ITF Academy presents the ITF Tennis Parent Webinar
The team behind ITF Academy invites parents and coaches of tennis-playing children of all abilities for the first ITF Tennis Parent Webinar, providing an introduction to the ITF tennis parent education programme.
The webinar will be hosted on the ITF Academy online educational platform on Wednesday 7 October, beginning at 17:00 BST (GMT +1). Registration for ITF Academy is free and can be completed here.
The hour-long session follows the April 2020 release of the ‘Parents of Beginner Players – Introduction to Tennis’ course on ITF Academy, which details the benefits of children participating in tennis, covers the roles and responsibilities of a supportive tennis parent, and offers tips on selecting and developing positive relationships with tennis coaches.
The webinar will provide information to parents of young tennis players – whether existing or new to the game – as well as tennis coaches who wish to learn more about dealing with children in competitive environments.
Whether you are the parent or coach of a beginner, intermediate, advanced or high-performance player, the presentation and discussions will no doubt prove illuminating. Over the course of the webinar, tennis parents and coaches will be introduced to the ITF’s education and support strategy, which can be found on ITF Academy.
Professor Chris Harwood and Dr Sam Thrower, leading research experts in Tennis Parent Education, will provide an overview of the key components included in two purpose-designed ITF tennis parent workshops and supporting online courses.
Professor Harwood is a leading sport psychologist in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough, whose research focuses on the psychological roles of coaches and parents in the development of young athletes. He is also a former national-standard tennis player and coach.
Dr Thrower is lecturer in sport and exercise psychology at the University of Roehampton, whose main research interests lie in the area of youth sport and specifically the psychosocial development of young athletes.
“Parents are key stakeholders in junior tennis with an active investment in the game and in their child’s happiness, well-being and development,” Professor Harwood said. “As sport scientists and organisations who have a strong command of both the challenges and the benefits of tennis, I believe that it is vital that we share our knowledge with parents and help them to thrive in support roles to their children.”
Participants will be given the opportunity to interact and ask questions, with the ITF and research experts on hand to discuss the strategy and the content included within the workshops.
In March 2020, the ITF increased the number of ITF Academy resources available for free for the duration of COVID-19 disruption to aid parents and coaches affected by restrictions on training and travel.
ITF Academy features a wealth of resources that will not only benefit coaches but also parents, teachers and anyone who wants to improve their own game. More than 340 theory-led content pieces, including videos, articles and scientific research papers, are available for free on the ITF’s educational platform, enabling users to make tangible progress in their personal and professional development from home.
You can register for ITF Academy here.
To access ITF publications, including coaching manuals, search ‘ITF ebooks’ on Google Play for android devices or the App Store on Apple devices and download the app.