This week, we’re celebrating National Coaches Week in Canada by introducing three coaches who are making a difference at the grassroots level of our sport in Alberta, New Brunswick, and Ontario.
Matt Dudley is a Club Pro at the Grande Prairie Tennis Club and brought with him some impressive coaching experience from the Sanchez-Casal in Barcelona and country-club tennis programs in California and Hawaii. He was also once the top-ranked junior player in Australia.
Aline Gonsalves has been involved in tennis for more than 25 years works as a Certified Tennis Professional, Tournament Director, and Club Coordinator at various clubs across Ontario.
Emma Jones is the Club Manager at the Sussex Tennis Association and has been involved with them for the past six years. Sussex was recently awarded a two-year Game. Set. Equity. Community Tennis Grant to support their girls in tennis program.
All three spoke about their passion for coaching and the impact tennis is having in their respective communities.
What inspired you to pursue a career in coaching?
Dudley: Playing took me around the world. Coaching is what made that travel mean something. While coaching in Spain and the United States, I always saw the same thing: a good coach changes how a player sees the game, and often how they see themselves. I wanted to be that person, not just the guy who could hit the ball.
Jones: I enjoy helping players, both kids and adults, learn concepts and skills, and I really enjoy encouraging them to persevere so that they can be proud, not only of the product of their efforts, but of their progress along the way as well.
What is your favourite thing about coaching?
Dudley: The moment it clicks for a player. I like the daily work more than the highlight reel — building a session, reading the group, and sending people home better than they arrived.
Jones: I love connecting with people, and I especially love getting to see those people have "light bulb moments" as they learn to do what is sometimes foreign to them and begin to see improvement.
What impact can a coach have on a community or club program?
Dudley: A club is only as strong as the standard on court. A coach sets that standard: how we warm up, how we talk to each other, whether beginners feel welcome, whether the better players still have somewhere to go. If the coaching is organized and consistent, membership grows, school programs feed the club, and volunteers stay.
Jones: I believe that community, and positive, warm relationships are key to our holistic health, and coaching is such an interesting and fun way that I get to contribute positively to athlete's overall health and well-being. Coaches can make or break a program. Positive coaching that fosters an environment where athletes want to improve is so important to the longevity of a club.
Gonsalves: Helping kids believe in themselves through the sport of tennis while they build life skills is invigorating. Most kids who train and compete in Ontario know me. They know I care about their progress, their success and their happiness. When coaches care and give kids extra attention, the rewards are mutual.
This year you delivered Rogers First Set programming. What impact did you notice?
Dudley: In the schools it lowered the barrier. Kids could try the game in a familiar place, with proper progressions, without needing a parent to already be a member. At the club we saw new faces, more family interest, and a stronger link between the community and Grande Prairie Tennis Club.
Jones: It gave us an opportunity to connect with schools, students, and teachers, that we otherwise wouldn't have had a chance to. It positively impacted our Girls in Tennis program, which launched last year. We saw a drastic improvement in attendance and engagement this season.
Gonsalves: Players often go to tournaments and report how they were able to use some of the suggestions I gave them to improve areas of their technical, tactical, mental and emotional tennis skills. The clubs involved have seen growth in junior retention, program development and customer satisfaction, accompanied by many smiles.
What do the next 1–5 years look like for you in your role?
Dudley: I want Grande Prairie Tennis Club to be the place in the region to learn and stay in the game. That means growing Rogers First Set and school delivery, building a cleaner pathway from first rally to competitive juniors and adult leagues, and developing local coaches so the program doesn’t depend on one person.
Jones: I love being on court. Still, an important part of my new role is mentoring young coaches coming up through our program and I want to ensure that they have the proper resources to be the kind of coaches our club and the sport really needs.
Gonsalves: Improving junior programs, enlarging the competitive opportunities for juniors, and sharing the lessons learned from tournaments to improve coaching directives.
Feature photo by: Sarah-Jäde Champagne
