When I first started coaching tennis, I had no idea that the skills I honed on the court would one day support the skills I applied in instructional design (ID). Teaching players their stance, how to serve or volley, and working with them to strategize their game turned out to lay the foundational knowledge I would use to design effective learning experiences. Looking back, I can see clear parallels between coaching and ID—both require a deep understanding of learning processes, the ability to adapt to individual needs, and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Playing singles: Creating a personalized experience
An early lesson I learned as a tennis coach was that no two players are the same. Some players thrived with structured drills, while others learned through demonstration, games, and other activities. Understanding and recognizing this allowed me to understand the needs of each player and to create personalized training plans that focused on each player's strengths and weaknesses. These individual approaches encouraged each player to grow in their own way, at their own pace. For example, some players had stronger backhands, so we would focus less on that and more on serving or volleying. Others had the techniques down but needed to concentrate more on footwork, so we would focus on those drills during every practice.
The same is true when it comes to creating training programs for adult learners. No two learners will have the same exact background, experience, or learning preferences, so we must assess the learner’s needs and create adaptable learning pathways. Just as I modified my coaching techniques for the varied players, the training programs I help to design include varied instructional methods from videos to live touchpoints, hands-on activities, and self-paced trainings with interactive activities and assessments. This variety allows the learners to review, synthesize, and apply the information in ways that most resonate with them, increasing the likelihood that they will retain it for a longer period of time.
No unforced errors: The importance of clear communication
Effective coaching relies on direct communication and clear expectations. In other words, implementing 1) instructions that are easy to understand and immediately applicable, and 2) goals that are stated plainly and are reasonably obtainable.
Understanding your audience is a key factor in ensuring clear communication. Depending on the content you are delivering and to whom, different words or instructions may be used. For example, a Medical Science Liaison (MSL) is going to understand highly clinical information much easier than a sales rep might. If your training materials are translated into other languages, avoiding jargon, jokes, and other colloquialisms is an important factor to keep in mind. My experience in breaking down technical tennis concepts into digestible lessons and clearly articulating instructions has made me a more effective communicator in my instructional design work.
Whether on a court or at a desk or giving vague explanations can lead to confusion and frustration. Coaching fostered effective feedback and instruction, that wasn’t lost in translation, by comparing my communication style with my player’s and tailoring my approach to meet my player’s needs.
As an instructional designer, I do the same to ensure that my learners understand what is expected of them, no matter the format it is presented in. Whether through written content, video scripts, or in-person facilitation, setting clear expectations through concise learning objectives ensures that learners understand the goals of the training.
The game plan: Skill development
Through coaching, I learned how to break down complex skills into manageable steps. For example, teaching someone to serve starts with the proper grip on the racket, the correct stance, and then involves breaking the movement into a toss, a swing, and then a follow-through. Watching players try to put it all together initially and not succeed was overwhelming to them and a bit disheartening for me. Breaking down the actions into bite-sized steps and having the players practice each step individually, allowed them to get the motion correct and build consistency. These smaller movements allowed them to eventually put it together as one full movement, and before I knew it, they were practicing their serves with perfect form.
Overloading a person with too much information at once, or even skipping steps, can quickly become overwhelming and counterproductive. For instructional design, breaking the content down into bite-sized, digestible pieces is critical for learner understanding and retention. You want to start with foundational knowledge, ensuring the learner fully understands those basic topics or concepts and can apply them before building on with more advanced topics or skills. Creating a phased approach to training sets the learner up for success. My experience in breaking down tennis skills, building them up into a smooth movement directly translates into my ability to structure digestible training materials (e.g., microlearning), building up from the foundational to the more advanced concepts.
No faults: Serving up motivation and engagement
Keeping players engaged and motivated was one of the greatest challenges of coaching. Not every practice session was exciting – sometimes the training was more intense, sometimes not every player showed up with enthusiasm, or sometimes the player was just having a bad day. Finding ways to make the practice enjoyable was key to maintaining player engagement and driving improvements. Sometimes this meant we played more fun games (e.g., around the world, target practice), while other times more competition and round robins were used to drive motivation.
The same challenge exists in instructional design. Learning experiences must be engaging and relevant to the learners to keep them invested. Sometimes, you have to stray away from the standard learning techniques and use storytelling, interactive elements, and real-world applications makes content more engaging. These types of interactions can make the experience more personable or relatable for the learner, making them more engaged and invested. Understanding the audience (from MSLs to sales representatives) allows me to create learning experiences that will resonate with and motivate a diverse audience.
Coaching for growth: Being adaptable
As with any sport, no tennis player’s progression is a straight line. Between injuries, mental blocks, or slumps, external factors played a role in how I coached. Sometimes the time allotted for practice was the only time we had, and if it rained, we couldn’t let that time go to waste. I learned early on to always be adaptable and have a back-up plan.
Instructional design also requires a high degree of adaptability. Unexpected challenges arise, such as technology limitations, shifting business needs, company reorganizations, or diverse learner expectations. The ability to pivot and problem-solve, developed on the court, now serves me well when designing and delivering learning experiences that must evolve with changing conditions. For example, technology can always throw someone off when the internet won’t connect, or your laptop won’t present. Shifting product launch date or key marketing strategy changes can also highlight key opportunities for adaptability and problem solving.
Rallying: The importance of feedback and iteration
Coaching in any sport involves a lot of feedback—both giving and receiving. Players need timely, constructive feedback to improve their form and decision-making. Giving feedback at the time of the action allows for a quick corrective measure before an incorrect form and swing takes hold. Once repetition happens, and the player gains muscle memory, it becomes harder to adjust and “fix” the problem. Whether correcting a backhand grip or refining footwork, feedback must be clear, specific, and actionable. It’s equally important to have the ability to determine whether your method of delivering feedback is being received or if your method must be adjusted based on the player.
In instructional design, feedback loops are just as vital. We want to be able to assess how a course or training is working, taking in any necessary learner feedback and adjusting as needed. Building in opportunities to receive feedback and then allowing for room to make adjustments based on that feedback is key to any training plan. This feedback could be received through quizzes, peer reviews, surveys, or real-time coaching sessions. When designing learner experiences, having a mindset for continuous improvement is key.
Ace your goals: Measuring success
As a tennis coach, success was measured not only by wins and losses but also by improvements in a player's technique, confidence, and strategic thinking. Monitoring the player’s level of play, and skill progression allowed me to assess whether my coaching methods were effective. While important, players winning matches didn’t tell the full story and/or wasn’t always the goal.
Similarly, in instructional design, measuring learning outcomes is crucial. Assessments, surveys, and learner analytics provide insights into whether the training is achieving its intended goals. My experience in setting goals and tracking progress in tennis has translated into my ability to set benchmarks, measure the effectiveness of programs, and use that data to make improvements in the training.
Game, set, match!
Coaching tennis provided me with a foundation in teaching, adaptability, and learner engagement, skills that I’ve been able to transfer to instructional design. The skills I developed, like understanding individual learner needs, providing effective feedback, structuring lessons, maintaining engagement, and adapting to challenges, have been invaluable in my career. While tennis and instructional design may seem worlds apart, the principles of learning and development connect them in unexpected ways.
