We’re proud to continue growing CoachHER — our mentorship program designed to empower women in tennis coaching.
In October, we celebrated the graduation of the 2024–2025 class and welcomed a new 2025–2026 cohort! For the first time, USTA Missouri Valley joined Southern by sending a mentor–mentee pair, expanding the network even further. E. Earlynn Lauer, Ph.D., led the two-day conference in Peachtree Corners, Ga. WeCOACH's Senior Director of Memberships & Inclusion Maria Lopez was another presenter.
Read our news story about the first and second class meeting.
The 2025-26 CoachHer Class.
CoachHer is a structured mentorship program developed by USTA Southern and Lauer to retain and advance women in tennis coaching.
By pairing experienced coaches with developing professionals, CoachHer provides the tools, connections and confidence needed for women coaches to navigate a male-dominated field and excel in their coaching careers.
USTA Southern's Maria Cercone, left, with the first class of CoachHer.
CoachHer is a year-long mentorship initiative that combines in-person and virtual learning sessions, guided activities, and structured goal-setting to ensure meaningful growth and career progression.
The CoachHer program follows a structured timeline to ensure continuous growth, development, and support for all participants. Key milestones throughout the year include:
CoachHer has already demonstrated its value in its pilot year, with feedback from participants highlighting improvements in both personal and professional development. Mentees have shared that the program has boosted their confidence , enhanced their time management skills , and clarified their leadership style . One participant described the experience as " life-changing ," citing significant career progress since joining the program. Another mentee emphasized how regular communication provided the support needed to navigate challenges and make confident decisions.
By joining CoachHer, your organization will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of women’s coaching in tennis. Take action today to empower the next generation of leaders in the sport.
Find out about what ways to get involved in different aspects of the junior player pathway. 10 & Under, Junior Team Tennis, and Junior Competition are great levels of tennis to learn about and help players/parents to become educated on. Help to find ways to educate, promote good sportsmanship, and give opportunities for players to earn points to get to the national level.
Connect with players from those fresh out of high school or college to those who have been out for a while. Promote adult tournaments for those still wishing to remain competitive. Leagues are also a great way to be competitive with a team to enjoy competing alongside.
On-court coaching is the backbone of tennis in many ways. Most competitive juniors have coaches to guide their game to the next level. Some adults have them when they are just starting out in the game. Camps and clinics are great spaces for coaches to use their expertise. Southern has many events that need coaches with great energy to make it fun and memorable for those attending. You can start at the entry-level or progress to coaching National team events or becoming a USTA faculty coach. The possibilities are endless.
Accounting is one of the backbones of our section for obvious reasons. This team helps pay out to employees, meetings, grants, new initiatives, and invoices that come from all the events we have. Help in keeping our finances accounted for and sent out to those programs that need it.
Are you good with creating and promoting events? Marketing is an integral part of our section in creating flyers, promoting events, building websites, sponsorship deals and sending out any type of communication to those in our section. Become a creative brain in our section to help improve the programs we have and get them out to the world.
Find out how to be a part of the crew in upcoming events. There are thousands of events across the Southern section that need people with attention to detail and great organization skills. From Annual meetings to National Tennis Month events to Coaching Workshops, you can be part of the logistical side of making it a great experience.
Find ways to get tennis out to diverse audiences. We find ways to make tennis accessible by promoting events that encourage people to start or play tennis with others, allowing everyone to participate. Coming up with ideas and helping establish recurring events to make tennis a welcoming place for every person in our Southern Section.
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