The 2024 LTA Coach Forums are aimed at coaches with an interest in developing mental skills for grassroots up to competitive level players.  

By the end of the LTA Coach Forum, coaches will: 

• Understand the ‘5Cs framework’ for developing practical mental skills 
• Be able to train concentration to improve performance on court 
• Be able to help players control their emotions better on the match court 
• Off-court session: Be able to better communicate with parents, players and key stakeholders to maximise the success of your coaching and business 

Mental skills are often cited as critically important but rarely receive as much attention as technical, tactical and physical development. 

The on-court session covers mental skills in a practical and coach friendly approach. The on-court session will showcase a variety of drills that set up an environment to train mental skills. Coaches will learn about basic visualisation, body language, breathing and self-talk mental tools to help develop players. This session was developed by Chris Harwood, a chartered sport psychologist for 30+ years, a Sport Psychology Professor at Loughborough University and now a Director at Nottingham Trent University, alongside Liz Jones former WTA 100 player, and Merlin van de Braam, Head of Coach Development & Support at the LTA.

The off-court session will be an interactive coach-to-coach discussion session. The main theme will be developing better communication with parents, players and key stakeholders. Coaches will have the chance to discuss their own personal experiences and share top-tips and gain practical takeaways to enhance key relationships. We hope these professional coach discussions will leave coaches: informed on best practice; connected; motivated and engaged for the year ahead. 

The overall duration of this event is 4 hours (2hr 30mins on-court, 30mins networking, 1hr off-court). Book your session now to secure your place and we look forward to seeing you on the day. 

Virtus Leisure Management is an approved LTA Coach Development Centre.  

Our organisation offers LTA qualifications at Assistant, Instructor and Level 3. We also offer CPD courses for coaches from the LTA Official Course Menu as well as our own Virtus CPD courses. These range from off court topics such as managing a team of coaches, to on court workshops on a variety of subjects. 

At Virtus we aim to share the excitement of tennis through innovation and excellence. We are proud of our partnership with the LTA to deliver high quality qualifications and CPD. As a result, our team of tutors strive to develop themselves to continue to raise the standard of our courses and we challenge ourselves to provide better communication for our learners on courses. At Virtus we look to build on relationships started on courses to become a central point for questions or help a coach may need. 

For further information, please visit our website, call us on 0204 513 2676, or email us at coach.ed@virtuslm.co.uk to find out if we can help you with your coaching.