<p>I have a private tennis coach. I've been training with him for about 3 years now. We've been doing proper training, with endurance, strength, fitness etc. It's had results and i've won/reached semi-finals and stuff/ he's got realy good credential and the guy's wife coaches too- she was the number one in india. my coach teaches at a school, but not mine. he's a certified us coach. can i get a recoommendation letter from him, or does he HAVE to be at my school?
i hope i can get one from him. :/
reply fast, please!</p>
<p>It has to be a teacher at your school-- an academic teacher, even if he did teach at yours-- but some colleges will accept supplemental recommendations, which this would be fine for.</p>
<p>You may get a supplemental recommendation, though these are usually not advised unless the recommender can provide information that the other teacher recommendations did not.</p>
<p>most of my colleges allow me to send supplemental recs. this will be different from the otehrs. another urgent question- any ideas what all he should touch upon in the letter? eg- character, drive etc etc. what else? because he doesn’t want to mess it up.</p>
<p>His rec should serve as your supplemental recommendation. Colleges want the primary ones to speak about your academic qualities. Remember, you’re applying to a college, not to seek employment as a tennis coach yourself.</p>
<p>Rec letters are used to evaluate many things. Drive and character are some. But also, how much can this student be an asset to our larger university community? Leadership? Cooperative ability? Maturity? Encouragement of others? Thoughtfulness? Empathy? Willingness to go beyond the normal? Can your coach touch on any of these?</p>
<p>yeah i think he can. should anything at all about my tennis skills and achievements or not?</p>
<p>Are you a good enough player to expect to be able to play competitively in college? If so, this recommendation should say so.</p>
<p>yes i believe i am.
so all in all, the rec should talk about my tennis skills, drive, character, empathy maturity, etc. and it should be something different, something that my school teachers couldn’t include in their recs.
am i right?</p>
<p>That you have to provide the person who’s writing the recommendation detailed information about what he should focus on and cover is a red flag. Anyone providing a credible recommendation regarding you should have a perspective regarding your skills, your drive and your character, and how that applies to your college application.</p>
<p>That he’s a “private” coach is possibly the reason for the need to provide him a list of what to write. You have a commercial relationship with him, and that affects the credibility of the recommendation.</p>
<p>I am a mom whose son hopes to play college tennis. </p>
<p>I would not be as concerned as fogcity about the fact that the coach is a private coach; virtually all competitive tennis players have year-round private coaches, and a year-round coach will know you better than your school coach, who sees you for three or four months a year. I think the OP’s concern about the areas to be addressed could arise because the coach possibly hasn’t done this before and perhaps is from another country.</p>
<p>Your question about whether your tennis skills should be addressed in the letter makes me want to make sure that you are also contacting college tennis coaches at the same time. The statement of the college’s own coach that he wants you on the team would count for more than your private coach’s opinion that you’re a good player.</p>