Be sure to check out our latest blog posts about the mental game and the physical game.

Part 1: Parents Teaching Children 

By: Leo Rosenberg

As parents who love the game of tennis, we want our children to learn the sport and learn it well. But tennis is not an easy sport to play and it is even harder to learn to play at a high level. However, with the right kind of work, it is possible for anyone to become a good tennis player. I reached the rank of two in the United States in the 12 and 14 and under age divisions from being coached by my parents and supplementing with professional coaches.  The result was that my sister and I earned full-scholarships into Division I college teams. And there are successful ATP and WTA players who were coached by their parents: Serena and Venus Williams, Andre Agassi, Andy Murray, Taylore Fritz, and some others. 

I share my perspective and learned lessons from my experiences as a junior player, coach, and parent:

Lesson 1:  Remove negative emotions from the equation. Many practices were not pleasant and sometimes filled with drama. At times I would rebel and whine as many children do when they are young and told by their parents what to do. But in the long run, you want your child to develop a good attitude and a degree of professionalism. As an adult, coach, and parent, you must therefore set a good example. If you whine about your child's poor behavior or lack of work ethic, then you'll be teaching your child to whine. Instead, even if your child is not doing what you want them to do, you should be consistent, calm, and perhaps use humor or some form of motivational talk to encourage your child to work.

Lesson 2:  Do not teach your child on your own, work with a coach. Collaboration with other coaches was among the best coaching tools I had. I do not know a single student who was coached by only one person. You have blind spots, we all do. There are things that you see but other people do not, and likewise, you will not recognize a simple solution to a problem but some other coach may. If you try to greedily teach your child on your own, you will likely prevent your child from becoming a well-rounded player. The things I knew as a top junior player came from getting sound advice from a handful of different coaches. .

Lesson 3:  Do not compare your child's results with that of other children's results. No two players are identical. Everyone learns at a different pace and by comparing your child to other players, you may actually set limits and prevent them from growing their game. Instead, try to see if your child is better this month compared to the previous month. The direction your child's development is trending are the more significant data points. 

Part II with lessons 4, 5, and 6 coming soon.