Master Performance Coach Course Handbook

  1. Overview

The LTA Master Performance Coach Qualification (MPC) will start in September 2014 and is for coaches who coach high performance players and have the responsibility for their programme development and planning.

The goal is to coach our coaches to develop the “performer” and “tennis player” of British high performance players. The course is related to the perceived strengths and issues of British coaching and player development.

To achieve this, the course will provide a progressive presentation of the knowledge and competencies required for the specific roles of assistant, personal coach, junior programme leader, and travelling coach and will supply repetitions of the ‘core’ coaching skills during each of the 13 regroupings. Therefore the course will be “coach” centred both during the regroupings and between sessions.

The course supports the coaches’ development with the knowledge and competencies associated with high performance coaching for players from U-14 to Future level.

The course trains coaches to work with players of international standard at U14, U16 and U18. It also raises awareness of the pro game and working with senior players. The course is structured around four different coaching roles: assistant, personal coach, academy leader and travelling coach in order to present the content in a relevant manner.

  1. Course Design and Structure

The MPC has 13 regroupings spread out over 15 months with a further 3 months to complete projects and your Portfolio of Evidence before attending a final assessment.

Each regrouping consists of pre-course reading and very often a small task to supplement the contact time; helping coaches to implement in their coaching what was covered in the regrouping. An overview of the course is below:

The course consists of three phases:

Phase 1: Acceptance and Pre-Course Preparation

Applications will be judged against acceptance criteria. Candidates will have to prove they meet the criteria with a combination of a video, CV and references. It may be that some applicants are invited for interview or contacted via telephone.

Before the course candidates must:

  1. Hold an LTA Level 4 Performance or equivalent coaching qualification
  1. Have an up to date LTA Licence
  1. Have a minimum rating of 4.1 (or previous equivalent) or hold a Play Test Grade 3
  1. Have knowledge and experience of recent terminology and methodology on LTA Coach Education Qualifications (coaches who hold the Senior Performance Coach Qualification will not have to give further evidence in this area).

Course pre-requisites

As well as meeting the above, to be considered for the course, coaches will also need to meet all of the following three criteria:

  1. Currently be working with or have a proven track record with players in one or more of the following categories:

-main draw Grade 1 Tennis Europe

-A or B matrix player aged 15 years +

-Coach to a senior full-time player at Futures level

-Run a senior academy programme

  1. Be in a current and regular coaching role that allows them to practice and implement MPC content between regroupings with appropriate age and level players
  2. Have a level of play which allows them to live feed and create realistic and relevant open game situations with top 10 U18 male/female players

Coaches meeting the entry criteria are invited to apply for the course. Applications should consist of:

  • Evidence showing you meet the course pre-requisites
  • Letter of application stating why you want to take the course
  • CV (including listing of players worked with and currently working with and details of your current role)
  • Names of two referees. One of these must be a high-level Performance Coach with direct knowledge of the applicant’s coaching. They will be approached directly to provide a reference.

Applicationswill be considered by the course committee and some applicants may be invited for an interview which may include on court coaching.

Applications will open on 1st January 2016. To register your interest in taking part in this course, pleasecontactthe Coach Qualification Manager

Phase 2: Delivery

•The workshops will run from Sept 2014 to December 2015

•Course delivery is split into 3 areas:

1)Core content (delivered at the National Tennis Centre when possible)

2)Mentoring and Supervised experience

3)Personal study

Core Content

The MPC has more regroupings than other LTA coaching courses in order to provide:

•Lots of repetition on the core skills i.e. observation skills, assessment, communication, technical & tactical teaching

-Mastering coaching skills requires lots of repetitions during and between workshops

-Each workshop covers all performance factors within a progressive, integrated approach

• A progressive approach to the development

-The different roles allow for progression from assisting on a National camp to developing skills of an academy leader

-The knowledge and competencies will follow this progression

•Time to integrate the material within a portfolio of evidence

-Tasks given after each regrouping support prior learning and are used to prime learning for the next workshop

-Projects will also be developed throughout the course

Mentoring and Supervised Experience

Mentoring is widely seen as the most effective way to support learning, to secure understanding and to bring about behaviour change. As such mentoring is usually characterised as being:

•a long-term, one-to-one relationship

•based in high-level interpersonal skills

•focused on supporting the learner’s personal effectiveness

•a blend of high challenge and high support

Candidates can identify a mentor who will work with them throughout the course or request one from the list that will be provided. The mentor’s role may not necessarily be a practical on court one. They are a ‘critical friend’ who will help guide the candidate through their work and thinking in order to reach their goal of meeting the course criteria. Candidates are encouraged to suggest their own mentor; however, mentors will need to be approved by the Course Committee.

Each coach would ideally see his/her mentor on six occasions with each lasting approximately 1.5 hours.

The coach must travel to the mentor unless the mentor agrees otherwise.

Personal Study

Responsibility & Ownership

Candidates on the Master Performance Course are in charge of their own learning. They have to plan their route to meeting the course criteria in the form of a Coach Development Plan (CDP) and will need to report on and justify their progress and plans to the Course Committee at regular intervals. The CDP is there for coaches to indicate:

-what you want to improve

-how you are going to do that

-how you are going to show your improvement

Candidates will meet the Course Committee on 3 occasions during the course (see course map) when she/he has the opportunity to update the Committee on her/his improvement and how she/he plans to progress in the following months.

The Course Committee has resources available which the candidates can apply for. These resources are:

•Individual visits by a coach education tutor for personalised support

•Learning resources such as books, articles, dvds, journals etc.

•Contacts to ‘open doors’ for domestic tennis, European tennis and non-tennis placements

Phase 3: Assessment

There will be 5 main areas of assessment during the course:

  1. Portfolio of evidence
  2. 3 main projects
  3. Tasks/presentations linked to workshops e.g. feeding test, demonstrations, observation skills.
  4. On-going on court assessments during workshops and field visits
  5. Final on court assessment

Each area has to be successfully completed with the pass mark being 70%.

  1. Portfolio of Evidence (PoE)

•A key role of your PoE is to act as a record of your improvement and development as a coach. It is not a definitive, fixed appraisal of your coaching competence.

•Coaches are required to build their own Portfolio of Evidence (PoE), which may consist of relevant articles, tasks or completed micro assignments, audio and/or video material, or any supportive information which provides evidence of successful achievement of the course criteria.

•The upkeep and maintenance of this PoE will be an indication of the importance placed by the coach on his/her personal development and will be monitored and checked by the course committee during ‘Coach Development Meetings’.

•The PoE will also be used to track the development of the coach and the improvement of her/his designated player as she/he works with this player over an extended period of time throughout the course.

•The PoE will provide one of the most valuable methods of monitoring and assessment as it provides evidence of coaching skills.

There are certain things that have to be in the portfolio, the rest is up to you and the way that you choose to demonstrate that you meet the course competencies.

You should spend a considerable amount of time cross referencing the course coaching competencies with your developing Portfolio of Evidence.

N.B:You will be responsible for the contents and compilation of your PoE

  1. Projects:

Candidates will undertake three extensive personal studies during the course. They are split into the following three areas:

•Area of Interest project - shortly after the NTC access modules, candidates will need to choose their area of interest. They will be guided towards an appropriate expert to help them with their study. High Performance Environment Placement project.

•Personal Coaching Video project.

  1. Workshop mini tasks/presentations - activities to develop and/or maintain what was delivered during a workshop.
  1. On-going on court assessments during workshops and field visits.
  1. Final on court assessment

You will be given a 14-18 year old player to both assess and develop. The player will have an ITF junior ranking.

N.B: Some assignments/projects may be used by the LTA as resources on Coach Education courses or for publication in coaching journals and/or presentation on workshops.

Coaches are requested to let the Course Qualification Manager know, should they not want this to happen.

Submitting assignments

Assignments should be submitted, preferably in electronic format, to the Course Qualification Manager –

Assignment extensions

Any request for an extension to a deadline for an assignment must be made to the Coach Qualification Manager no less than 48 hours prior to the assignment deadline with a clear reason for the request of a deadline extension and plan for subsequent submission.

Late submission of an assignment

Any assignment that is submitted after its hand-in deadline may be penalised at 5% per working day for the time between submission and deadline.

General assessment criteria

All assignments are expected to be clearly communicated, demonstrate detailed analysis and show up-to-date knowledge.

In order to successfully complete the course a coach must attend 90% of all workshops, complete all assignments and demonstrate all capabilities.

Suspension of Studies

Coaches who wish to suspend their studies for good cause may apply to the Course Qualification Manager for ‘leave of absence’ made in advance of the intended period.

It is probable but not guaranteed that the coach will be invited to re-enter the course or subsequent course on an agreed date.

Course Cost

The full cost of the course is £1,500 per candidate.