Ian’s Tennis

This is a story about a man, the game of tennis and the joy of teaching. When speaking to this man, it’s hard not to be swept up in the immensity of his enthusiasm. For like a strong Scotch Whisky, his zest for coaching tennis is intoxicating. Some may liken Ian to the duplicity of Batman, high school physical education teacher by day, and tennis coach mentor any other spare minute he can find. Super heroes tend to know there is great return in giving, and Ian has certainly learnt this to be true in his day to day coaching.

Born and bred in Southern Scotland, Ian made Australia his home in 1986. He left his family and the wild beauty of his homeland, and eventually settled on the Sunshine Coast where he married his wife and raised two beautiful girls. While employed at a local high school his passion for tennis could not be quashed and he began his coaching business, eager to bring an element of fun back to the court. So successful was his vision that his learners now often fail to even realise the skills they’re developing, as they’re so heavily disguised with laughter and games. Ian has been coaching for fifteen years and his cheerful disposition quickly settles even the most hesitant of learners, whether they be children or adults. Often his side kick Xander (not unlike Robin), joins him in his sessions. Having just completed his traineeship with Ian, the year twelve student works alongside him with the joint aim of ensuring a focus on the individual.

Four times a week Ian leaves his Woombye home and heads along the picturesque back roads that take him to the quaint town of North Arm and the local primary school, just six and a half kilometres out of Yandina. He finds the drive to be his quiet solace and as he moves through the green and yellow cane fields and watches for inquisitive kangaroos, he feels the anticipation grow. For he knows what awaits him. His mind is clear, his plan is in place, and his car is loaded with his tennis equipment. He has a goal in mind for what he wants his tennis players to attain, and his heart wells with the joy of knowing that with this keen little group, it can most certainly be achieved.

North Arm State School feels beautiful the moment one walks into its well cared for grounds. Before long Ian’s small band of eager tennis novices, aged between five and twelve, run out onto the school’s court to greet him. Their expectant faces and halos of excitement lift his spirits even higher. As the children begin to warm up, swiping at tennis balls and playing games, Ian chats to their parents and marvels at his pupils’ eagerness to learn. Their time on the court is exuberant and Ian revels in the opportunity of “pure teaching”.

His experience coaching at North Arm is vastly different to that of his everyday job teaching high school students. Sadly, some teens are reluctant to participate in physical activity due to struggles with self-esteem and difficult backgrounds, and Ian finds it a daily challenge to encourage these students to learn and engage. Unlike some of these teenagers, his North Arm Primary school students greet him with an appetite for knowledge, skills and improvement. Their parents watch and cheer from the sidelines and sometimes even join in on the court, which Ian holds as “truly special”. The court can be a place for not only developing tennis skills, but it can be an opportunity to form relationships and build connections, and that in itself is worth Ian’s twenty minute drive.

Unless you’re a teacher or a coach, it can be difficult to really understand how the process of passing on knowledge to grateful hearts, and seeing it develop, can create such a welling of joy that it almost feels too precious to speak of out loud. For many of those in a training or educational position, there’s an understanding that the delight of teaching is strongly driven by the appreciation of the learner. For Ian, the reward of coaching tennis at North Arm State School is priceless, it is his place of passion. “When I retire, that’s where I’ll still be,” he smiles. Perhaps it’s as Batman says, “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”