Breaking the Mold: A New Academy Model

The difference is evident – most of the elite players featured on our website were developed in intimate settings with a lead coach supported by experts, not in the one-size-fits-all academy system. Our mission is to build complete players who can thrive in high-level college and professional tennis, and that starts with a training model centered on quality over quantity.

What Makes CoachLife Academy Different?

• Selective Small Cohorts: Only hand-picked players join each academy group, capped at 20 per head coach, with expert co-coaches and trainers working alongside the head coach for maximum individual attention.
• Individualized Development Plans: Every player begins with a written assessment and a customized training plan addressing their strengths and weaknesses. This plan is strictly followed, tracked, and updated monthly, with progress reports shared in collaboration with players and parents.
• Focus on Comprehensive Improvement: Our #1 focus is measurable improvement. We systematically shore up every area of a player's game – technical, tactical, mental, and physical – so they can withstand the demands of college and pro tennis. No weakness goes unaddressed. If a player has a specific gap (for example, a vulnerable serve or fitness issue), we assign a specialist coach to fix it.
• Parental Involvement & Transparency: Parents are our partners. We maintain open communication and include parents in regular check-ins and plan updates. You'll never be in the dark about your child's development – we believe accountability and ownership from coaches, players, and parents is key to a player's success.
• Affordable Excellence: Despite offering a premium program, CoachLife Academy is priced reasonably compared to traditional academies. We are committed to delivering world-class training and real improvement without the exorbitant price tag that often comes with big-name academies that don't deliver results.

Individualized Plans and Personal Coaching

At CoachLife, no two players train exactly alike. Upon joining, each player receives a comprehensive evaluation leading to a personalized development plan tailored to their goals and needs. This isn't a generic template – it's a living roadmap that our coaches design with input from the player and parents, and adjust as the player progresses. The plan covers technical skills, strategic understanding, mental conditioning, and physical training. For example, if a player's serve is a liability, we might schedule sessions with our serve technique specialist; if footwork or stamina is an issue, we'll emphasize conditioning and agility training.

Different experts will work with the player at different stages, guided by the head coach who acts as the architect of the overall program. This collaborative approach ensures that every facet of the game is addressed by someone with deep expertise in that area. Our philosophy is that no single coach has all the answers – great players are developed by a team of great minds working together. We also believe in accountability: the head coach is responsible for orchestrating the player's development plan and making sure it's executed daily. Monthly, we provide written progress reports evaluating how each player is improving in every area of focus. This disciplined, data-driven approach keeps everyone – coaches, players, and parents – on the same page and accountable to the player's long-term growth. Ultimately, our individualized coaching model treats each player as a unique project, not a face in a crowd, setting them up to maximize their potential.

World-Class Coaching Network & Expertise

One of CoachLife Academy's greatest strengths is our unparalleled network of world-class coaches and specialists. Through CoachLife's broader platform, we have assembled 33 of the game's top coaches (with new experts joining every month) – many of whom were the behind-the-scenes architects in the junior careers of today's tennis stars. Our team includes the junior coaches or trainers who helped develop players such as Iga Świątek, Coco Gauff, Nick Kyrgios, Carlos Alcaraz, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz, Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Pete Sampras, Denis Shapovalov, Milos Raonic, and many more. We bring these minds and their proven methods directly to our academy players.

How does this work in practice? Each CoachLife Academy location is led by a Head Coach who oversees day-to-day training, but our players also benefit from the collective expertise of our entire CoachLife network. We regularly host visiting workshops, both in-person and via live remote sessions, with specialists in every discipline – from footwork and biomechanics to sports psychology, nutrition, and vision training. For example, footwork and movement training is a huge emphasis in our program. We are proud to partner with Dave Bailey, recognized as the world's leading tennis footwork coach with 30+ years of research in the field. Dave has studied over 18,000 clips of professional players and has trained more than 20 Grand Slam athletes in efficient movement. At our academy, Dave Bailey will run monthly footwork workshops in person, imparting the same techniques he used to help players like Monica Seles and Johanna Konta move better on court. Our full-time fitness coaches in Fort Lauderdale have been mentored by Dave to reinforce his methods daily, and they coordinate with our remote strength & conditioning experts to monitor each player's athletic development.

Another example is our partnership with Jeff Drock, one of the world's top tennis fitness and footwork trainers. Jeff was the junior fitness and footwork coach for Coco Gauff from age 7 to 14, helping build the foundation for her exceptional speed and athleticism. With a master's in exercise science and 20+ years of experience, Jeff specializes in tennis-specific agility, balance, and injury prevention. Every Saturday morning, CoachLife Academy players in Fort Lauderdale will train with Jeff in an intensive footwork and fitness session. These sessions often start with a match-play tournament among the players (to put their skills into practice under pressure), followed by a group conditioning workout led by Jeff that targets movement skills. Under his guidance, players learn advanced footwork drills – like explosive first-step reactions, efficient recovery steps, and endurance circuits – all tailored to tennis. Jeff's approach emphasizes balanced muscle development and injury prevention, so our athletes build a physique that can handle the rigors of high-level competition. By working with experts like Dave and Jeff, our players gain a physical and mental edge that typical academy programs simply can't match.

And it doesn't stop at footwork and fitness. Our CoachLife network gives academy players access to specialists for every need. We have top technical coaches who can step in to tweak a player's forehand or volleys, strategy experts to develop smart game plans, sports psychologists to sharpen the mental game, nutritionists to optimize diets, and even neuro-visual trainers to improve reaction time and ball tracking. If a player is struggling with, say, their serve or backhand, we can arrange a session (in person or via video call) with a CoachLife expert renowned for that specific skill. This dynamic flow of knowledge means no stone is left unturned in a player's development. By constantly examining and updating each player's program with input from the best minds in the sport, we ensure our training methodology stays cutting-edge and uniquely tailored to the individual. It's a truly 360-degree approach to player development that sets CoachLife Academy apart.

Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale Flagship Academy – Launching with Carlos Drada

Our very first CoachLife Tennis Academy is launching at the Lauderdale Tennis Club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and it encapsulates everything that makes the CoachLife system special. The Lauderdale Tennis Club is a premier facility boasting 20 well-maintained clay courts and additional hard courts on site, as well as a fully equipped gym and clubhouse amenities. This gives our players the opportunity to train on both clay and hard surfaces – an important advantage for developing well-rounded games adaptable to any environment.

Leading the Fort Lauderdale academy as Head Coach is Carlos Drada, an extraordinary coach and former player who shares CoachLife's holistic philosophy. Carlos comes with an impeccable pedigree: he is a former ATP Tour professional and was the 2000 NCAA Singles Championship runner-up during his college career. He represented Colombia in Davis Cup play and achieved All-American honors in college. As a coach, Carlos led the University of Kentucky women's tennis program for 18 years, part of a 21-year Division I coaching career. In that time, he coached multiple NCAA All-Americans and even helped develop players who went on to reach the WTA Top 40. In short, Carlos Drada has seen what it takes to succeed at every level – junior, college, and pro – and has done it as both a player and a coach. He is widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the world, blending technical know-how with a keen understanding of the mental and strategic nuances of tennis. Carlos is a big believer in developing a player's weapons – he spends the majority of time working on amplifying strengths (like a big forehand or serve) that can dominate matches, rather than just grinding on weaknesses. He also embraces the modern evolution of the game toward higher ball speeds and power. Under his guidance, players learn to attack with their strengths and play assertive tennis, while still improving any weaknesses that could be exploited by opponents. Perhaps most importantly, Carlos prides himself on working with each player's unique style – he doesn't try to mold everyone into the same cookie-cutter game. This aligns perfectly with CoachLife's philosophy that every player's path is different. We are thrilled to have Carlos Drada heading our flagship academy, as he embodies the coaching excellence and personal investment in players that CoachLife stands for.

Assisting Carlos will be a team of high-level co-coaches and trainers, all versed in the CoachLife system. These include specialized coaches who have either played or coached at elite levels, and fitness trainers who understand the demands of junior development. Every coach working under Carlos is vetted to ensure they bring not only expertise but also the passion for teaching and mentoring that we expect. We maintain a strict 20-player limit in the Fort Lauderdale cohort, so between Carlos and his staff, the ratio of expert coaches to players will be very low. This means each player often gets semi-private attention even during group sessions. A typical day might involve a morning technique session in a small group of 4-5 players per coach, an afternoon of supervised match play where coaches actively provide feedback, and an evening fitness circuit. Throughout, Carlos orchestrates the schedule to align with each player's development plan – for instance, assigning certain players to work on their slice backhand with Coach A, while others do a mental-skills workshop with Coach B, depending on their needs.

We are also excited to announce a special weekly event at our Fort Lauderdale academy: every Saturday we host a Matchplay & Training Day open to all academy players. In the morning, players will compete in structured practice matches or a round-robin tournament, giving them valuable competitive experience in a fun, supportive environment. Coaches will be on hand to observe these matches, taking notes on what each player has been implementing well and what still needs work. After the match play, the day transitions into an intensive group training session led by none other than Jeff Drock (Coco Gauff's former footwork and fitness coach). Jeff's Saturday sessions are high-energy and challenging – think agility drills, footwork patterns, explosive strength exercises, and tennis-specific conditioning circuits that push each athlete to reach new levels of speed and endurance. It's a unique opportunity for our players to train with a coach of Jeff's caliber on a regular basis. The combination of competitive match play and world-class fitness training makes these Saturday sessions incredibly impactful (and also a lot of fun). Players will quickly see improvements in their tournament performance thanks to the simulated pressure matches, and they'll build the physical capacity to outlast opponents thanks to Jeff's workouts.

Being based in Fort Lauderdale also has another huge benefit: CoachLife founder and CEO Peter Clarke lives locally and will be actively involved in the academy. Peter is an ex-ATP pro himself (reaching a career high ranking in the 200s) and has spent the last two years traveling the globe to collaborate with the greatest minds in tennis while building the CoachLife platform. The knowledge he's gathered from legendary coaches and his own experience as a top junior and pro are infused into our program's DNA. Peter will serve as a mentor to both our coaches and players – you'll often find him on court some days, jumping in to give personal pointers on a player's stroke or discussing match strategy with a group. He's incredibly passionate about developing talent the right way and will be a guardian of quality at our academy. Having the founder on-site is also a testament to how important this first academy is to CoachLife's vision – it's not just another program, it's the model that will set the standard as we expand to future locations.

On that note, Fort Lauderdale is just the beginning. CoachLife Academy plans to roll out this high-performance, network-driven model in cities around the country (and eventually globally). Each academy will be led by a CoachLife Head Coach of similar stature to Carlos Drada, and each will operate with the same core philosophy: small selective cohorts, individualized plans, and access to the world's best coaching minds both on-site and through our network. We truly believe this approach will revolutionize player development, because it fixes the long-standing flaws in the traditional academy system. Instead of hundreds of kids paying hefty fees for minimal improvement, we offer a reasonably priced program with laser-like focus on actual development and progress. Instead of one guru coach claiming to know it all, we offer a collaborative of specialists who together know more than any single coach. Instead of a business that measures success by enrollment numbers, we measure success by our players' growth and achievements.

Join the Movement – Next Steps

CoachLife Academy at Lauderdale Tennis Club is a premium program for serious junior players who are committed to taking their game to the next level. Because of our hands-on approach and limited cohort size, spots in the program are extremely limited. Admission is by application and invitation only – we want to ensure a good fit and that we truly have the resources to help each player thrive. If you're a player (or parent of a player) with big dreams in tennis and are intrigued by our philosophy, we encourage you to reach out and learn more. You must be selected for the program, but that process starts with a conversation. We invite interested families to schedule a Zoom call with our founder, Peter Clarke, to discuss your player's goals and see if CoachLife Academy is the right environment for them. Peter will personally evaluate where your player is in their development journey and explain how our system could accelerate their improvement.

To get started, please enter your email below and we will follow up to set up a call with Peter. This is a no-obligation consultation – a chance for you to understand our program in detail and for us to learn about your child's tennis. We'll happily answer all your questions about scheduling, pricing, training curriculum, and anything else you'd like to know. Transparency is important to us, and we only want families onboard who share our commitment to the process.

In summary, CoachLife Academy is not just another academy – it's a movement to change how players are developed by combining the best elements of personalized coaching, expert collaboration, and accountability. We are thrilled to launch our first academy in Fort Lauderdale with an exceptional team of coaches and experts, top-notch facilities, and a clear mission to produce the next generation of champions. If you're ready to experience a truly individualized, world-class training program that puts your improvement above all else, we'd love to hear from you. Join us in embracing this new era of development – together, let's help your player reach heights they never thought possible. Enter your email below to connect with us, and let's get to work on your champion's journey!