JMTA Green & Yellow Ball Code of Conduct
JMTA’s coaching is positive, encouraging, motivating and challenging. We believe that when players are motivated and encouraged, good things happen. Our students work hard and are held to a high standard of attitude and effort on and off-court. Our students and coaches live by a written JMTA Code of Conduct to which standard of behavior every JMTA student is held on the court, in the gym and in other off-court training, and in competition, both at and away from the JMTA training locations/clubs.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Attendance and Arriving On-Time
- Students are expected to arrive 15 - 20 minutes early to warm-up, stretch and prepare mentally for each group or private tennis and/or athletic training session.
- Every group and private tennis, athletic training, mental toughness and sports vision session, and each educational seminar, is important to a JMTA student’s development, so students are expected to attend unless they are unable to do so.
Notifying Coach in the Event of Lateness or Absence
- If a student will be late to or absent from a group or private training session, that student must notify the Supervising Coach (group) or private coach in advance.
- A student’s late arrival to a group JMTA tennis session, without noti?cation, may affect that student’s court assignment. Students who arrive late to group athletic or sports vision training sessions may be denied participation in such sessions.
Player Groupings and Coaching Assignments
- In JMTA, group sessions, student groupings, student rotations, coach assignments and court rotations are all at the discretion of the Supervising Director and are designed to maximize the benefit of the JMTA sessions for all participants. Students and parents are expected to accept all such assignments.
- All students are encouraged to learn from other students. Example: student A might be the best all-around player on a given court, but student B might have a better forehand; student A might improve by watching student B’s forehand, and learning from it.
Proper Attire/Equipment
- ONLY Tennis sneakers may be worn for tennis play and training and cross trainers or running shoes should be worn for athletic training. Tennis shoes used on Har Tru courts may NOT be worn on the hard-courts or in off-court training areas without first being adequately cleaned.
- Students should be prepared, with a towel and water bottle, for each training session.
- JMTA logo-wear should be worn whenever feasible, and always in tournament play.
- Girls - Tennis shorts, skirts, warm-ups. No jeans. Must have a pocket, ball clip, or place to store a ball.
- Boys - Tennis shorts, tennis shirts, t-shirts, warm-ups. No tank tops, basketball shorts, or jeans. Must have pockets.
Respecting and Interacting with the JMTA Coaching Staff
- The JMTA coaching staff is 100% dedicated to maximizing each JMTA student’s potential.
- Coaches in group JMTA tennis sessions will, of course, regularly make tactical and technical recommendations to JMTA students; students must listen, respectfully, and should follow such recommendations. If coaches make recommendations that JMTA students feel are inconsistent with what their private coaches have recommended, they should bring it to the attention of the recommending coach and the private coach for discussion and resolution.
- It is a coach’s job to challenge players - JMTA coaches will push students and hold them to the standard of their best effort.
- JMTA Students are expected to give 100% effort at all times.
Making Technical Changes to a Student’s Game
- Technical changes and corrections are “investments” in a student’s future, with early frustration leading to payoff down the road. Most technical changes in tennis, even minor ones, are followed by a period of time where a student’s success level may drop slightly before a dramatic improvement is seen.
- While minor technical changes and technical corrections are made by Directors and other coaches during JMTA group sessions, all material changes will be discussed with a student’s private coach, if applicable, before being made, to ensure consistency/no mixed messages.
- Most material technical changes require an intensive one-on-one setting, which is not feasible in a group setting. Accordingly, private lessons should be used for technical changes whenever feasible.
Respecting Other Students
- All students in the JMTA Program are deserving of respect, regardless of their level of play. All JMTA players should exhibit the following:
- Positive Attitude
- Effort
- Willingness to Accept Coaching
- Commitment to Tennis
Court Behavior
JMTA Students are expected to demonstrate exemplary behavior at all times.
ABSOLUTELY NO:
- Bullying
- Cursing
- Disrespectful Language
- Negative Self-Talk
- “Trash Talking”/Gamesmanship
- Ball or Curtain Slamming
- Racket Throwing
- A student whose thrown racket hits the ground will be removed from the program - no exceptions.
Clearing Balls From the Court
- Any ball hit into the net during a JMTA group session, or that rolls onto a court during a game or point play, must be cleared immediately.
- Students will be given a 5 second countdown by the coach to safely clear the ball.
- If the ball is not cleared in time, it will be considered a violation of the Code of Conduct and the student may be “benched” for a brief period of time as a penalty.
- NO balls should be on the court surface while a tactical game or a point is being played.
Picking up Balls
Every minute a JMTA Player is on the court is important, and time should not be wasted. Balls must be picked up quickly, and students must retrieve balls from behind curtains and from pathways, not just from the playing area. During ball pick up,
ABSOLUTELY NO:
- Shooting baskets
- Throwing balls
- Standing around and talking
Parent Questions/Parents Watching Sessions
- Parents are encouraged to call or e-mail JMTA Directors, coach advisors, or other coaches with questions about the program or about their student’s progress. However, Directors and other coaches will not converse with parents while JMTA group programs are in session, as they must be 100% focused on the students on court, in the athletic training center, in the sports vision lab, and in other off-court training areas.
- While we understand that parents wish to watch their children participate in JMTA programs, please keep in mind that this may be distracting to them, and may cause them heightened anxiety. Tennis is an individual sport, and players must be able to handle on-court challenges on their own to be successful. Parents should consider and adjust the amount of time they spend watching their children training, on and off-court, accordingly.
- During group and private training sessions, parents may not be on-court or in off-court training areas. Parents who wish to watch their children train may do so from designated viewing areas or via live-streaming.
United States Tennis Association (USTA) and Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) Membership
JMTA Students are strongly encouraged to join the USTA and UTR, if they are not already members, as USTA and UTR memberships are required to participate in sanctioned/verified tournament play.
If you have any questions about JMTA’s Code of Conduct, about our approach to player development, or about our beliefs on how junior players and their families can maximize the quality of their tennis experience and their overall enjoyment of our great sport, please contact your JMTA Director.
Last Modified: Apr 20, 2021