Tennis Ladder gives coaches two ways to encourage their players: badges you choose and notes on their matches. They're the things a scoreboard can't show: the attitude, the improvement, the one shot to work on next week. They mean the most to younger players who've just lost a close one.
Who can coach
- Club owners and admins can coach any player at their club.
- League managers can coach players in the leagues they manage.
- Coaches can coach players in the leagues they've been given. An organiser adds them from the league itself, Organiser → the league → Settings → Coaches → Add coach, or from Organiser → Admins → + Add someone → Coach (pick the leagues). A coach doesn't need to be a member or play at the club, and can't change any league settings.
If you're an organiser and a coach, you don't need to do anything else: you already have everything below. You can't give a badge or a note to yourself.
Show families who the coach is. On the league, Settings → Coaches → Add coach with the coach's email names them as the league's coach, even if they're already an organiser (no new rights, no invite email). Members and parents then see Coach: under the league's title. A person can hold several roles at once: the Admins list shows each one, e.g. Club owner and Coach · Mini Allstars.
A Saturday junior session: step by step
For organisers who also coach: you already have every coaching tool, nothing to switch on.
Before the season (once):
- Open Organiser → your junior league → Settings → Who plays → Ball and pick the ball the group plays with: red, orange, green or yellow. It now shows on the league and on every child's profile.
- Got an assistant coach who doesn't run the club? Settings → Coaches → Add coach on the junior league (enter their email). They get a sign-in email and can coach that group, without being able to change any settings.
After the session (2 minutes):
- The matches the kids played go in as normal results. Badges for playing (First match, Fighter, Close call, Tiebreak hero…) are awarded automatically, win or lose, and parents are told.
- Open Competitions. At the top is Your coaching, with your leagues (for
organisers, the club's junior leagues). Tap Coach's corner next to the group:
- Players: everyone in the group, how many coach's badges each has, and a Give badge button on every row. Pick Coach's Star, Fair Play, Most Improved or Great Partner, add a line ("Great attitude today!") and tap Give.
- Recent matches: the last three weeks of results, with Note for [name] on each. Write what went well and one thing to work on, then Save note. A ✓ shows where you've already written one.
That's the quickest way with a lot of kids, all from one list. (Coach's corner is also on the league's ⋯ menu.)
Or one child at a time: tap their name anywhere (the league table or a result). Their profile opens on Achievements with Give [name] a badge at the top, and Results has Add a coach's note under each match.
What happens next: the parent gets an email straight away with your badge and words, or your note, and the child sees it on their profile. Nobody else can read what you wrote.
When a child moves up a colour (say orange to green): move them to the green league, or change the league's ball when the whole group moves up. They earn the Green ball badge with their first match there.
Made a mistake? Next to any coach's badge there's Take back. Notes can be edited or removed from the same button.
Give a badge
- Open the player's profile. Tap their name anywhere: the league table, a result, or a fixture.
- Go to Achievements, then tap Give [name] a badge (under Coach's corner).
- Pick one:
- Coach's Star: a standout effort
- Fair Play: a great sport on and off court
- Most Improved: getting better every week
- Great Partner: brilliant to play alongside
- Add a few words if you like, such as "Great attitude today. Keep attacking the short ball!", then tap Give.
The badge appears on their profile straight away under Chosen by your coach. A player can earn the same badge more than once (it shows ×2, ×3…). Gave one by mistake? Tap Take back next to it.
Leave a note on a match
- Open the player's profile and go to Results.
- Under the match, tap Add a coach's note.
- Write what went well and one thing to work on, then tap Save note.
The note sits under that match on their Results. You can edit or remove it any time (Edit coach's note).
Who's told, and who can read it
- Juniors: their parent or guardian gets an email with your badge and your words, or your note, plus a notification if they use the app. The child sees it on their profile. Nothing goes to a child's own inbox.
- Adults: the player gets a notification (and an email for a match note).
- Who can read your words: only the player, their parent or guardian (for juniors) and the club's organisers and coaches. Other members can see that a player has a coach's badge, but never what you wrote.
- A note is sent once, when you first add it. Edits don't send another message.
Set the ball for a junior league
Organisers can set the ball a junior league is played with (red, orange, green or yellow) in Organiser → the league → Settings → Who plays → Ball. It shows on the league, and on each child's profile. Players earn a badge for every colour they play, so moving a child up from orange to green is a moment they'll see.
Hide the table (great for the youngest groups)
Want the children to just play, with no table and no losses on show? Open Organiser → the league → Settings → Table and switch on Hide the table from players.
- Children and parents see Who to play next instead: three names they can play, starting with ones they haven't met. Each family sees only their own child's results.
- You and the league's other coaches still see the full table (Organiser → the league → Players).
- Defend-or-drop and the slide switch off, since nobody's place is on show.
- Finals day is the league's last day. Pick it when you create the league, or any time under Settings → Table → Finals day. Everyone gets a countdown, and families see the date on their screen.
- On finals day, two taps (both in End season):
- Reveal the table: families get an email to come and look, and see the final standings and results. Enjoy the moment!
- End season & crown champion, a day or two later: crowns the winner, hands out the season honours (each with a certificate) and starts the next season, with the table hidden again. It wipes this season's records, so give families time to look first.
Tips
- Little and often works best. One badge after a session, one note after a match day.
- Reward effort, not just results. The app already gives badges for playing, win or lose: First match, Fighter (won a set in a match they lost), Close call, Tiebreak hero and more. Coach's badges are for the things only you saw.
- Keep notes kind and specific: one thing that went well, one thing to try. Parents read them too.