Dos and Don’ts For Tennis Conditioning

If you enjoy playing tennis, working with tennis players can be a great way to expand your clientele and grow your bottom line. Here are some basic programming dos and don’ts to follow.

Do

• Play tennis! “if you don’t play the sport, you won’t have enough street cred to develop solid relationships with teaching pros,” advises Dale Huff.
• Keep up to date with tennis. What are the trends in tennis? Who are some of the top players? tennis players are passionate about the game, and they may want to talk to you about these topics.
• Consider all ages. Parents who care about their children’s tennis game may be willing to pay to help their kids succeed and stay injury-free. With the right expertise and experience, you may be able to train players—from youth to recreational players to college or pro athletes.

Don’t:

• Act like a teaching pro. You never want to help tennis players with their serve, advises Patricia Welter. Huff agrees: “if you are expecting the tennis pro to refer you clients, never contradict the instruction the pro provides the athlete. if you have a concern, address it with the pro in private!”
• Train top athletes right away. “Just like with any other specialty sport, apply what you know,” says Michael saiz. “start with less experienced clients and work your way up to the advanced player,” he adds.
• Make assumptions. find out if your area has a good base of tennis players, so you’ll know whether there is a market for your work. for example, Welter finds that Florida draws a lot of tennis players year round, so it is a good market for this type of specialty training.

To read the full article that ran in the April 2014 issue of IDEA Fitness Journal click here.