Zoetermeerder Ferry guides young tennis players to the top: ‘Tennis gives everything that life gives’

Ferry Janmaat (34) from Zoetermeer fell in love with tennis at the age of eight. After his own tennis career, he now guides young players to the top and has a tennis school.

“The fact that I was going to play tennis was not obvious, because I come from a real football family. My parents both played at a national level. My mother was one of the first female top players. Because there were few women’s teams, she trained with the men. I was also pretty good at football, but I always thought Tennis,” says Ferry.

Young at the top

Ferry goes on tennis lessons at a young age and that is going well for him. When he is twelve years old, he will play against the top players of his age category. Ferry: “After that, my level unfortunately lingered for a few years. At that time I had to change a few times from the trainer and had some problems with my technology. In addition, my physical did not help: I am not that long and therefore do not have the ideal construction for a tennis player.”

Second start

From the age of eighteen, Ferry breathes new life into his tennis career and he does his best to get high on the rankings. “I played some nice matches at home and abroad. When I was 24 years old, I noticed that I had taken everything out of it. I decided to focus on teaching.” Ferry did not find the switch from tennis to teaching himself. “My own struggles from the past now help me in teaching.”

I got everything out of it

New method

Ferry obtains his coaching licenses and will work at a tennis school in London, among other things. There he develops a teaching method for young children. “I trained children of three years. That seems very young, but at that age they can already learn a lot in the field of motor skills, concentration and rhythm.”

Own tennis school

After a sports course at the Halo, Ferry will work as a teacher in definitively. In the meantime, together with former pro-tennis player Niels van Hal, I am the owner of From HAL Tennis. I train players aged three to twenty -five and regularly guide them in competitions abroad. Many of my players belong to the youth top of the Netherlands. As a coach, that is fantastic to experience. ”

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On and outside the tennis court

After all these years, Ferry’s love for tennis is not blurred. “The great thing about tennis is that the sport gives you everything that life also gives you. You have to deal with setbacks and you have to respond to that. You keep learning and trying to improve yourself. Moreover, the game also helps you to develop new sides of yourself. That way I have learned to be less reluctant, both on the tennis court and in my private life.”

Weak

Because Ferry himself does not have the ideal length for tennis, he had to train extra hard to achieve a high level. “As a tennis teacher it has taught me to see every student as an individual and then tune my training sessions. I continue to have a weakness for go -getters. Talent is of course also important, but perseverance and work of work should not be underestimated.”

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