Oklahoma State University Athletics
Jackson Enjoying USTA Experience
July 12, 2010 | Cowgirl Tennis
July 12, 2010
By Stefan Nolet
Although Jamea Jackson only recently began her career as a college tennis coach, the United States Tennis Association selected her as a coach for its Women's Collegiate Summer Team.
This is the second summer that the USTA has offered the program, which selects 12 of the best American men and women collegiate players to participate.
The goal of the program is “to provide players with valuable exposure to the USTA Pro Circuit in a team-oriented environment during the summer months,” according to the USTA website.
During the summer, the players on the team compete in tournaments and participate in a camp that helps them transition to the professional tour.
Before she began coaching at Oklahoma State this past season, Jackson was a successful competitor on the pro tour. During her career, she amassed 77 singles victories and seven wins in doubles competition. Injuries, however, cut her playing career short.
With playing tennis professionally out of the equation, Jackson decided to try her hand at coaching and spent the past season as an assistant women's tennis coach at OSU.
In order for Jackson to be selected as a coach for the USTA Women's Collegiate Summer Team, she had to be recommended. OSU women's tennis coach Chris Young said that Jackson makes up for her lack of coaching experience with her playing experience.
“She was one of the top professionals the last few years before she got into college coaching, so it made a natural fit for [the USTA] to choose someone who's been that successful,” Young said. “No other college coach has been as successful s her on the pro tour, so it made it very natural for her to give her wisdom to the girls.”
After she had been recommended for the position, Jackson had to send in an application. A couple of weeks later, the USTA notified her that she had been selected for the position.
Jackson said she was honored that Young recommended her and she felt excited about the opportunity.
“I really respect Chris as a coach and coming in, being fairly new, from the player side, you never really know what kind of coach you're going to be,” Jackson said. “He's a guy that I really respect, so it felt great for him to recommend me and even more so when I got the job.
“It has just pushed me to do the best job I can throughout the summer.”
Not only did she give thanks to Young for the recommendation, she also said that she was proud of the OSU tennis players for helping to make the Cowgirl program successful, which, she said, increased her chances of being selected.
Jackson left for Boca Raton, Fla., where the camp is held, on June 19 and still has a couple more weeks of coaching left.
She said she is trying to take in everything she can from her experience to try to improve herself as a coach.
“I think the more you get an opportunity to watch people play and be around tennis and work with more and more players, the better you're going to get,” Jackson said. “Having conversations with the coaches out here has been eye-opening for me because I've seen it from the [player] side for so long.
“I definitely have the experience as a player that a lot of coaches don't have, but from the coaching side, working with best players, things like that, is going to make me better.”
One thing Jackson said she has learned about coaching so far by observing the other coaches there is to constantly be engaged with the players, rather than passively sit by and let them play.
She said she has enjoyed being around the young tennis players and is excited watching the girls progress.
“We have 12 great girls, all really nice, all very talented,” Jackson said. “And I love tennis. I love being around it all day long, which is what these tournaments are like, and it's been a blast for me.”
The USTA summer program has been such a good learning experience for Jackson, she said she hopes to continue coaching well into the future.
“I would love to do something like this again next summer and keep bringing more and more experience to my role at OSU and learn what works better with the players,” Jackson said. “I would definitely love to have an opportunity like this again next summer or any summer after.”
Whether Jackson gets another opportunity to coach a summer program, one thing is certain: Her time as a coach at Oklahoma State has greatly benefitted the Cowgirl tennis program and her positive impact will only be increased from her experience this summer.
