This is a presentation I gave at the ITF Worldwide Coaches Workshop in Egypt, 2011. In my opinion the importance of working in partnership with tennis parents is not taken seriously in many parts of the world. This presentation provoked quite a response!

1. “MUM AND DAD…..
WHO’S TEACHING US?”
Mark Tennant
inspire2coach
GBR
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011

2. • It’s easy to be a
great
parent…………
• ………..until you
have kids!
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011

3. TEACHING MUM AND DAD
• Every federation wants to develop players
• Every federation wants well educated
coaches to train those players
• But who is teaching Mum and Dad?
• We ought to do more to help educate
parents
• Windows of opportunity exist for ‘training’
parents too
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011

4. TEACHING MUM AND DAD
• Influence of parents and home life
• Working with Mum and Dad is much easier
than working without them, or worse still
working against them!
• Developing a team approach
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011

5. A TYPICAL RELATIONSHIP?

6. A BETTER RELATIONSHIP?
Parents and child
Child and coach
Coach and parents

7. INVOLVEMENT OF PARENTS
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011
• Involvement from parents is important
• Too much is a big problem
• Too little can be a problem too
• As coaches, we have a duty to
communicate with parents and help them
understand

8. COACH v. PARENT PERSPECTIVE
Coach Parent
“I have to treat all the kids the
same”
“I only care about my child”
“he is not good enough” “he is good enough”
“he lost” “the opponent cheated”
“he tried hard” “he lost!”
“your child needs to play with an orange
ball”
“you are treating my child like a baby!”
“I understand long-term player
development”
“you are not teaching him correctly”
“I want to pick other players for the
team”
“you dropped my son/daughter!”
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011

9. HELPING PARENTS
•There is no way to avoid the emotional
pressure which parents feel when their kids
compete
•Many of the problems experienced in the
coach:parent relationship are due to lack of
understanding
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011

10. DEVELOPING UNDERSTANDING
•If parents don’t
know or don’t
understand,
whose fault is
that?
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011
“If he had played
on a bigger
court, he would
have won!”
“Why is my child
playing silly
games instead of
learning tennis?”

11. TALK TO PARENTS
•Communicate regularly with parents in
groups and on a 1-1 basis
–De-briefs at end of each term
–Progress record cards
–Discuss and agree goals with the parents
•Parents evenings
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011

12. AGREE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
•“This is what we expect from the coach”
•“This is what we expect from the player”
•“This is what we expect from the parents”
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011

13. INVOLVE PARENTS
•Explain training methods
•Show and explain resources
•Encourage them to play too
•Explain how hard being a good tennis player
is
•Invite parents to be involved in officiating
and other parts of the programme
www.inspire2coach.co.uk 2011

14. Thank you for listening!