Tennis Courses

This face-to-face workshop equips Padel coaches with the foundational knowledge and skills to teach players the four options for playing shots using the double glass. Coaches will spend an hour on each of the four options and will leave with a solid understanding of LTA coaching methodology, the underpinning principles of the Tactical and Technical Development Frameworks, and plenty of teaching points and drills to make an immediate impact on player performance. 

By the end of this course you will: 

- Learn the four types of double glass shots in Padel 

- Learn and use game-based lesson structure and the LTA Tactical and Technical Development Frameworks to guide coaching interventions 

- Understand a framework for the order in which to teach shots 

- Understand and practice some effective teaching points for each of the four options 

A new training offer that aims to support individuals to activate (facilitate play) sessions in the sport of padel and gain important basic knowledge and skills for delivering padel. The course will focus on basics around padel as a sport, the role of walls, shot selection and court positioning and will also cover best practice for leading a session and feeding approaches.

Unit 1: Characteristics of padel
• Shot selection & Court positioning
• Introducing walls

Unit 2: How to activate padel
• Leading a session & feeding
• Practice feeding, game delivery

It is important to note that this course is an entry level award of one day and is not an advanced award in delivering padel.

Reasonable adjustments are available. Please contact the LTA Coach Development Centre delivering this course at the time of booking so that they can support these.

Min Age: 16

The LTA Padel Instructor is a five-day qualification (split into four core and one elective day) and is ideal for those looking to deliver excellent group lessons for adult and junior players.

Course prerequisites

• Successful completion of the LTA Padel Instructor Readiness Test.  You cannot be added to the course until this has been done The Readiness Test can take up to two weeks to be assessed once submitted - please allow sufficient time for this when signing up for the course.
• Be LTA Accredited  or hold a DBS/PVG Enhanced Check with Child Barred List certificate applied for in the past 12 months through LTA/Tennis Scotland (volunteer certificates cannot be accepted). A DBS can be accepted if you are on the Update Service - see here for more details. Please note that it may take at least eight weeks for a DBS to be processed and you must hold a valid DBS certificate upon booking. 

Course duration and structure

Training: The course consists of five days of face-to-face training, separated by a minimum of four weeks. This allows time for eight hours’ work experience and coursework completion. 

•  The five training days are split into core and elective days. There are four days of core training and one day of elective (Coaching Kids Padel OR How to Coach the Double Glass). You will need to be successful in your application to be considered for the Core Training - elective training is booked (and paid for) on the LTA Course Search Tool. 

Assessment: Final assessments are conducted during a real-life lesson of your choice, at a Padel venue of your choice.  Assessments are recorded by you (using smartphone equipment) and then submitted virtually by video upload. For more details please see the Assessments page.  

Assessment prerequisites

• Candidates must fully complete five training days (core and elective) and all coursework tasks before they can book their final assessment. The elective day can be completed before, during or after the Core Training. 
• Hold a valid certificate of competence in either First Aid at Work (FAW) Emergency First Aid at Work (EFAW), Paediatric First Aid (PFA) or have successfully completed the OFQUAL Level 3 in First Aid prior to assessment. This is to ensure you are safe to practice upon qualifying.

Reasonable Adjustments & Special Consideration Requests

The LTA is committed to ensuring that our qualifications are accessible for all, which is why it is vital that all candidates where possible outline any reasonable adjustments/or special considerations you may require prior to attending the course.  Please use this link

Course Dates/Venues

Core Days

Day 1:  3rd March 2025        9.30am - 5.30pm

Day 2:  4th March 2025        9.30am - 5.30pm

Day 3:  17th March 2025      9.30am - 5.30pm

Day 4:  31st March 2025       9.30am - 5.30pm 

Wet weather back up dates:

1st April 2025 / 2nd April 2025  9.30am - 5.30pm

Elective: How to Coach the Double Glass

Day 5:  18th March 2025      9.30am - 2.30pm - this must be booked separately

This is an overview of the tasks required to complete the Padel Instructor Readiness Test. You will find more detailed instructions, including videos on how to complete each task, once you have booked on.

Please only do this is you are interested in doing the LTA Padel Instructor qualification.

Task 1 - Personal statement, up to 3 minutes

You will be in a professional environment and dressed in a professional manner (as a padel coach), and you will create a short video on your smartphone telling us about yourself and your motivation for applying. This enables us to observe your communication skills.

Task 2 – Demonstration, up to 2 minutes

 From a list of options provided in LTA Learn, you will demonstrate one common element of coaching that showcases your communication skills, padel knowledge, and ability to demonstrate sound padel skills.

Task 3 – lob feeding, around 30 seconds

Feeding is a crucial element of coaching. You will demonstrate that you can feed 5 balls accurately, with a chopper grip, as a lob shot. This will enable us to observe your feeding skills.

Tasks 4 - 7 – Live ball demonstration of strokes, around 6 minutes

Being a successful Instructor will require you to be able to demonstrate basic tactics and technique. These tasks enable us to observe your ability to demonstrate quality strokes, as well as your ability to hit/feed the ball with accuracy:

• Serve 8 of 16 balls correctly into court with the ball hitting the first glass panel.

• Using only one ball to rally, hit 15 shots down the line on the right-hand side of the court, including 6 off the back glass. The maximum time limit is one minute.

• Using only one ball to rally, hit 15 shots down the line on the left-hand side of the court, including 6 off the back glass. The maximum time limit is one minute.

• Using only one ball to rally, hit 15 volleys down the line on either side of the court, including a minimum of 6 backhand volleys. The maximum time limit is one minute

On the physical, tactical and technical tools for coaching female padel workshop, you’ll explore the differences and similarities between the sexes and work through activities that all women and girls can and should do. Learn how coaching interventions, across tactical and technical areas, should be informed by knowledge of the female anatomy.

Coaching Female Players: From Physique to Technique

Make an impact on the landscape of female participation and performance in tennis. Improve your coaching by developing your understanding of the distinct physiology of female athletes and its relationship to technical norms and development.
This course will expand coaches’ understanding of the specific needs of female players in terms of physical and technical development and the interrelationship between these areas.
Coaches will enhance their knowledge and skills, both theoretically and practically, across the following areas:

• Understand the characteristics of the female anatomy
• Learn and practice specific training exercises that enhance female physical development
• Learn a framework for understanding the relationship between physique and technique
• Examine norms and data relating to female stroke production, specifically regarding serving, forehands, and backhands
• Practice drills and ideas to develop serving, forehands, and backhands in female players


Reasonable adjustments are available. Please contact the LTA Coach Development Centre delivering this course at the time of booking so that they can support these.

Coaching Performance Players: Standards, Principles, and Drills

Overview

Learn the cornerstones of performance coaching, from 10 & under to senior level tennis. Optimise your on-court training environment and coaching delivery to drive the highest levels of player progression and performance. This four-hour workshop will expand your understanding of the standards required from coaches and players, the principles that underpin performance coaching, and the drills top British players use.

Course description

This course will expand coaches understanding of the specific elements that make coaching ‘performance coaching’.

Coaches will enhance their knowledge and skills, both theoretically and practically, across the following areas:

• Learn the standards to set on court with players across all areas of the performance coaching principles
• Explore the routes to becoming an elite player and how to keep all options open for your players on their journey
• Understand and practice fundamental coaching principles that underpin performance coaching
• Learn and practice the go-to drills that top British players, like Cam Norrie and Emma Raducanu, use to develop their own games

Great Group Coaching #3: 30+ Drills and Games to End Your Lesson

Overview Learn how to create and modify end-of-session games which challenge players’ tactical, technical, physical and mental skills.

Course description

Learn how to create and modify end-of-session games which challenge players’ tactical, technical, physical and mental skills. Player development shouldn’t stop when nearing the end of a lesson; discover how to get the best out of your players by weaving the four performance factors into fun games. Written by Nick Williams and Stuart Twigg, this course teaches you how to transform regular games and drills to be more challenging and purposeful. 

On the course, you’ll: 

• Learn how to create fun and purposeful games 
• Understand how to set up effective conditioned points 
• Learn different organisational formats to maximise players’ time on court 
• Familiarise yourself with how to apply feedback in the most effective way 
• Gain access to a catalogue of 30+ new drills and games 

30+ Drills and Games to End Your Lesson is for all types of coaches – new, experienced, and anyone in between – looking for inspiration on how to vary the end of a session. 

This is one of three Great Group Coaching workshops aimed at developing your capability of organising and working with players in a group setting.

Explore Great Group Coaching #1: Discovering & Driving Detail and Great Group Coaching #2: Repetition vs Realism 

Qualification candidates 

This is a valid elective module for the LTA Instructor coaching qualification. 

Course Date:   27th July 2025
Time:               9.30am - 1.30pm
Course Fee:     £50.00

Great Group Coaching: Discovering & Driving Detail

Course description

This is the first course in the Great Group Coaching series.  

When watching tennis, a lot of the detail passes us by – even when we’re experienced coaches.  

Sign up to develop a ‘golden eye’ of observation on which to build your analysis and coaching interventions, so your players get better faster.  

Group Coaching is at the heart of all successful programmes. In this 4-hour CPD, you will learn from industry experts how to successfully organise and engage players in your sessions and programmes. This is the first course in the Great Group Coaching Series, a series purposefully built to develop your capability working with players in a group setting.  

 In the first edition of the series, you will: 

• Understand how observation and analysis skills form the cornerstone of successful group coaching.  
• Learn to use these skills to implement successful coaching interventions that will improve your player’s performances. 
• Explore the core structure of a lesson plan and the LTA Technical/Tactical Frameworks 
• Learn to deliver effective demonstrations.  
• Understand and apply SMART coaching practise.  
• Explore the concepts behind Stress-Testing and giving your players exactly what they need. 

This workshop is for all levels of coach who want to enhance their coaching skills and develop the observation and analysis skills that will allow them to give players the technical and tactical interventions they need. You do not need to have attended both editions of the Great Group Coaching series to attend this course, both courses work independently as stand-alone workshops.  

Qualification candidates 

This is a valid elective module for the LTA Instructor coaching qualification. 

Course Date: 26th January 2025
Time: 9am - 1pm
Course Fee: £50.00

Graves Tennis Centre, Sheffield

Course Date: 3rd August 2025
Time: 9am - 1pm
Course Fee: £50.00

Leeds Beckett University

Great Group Coaching: Repetition vs Realism

Improve Players Faster with 4 Learning Strategies

Overview

Course description

Explore proven learning strategies that enhance players’ comprehension, application, and retention of new skills. 

 We all want to see improvement in whatever we do, and tennis is no exception – it’s one of the top three reasons that players return again and again to coaching sessions. Improve players faster with 4 learning strategies has been developed by Lorna Woodroffe, former British no.1 and Level 4 coach, and Chris Peet, Level 5 coach who worked with three junior national champions. 

 On completion of the course, you will: 

• Understand how to use errorless learning, scaffolding, external focus, and constraints-based coaching, in coaching to give players what they need. 
• See how academic research and educational psychology translates to practical, on-court exercises that yield rapid improvement in players. 
• Take away a bank of creative drills to apply in your sessions, as well gaining the knowledge to create your own exercises and drills. 

Course Description

The 2024 LTA Coach Forums are aimed at coaches with an interest in developing mental skills for grassroots up to competitive level players.  

By the end of the LTA Coach Forum, coaches will: 

• Understand the ‘5Cs framework’ for developing practical mental skills 
• Be able to train concentration to improve performance on court 
• Be able to help players control their emotions better on the match court 
• Off-court session: Be able to better communicate with parents, players and key stakeholders to maximise the success of your coaching and business 

Mental skills are often cited as critically important but rarely receive as much attention as technical, tactical and physical development. 

The on-court session covers mental skills in a practical and coach friendly approach. The on-court session will showcase a variety of drills that set up an environment to train mental skills. Coaches will learn about basic visualisation, body language, breathing and self-talk mental tools to help develop players. This session was developed by Chris Harwood, a chartered sport psychologist for 30+ years, a Sport Psychology Professor at Loughborough University and now a Director at Nottingham Trent University, alongside Liz Jones former WTA 100 player, and Merlin van de Braam, Head of Coach Development & Support at the LTA.

The off-court session will be an interactive coach-to-coach discussion session. The main theme will be developing better communication with parents, players and key stakeholders. Coaches will have the chance to discuss their own personal experiences and share top-tips and gain practical takeaways to enhance key relationships. We hope these professional coach discussions will leave coaches: informed on best practice; connected; motivated and engaged for the year ahead. 

The overall duration of this event is 4 hours (2hr 30mins on-court, 30mins networking, 1hr off-court). Book your session now to secure your place and we look forward to seeing you on the day. 

Date

YORKSHIRE - 11 November 2024 - 9.30am–1.30pm - Leeds Beckett University

Cost

£30.00

This course will run in a virtual environment using Zoom. The course covers how to safeguard children and adults at risk by enabling delegates to recognise, respond, refer and record concerns in a tennis environment.

**This course is for all Level 1-5 Coaches and Welfare Officers looking to either join/renew coach accreditation or to get the safeguarding pre-requisite. You will also need to complete this course if your last safeguarding course was the LTA refresher 'Safeguarding in Tennis Together'. **

This is currently a virtual classroom (equivalent to a face to face course) hosted via Teams.

You will be sent a Teams link via email the day before the course starts. Please ensure the email address on your LTA profile is up to date and that you check your spam inbox to ensure you receive the joining instructions.

You do not need to print off anything before the course but may need to write notes as you go along. A handout will be provided after the course.

If you have completed face-to-face safeguarding training within the last 3 years you can take the online safeguarding module  Safeguarding In Tennis Together to renew. Please ensure you book onto the right version, as there are role specific

The course will inform coaches of the specific impairment groups: Physical (Wheelchair), Visually Impaired, Deaf, Learning Disabilities, and Long-Term Health Conditions.

This enhanced two day qualification is ideal for tennis parents, enthusiasts, or keen players looking for the knowledge and skills to support group coaching sessions, alongside a lead Coach.

Learning outcomes include:

• Communication, organisation and differentiation skills for group coaching
• Basic tactical, technical, physical and mental development frameworks
• Other key assistant skills; from safeguarding to LTA Youth delivery.

Course Dates/Venues

10th November & 1st December 2024
9am – 5pm
Nuffield Tennis Academy HU1 2TX

26th January & 2nd March 2025
9am – 5pm
Leeds Beckett University LS6 3QQ

9th February & 9th March 2025
9am – 5pm
York St John Tennis Centre YO31 8TA 

11th May & 8th June 2025
9am – 5pm
Huddersfield Lawn Tennis & Squash Club HD1 5NF 

12th July & 2nd August 2025 (Wet weather dates 13th July & 3rd August)
9am – 5pm
Bridlington Lawn Tennis Club YO16 4LE

This enhanced five day qualification is ideal for those looking to build on the coaching foundations of LTA Assistant/Level 1, enabling you to lead (not assist) in the delivery of group coaching.

Learning outcomes include:

• Develop more advanced skills in communication and organisation
• Have introductory knowledge of ‘observation and analysis’ of players
• Be able to provide general coaching advice across physical, mental, tactical, and technical domains
• Plan and deliver structured lessons from official LTA Adult and Junior coaching products e.g., Cardio Tennis, Tennis Xpress, LTA Youth
• Understand basic principles of skill acquisition, safeguarding and player development 

1st December 2024, 5th, 12th, 26th January 2025

9am - 5pm

Elective - Great Group Coaching: Repetition vs Realism

2nd February 2025  9am - 1pm

Graves Tennis Centre, Sheffield

28th, 29th June, 19th July, 3rd August 2025

9am - 5pm

Elective - Great Group Coaching: 30+ Games to End Your Tennis Lesson

27th July 2025  9am - 1pm

Leeds Beckett University