I have been teaching tennis for almost 40 years. As a younger pro, I often calculated my success by how many ranked players I had or by how many players I could send to college playing tennis. As I got older, I realized how one-sided that was. Now, I feel my job is to teach all players a great way to play tennis, have an awesome time and learn a sport they can play for a lifetime. My goals remain the same, in that, I still teach to the individual and challenge them to be the best that they can and try to help them to attain their goals, whether it is to play in college or just to play social tennis.
 
I have said before that playing tennis teaches a player many life lessons. Some are: becoming an independent thinker, starting and finishing a task, developing social skills, gaining fitness without doing any boring or trivial exercise, honesty, friendship and loyalty. It challenges the mind and body and instills confidence. Players learn how to dig deep to come back from behind, stay focused when ahead and how to win and lose and be a good sport about it. Competition prepares you on so many levels to go out into the world and teaches you to learn from your mistakes and move on to improve. Who could not improve themselves by playing tennis?
 
I have taught hundreds of state and nationally ranked players. However, I get just as much joy hearing from an ex-student who played in high school, quit for a while, picked it back up and has become more successful now than when they were younger and will continue to enjoy this sport for the rest of their lives. I am now teaching the children of the kids I taught and that is very satisfying.
 
Remember, it is really not all about winning or losing, it is a "win-win" situation.
 
Good luck on the courts!