Nicolas Todero played on the pro tour from 1998-2009 and reached a career-high ranking of No. 219 in 2004. During his playing career, Todero won 10 ITF Futures events and competed in qualifying at all four Grand Slam tournaments. Todero turned to coaching after retiring from the tour and formerly worked with American player Jesse Levine. He became a USTA National Coach for Men's Tennis in 2010 and now coaches rising star Frances Tiafoe, who is ranked a career-high No. 97 in the world. Todero is writing a blog for USTA.com on his life as a coach. Come back every Thursday to read his updates.
By Nicolas Todero, USTA National Coach
What could be more rewarding than making a difference or creating a positive impact in someone’s life? Or having a junior or professional tennis player achieve goals and dreams that he or she would never have thought possible? These are two of the most important reasons why I decided to become a coach after playing professional tennis.
I can remember all of the great mentors that I had the privilege to work with throughout my professional tennis days. I could not be more grateful for all the things that I learned from them and for all that they did for me during those years while going through different learning experiences. Why not continue this path and do the same for the next generations to come? So here I am, extremely thankful for the possibility to work in Player Development as a National Coach helping young kids, teenagers and professionals both on and off the court.
Todero (far right) coached the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team of (l to r) Stefan Kozlov, Henrik Wiersholm and Frances Tiafoe in 2013.
I also teach and coach because I love the game of tennis. I believe that teaching the fundamentals of the game, while also focusing on character values that can be implemented on court as well as off the court, is extremely important in order for a player to grow first as a person, second as a great professional or collegiate athlete and third as a professional in whatever career they choose to pursue after tennis.
Another reason I love doing what I do is the challenge of finding ways to succeed with each individual athlete. Once the process of coaching begins, the commitment, passion and dedication from the coach must be immense in order to be successful. It is interesting how much the coach has to adapt to every different athlete in order to make him or her perform, act, behave, train and compete the way the coach expects from the athlete. Finding the right way to perform and execute for each specific athlete is the beauty of coaching, and I truly enjoy that challenge in all its entirety.
Establishing relationships with the athletes plays a crucial part in coaching. Every coach is as different as every athlete, and in my case, I like building great relationships and having fun while doing so. I consider myself lucky that this profession allows me to meet many different people from all around the world, which has led to many great friendships. Coaching is a constant learning experience. What could be better than doing something that will help me continue growing in many different ways?