Who we are

Advantage Tennis International Coaching Philosophy

Advantage Tennis International is a Toronto, Canada based, Nationally recognized Tennis Canada Development Centre focused on High Performance Junior Training development for highly motivated, committed students between the ages of 6-18 years of age, looking to attain a College Tennis Scholarship and/or to play on the Professional Tour.

At Advantage Tennis International, we strive to ‘build champions in tennis and life.” We work to develop the whole person, as well as the tennis player/athlete. Advantage Tennis International implements a coaching philosophy based on the “actions method” which is used in Tennis Canada’s certification system. Our goal at ATI is to produce tennis players that are “performers.” They are focused, competitive athletes, who play smart with effective strokes.

To accomplish this, ATI will:

coach in a systematic, learner-centered way;
train tennis as an open-skill sport;
use a “global”/holistic approach in developing competitors; and,
use a game-based approach in training.

In a learner-centered approach, the player works with the coach to identify and systematically realize the player’s objectives. The coaches understand that each player learns in a different way (visual, kinesthetic and auditory) and at a different speed. As a result, coaches must be creative to find the most effective and fastest way to help each player. This is generally accomplished by adopting a coaching style that is enthusiastic and cooperative, and includes goal-setting and providing a lot of feedback.

Tennis is an open-skill sport, in which players must constantly adapt to constantly changing situations on the court. Perception, decision, execution and feedback occur on each shot performed. Our players are trained to focus on and improve in each of these areas. The "global" method is a holistic approach to developing competitive players in four performance areas:

technical
tactical
psychological (includes mental, emotional and social)
physical

The game-based approach emphasizes the idea of playing the game of tennis rather than reproducing a technical model. Our coaches teach skills that will be used in matches. Tennis involves both motor skills and cognitive skills. It is also a sport that emphasizes individual creativity, in which every person has their own playing style. No two professionals play the same way and nor do any two ATI athletes! However, ATI players will all share certain traits that are essential to performing well. They will be focused and competitive. They will play smart and with effective strokes. And they will strive to be “champions in tennis and life.”