A Letter from the Past: Supporting Players During Life Transitions

In the spring of 2008, my life took an unexpected turn that would impact not just me, but several promising young tennis players in my program. My daughters' stepfather was being relocated for his job, meaning our family would be moving from Charlotte, North Carolina to Frisco, Texas. While this transition brought new opportunities for our family, it created challenges for the young athletes who had been working with me consistently.

Two players in particular were negatively impacted by this sudden change - ReeRee Li and Thai Kwiatkowski, two exceptionally dedicated young players whose potential was just beginning to blossom. Thai, just 3.5 weeks younger than ReeRee, was also showing tremendous promise at that time. As part of trying to ensure ReeRee would continue receiving the high-level coaching she deserved, I wrote the following recommendation letter to USTA Player Development for their National Training Academy:

Dear National Training Academy Staff,

I write to you today in support of ReeRee Li. It is with the greatest of pleasure I recommend her to you for inclusion in your National Training Academy efforts. Contained herein will be my best attempt to delineate what I view as her strengths, weaknesses, and why she will be a great component of your ongoing efforts to support American tennis at all levels.

It was 5½ years ago ReeRee began playing tennis by taking a private lesson with me on a 90+ degree August day. After about 15 minutes of attempting to hit groundstrokes, with varying degrees of success, I asked her if she would like to get a drink. After saying yes, she sprinted to the other end of the court where her water jug lay against the fence, took a few sips, sprinted back to the far service line, and immediately started doing the "side kicks" she had learned were supposed to be her "ready position". I knew at that moment she would, at the very least, have the work ethic necessary to become a special player.

Currently, the technical things that set ReeRee apart from many of her peers are simple. She has always had a natural ability to generate pace through a good use of her kinetic chain. Her forehand, over the past year, has become her dominant weapon she can unleash from all parts of the court. Jai Dilouie said once it could be one of the biggest ever. I now concur with his assessment. Her backhand has always been solid and she considered it her strength until this past summer. She can serve both a flat serve and a strong slice. Her kicker is under development, and coming along well. She enjoys playing at the net and her volleys, while still needing considerable work, have served her well in doubles.

Movement and finesse are the areas needing the most improvement. If you allow ReeRee to sit in the middle of the court, she will beat you up. However, while she says she enjoys running after balls, her ability to scramble and improvise have never been her dominant trait. Her tendency is to go to an extreme in these situations rather than identifying what the neutral play would be. This is a physical and tactical limitation she has greatly improved, but not solved. ReeRee and her doubles partner, Amanda Lin, call touch "monkey hands". This summer ReeRee did a much better job feeling the ball, though her drop shots can sometimes still be mistaken for short lobs. She has marveled at actually being able to feel the ball and always know where it is going, even when hitting with pace.

Because ReeRee has always had me as her coach one thing is certain: she is receptive to change. She has never known a time when some aspect of her game wasn't being torn apart or under construction. She knows it is okay to try something, determine at some point the old way is better, and consequently change it back. She is spending this winter learning to hit a one-handed backhand. It's not that her two-handed backhand is weak, but rather an exploration to find out if a one-handed version might not be better for her and we won't know that if we fail to try.

As a person, she is someone with few peers. This year alone, she won the sportsmanship award at both a National Championship G12 Claycourts, and a STA Bullfrog Designated (Mobile) where there was only one girls' award for four age groups (256 girls). It has been remarked by parents their daughters have a hard time getting psyched up to play ReeRee because she is "so nice". She makes friends easily and rarely, if ever, intentionally hurts anyone's feelings.

Looking back now, 17 years later, I remember the mixed emotions of that time. While excited for our family's new chapter in Texas, I felt a genuine responsibility toward the development of players like ReeRee and Thai who had put their trust in me as their coach. This letter represented my attempt to ensure ReeRee's continued growth despite my relocation.

Interestingly, these two players followed different but equally impressive paths after our coaching relationship ended. Thai ultimately ended up at USTA Player Development fulltime, receiving the national-level training that helped develop his game to its full potential. His hard work paid off tremendously - he went on to attend the University of Virginia, where he won the NCAA Team Championship three times and crowned his collegiate career by winning the NCAA Men's Singles Championship.

ReeRee, while not following the USTA Player Development track, found her own path to success. She continued developing her game and her leadership skills, eventually attending Yale University where she distinguished herself by captaining the women's tennis team - a testament not just to her athletic abilities but also to the character and sportsmanship I highlighted in my recommendation letter.

The tennis journey is rarely linear. For coaches and players alike, life circumstances can create unexpected forks in the road. ReeRee and Thai faced the challenge of finding new coaching relationships and rebuilding momentum after years of consistent development under my guidance.

What I've learned over my years in tennis is that sometimes our greatest responsibility as coaches isn't just technical instruction, but helping players navigate transitions. Whether that means connecting them with new coaches, recommending them for developmental programs, or simply offering moral support during changes, these actions can be just as important as any forehand technique we might teach.

Has your family's tennis journey been impacted by an unexpected transition? How did you or your child navigate coaching changes? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments below.

Photo: Me with ReeRee after the 2007 National Championship G12 Claycourts, where she won the sportsmanship award, captured a silver ball in singles (losing to Madison Keys in a tight match), and won a gold ball in doubles.