Crossman named coach of the year

And working at the academy with 22 athletes aged from 11-17, Andrew is not showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon.

He has coached players into ATP rankings and his youngest daughter Bella – who he has coached since she first picked up a racquet – is now the number one player at her US college in the highly competitive NCAA Division One.

After a glittering junior career and working through elite pathways, including with legendary coach Ian Barclay, who took Pat Cash to Wimbledon glory, Andrew also played on the European pro club circuit.

Adding coaching to his tennis repertoire early in his playing career, Andrew was accredited as a Level II by 1992 and in tandem with his academy role, also has 17 private students in northern Victoria today.

Last year he travelled with one of his students to the Piatti Tennis Centre in northern Italy – and just 20 minutes from Monaco.

“This is my third year at the academy, which is part of the Tennis Victoria excellence pathway to identify the next generation of star players,” Andrew says.

“BAS covers tennis, netball, athletics, golf, canoeing and clay target shooting, so it is a big operation and just one of four across regional Victoria – the others are at Gippsland, Barwon and Mallee,” he says.

“Before getting into professional coaching I was based for three years at Euskirchen in Germany, which is near Cologne and Bonn and played on the European circuit as well as for the club.

“I was going pretty well, and even though it is generally a four-month season each year I also had the offer of a full-time role there, for good money.

“But here is home and I was playing at Echuca Lawn Tennis and Rich River through the 1990s and into the 2000s as well.

“Then my wife Sarah and I decided it might be time to put down some roots, and we went onto the farm, and started planting avocados and citrus fruits.”

Andrew only gave up competitive tennis four years ago – and still tries to get in the occasional Saturday game, but between his farm, a hectic schedule of farmers’ markets and his coaching at home and in Bendigo, tennis has been parked well and truly on the back-burner.

As fast as the avocados were growing, so was Andrew’s coaching business. He wasn’t just working with clubs and students, he was staging regular clinics at regional hubs around the state.

But also hearing advice he had received from Ian Barclay ringing in his ears.

“He told me if you are going to be a real coach, it’s not just about the one-on-one time, you have to go and watch your players in tournaments and competitions, you have to see them play and that’s on your time and your dollar,” Andrew recalls.

“And in my time, since starting as a player with a wooden racquet to working in elite programs today, the changes in how the game is managed are incredible,” he says.

“Not just the technology of the equipment and things like shoes, it is the rapid advance of biomechanics, the massive amount of data on all types of athletes which is mined for new advantages, the equipment which monitors a player’s progress, the support systems and the global scale of the game – and it never stops.

“It’s a big challenge just to stay updated, let alone ahead of the curve and you never stop learning – if you think you’ve learnt everything it’s time for you to stop,” he laughs.

And right now, that’s not on the agenda.