New Coach?

Advice for new coaches

1. Don't change too much your first year.

2. Reach out to parents/open communication.

3. Have clearly written expectations. Consider having parents/athletes sign.

4. Create an environment where all types of players feel welcome (state-bound, solid players, beginners, those out for fun).

5. Even though tennis is an individual sport, stress teamwork.

6. Stress the idea of being a student-athlete. Academics come first.

Seeding Meetings

1. What should I bring to a seeding meeting?

-Enough copies of your player record forms for each member school in your conference or subsectional

-Make sure you know the significant wins or close losses to solid teams your players have had

-Know the results of comparative matches between your school and the others in the group. For example, if you played some of the the same schools as other coaches in your group, know if your player did better against that opponent than the other school in the group did against the same opponent.

2. How does a seeding meeting work?

-The site director, AD in charge of tennis or a head coach will take the group through each position of the draw. Typically, the person running the meeting will ask if anyone is requesting a seed for a particular position. After each coach shares their rationale for receiving a seed, the group will either decide or vote on seeding if an agreement cannot be reached. If you want a seed, make sure to speak up. After seeds are established, most conferences will have a method of randomly assigning the remainder of the field to fill out the draw. At the end of the meeting, the group will go through each position to verify the draw is correct. For more specific information, consult your conference's bylaws.

3. What is the difference between a direct and indirect win?

-Direct win: your player or doubles team defeats another player or team at the position in question. For example, if your #3 singles player defeats another team's #3 singles player, you have a direct win over that individual

-Indirect win: your player or doubles team defeats a player or doubles team that someone else lost to. For example, player from team A and player from team B are in the same sectional. They never played during the year, but both played player from team C. If player from team A defeats player from team C, but player from team B loses to player from team C, then player from team A has an indirect win over player from team B. More directly: A defeats C, B loses to C, A has an indirect win over B

4. I have a direct win over a player, but the coaches at my subsectional still voted on who should receive a top seed, and I received the 3rd seed. I thought a direct win gave me the spot?

-If there are only two players or doubles teams vying for a particular seed, then the seed would be awarded to the player with the direct win over the other. If, however, three players or doubles teams are vying for the same spot, and they all beat each other, the seed would likely be determined by a vote. For example, if A beats B, B beats C, and C beats A, then the coaches would vote on which player or doubles team was most deserving of the seed. In that case, even though A beat B, they might find themselves behind them in the seeding because they lost to C