What it means to be a successful teaching pro

This is the first article in a new series about racquet sports coaches and their successful methods of teaching beginners. For this month, we interviewed three students of Southern California teaching pro and Racket Business contributor Susan Nardi.

Who is Susan Nardi?

Susan’s tennis student Silvia T says, “It’s fun to hit something!”

During the Pandemic, Silvia gained weight and moved very little. Last year, her daughter asked to play tennis with her. Mon Silvia did a little research and found Susan Nardi online but she was quite nervous. Never played tennis before. She joined Susan's group in July and soon found that learning to play tennis was really fun. As Silvia improved, her daughter wanted to start playing basketball, but she stuck with tennis. She loved her routine to “show up, hit the ball as best as you can, have fun, go home.”

“Exercising is boring. Tennis is fun!”

Silvia’s way of describing the fun: “To whack a ball is fun. To get to hit something. I need that!” Her initial fear of being the worst beginner in the tennis group quickly vanished, thanks to Coach Susan's guidance. She says, “This is a great learning environment where you are allowed to make mistakes. This is such a nice group where fun is so important.

Silvia has been taking lessons and joining group activities, which she finds incredibly therapeutic. She shared this heartfelt statement with me: “Exercising is boring. Tennis is fun!”

Susan’s tennis student Shay S was a trained ballerina

Shay’s husband used to play tennis at quite a high level, so this year, she decided to start playing, too. She found Susan and started going to her classes in June/July this year.

Shay says, “I love how Susan teaches tennis. She’s very personal, and that’s what makes her classes so enjoyable. She tries to understand each person and gets to know the job, hobbies, and spouse.

“The one time a day where I only think about myself”

The trained dancer and current Pilates teacher appreciates how her coach relates to each student. “I’m taking 2-3 lessons a week and now also (informal) Liveball. This is really the only time a day where I only think about myself.”

Susan’s student Steve C hasn’t hit a tennis ball since college

In college, Steve took a summer school course in tennis, but he never really played. He found Susan online about four months ago and started again from scratch. “I love it. And it’s so healthy that we continue to move our bodies.” He also loves the challenging, new concepts he’s learning like hand-eye coordination.

“The elegance and grace of tennis”

“Susan makes it fun. She teaches us the elegance and grace of tennis.” Steve’s goal is to get better and play matches or be on a league team soon.