, feedback from others, and their approach and working methodologies to ensure the best possible outcome for the student.

There is a third category of coaches – the so-called “PR coaches”. They find capable children and start to load them with hours of training from the very childhood, which gives quick results at the initial stage. However, this approach can lead to overloading the body, improper technique and negative consequences for physical and psychological health as children grow older. If you look at the statistics, players who were champions as children almost never become professional athletes. One of the main reasons is a breakdown in coaching technology. Unfortunately, such coaches do not care about the health of children solely because of the pursuit of profit and image.

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