My Journey

I didn’t start as a tennis player. I started as a coach with a footballer’s mindset—and a lot of questions.

From Outsider to Coach Educator

I didn’t grow up playing tennis. I grew up on the football pitch. Tennis was something we played for fun during the summer, never something I imagined would shape the course of my life.

But everything changed when I took a summer job coaching kids at a local leisure center. No one wanted to lead the tennis sessions, so I stepped up. No drills. No baskets. Just games, creativity—and the kids loved it.

That’s when I discovered what coaching could feel like.

Why this matters for you: If you’re a tennis coach frustrated by players who look great in practice but struggle in matches, this story explains why—and where to go next

What Didn’t Sit Right (And Why It Matters)

I wasn’t a traditional coach. I hadn’t climbed the ranks through competitive junior tennis. I wasn’t perfecting forehands at age 10. I was a 16-year-old with no blueprint to follow—but I had a feel for how people played and learned.

That path eventually led to certifications, coach education roles, and mentoring others. But the deeper I went into traditional coach education, the more misaligned I felt.

For nearly 18 years, I battled two conflicting ideas:
– What I was told coaching should be
– What I knew helped players thrive

Eventually, it reached a breaking point.

The Moment Everything Changed

After six weeks of “fixing” a player’s serve, it looked perfect. But in their first match—three double faults later—it all fell apart.

I blamed the player… until lockdown hit.

That time gave me space to reflect. I discovered Ecological Dynamics, the Constraints-Led Approach, and a world of research I’d never been shown in nearly two decades of coach education.

It wasn’t the player. It was the system.

A New Chapter: From Practice to Research

I never thought I’d be heading into academia. I didn’t take the traditional route — no A-levels, no university, not even a bachelor’s degree.

But in September 2025, I’ll begin a Master of Research (MRes) in Sport & Exercise at the University of Winchester, focusing on Ecological Dynamics, the Constraints-Led Approach, and Coach Education.

For the past 24 years, my classroom has been the tennis court. Now I’m bringing that lived coaching experience into academic research, with the aim of shaping how the next generation of coaches are developed.

This step isn’t about chasing qualifications — it’s about finding answers to the questions that have driven me since the beginning:

Why do so many players struggle to transfer practice into performance?
Why has coach education been so slow to embrace ecological dynamics?
And how can we create more effective ways to prepare both coaches and players for the real demands of the game?

My mission is simple: to bridge the gap between research and practice, and to help coaches everywhere modernise, thrive, and build sustainable careers.

MY PUBLISHED WORK

I’m not researching tennis to sound clever.
I’m doing it to fix the gap between coach education theory and real-world coaching practice.

Whelan, S. (2025). Coaching Tennis. In S. M. Smith, Ecological Dynamics in Sport Coaching (1st edn, pp. 189–210). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003529972-13

MY KEYNOTE SPEAKING BIO

Tennis South Africa National Coaches Conference 2024
PTR UK National Coaches Conference 2024
BTCA National Coaches Conference 2024
Coach The Coaches International Coach Conference 2025
BTCA National Coaches Conference 2025
Tennis Australia Grand Slam Coaches Conference 2026
Babolat UK Coaches Conference 2026
The Modern Coach Event 2026
World Tennis Conference 6 (2006)
Jenus Henderson UK Investment Conference Wimbledon 2026
BTCA National Coaches Conference 2026

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I’ve delivered coach education, workshops, and conference presentations for national tennis federations, coach associations, and international coaching organisations across the UK and globally.