MID-TAC’s Workforce and Coaches Connection Committee hosted the 2024 Coaches Connection Training together with MID-TAC in Columbus, Ohio. The Training had two purposes. The morning session was dedicated to a sit down discussion for MID-TAC Member Clubs with Junior Development Programs to discuss the new Junior Tennis Tier System that had been designed and applied to each Club. All coaches, Member Club officers, members and supporters were invited to attend, even if they did not have a junior program.
The afternoon session was the continuation of previous Coaches Connection Zoom discussions of the book One Shot Tennis (The System of Conscious Prep for Subconscious Play) by Author and Coach William Crutchfield. Crutchfield shared with the attendees the curriculum for One Shot Tennis By The Numbers and the importance of re-connecting to our community.
The evening session was the on-court training at Scarborough East Tennis Club with Coach William Crutchfield, and selected coaches, to apply the One Shot by the Numbers process. Several Wolfe Park juniors were invited to participate in the on court “real time” training. The Training ended with a social event in the lounge area of Scarborough and a “Subconscious Flow Exhibition” w/closing remarks.
Event Schedule
10:00am – Check-In at MLK Metropolitan Library, included breakfast items.
10:30am – Welcome and MID-TAC Member Clubs Junior Program Tier Discussion with MID-TAC Workforce & Coaches Connection Committee, plus Junior Development and Scholarship Committees
WELCOME BY PRESIDENT MARGARET DORSEY
Why Are We Here Today?
I want to ponder the question of WHY ARE WE HERE TODAY? Did you think, like so many of us, that everything was going to turn out by putting a lot of effort in and having a good plan OR did you think that you would accomplish your goals because they were noble, but the desired results have not come about yet but you keep putting one foot in front of the other anyway? Well, that’s why WE ARE HERE TODAY! We are still looking for solutions to situations that have not served our community’s needs, so we are once again exploring options. And the great part about it is that we are willing to work together and are not giving up!!
. . . Because MID-TAC has 20 Member Clubs, I get to see 20 different approaches to the same sport. I get to understand that each Club is only as strong as its Members and volunteers. When this is put into the larger context of how tennis exists in other communities that are not ours, it looks very different. What we hope to accomplish at this Training, in particular, is to share a Tier process that will help each of our Member Clubs to view themselves more accurately and possibly embrace and develop where they are and/or learn that what they are doing could be improved upon but with the support of other Clubs similar to theirs. We hope to establish a strong “Best Practices” environment among our Member Clubs that allows our Clubs to communicate, share and support one another on a regular basis to reach, hopefully, IDENTIFIED GOALS. We don’t have to leave our community to get the help that we need but we do have to understand that we need help. MID-TAC hopes that using “Best Practices” will ultimately attract more committed volunteers to each Club but also offer a structure or blue print to direct and measure success.
11:30am – Best Practices of selected Member Clubs: Tier 1 [Wolfe Park], Tier 2 [Motor City] and Tier 3 [Tennis All Stars] Junior Development Programs.
12:30am – Complimentary lunch served in the meeting room.
1:00pm – Presentation by Coach William Crutchfield on the book, One Shot Tennis and the introduction of One Shot Tennis By The Numbers process. Questions and Answers were a part of the Presentation.
Coach William Crutchfield Presenting the One Shot Tennis Process in detail.
3:00pm – Departure to Scarborough Tennis Club & early dinner break.
4pm to 5pm – Courts 1, 2, 3, & 4: The Four Levels of Progression by Coach Crutchfield
5pm to 6pm – Ct. 4 – Psychomotor and Skills Development; Ct. 3 – Fun2mental Presets; Ct. 2 – Dynamic Impact Preset Rehearsal; and Ct. 1 – Subconscious Flow
Coaches and Wolfe Park Tennis Association Juniors on-court at Scarborough
Training intensifies as the day goes on! Wolfe Park Juniors rose to the occasion!
6pm to 7pm – Court 3 – EXHIBITION: “80/20 Transition Game” Coach Crutchfield
6pm to 8pm – Close Out Comments w/pizza and beverages Scarborough Social Area.
CLOSING REMARKS by COACH ED AMOS, COACH WILLIAM CRUTCHFIELD and WOLFE PARK JUNIORS
***
Thank You to Wolfe Park Tennis Association and all of their outstanding volunteers who provided the breakfast and lunch at the MLK Library, and the coaches who volunteered at Scarborough to apply the One Shot Tennis process. MID-TAC Executive Board is to be praised for continuing to be innovative and supportive of our Member Clubs. And last but not least, thank you to the juniors who were eager to participate in the training for the coaches to experience the “real time” application of the One Shot Tennis process, especially 1 – 2 – 2 – 1.
Thank you to our guest speaker and coach, William J. Crutchfield, who is the immediate past Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach at North Carolina A&T State University. Crutchfield describes his coaching style and overall approach to the physical, technical and psychological aspects of tennis as something that helps progress players on the courts and in the Classroom. Crutchfield has more than 40 years of tennis coaching experience after he started coaching in the National Junior Tennis League in Washington, D.C., at age 17. His goal is for his players to play with clean techniques, tactical clarity and a fighting edge. Crutchfield has coached USTA Division 1 collegiate tennis athletes, as well as professional tour players.
Crutchfield, a longtime staple of the Charlotte area community, also received praise from Cid Carvalho, legendary Winthrop University coach who won 22 conference titles, and Calvin Davis, who won 31 high school championships.
Final comment from Coach William Crutchfield to the attendees on May 11, 2024.