The UTA Player / Parent Code

Universal Tennis Academy has been in existence for over a decade now, and we have learned a great deal about ourselves and others in that time. We have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in junior tennis, and we have decided that now is the time to address issues that affect all of us from time to time. It is our goal to raise the bar for our juniors and their parents, and, in turn, hold ourselves to a higher level of professionalism. We value our role as teachers and hope that we all benefit from THE UTA PLAYER & PARENT CODE.

General Code of Conduct
We expect the UTA Juniors to act in a respectful manner at all times. While emotion channeled in a positive direction can benefit a player, negative emotions and poor sportsmanship are counter-productive and unacceptable. The UTA staff may, with or without warning, remove or default a player who displays poor sportsmanship in lessons, drills, or tournament play. Examples of poor sportsmanship are cheating, racket abuse, verbal obscenities, disrespectful language, or tanking.

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Parental Involvement in the Coaching Process
The UTA staff values the relationships that we have established with the UTA juniors and their parents. The high moral quality of UTA players is a direct reflection of the character of their parents. We feel a great responsibility to help our juniors be the best that they can be on and off the court, and we have established the following guidelines in an effort to strengthen the coach/player/parent relationship.

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Drill, Lesson, & Tournament Protocol
Unless specifically requested by a pro, parents are welcome to watch both drills and private lessons. Tournament play can be the most rewarding, and frustrating of times for the junior tennis parent. Please try to keep each match in perspective and remember that junior tennis is a marathon, not a sprint. ALL players have subpar days and losses to lower ranked players, and remember that all bad losses are good wins for another player. You will find yourself on both sides eventually. Enjoy the highs and the lows (as learning experiences) and you will spare yourself gray hairs and high blood pressure. The following guidelines may help:
  • Do not sit on the court during private lessons, drills, or match play unless asked to by a UTA pro.


  • At tournaments, try to find a vantage point that provides you with a good view of the court without being a distraction to your child or their opponent.


  • Parents should not attempt to coach during lessons and are strictly prohibited from doing so during tournament matches. Coaches and parents (if no coach is present) may only coach the tournament player during a split-set break.


  • UTA coaches will generally discourage students from looking over at their parents during lessons and tournament matches. Please support our effort to keep the player's focus on the court.


  • Refrain from gestures or comments of frustration that might be seen or heard by your child. Getting up and leaving in disgust is an example of this. If you are unhappy with some aspect of the drills/lesson, try to keep your emotions in check until you can consult the coach at the end of the session. If you can't sit through your child's match without doing this, we recommend not watching the match. If no coach is present at a tournament match, we recommend warning or removing a child from the court only in cases of poor sportsmanship or tanking (not trying).


  • If a coach is at your child's tournament site, make sure your child finds them before and after their match. We are there to make your day more enjoyable and your child's day more productive. If no coach is on-site, stay positive and upbeat with your child. Confidence is the biggest weapon in tennis, and feeling your support before and after matches will go a long way in their growth.


  • If you believe that your child has been cheated during a match, stay out of it. There is nothing uglier in junior tennis than parents fighting in the stands. Your child has rights on the court, and it is up to them to address the questionable calls.


  • Never let your child believe that they lost a match because they were cheated. Players who have lost will often look for excuses, and there are no good excuses.


  • If you or an on-site UTA pro believe that your child has made a bad call, USTA rules prohibit parents or coaches from intervening. Coaches and parents may report bad calls or poor sportsmanship to on-site officials, who may intervene as they see fit. We will address cheating issues and poor sportsmanship with the UTA player and their parents if we feel that it has become a problem.


  • If you are unhappy with any aspect of your child's play, try to follow the following guidelines. If the issue is technique or strategy, please consult the child's coach(es) first. If the issue is effort or sportsmanship, please allow yourself and your child a cooling off period (an hour at least) before addressing the issue. The only thing that may be uglier than parents fighting in the stands is a parent ripping into a child after a lesson, drills, or matches. Addressing issues when emotions are high often leads to displays far more embarrassing than anything that happened on the court.


  • Encourage your child to ask questions of coaches and of yourself. If they hear something from you or another coach that contradicts what their primary coach is telling them, they may get confused. Usually the confusion stems from the player's interpretation of the advice.


  • TRUST is the glue of the student/teacher relationship. If you or your child do not believe that your pro has your child's best interest at heart, there is little chance of either party reaching their goals. With support from both parents and coaches, the UTA junior will grow as a tennis player and a person.


  • The UTA pros are usually available to answer questions about your child's game. If your primary pro is unavailable at the club, please leave a message on voice-mail for the pro with a request that they give you a call. UTA pros are expected to return business calls within 24 hours, but there are times when our lesson schedule or call load will make this impossible. In rare cases, the parent of a UTA junior may require a disproportionate amount of their pro's time to discuss their child. The UTA pro may charge the parents their private lesson rate in this case.

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    UTA Tournament Coaching Rules
    Tournament Coaching is one of the primary services that UTA offers its players. Having a UTA staff pro at tournaments not only aids the player in their preparation and strategy, but it is invaluable to the pro to see the player performing in pressure situations. Following are the UTA rules for Tournament Coaching:
  • You must sign-up in advance for any tournament that UTA is sending coaches to. After September 1, 2002 this notification may be given on this website in the Tournament Coaching section. In addition to applicable coaching fees (either flat or per day fee), all expenses (pro's travel, lodging, rental car, food , and cell phone) will be split among all players who receive coaching. See the "How Tournament Expenses are determined" section for more details The list of all tournaments that UTA will coaching for is available in the Pro Shop and on this website, www.utatennis.com.

  • UTA will provide chaperoning for its players when possible. Daily coaching fees will will be higher for chaperoned players than non-chaperoned players (See Tournament Coaching section) You will also be responsible for your child's share of the hotel room in which they stay.

  • If your child is being chaperoned by a UTA staff member, please be aware that the job of tournament coaching does not allow UTA pros to be with your child at all times during the tournament. At larger tournaments (designateds or Macon) we may ask other parents and, in some cases, older UTA players to assist us in getting chaperoned players fed or transported to other sites. If this is not acceptable, it is probably best that you accompany your child or arrange for another parent to chaperone your child. Any UTA junior who is being chaperoned is responsible for knowing their match times and sites and communicating it to the UTA staff. They are also responsible for getting wake-up calls and letting the UTA pro know where they are at all times. Any chaperoned UTA player who acts irresponsibly or endangers the well-being of themselves or others will not be allowed to be chaperoned at future tournaments, and may be dismissed from UTA if the infraction is severe.

  • When a chaperoned player is out of the tournament, the UTA staff will attempt to get the player home as soon as possible. The only exceptions to this rule are when existing airline reservations are in place (usually National tournaments) or if the UTA staff member is traveling with a small number of players with the understanding that the group will stay together until all players are out. If your chaperoned child is out of the tournament and participates in workouts, they will be charged coaching fees for those days if coaching is charged on a per/day basis.

  • UTA Tournament Coaching varies from tournament to tournament, but it is our goal to provide the following services; A pre-match warm-up, on-site assistance and third-set coaching, and a post-match debriefing. The number of players in the tournament, the number and proximity of sites, the availability of practice courts, and the number of UTA pros at the tournament are all factors that will affect the level of attention that each child receives. There are no guarantees of any aspect of tournament coaching except that we will do the best that we can to help as many players as possible. If we do not see your child the first day of the tournament, we will attempt to see them the second day. We will usually let you know at warm-ups if a pro will be at your site. When a flat coaching fee is being charged for a tournament, we will usually discount the fee if your child loses first-and-first. If circumstances at a tournament prevent us from doing an acceptable job of coaching your child, we will address that when doing the billing for the tournament.

  • The following guidelines will be followed when UTA players are playing each other and a UTA pro is on-site. If both players are receiving coaching, neither player will be coached before the match or during a split-set break. The UTA coach will talk to both players at the completion of the match, If one player is receiving coaching and another player is not, the UTA staff will coach the player receiving coaching. The exception to this rule is if a full-time UTA player not receiving coaching is playing a part-time UTA player receiving coaching (usually out-of-town players we assist at tournaments). In this instance the UTA coach will provide a warm-up for the player receiving coaching, but will not coach the part-time player against the full-time UTA player before the match or during a split-set break.


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    Protocol for Changing Primary Coaches
    If you and/or your child feel that a change in primary coaches is necessary, please try to follow the following guidelines. First, address the issues that are concerning you with the existing coach. Keeping the lines of communication open may allow your concerns to be resolved without a coaching change. If, after consulting your primary coach, it is agreed that a coaching change is in your child's best interest, you must notify that coach that you will be changing coaches. This can be a sensitive issue in our work environment, and no pro will discuss working with your child until after you have an adequate level of closure with the current primary coach.

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    Drill Group Changes
    The UTA Drill Groups are generally established in August and take effect when the September/October session begins. A maximum number of students per drill group is established based on the number of courts available per drill group and the desired student-per-court ratio (generally 4 per court for higher level groups and 4-6 per court for lower levels). Since most UTA drill groups are full, moving up into the next drill group is not an easy task. Graduating seniors and players leaving UTA are the only avenues through which openings occur. When we feel that a player is ready for the next drill group (if they are among the top couple in their group and are very competitive with the players in the next group) we may have them split time between the groups until we are certain that they are ready for the stronger group. We strongly believe that players need to compete with players below, at, and above their own level. If you are the best player in your group, be aware that you will soon be near the bottom of the next group. UTA has nothing to gain by holding players back, and your child will be moved when they are ready and there is room in the next group.

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    Financial Aid
    Financial Aid is available to families who qualify. There are no set criteria for Financial Aid at this time. The Chattahoochee Foundation provides grants for coaching, equipment, travel, and education to those students who apply and qualify. Chattahoochee Foundation grants may be applied for in November and will be awarded in January. See the Chattahoochee Foundation section of the website for more details. We also have work opportunities around the club for some of the older players. This work includes club maintenance, Pro Shop hours, racket stringing, and teaching of some of the lower level drill groups. Please contact David Drew if you are in need of financial aid.

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    Rain Policy
    In the event that the courts are unplayable due to weather, the Pee-Wee and Challenger groups will not be held. Pee-Wee and Challenger students may make up the day by coming on a day that they do not normally attend. All other groups are expected to attend drills rain or shine. Sports conditioning and skull sessions will be held if the courts are unplayable

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    Billing Policy
    Effective September 1, 2002, all UTA drill sessions are one-month sessions (see drills brochure for summer sessions). All UTA families should submit a valid credit card and current e-mail address to club accountant to Carol Doherty (caroldoherty@utatennis.com). You will receive a bill for each one-month session, via e-mail, by the third of each month, and payment is due by the 17th of month. If you do not bring payment in by the 15th of the month, the bill will automatically be charged to your credit card. If you are unable or unwilling to submit a credit card, we will bill you for two months the first month and will continue billing you monthly from that point on, thus ensuring that a credit remains on your account at all times. If you will be leaving the academy, please notify Academy Director David Drew at least 30 days in advance to avoid being billed.

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    Excused Absence from Drills
    If any UTA student is unable to attend drills due to injury or extended illness, please notify David Drew to be placed on inactive status. Make-ups or credit towards future sessions will only be allowed in the case of injuries or extended illness.