Better Coaches = Better Players — ft. Kyle LaCroix

Summary

Kyle LaCroix, an RSPA Master Professional and founder of SETS (Specialized Educational Tennis Solutions), joins Lisa Stone for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of tennis coaching in America. LaCroix argues that the coaching industry is dangerously unregulated — it takes more training hours to make a donut at Dunkin’ Donuts than to become a tennis coach — and that this lack of standards harms player development and drives families away from the sport. He advocates for better coach education, parent inclusion in the coach-player triangle, and systemic reform through organizations like RSPA and the new USTA Coaching initiative.

Guest Background

• RSPA Master Professional (one of approximately 200 worldwide)
• Certified by RSPA, PTR, and GPTCA
• MBA from University of Michigan; Master’s from Stanford University
• Graduate of Ferris State University’s Professional Tennis Management (PTM) program
• Former head tennis professional at a private club in Boca Raton, FL for 19+ years
• Former competitive junior from Tampa Bay area; lost love-and-love to David Nalbandian at age 17
• Founder of SETS, which invests in coaching professionals’ education, certification, and career advancement
• Married to Lisa LaCroix (former ParentingAces guest), a speech pathologist and 501(c)(3) CEO

Key Topics

1. The unregulated coaching industry: No barrier to entry for tennis coaches; anyone with a phone and a basket of balls can call themselves a coach. Contrast with professions requiring continuing education (doctors, lawyers, speech pathologists).

2. Coach education gaps: Major coaching organizations historically have not tested coaches on junior pathways, college recruiting, USTA competitive structure, ITF circuits, or rating/ranking systems — the exact things tennis parents need help with.

3. The parent-coach-player triangle: Parents should not be sidelined as check-writers. LaCroix advocates for a one-page responsibility document (coach responsibilities, player responsibilities, parent responsibilities) given to every new family.

4. PTM programs as a pipeline: Professional Tennis Management programs at Ferris State, Methodist, and others accelerate coaching careers but remain largely unknown. LaCroix wishes US Open honey deuce profits funded PTM advertising.

5. Club vs. academy coaching: Two distinct professional tracks with different business models, skill sets, and cultures. Club pros are essentially CEOs running a racket sports department; academy coaches focus on player performance.

6. Coaching with empathy: The best coaches implant ideas in players’ heads and make them believe it was their own idea. LaCroix requires his coach-development students to play with their opposite hand to experience the learner’s frustration.

7. Why juniors quit: “I’ve never met a player that quit tennis because they don’t like tennis. They quit because they don’t like the experience.”

8. Training vs. enjoyment: Training is meant for improvement, not enjoyment. Mental health damage comes more from quitting a dream than from the rigor of pursuing it.

Actionable Advice for Families

• Demand a one-page expectations document from your child’s coach outlining responsibilities and accountability for coach, player, and parent.
• Research coaches thoroughly: Ask questions of current families, and especially ask families who left — why did they leave?
• Understand the difference between a coach and a hitter, between education and exercise and enjoyment (the three E’s).
• Support coaching education initiatives — better-educated coaches produce better outcomes for everyone.
• Recognize that communication is the foundation: Parents and coaches must have transparent, ongoing dialogue. If a coach acts as a gatekeeper of information, that is a red flag.
• Empower your child early: Have them take ownership of small responsibilities (stringing rackets, communicating with pro shop) to build self-reliance.

INTENNSE Relevance

• Coach education reform aligns with INTENNSE’s positioning around improving the junior tennis ecosystem. LaCroix’s one-page responsibility framework is a simple, implementable tool INTENNSE could promote or template.
• USTA Coaching is called out as a hot-button topic but ultimately a positive step — relevant to INTENNSE’s relationship with USTA and monitoring of industry reform.
• The PTM pipeline represents an underserved awareness gap. INTENNSE could surface PTM programs as a career pathway for junior players who love tennis but won’t go pro.
• LaCroix’s SETS model (investing in coaches’ education and career development) is a potential partner or reference for INTENNSE’s consulting frameworks.
• The “better coaches = better players” thesis directly supports INTENNSE’s evidence base for why coaching quality is a critical variable in player development outcomes.

Notable Quotes

“It takes more education hours to make a donut than it does to become a tennis coach.”

“I’ve never met a player or even a junior that quit tennis because they don’t like tennis. I’ve met a lot of juniors that quit because they don’t like the experience.”

“Any great coach — the real secret that makes them truly great isn’t their knowledge, it’s not their passion, it’s not the motivation. It’s that they are able to take an idea or a concept and implant it in the player’s head and make the player believe that it’s their idea.”