So you want to be a tennis coach?
Is it even a real job? I am not so sure. Although I do get annoyed when I meet people who, almost fascinated by such a job description, cannot fathom that it can be a full time profession.
But there are different levels of involvement on the coaching spectrum. Ranging from high school age assistant coaching roles through to career tennis professionals, coaching can take place in a grassroots setting through to professional setting.
The ‘high school first job’ assistant coach
First job eh? Could be Red Rooster or night fill at Coles? Or in my own first job, in a market garden in the Adelaide Hills, unstacking lettuce and re stacking lettuce crates for lettuce cutters. All of these jobs are not as appealing as being able to inspire a young tennis player to be the best they can be on a tennis court.
The year 11 or 12 assistant coach should expect that their job of coaching will involve a level of commitment and a hunger to learn about how to coach/teach.
They should expect to earn $15 – $20 depending on their experience and would normally work with a more experienced coach.
Their priorities would normally look like this:
- School
- Playing Tennis
- Coaching Tennis
The ‘job for uni’ coach
The part time job during university is an important decision and can become a job which can last between 3 and 6 years. Uni students need money to fund their social life and unrealistic travel plans and have reached a level of maturity where they can really impact in a tennis coaching role. University normally has at least 1 day off per week, Saturday and Sunday morning free and another 2 or 3 days when they can contribute to the afternoons coaching classes.
Tennis coaching is also a very smart decision for those studying in fields such as teaching, exercise physiology, physiotherapy, chiropractic and other athletically related or educational related vocation.
The part time job during university student will earn between $20 and $30 depending on their experience and qualifications. They really should undertake a junior development coaching course as soon as possible to give them knowledge and also a higher hourly rate.
However, this comes with a warning. I started my international business degree whilst starting a tennis coaching and racquet restringing business and the uni seemed stale in comparison to the real world experience of my first business so half way through the year I quit to do coaching full time.
If you do balance university with casual coaching hours you must be commited to all the hours that you are allocated in your coaching role. Basically if you are not at university and do not have an exam on at that time, you need to be available in your role as a coach.
Priorities need to look like this:
- University
- Coaching Tennis
- Playing Tennis (unless closer to pro circuit level then this would be a higher priority)
The ‘full time’ coach
Maybe you have just finished your attempts to make it as a professional tennis player. Maybe you have played college tennis and need to start a career. Maybe you are procrastinating in life and just want 2 or 3 years when you put off the other career pursuits you think you should be doing and do coaching. It’s not bad fun to do a rewarding, active job with lots of opportunities to go to the beach during the day. Maybe you have decided you want to commit to learning everything you can about tennis and dedicate your life to helping others through the sport of tennis. Maybe this was all you ever wanted to do. In some cases the ‘job for uni’ coach will enjoy it so much that they continue on full time after their degree is complete.
You may take on a full time role working with a tennis program at a club coaching hot shots or perhaps a coaching role at a state association or bigger tennis organisation. There are lots of different niche tennis coaching areas and once you commit to the industry, you see the amount of opportunities. You will need to commit to coaching qualifications and other professional development workshops.
The work hours will be different. You will have split shifts most days and sporadic work during the day times and weekends with consistent weekday afternoon shifts and a regular private clientele. You need to be fully committed to your business or the business that you work for.
You should expect to earn between $25 and $50 per hour or perhaps be on a salary starting from $40k up to $80k and more depending on the scope and level of the role which can be varied within the industry. Often the role will include other off court tennis roles such as supervision, restringing or administrative tasks.
Priorities need to look like this:
- Coaching Tennis
- Playing Tennis/Part Time Study/Choice of Hobby
The ‘second job’ coach
Want to stay involved in the game? Have a job but still keen to coach on a Saturday morning during the four school terms and perhaps another afternoon or two each week? Want to earn another $5 k per year doing something you enjoy?
This coach is often qualified and often has either been a ‘job for uni’ coach or a ‘full time’ coach at some point. They enjoy it and want to still contribute whilst earning some extra income outside of normal work hours.
This coach will normally work for someone else and earn between $25 and $50 per hour depending on their experience and qualifications.
Priorities need to look like this:
- Work
- Coaching Tennis/Choice of hobby
The ‘specialist’ coach
This coach has a lot of experience either as a player, coach or both. They have often worked fulltime in tennis and often ran their own business. They do a part time load of tennis lessons to stay involved in the game whilst working full time in another field or possibly even retired in some cases.
This coach is helping out a tennis program as much as the tennis program is giving them an opportunity to stay involved in the game. The specialist coach may do anywhere between 2 hours per week through to 15 hours per week running squads or private clientele.
This coach likely will demand a high hourly rate and therefore should expect to earn $40 through to $80 per hour and even higher for someone with a sports science or performance consultant background.
Priorities need to look like this:
- Work
- Coaching Tennis/Choice of Hobby
The blend of coaches
At my tennis academy in Scarborough, we have a blend of all of these types of coaches with 3 of us as ‘full time’ coaches, 3 ‘second job’ coaches, 2 ‘high school kid’ coaches and 1 specialist coach. In 2018 strangely we have no ‘job for uni’ coaches but this would be the first year since 2005 that we haven’t.
So think about how to make up your team of coaches and how to you can recruit specifically aiming for one of these coaches.
Regards
Rick Willsmore
