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ITUSA The Spanish Method, Safe Play 2, Tennis Coaching Jobs Worldwide, Oncourt Offcourt

Author

Rich Neher
March 29, 2024

Certification Courses

INTERNATIONAL TENNIS USA (ITUSA)

Creating A Major Paradigm Shift In The Tennis Industry with the Spanish Training Method

By Mike Van Zutphen

A paradigm shift is a major change in how people think and get things done.  Rafael Font de Mora, ITUSA founder has already created a paradigm shift in the tennis industry internationally in his home country of Spain in addition to India, China, and several other countries.  He is bringing his successful program to the United States launching the program on June 1st, 2024.  

ITUSA is the ultimate training platform for players, parents, and coaches designed to take a player to experience the next level.  It is the only program on the market today that can take a player in a systematic training system from a beginner to a world-class player.  Rafael has spent the past thirty years developing and refining the Spanish training method along with unprecedented computer software programming.  This software allows players and coaches access to 10,000 interactive training videos.  

Coaches can complete online training which is taught by Rafael Font de Mora and experts in all areas of tennis training, business, technology, and more.  Upon completion with a certification of all of the courses, the coaches will have access to the entire platform.  It is the only program on the market that allows coaches to develop online developmental plans within minutes based on their player’s analysis.  Parents and players will have the opportunity to purchase courses on all aspects of the strokes, fitness, etc. with new courses constantly being developed.

The success of any program can only be measured by results.  Thirty grand slam champions including the current Spanish professional Albert Ramos and up-and-coming American Payton Stearns results speak for themselves.  It is time for the United States to get back to international professional tennis supremacy by utilizing this proven program.  However, only a small percentage of players will be able to play at a professional level.  The average adult tennis player at a club, junior, high school player, and college player will reap major benefits saving time and money while improving in this efficient and organized progressive system.

Go to the ITUSA Instagram page to sign up for free training.

Mike Van Zutphen is a USPTA Master Professional in Mesa Arizona. One of only 120 tennis professionals in the world who have earned the coveted Master Professional rating from the USTPA, Mike has been honored numerous times for his achievements during his illustrious career, including being named SWPTA Professional of the Year five times and SWPTA Coach of the Year twice, and being a recipient of the USTA Community Service Award twice. Professional of the Year Southern California USPTA. Divisional President SWPTA and Cal USPTA. Tester of the year 20yrs SWPTA. His professional efforts include serving as a board member of the SWPTA, being a member of the USPTA player development committee, and Testing committee while serving as a tester for the SWPTA. In 2007 USPTA Champions of Tennis recipient. Mike is also a co-founder of Tennis Management, Inc., and has written 8 books for tennis club operations.
Presently, Mike is the CEO of ITUSA.

SAFEGUARDING TENNIS

From Policy to Action: Creating a Culture of Safety in Sports Clubs

Second part of a series by Rubén Herrera

In our last article, I wrote about the pressing need for a safer environment in sports. Unfortunately, the situation isn't looking great, and it's time we take action. Today, I want to share best practices I've gathered from around the world on how we can start addressing the issues within our sports communities and clubs.

To begin with, I found the framework provided by Keeping Children Safe to be useful and straightforward. They emphasize four guiding standards: policy, people, procedures, and accountability.

The ultimate goal is to foster a safe culture for everyone involved. The first step is establishing clear policies that outline the club's commitment to preventing and appropriately responding to harm against children and adults. While every community has its own set of rules, it's highly recommended to align with standards set by government bodies. They offer abundant resources and ensure compliance with the latest regulations. Whether you opt for templates from organizations like the International Tennis Federation, Tennis Australia, Lawn Tennis Association, or USTA is up to you. Ensure the club’s management approves these policies and are accessible to all staff, volunteers, children, and parents.

Now, let's talk about the most critical aspect: people. Policies provide guidance, but it's the individuals within the community who can either perpetrate or prevent abuse. Two crucial steps can set your community apart: appointing a designated member to safeguard your community and ensuring proper hiring and screening of coaches and volunteers. This designated member plays a pivotal role in safeguarding. They are the anchor in ensuring everyone's safety. Once appointed, everything else tends to fall into place.

Unsure where to start? Begin here: appoint a “Safeguard officer,” “Welfare Officer,” or “Member Protection Information Officer” for your community. The specific title isn't crucial; what matters is that everyone understands who this individual is and what their role entails!

Furthermore, hiring and screening practices for coaches and volunteers are paramount. Each staff member and volunteer must possess a clean criminal record and undergo safeguarding training. This requirement is already mandatory in some organizations like the LTA and is likely to become widespread due to the high stakes involved. Initiatives like Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Get Approved, or The Working with Children Check (WWCC) are instrumental in keeping our industry to the highest standards.

Implementing child safeguarding procedures throughout the organization is another essential step. Again, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Government bodies have already outlined the necessary line of action; your responsibility is to communicate and educate your community about them.

Lastly, let's address the elephant in the room: accountability. Rather than pointing fingers, let's focus on being part of the solution. We need transparency from government bodies regarding who our welfare officers are, their certifications, and how to access education and compliance pathways. While this may seem daunting, we can start by taking accountability within our communities. Appoint a safeguarding officer, create a safe environment, and communicate transparently about ongoing efforts to ensure everyone's safety.

You're still figuring it out, but you're diligently working to ensure the safety of everyone in your community. You're proactive and committed to the cause.

In the upcoming article, we'll dive deeper into the responsibilities of a Safeguarding Officer and what an effective hiring process could entail. Until then, stay safe, and let's continue working towards a safer sporting environment together!

Rubén Herrera is a former Division I Student-Athlete at Jacksonville State University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a Master of Science in Business Administration.
Rubén lives in Coblenz, Germany. He loves people, technology, and sports, especially tennis. Follow him on LinkedIn.

Tennis Coaching Jobs Worldwide

By Mark Wylam

Hi all, my name is Mark Wylam, and I am the owner of SportsProsConnect - Tennis & Padel.  Firstly, just wanted to give a shout-out to Rich and Tim and wish them good luck in the new launch of Racket Business and the newly branded newsletter!  From experience I know the work that is put into a big re-brand so congratulations on your launch!

Hopefully, many of you will know me from articles I have written for Rich and all the social media posts I put out, especially around Linked In and Facebook, but for those who do not know- SportsProsConnect is an international platform for tennis, padel, and pickleball jobs.  We place coaches all around the world in jobs at clubs, academies, resorts, and federations.  If you are ever on the lookout for a job internationally or you may wish to recruit for your club/academy/resort then please do not hesitate to get in touch. My contact details are included below.

In this first issue, just wanted to explain a little bit about the market for tennis coaching jobs all over the world.  I know many of you are based in the US.  You will probably be a tennis professional or tennis director in a country club or resort or even an academy.  My guess is that you are paid quite well... Have you ever wondered why so many people want to move to the US to coach tennis?  Having placed tennis coaches all around the world, I can say that as a tennis coach if you are in it for the money then you will be paid better in the US (state-dependent of course) than any other country in the world!

Of course, there are other countries that pay well…  Some parts of Asia in particular Hong Kong, China, and Singapore, also some parts of the Middle East such as Saudi, Kuwait, and Dubai are paid reasonably well…  Some parts of Europe are paid well, but then high taxes and cost of living negate these positives.  Did you know that a good monthly salary for a tennis coach in Spain would be $2,000 to $2,500 per month?  The competition is so high in Spain and of course, the cost of living is still low!

You may ask yourself for these salaries, why would I bother going to coach in other parts of the world?  My answer would be ‘for the experience’!  Tennis is a global sport which is played in all the continents around the world.  There are high-level tournaments all around.  The coaching business is done differently in different parts of the world.  Some recruiters pay commissions, some pay hourly rates, and some pay a combination of both, but ever since the Covid-19 pandemic, fewer and fewer recruiters pay salaries.  If a recruiter does pay a salary it is usually lower than a commission or hourly rate.

We work very closely with clubs, academies, and resorts (run by management companies).  A lot of the roles we work on are for short periods, such as 1 to 6 months.  There are plenty of management companies we work with that are recruiting almost all year round.  If you are looking for a few months away or just a break from what you are doing then resort work is great depending of course on how busy the resort is.  Having said that we also work with many clubs, academies, and federations that are looking for coaches who are passionate about long-term opportunities.  We also work with players who are looking for a travel coach who can take them to the next level!

As many of you will know the process of visa applications does tend to be a factor, especially with the US.  On a daily basis, we have coaches asking about moving to the US, and the mitigating factor tends to be the visa process.  We are aware that as in all parts of the world, there is a shortage of good quality coaches.  With the right people, we are working on bringing opportunities for international coaches to the US and other parts of the world!

I would love to hear from any of you who are either looking to move abroad or hire international coaches.  Please feel free to contact me on WhatsApp +353867922188 or email [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you wherever you are in the world!

Mark is the owner and founder of SportsProsConnect.  He is also a PTR-qualified coach and assistant coach at the Letterkenny Tennis Club Academy which has recently been launched in Donegal, Ireland. SportsProsConnect aims to ‘Connect Tennis Coaches with Academies, Resorts, Clubs & Federations all over the world’.

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