1. Hire Qualified Tennis ProsA. Certification Preferred (USPTR/USPTA). I believe certification should be a requirement but I understand that there are some pros out there who have social skills that allow them to be great coaches without being certified. I encourage these pros to get certified as well in order to be better safe than sorry.
B. H.S. Coaching Experience A Plus. This proves that a pro has experience with coaching and running a program including, scheduling, parents, fees, bosses, and so many other things that its incredible. A H.S. tennis coach is like a teacher. They are usually underpaid and need to work too hard to get things done and put in more hours in off the court than they do on the court. It can be a thankless job unless there are wins involved but much respect needs to go out to them.
C. Age Appropriate (Age Before Beauty). This is where it gets tricky. You go out there and if you do a little research on your children's pros some of them are 16-17 years old and should probably be in the tennis camp rather than working the camp. They are usually being paid 8-9 bucks an hour and it is a way for the club to make a couple extra cheap bucks when the fact is the children on that court are getting the least amount of coaching and if I were a parent I would be outraged. You might as well hire a babysitter and pay the kid to watch them watch a movie. It does not make sense for American tennis and it also forces out good pros, so lets not do that.2. Head Pro Qualifications
A. Friendly to Campers and Pros. Head pros need to be friendly, smiling, positive and so on. I have seen plenty of head pros who look miserable and unfriendly out there. I have worked with some of them and it makes me sad when your so called boss doesnt even say hello to you. Being in the business so long I have made it a point to say hello first and be courteous. Some of the head pros get thrusted into this position and dont really deserve it. So the kids get caught up with these pros who really shouldnt be there. Its like having a celebrity who is depressed or doesnt want to be famous.
B. Certification Requirements are importance. A head pro should be required to attain and maintain better certifications than the other pros. USPTR and USPTA are a must and within those certifications rankings and status' and this needs to be attained because education and knowledge is power.
C. Acts as if...Most pros don't act as if. When necessary act as if you own the club. If you are a pro act as if you are a head pro. Sometimes regular pros act like owners and owners act like pros. This will help work your way up the tennis pro totem pole.
3. Be Overstaffed
A. Tennis is a business, but your kids won't return if their favorite pros don't return. You may not see it or hear about it but that is probably the reason your numbers may be dwindling. It is better to be overstaffed and have roaming pros than to have 7-8 kids to a court. By being overstaffed you improve the quality of coaching because the coaches will want it more and will earn it. We are here to improve American Tennis, at least we hope so. If this is not your passion and this is just a business to you then get into a new business like sharpening tools or selling mattresses. When there are fewer kids on a court (i.e. group of 5) we maximize the amount of balls being hit and the quality of coaching.
B. Two pros to a court is a great idea. I work at a facility who regularly has one pro feeding and the other coaching. This is genius because 4 eyes are better than 2. Two brains are better than one. This will maximize the coaching per court and truly improve American tennis. I gaurantee this is why those clubs produce better players, the players that win tournaments unexpectedly.
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