You don’t have to be a Wimbledon seed to be a successful tennis coach. A love of the game and an ability to teach are the main requirements. It’s flexible so you can fit it around other work or studies. This makes it a good extra money-earning for adults and teens alike. Tennis coaches make at least £8 an hour but it can be more if you teach groups or you train serious players.

• How to get started
• How to get work
• How much can you make?

Make money from your hobby

If you love tennis you can work your way up the coaching ladder and make some money from your sporting hobby. You can start off as a coaching assistant working with children in your spare time, then you can take the next steps to qualifying as a licensed coach working with the next tennis star.

Parents who enjoy playing tennis can make some money on the side doing something really fun. If your child is a keen tennis player too you could spend time at their local school, club or even tennis camp in the holidays and make money from it.

For young teens who love playing tennis, becoming a coaching assistant is a great way to make extra cash with a really flexible job. Tennis clubs and camps work around the school calendar so it’s a handy job to fit around your studies and get a bit of practice yourself while you’re working.

But…

• You do need to be patient to teach properly.
• You will also have to be very enthusiastic and able motivate people.
• It’s not easy to get to the top – it will take years of training and a fair amount of determination to make a really successful career as a tennis coach.
• Good people skills are essential – so if this doesn’t sound like you give it a miss!

How to do it

STEP ONE: Starting out

Get involved in tennis at school or at your local tennis club from as early an age as possible. Parents should encourage any child that shows an interest in the sport as much as possible.

Parents and teens should start off by volunteering their time at school or your local tennis club. Volunteer as an assistant to the coaches at your local school or club to get some first-hand experience and those all important contacts.

Parents who want to help out on a fairly casual basis at a local club or school may not need any qualifications – it depends on the club. BUT you will definitely need a Criminal Records Bureau check to work with children. See the CRB website for more information, and have a look at our article – demystifying the CRB check to find out how to get one.

STEP TWO: Training and qualifications

There is a fairly set path to becoming a tennis coach and you take it through the The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA). Basically you work your way up through the various LTA courses and that way you gain both the necessary practical experience and the relevant qualifications.

1.Tennis Leader Award

This is for 14-18 year olds and involves ten hours of course time and ten hours of practical experience, plus the chance to help out at tennis events and promotional days.

The Tennis Leader Awards are open to all standards of players, including those with a disability. It’s a great starting place if they want to become a coach or a competitor and will build up their confidence.

Contact your local LTA county office to find out about a course near you. Sometimes the course is offered for free so do check.

2. Level One Coaching Assistant Qualification

This three-day course is available for anyone aged 16 or over and gives all the applicants an introduction to coaching and help developing the communication and organisational skills that you will need to become a coaching assistant.

This is the ideal qualification for parents who want to take on some extra work in their spare time and love tennis. A club or school is much more likely to take you on if you have this qualification.

This is also the qualification that any teens wanting to start coaching.

The course costs £185 and covers all the skills you need to teach beginners Mini Tennis, as well as health and safety and child protection. After two days of training there is a 3-6 week break which you use to gain some practical experience assisting a coach and attend a Child Protection workshop (included in the price and organised by the LTA).

You will also need to have a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Enhanced Disclosure form – which again you can get through the LTA. Just send your name and address to crb@LTA.org.uk – it takes about eight weeks to process but you can still take part in the course while you are waiting.

Click here for information on dates and venues near you. Download an application form here.

3. Level Two Community Coach Qualification

Five-day course is available for anyone aged 17 years or older. It costs £345 and builds on all the skills you learn in the Level One course.

Click here for information on dates and venues near you. Download an application form here.

4. Taking it further

If you want to take your training even further, the next step is the Development Coach Award. This is designed for coaches interested in working with beginners in clubs and schools.

If you pass your DCA and want to move onto the next level you’ll need to obtain a Coaching Licence. The Coach Licensing Scheme is designed to help you develop as a coach and give prospective employers or clients the assurance that you are a quality coach.

Getting work

Working for a school or club

It’s quite likely that you’ll be able to work at the school or club that you trained in. If this isn’t possible, do use all the contacts you’ve made throughout training to get some work. So much of this job is about who you know so try to keep in touch with everyone you meet along the way. Also, get into networking at sporting events, school events and even in the bar at your tennis club!

Here are some useful websites to use to look for work:

• Gumtree
• Jobsgrapevine
• British Tennis Coach UK
• Leisure Jobs UK
• LTA job listings
• Sports Web
• Sports Coach UK

Freelancing

This is a really convenient and ultra-flexible way to work. Basically you get to choose when you work BUT it’s obviously not as stable as a staff job working for a tennis club or school and you will have to register yourself as self-employed and fill in a self-assessment form at the end of each tax year, if you make more than just pocket money.

Advertise yourself in newsagents, schools and tennis clubs. Post an ad on Gumtree advertising your skills, how much you charge, availability and where you would like to work.

It’s a good idea to have a look at websites like Gumtree just to get an idea of how other coaches sell themselves and how much they charge per hour. Then base your ad on those.

Word-of-mouth is still one of the best ways to get work so give some friends (and their children) a few free sessions to try and drum up some publicity.

How much can you make?

The amount you could earn really changes depending on which region you’ll be working in. Generally speaking you will earn more in the south of England, and London in particular. Qualifications and experience will also mean that you can charge more per hour. Our case study Harriet Hamilton made £8 an hour coaching four to nine year old children.

Useful Contacts

• British Tennis Coach UK
• The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA)
• Tennis Foundation

Case Study – Harriet Hamilton

Harriet Hamilton is 19 years old, from Warwick. She is currently studying English at Nottingham University.

Where does she coach?

Harriet coaches children aged between four and nine years old at Warwick Boat Club.

How it all started

She played a little tennis at school but more so at her local tennis club. She then started off by coaching voluntarily at the club for about three months as part of her Duke of Edingurgh Bronze award. After the three months she was asked to stay on and keep helping out. Harriet also took a couple of tennis assistant courses.

The hours

When she was at school Harriet did one or two sessions a week (which worked out to about an hour and a half). These days she only works at a tennis camp during the holidays. On the camp she works a six-hour day.

How much money does she make?

£8 an hour.

Her advice

The best way is to contact a local tennis club manager who will tell you what courses you need and how to get the qualifications – they usually do them in most areas about twice a year then turn up at any club with your qualifications. Harriet really enjoys working with younger children, getting them involved in tennis and having a great time with their friends. She has lots of funny stories to tell and said that it was the ideal job for her to fit around her education and keep fit playing a game she loves.