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Tennis Pro Series - Meet Jeremy Gibbons-Schneider

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Jeremy, many of us at the Ottawa New Edinburgh Club have been wondering what you and your Compound Tennis Academy are all about - thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas.


BACKGROUND


Where and when did you start to play tennis?

I started playing tennis on a public court in Russell Ottawa. I was ten years old, it was 2005, and my dad had decided that he wanted to play tennis for Father's Day. 


Childhood memories

I remember moving day to the farm I grew up on when I was five. I have a fond memory of being excited to sell our free range eggs to our friends at group music class.


Mentors

My parents and siblings, John Williams, Heath Waters, former coaches and teachers I worked with here in Ottawa. My dad’s friend Steve Testa. I have been really privileged to meet and learn from a lot of phenomenal people. I also have a fond memory of something my tennis coach said to me one time which was, “sometimes the best advice comes from the people you least expect it to”. 


Memorable moments as an athlete

My parents and girlfriend (now wife) visiting me in Baltimore playing college tennis.


Celebrating a hard fought loss with my team. We just all got together in our dorm room and talked for most of the night.


Probably one of the most memorable was running lines during practice so hard that I would hyperventilate. I did this every time as a twelve to thirteen year-old.   


LIFE AS A PRO


What inspired you to start the Compound Performance Academy?

I believed (and still do) that our Nation's capital needed an environment that facilitated incredible passion for the sport. I felt like if there was a place where students, parents and coaches could learn how to develop and sustain fulfillment through tennis, more players would participate in the healthiest sport in the world. And that some would pursue it to great achievements.


How do you choose your athletes?

I feel like they have to choose me. It's a privilege to work with all of the players that I have. However, if they choose me, I look for great people first. I think a lot of places get this part a bit backwards - the human being will grow the skills that allow a person to play at a high level; it doesn’t work the other way around.


How do you keep the element of enjoyment in the sport while athletes undergo high level training

I think this is the most important part of high performance. There are always voices and outcomes that will draw a player’s attention away from being "mastery obsessed". Once players start achieving results of any kind, they need to remind themselves that it was the enjoyment of fun and difficult practices solving problems where the purpose was to improve their games. Mastery obsession eventually feels great and for a few people, it becomes their default setting. For those people - the sky is the limit! I tell everyone I begin working with that the greatest distraction they will face will be their own success.


How do you define success for your athletes? For yourself as a coach?

  1. If my players learn to become team oriented, high character individuals, the results always follow.

  2. Grit - they’ve followed their passion for tennis for the long term having navigated all of the ups and downs that come with it.

  3. They are more passionate about tennis when their time is up with us than when they first arrived.

  4. They’ve learned a blue print for becoming excellent at something and can repeat it in any field they choose.


Memorable moments as a coach

  1. When my first player got a scholarship to play college tennis in the United States, we all got together at ONEC to celebrate. Very special moment.

  2. Really connecting with a player after a naturally long process of feeling each other out. 


Mental health and burnout

I think its important to have your priorities straight. There are more important things than your tennis game. Tennis is an amazing sport for connecting with others, and developing physical and mental health. I usually make students take breaks and it's usually right when they don’t want to.... haha!


Do you offer training for mature athletes, or just those training for college / university tennis?

I teach everyone! All ages, all skill levels. My time is generally filled with supporting the needs of competitive juniors. But I’m always keen to help anyone with their game.


How are you different from the typical club pro?

That's a hard question. There are some phenomenal club pros out there who do great work helping people and growing the sport. I think sometimes I might be more demanding than most, but I try to always pair that with the philosophy that we need to fail often in order to progress.


While growing up, did you ever imagine doing what you do now? Other choices you were considering?

I knew it would be tennis from twelve years old and on. When I was a junior I wanted to be a professional tennis player, by seventeen I had started coaching and knew I wanted to start my own tennis business. I’m really inspired by entrepreneurship. My dream is to build a year-round tennis centre in Ottawa. I think we could all benefit from a little more tennis in our lives.


TIPS AND ADVICE


Is there more to developing an athlete than just training / drills / match play?

I feel like there is so much more. You try to teach an athlete how to solve difficult problems: technical, tactical, physical, mental, emotional. Figuring out how to do that is a journey that never ends. 


Tips for handling pressure in tournaments / match play?

I think prioritizing is really important. Once you decide what's important, a tournament is just another arena to improve and showcase your hobby. The butterflies that come after you've prioritized that is a privilege. 


The importance of cross training, rest or just getting away from the sport?

I like the idea of being involved with multiple sports. There is a time that comes if a player articulates that they want to pursue tennis professionally or at a top collegiate level, where you go all-in on your sport. You may still play other sports occasionally for leisure or social activity, but that step is important.


The role of parents – do’s and don’ts

In my experience every parent wants to help their child. I think it's important that parents know that they will make mistakes, the same way that students make mistakes. This is ok!! Perfection isn’t something you should expect from yourself. If parents can do their best to educate themselves on what priorities the environment they set up at home should be reinforcing, that's a huge win. They are role models that the child imitates from the earliest age. Try to be a good example.


Having recently become a parent, are you hoping your child will pursue tennis?

I hope that Dean will experience lots of sports, music and the arts. If he wants to play tennis competitively, that will be all his choice.


LAST WORDS


I’d like to share my gratitude for the opportunity to share some of the experiences that this sport has given me. It isn’t often that I sit down and think about some of these questions. I feel more clarity on why I teach, play, and made tennis my business because of these questions, so thank you!

_____________________________________________________________


Jeremy Gibbons- Schneider is a Tennis Canada Certified Coach.

He attended UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) achieving top tier varsity tennis play.


Jeremy can be reached at:


To learn more about Compound Performance tennis and fitness, please visit


 
 
 

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