Codie George is a coach at Tennis Australia’s National Tennis Academy and works closely with rising Perth teen Talia Gibson.
Brisbane, Australia, 12 June 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Codie George has turned a love of tennis into a successful and fulfilling career.
“Tennis has been a huge part of my life since I picked up a racquet at six,” George told tennis.com.au.
“I played a lot as a junior in the Northern Territory and then South Australia. Obviously as a kid your aspirations are around playing, not coaching in any sport.
“But when I had wrist surgery at 16, I started helping out at my local club behind the desk and got called out one day to help with the Hot Shots Tennis program. I thought it was going to be a nightmare, but I really enjoyed it and it just kept growing from there.”
Now, 15 years later, George is one of Australia’s leading high-performance coaches.
Following stints working as a private coach and with Tennis SA, the 31-year-old is currently a member of Tennis Australia’s National Tennis Academy coaching team.
George works closely with rising star Talia Gibson and was invited by Sam Stosur to support Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup team during their recent Qualifier tie in Brisbane.
> READ: Codie George steps into new role with Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup team
“Coaching can be very challenging, but ultimately very rewarding,” George said.
“Every day is different and in my current role I am getting to do so many different things, including the recent opportunity with the Billie Jean King Cup.
“I have been doing a lot of travelling in the past 2.5 years since moving to Brisbane, which are experiences I would never otherwise have had.”
The personal development opportunities are also huge, according to George.
“You have to learn to have patience and figure out different ways of implementing change,” she explained. “A big part of the job is problem solving different ways to get your message across so that it is understood.
“Coaching has definitely pushed me outside of my comfort zone. I moved interstate for the NTA role, am spending a lot of weeks on the road and am constantly around great tennis people who have been in the sport for a long time.”
She credits working under Milo Bradley, Sandon Stolle and Brent Larkham for a lot of her learnings, with Rohan Fisher and Belinda Colaneri having also been huge supporters both professionally and personally from the start of…
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