Foreign Dependency

junior · Intermediate Club Player

Foreign Dependency

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

To make someone want to coach as a living who is bright, articulate , enthusiastic and a good tennis player with pro pedigree youd need to pay them enough to stop them going into career in business or teaching etc. So let's say 50 k a year. Dor 40 hours a week, or 2000 hours a year, that's 25 an hour straight off for the coach. The employing organisation, court owners etc want their cut as well, same again. Coaching will cost, sadly 50 quid an hour at least, 2 to 1 that is 25 quid per player.

Unless the lta or someone funds it, it will get left to the rich kids. 25 quid x 3 times a week, 45 weeks a year is over 3k a year. No one can afford that unless they have a decent wage.

junior · Intermediate Club Player

The average tennis coach would make around 30k a year which would bring the avg total down by 30/40%, this without counting all the funding's available and schemes etc. The LTA has never been short of money to throw around and at people who may or may not have needed or "deserved" it.

A coach doesn't have to be pro pedigree etc, all they need is a basic knowledge, passion to learn and people skills/ability to reach and help a player. Being an ex top 20 player albeit granting you lots of respect doesn't mean they can transfer this knowledge and get what they want from a player. Reasons why best leave Anabel Croft doing her old rich people holidays in the Algarve.

Sport is only for rich kids, there is absolutely no denying this and if they think 3k a year is a lot then they're mistaken (I've seen a 10 year old girl in academies spend that kind of money in a month, she said she spent it on sushi, didn't realise she had ordered for the whole of Japan). This contributes greatly to the sedentary percentage of the nation with health problems, takes the enjoyment out of sport with how expensive and exclusive its been made in the UK, at all levels from social player to coach to pro level. Then the LTA looks at the participation numbers and it baffles them as to what has happened

-- Edited by junior on Thursday 20th of February 2020 10:28:40 PM

JonH comes home · Tennis legend

junior wrote:
The average tennis coach would make around 30k a year which would bring the avg total down by 30/40%, this without counting all the funding's available and schemes etc. The LTA has never been short of money to throw around and at people who may or may not have needed or "deserved" it.

A coach doesn't have to be pro pedigree etc, all they need is a basic knowledge, passion to learn and people skills/ability to reach and help a player. Being an ex top 20 player albeit granting you lots of respect doesn't mean they can transfer this knowledge and get what they want from a player. Reasons why best leave Anabel Croft doing her old rich people holidays in the Algarve.
Sport is only for rich kids, there is absolutely no denying this and if they think 3k a year is a lot then they're mistaken (I've seen a 10 year old girl in academies spend that kind of money in a month, she said she spent it on sushi, didn't realise she had ordered for the whole of Japan). This contributes greatly to the sedentary percentage of the nation with health problems, takes the enjoyment out of sport with how expensive and exclusive its been made in the UK, at all levels from social player to coach to pro level. Then the LTA looks at the participation numbers and it baffles them as to what has happened

-- Edited by junior on Thursday 20th of February 2020 10:28:40 PM

Totally agree, and the 3k a year I mentioned is just to get coached when you're probably on the lower end. Once you start playing tournaments and become serious, I can imagine the costs rocket.

Its crazy.

Elegant Point · Satellite level

EddietheEagle wrote:

I'm not saying Gilbert or Annacone are no good. They clearly are in their own way but at the same time, to bring them over from California on quite ridiculous contracts, and part time at that, is beyond a joke.
The way to use people like Peter Lundgren, Louis Cayer and Co. is to have them educate and teach our own coaches. Cayer was based here anyway, has a serious approach and has earned his spurs. Lundgren seemed like a fish out of water at the LTA. What did he do there?

Louis Cayer has definitely been part of coaching sessions for coaches at the NTC - from memory it was for coaches working towards the level 5 coaching qualification. The coaches had to provide their own performance players to 'practise' coaching, so my son and a few of his training partners were lucky enough to have a coaching session with Louis smile