How I have run a successful tennis business for over 15 years with my phone on silent.
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
3M ago
I started Scarborough Tennis Academy in 2005 as an ambitious 25 year old ready to prove he could create a great tennis coaching business. I worked 7 days a week building numbers from the ground up. Every new player was a win and I would hand flyers out to any kid, adult or parent pushing a pram. It grew quickly and I started to take on other coaches. Currently we provide coaching services to 300-500 kids year round and have a team of between 8-12 coaches depending on the mix of fulltime/part-time staff. Before I started the business I had […] The post How I have run a successful tennis busines ..read more
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Fundamentals of a Hotshots lesson
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
1y ago
This is what I just sent my team of coaches. Mostly they know these already but important to re-enforce the non negotiables so that we as a coaching team, are consistent in our approach. Cheers Rick Willsmore Club Coach www.scarboroughtennis.com.au The post Fundamentals of a Hotshots lesson first appeared on The Art of Tennis ..read more
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Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
1y ago
Tennis is a bit of a game of the aristocratic UK elite but the version today is a lot different from the Real Tennis of yesteryear. Whether it’s the stereotype of the short, white shorts or polo shirts or just simply rich brats playing a soft sport, tennis has got some branding problems when it comes to how ‘hard’ a sport it is. But let’s face it, tennis is non contact. There are no tackles, bumps or throws, let alone punches, kicks and armbars. But if you take out the fact there is no direct contact, you can actually find […] The post Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee first appeared on ..read more
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3 major stress points of a tennis coaching business.
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
1y ago
Unofficially I started my first tennis business as a 15 year old. Summertown tennis club was a local club with a handful of teams playing in the Adelaide Hills league. The netball poles would be carried away and the nets would go back up for the summer. Clearly there was a severe shortage of coach options for that year and as a relatively strong teenage player, I was asked if I would be happy to help out with their junior lessons. From that point moving forwards I always had tennis lessons as a way I could earn money. After playing […] The post 3 major stress points of a tennis coaching busine ..read more
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Nowhere to hide.
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
1y ago
Playing singles tennis can be a lonely journey at times. No one to blame if you lose and often no one to share that victorious feeling when you win. Unlike many teams sports, in tennis there is nowhere to hide. My main sports as a kid were footy and tennis with a dash of cricket. Cricket games always clashed with tennis so I used to spent time in the nets bowling to metal stumps and when I could, I would bowl at my older brothers cricket training. I loved bowling leg spin and was obsessed with the trickery of getting […] The post Nowhere to hide. first appeared on The Art of Tennis ..read more
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From Club Coach to Director of Coaching
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
1y ago
In Australia at least, most coaching businesses are connected with a local club. The club advertises for a tennis professional to become contracted as their club coach. This will normally give the exclusive coaching rights at the club to the tennis coach. Depending on the size, location and success of the current club, the coach agreement could simply be the opportunity to use the courts to conduct lessons, in exchange for helping build members for the club. Larger facilities involve commercial leases where the coach takes on the responsibility of multiple courts but in return pays the club bo ..read more
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What helped our Junior Tennis Club win 28 premierships in 6 summer seasons?
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
1y ago
We build tennis players from the ground up and cater for players of all levels. We have a lot of success developing players from first Hot Shots lesson to playing pennants and then for some of our kids, Super 10’s and then State/National tournaments and US College scholarship opportunities. But our focus is first and foremost to develop players to that Junior Club level of playing pennants. The Tennis West summer junior competition runs from around October to April. It covers a span of around 6 months with an 8 week break over the Christmas holidays. Over the last 6 ..read more
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The Art of Delegation
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
1y ago
Running a successful tennis coaching business requires several different roles all the way from administration to marketing to program and staff management. Where the MOST important part is the coaching that happens on the court, a well organised business off the court is key to a successful reputation. The major mistake people make is that they try and do everything which results in higher stress, lower performance and an unsustainable business model. As I originally learnt in the small business system bible, The E Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber, creating systems is the only way to keep yo ..read more
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A story about the job I never advertised.
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
1y ago
A few weeks ago I was approached about whether there was an opportunity to coach with us at Scarborough Tennis as they had heard good things. Professional enough in communication, decent experience and importantly, limited friction in ease of employability. Tennis is an international game and there are great opportunities to sponsor coaches but ultimately it’s attractive to be already set up for 2 years visa minimum or be a long term citizen with no barriers. I arranged a trial shift and they were solid. A style of coaching that I am not in love with (dual line feeding drills ..read more
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Why you need lots of ‘clubs’ in your tennis bag
The Art Of Tennis
by rick
1y ago
Tennis is played on a rectangular court where balls are hit over the net and hopefully in a place which either troubles your opponent or stops them from taking control of the point. We hit crosscourt, down the line and sometimes straight down the middle and in any given point we may be defending, attacking or more neutral . We hit deep in the court and just over the net. We hit soft, medium and hard and hit the ball with different shapes over the net such as a rainbow shape and laser beam shape. I summarise the target areas ..read more
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