This is the third installment in a three-part series. Part One discussed preparing for and getting your first teaching job. Part Two explored the process and benefits of getting certified.

Part III: Life as a Teaching Pro

Tennis teachers work in a wide range of job environments. The pro at an expensive resort might work mostly with adult students who are there for a week or less. An assistant pro at a big suburban club might work almost exclusively with kids and see many of them every week for many years. Pay can can be as little as $10 per hour for an assistant pro to over $100 an hour for someone whose name is a major draw. Despite the variations in the job description of a tennis teaching pro, most pros encounter similar difficulties and benefits.

Difficulties

• Teaching can hurt your game. Feeding balls all day takes a toll on your arm, and so can full-court hitting, especially at less than full power, where you have to restrain your natural swing speed. Hitting with students can also build some bad subconscious tendencies, causing you to forget occasionally that you're in the middle of a match, not a lesson.

• Battling abundant myths. Many common misconceptions about tennis have millions of devoted followers and some among these who have become experts at repeating the mythology. Knowing what you're talking about can sometimes put you at odds with popular beliefs.

• Business. Many pros are self-employed, and even if you're employed by a club, you're still a one-person business in many ways. The best pros are highly organized, dependable, and good at self-promotion, which includes communicating with students' families about what you're trying to accomplish. These skills come more easily to some than others. You'll also have to deal with people in positions of power within your tennis community whose expectations might not agree with your personality and philosophy.

• Subjectivity. Your effectiveness as a teacher will be hard to measure. Each student has unique abilities, which makes the speed of his or her progress always relative. Coaching one student to a 3.5 NTRP level may indicate much greater teaching skill than coaching another to a 5.0. Having students who keep enjoying tennis and improving will be your most important basic feedback, but you'll run into situations where you wish your effectiveness could be measured more precisely and objectively.

• Wear and tear. Teaching tennis full time through a normal retirement age of 65 or so is a tough proposition. Forty hours a week of running around a tennis court and feeding balls takes a toll as the years add up. Most older teaching pros either work part time or go into more of a management position.