TA Press Release, June 24, 2018

Some of Australia’s top former players are beginning their transition from life on the pro tennis tour to developing the next generation of players.

Casey Dellacqua, Jelena Dokic, Sally Peers, Lauren Breadmore, Sam Groth, Chris Guccione, Greg Jones, Ben Mitchell and Blake Mott will join current players Storm Sanders, Gavin Van Peperzeel and Belinda Woolcock at Tennis Australia’s internationally recognised Junior Development Coaching course at Melbourne Park this week.

The course will be facilitated by Tennis Australia Coach Education specialist Belinda Colaneri who will teach the group how to to develop the skills of junior players through the delivery of the ANZ Tennis Hot Shots program, with a major focus on creating positive learning environments and using contemporary coaching practices to deliver sessions to build the tactical and technical skills of players.  

“Acquiring a formal coaching qualification is an integral part of transitioning from playing on the circuit to helping to develop the next generation of players,” Andrea Buckeridge, Tennis Australia’s Manager of Education and Professional Learning said.

“These former players have fantastic experience and insights into life on the tour and how to develop as a player, and this course will help them use their existing knowledge to guide young players both on and off the court.  

“Australia was one of the first tennis nations to achieve the ITF gold level recognition for coach education and we are continuing to develop new strategies to ensure world’s best practice in our coaching community.”

Tennis Australia offers  a comprehensive education pathway to train coaches to develop players at all levels of the sport, from ANZ Tennis Hot Shots right through to elite performance pathways. The coaching courses currently available are: Foundation, Community,  Junior Development, Club Professional, Master Club Professional and High Performance.