Day 1 nerves

kayea6
May 11, 2016
2 min read

Day 1: After a little of a late start due to being ill I finally started my mentorship. I was so excited to get to work over the Summer, meet new people and have a brand new experience working in America! Due to May being a slowish start as the kids are not out of school yet, work starts at 3:30pm. Lakeland Academy is in Southbend, Indiana and excels in being a friendly, welcoming and a hardworking academy who attracts all different levels and abilities. My host who is the owner of the Academy started my day off with a shake "I need you to be fit and healthy for the summer, and you'll be helping me feed my players" The first lesson to be learnt by me mentor was a fairly simple one but yet an important one.... clocking in and out. I'm not so good at getting it in a straight line for the moment but i'm sure that will change. Melissa went through was a day tends to be and how times change a lot and how different people arrive at various times. 3:30 came and the kids starting arriving at staggered times, I first got told to help an 18 year old boy called Austin, "lets see what you can do" they said. After twenty minutes of trying to improve his forehand, a new boy comes on to the court therefore I just add him in to what we are doing, then 3 more... I think i need to change drill. My aim was to keep the kids moving as much as possible but still learning how to move on the tennis court. Thankfully I am used to thinking on my feet and changing plans. A couple of hours of coaching various levels I just hoped I was making a good first impression.

As mentioned earlier there are various levels of ability at Lakeland Academy which is great as they involve everyone all the time. Jaeden, a 13 year old girl who is full time tennis, meaning she is home schooled, was outside on the clay needing some hitting partners with a few others. Time to get sweaty. Being a hitter you have to be consistent, feet moving, good body language and be a good role model to younger tennis players, even if they are better than you! the day came to an end and after meeting parents making sure everything was cleared and courts were brushed, time for home. My first day thoughts... I it think went well! I hope tomorrow i carry on learning and meeting new people.