FROM PLAYER TO TEACHER:Tennis Career Paths: Erin Crandall, Head Tennis Pro at Solaris Sport & Racquet Club
By Andrew Buchholz
Nothing surprises Erin Crandall anymore. As an alum of Ferris State University's Professional Tennis Management program who has taught at more than four facilities from Georgia to Michigan, Crandall says she's taught players of all personality types and used various teaching styles.
The experience contributed to her own teaching philosophy--for each student to have fun.
"Learning is supposed to be fun and, at the same time, purposeful," says Crandall, head pro at Solaris Sport & Racquet Club in Hawthorne, N.Y. "I want each one of my students to walk away with learning something new, or discovering they can do something they never thought possible for their own individual game."
She landed on that philosophy after 14 years of teaching various student personalities and working with many different pros, all who had their own teaching philosophies. Over the years Crandall had used all three teaching teaching styles:
- Command Style: The coach makes all the decisions ("The Dictator")
- Submissive Style: The coach provides little guidance and makes few decisions ("The Baby-Sitter")
- Cooperative Style: The coach gives leadership and works with the student to make decisions ("The Teacher")
After interning for Crandall last summer at Solaris, I saw her teaching philosophies come to life. After years of bouncing around and learning from others around her, Crandall had brought her fun and productive style to the tennis court.
"Students all learn differently. As a good coach you have to adapt to your students needs and be able to have variety," she said. "My advice to newcomers to the tennis teaching world would be to find your niche. If you as the teacher are not having fun, chances are your students aren't either. Get out there, teach with lots of different people, and zero in on what works for you."
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