JCC Parent and Coach Code of Conduct
With our junior program starting to produce more tournament players, I thought it would be a good time to emphasis how I would like our parents and coaches to act when with our juniors at a tournament. Keep in mind that all of us are representing not only ourselves and our families, but also the Jonesboro Country Club. Here are some of the basic principles of being a good tennis parent/player/coach.
Try to find a vantage point that provides you with a good view of the court without being a distraction to your child or their opponent
Parents are strictly prohibited by USTA rules from coaching during a tournament match. A good rule of thumb is that if you are telling your junior to do something in the future, like "keep your head up", or "move your feet", or "focus", you are coaching.
Tournament players should not continually look over at their parents or coaches during tournament matches. You do not want your junior dependant on your support, because there may be times when you are not at their matches. If they look over at you, you should be as passive as possible.
Refrain from gestures or comments of frustration that might be seen or heard by your child. Getting up and leaving in disgust, or audibly gasping after they miss a shot are examples of this. If you cannot sit through your child's match without doing this, I recommend that you not watch the match.
Do not ever get into a "cheering contest" with the other child's parents or friends. I believe that a good tennis parent is a QUIET tennis parent. Do not try to "urge' or "push" your junior into playing better. You should not try to insert yourself into your junior's match in any way.
If you believe your child has been cheated in a match, stay out of it! There is nothing worse in junior tennis than parents having a dispute while their children compete. Your child has rights on the court, but it is up to THEM to address the issues.
Never ever teach your junior to retaliate for perceived bad calls. Retaliating is against USTA rules and will only teach your junior that cheating is okay. The appropriate response to perceived bad calls would be for your junior to go to the tournament desk and ask for an umpire to help with calls. This will alleviate the problem and will take the pressure off of both juniors. But it is the junior who needs to ask for help…not the parent or coach.
Never let your child believe that they lost a match because they were cheated. If you do, they will start assuming that every time they lose a match it must be because they were cheated.
Last but not least, please keep in mind that your junior's opponents are juniors trying to have fun at the game of tennis just like your junior. They are not a hated enemy. You should encourage your junior to make friends with their opponents. It will make tennis much more fun. Remember, people make mistakes. Just because a junior makes a bad call or gets the score wrong, this does not mean that they are an evil cheater. Always look for the good in your junior's opponents and their families.
