Howard Moore
Dear Parents,
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of introduction to you the esteemed parents of THSI. My name is Howard Moore and I have been hired by school in the capacity as Director of SDC and Head of the THSI tennis program. I have spent 40 years of my life dedicated to coaching student athletes and professionals the art of technical and tactical expertise in the arena of tennis.
Prior to my arrival in Beijing I spent the last 32 years building and transforming the Saddlebrook Tennis Academy operation (Florida) into a world class training facility and globally recognized tennis brand.
Athletes from all over the world attended Saddlebrook Academy and there was never a year that went by that we did not have a player representing us in the top 10 in the world. During my tenure at Saddlebrook, my team and I also developed student athletes that went on to play in the collegiate arena successfully for 4 years. Those colleges’ placements for the students included prestigious and renowned universities such as Cornell, Columbia, Harvard, Dartmouth, Duke, Tufts and Notre Dame.As a designate industry presenter, I presented at numerous global conferences, providing insight into training strategies for coaches, club personnel to industry directors and vendors.
My success in part is due to placing a high value on personal integrity, attention to detail, mentorship and to building teams of professional and competent coaches. As a proud THSI representative I intend to bring dynamic focus to the value of the THSI tennis program but also not forgetting flawless customer service to you the parent.
My general recommendation for the success of the THSI long range vision and tennis component plan are as follows. The THSI coaches and administrative staff will follow a long term plan as it relates to the progressive development of the student athletes from the 1st grade. The stages are identified in grade accountability with dominant themes. The stages emerge from the interaction of the student, the coach and infusion of technical nuances. The stages provide a systematic pattern to the process of learning which when coupled with various growth and development principals provide the best opportunity for your child’s maximization of their true potential.
In closing I enjoy not only a cause to action, but a challenge coupled with opportunity and accountability. As you are all aware any effective vision must embody the core ideology of the system. I am motivated by the guiding principles, tenets, and core purpose of THSI.
I look forward to meeting all of your children’s expectations.
Cordially，
Howard Moore
Q&A
Howard Moore on court
Q: Could you please brief parents on what ITA program is?
A:
The international tennis academy is a specialized tennis program designed and formulated to teach our THSI students the technicalities of the game of tennis.
Q: What kind of resources does ITA program offer to students?
A:
The resources are that as a Director I have spent 32 years developing student athletes for the collegiate arena. Additionally, I have had full time students that turned professional as players and had very lucrative careers both on and off the courts. The bottom line is that I understand athletic development and the journey it takes to reach the intended goal. Secondly, I am very proud of the ITA teaching staff. This is now a well-oiled and balanced team that has studied my philosophy of training student athletes. This philosophy is the same one that I learned from the great Australian Davis Cup coach Harry Hopman.
Howard Moore instructing THSI-ITA coaches
Q: Can you simply introduce the training plan of ITA program?
A:
Student athletes who train in the ITA program have the opportunity to play a number of hours each day to develop not only their on-court technical skills but also their off-court conditioning. The training plan frankly emphasizes a great deal of technique and strategy which is essential to the tool box of any tennis player. I don’t want to sound disrespectful when I say that I have witnessed many teachers in China giving lessons but not teaching the modern game as it should be delivered. Why? Because they have not had the resources or the education for the platform to become better. The ITA program has the delivery model and we are only going to get better at what we do.
Q: As a professional coach, how do you evaluate the ITA program?
A:
The ITA program has a lot of potential because the tennis staff has the energy, commitment, dedication and now the knowledge to improve the students. Additionally, we have fabulous amenities in terms of the gym that we spent the entire Christmas break improving for our off-court conditioning program to be the very best offering in Beijing.
ITA students
Q: Will the ITA program tennis training impact the academic discipline study of the students?
A:
Not at all in fact I think it will enhance the academic studies. Why？Because I am a true believer in the truth that a strong body, strong mind, and learning to deal with adversity on court not only help improve concentration but teach life skills.
Q: According to your experience, what are the advantages of those students who choose ITA program in terms of personality growth, university application and future development?
A:
Whichever way you look at tennis, it is an elite sport in many senses given its history of starting in England during the reign of Henry the VIII. It is also a sport that is played worldwide in any city everywhere in the world. Wherever you go you will always find a club where people will want to play tennis with you. It is a great way to network.
In terms of personality growth，the students will have to compete. When they compete, it is giving them a different arena to compete in and you have to be a problem solver which utilizes a different skill set and a very important skill set. For example, learning to control emotions, knowing when to turn the heat up a notch in a match and being able to dig down deep inside when you are so exhausted but you know that there is no option but to continue the fight. Regarding college, I can assure all of the parents that I have a proven track record of my former athletes attending Stanford, Princeton, Notre Dame, New York University, Tufts and I intend to do the same here. I do know that the challenges are far greater for me here to place students in those types of schools. However, I am determined to do so. The word impossible does not exist for me in my dictionary. For the parents that are reading this Wechat message, I encourage you to come and talk to me if you have any questions at all regarding athletic development.
Q: What’s your advice to the applicants of ITA program?
A:
For the applicants, I suggest that if they decide to enroll in our program, they do it because they have a sincere dedication and enough willingness and passion to want to improve and become a more complete person, athlete and competitive individual.
Lastly, the difference in people and the difference in performance in life is usually dependent on a certain skill set. The ability to maximize that skill set and the ability to set that STANDARD is the key. As you look around yourselves in daily life, I am sure you sometimes ask: How is that person so successful? The only way that happens is by raising the standard because that is the only component that creates lasting change. If a student wants to join in our program, then he or she should want and need to change their standard to a higher level of overall sports performance.
Howard Moore and THSI - ITA students
Text: Howard Moore, Li Boyan, Guo Huang, Ma Dan
Photo: Wang Xu
Review: Li Boyan, Yang Rui, Dang Shengjun
Edit: Administrative Management Center
