The WTCA is proud to announce that David Witt has been selected as the recipient of the WTCA Spirit of Coaching award, otherwise known as the “Florey Award.” The award is named in honor of WTA Tour coach and ATP Tour player Andrew Florent, who passed away from cancer at the age of 45.
A highly respected member of the tennis community, Andrew Florent was known for his charisma, generous nature, and fun-loving personality. The recipient of the Florey award is a coach who treats others with respect, acts in a professional manner, displays good sportsmanship, is caring and kind to others, is supportive of their player, and is an advocate for women’s tennis.
After a successful junior playing career, as well as a stint on the ATP Tour, Witt began his coaching career as the Director of Tennis at two clubs in Florida. While working in these positions, he was asked to hit with Venus and Serena Williams to help them prepare for an upcoming tournament in Amelia Island. Eventually, Witt was asked to take on a full-time coaching role for Venus.
Venus was looking for consistency in her training, which is where Witt was able to contribute. “Venus had never really had anybody with her regularly on a week-to-week basis,” he said. “I thought it would be important for Venus’ career to have someone who could be with her every day, someone that knows her and what has to be done, somebody who could build chemistry in the player-coach relationship.”
However, working with a Grand Slam champion is not always the easiest feat. Often times, athletes who have succeeded at such a high level build up walls and have a difficult time letting others into their inner circle.
Witt found that the secret to a successful player-coach bond between himself and Venus was all about forming a healthy relationship. “It’s a slow process of getting your athlete to trust you and building that friendship. It was about building the trust and letting her know that I have her back all the time.”
Coaching an athlete of Venus’ caliber is both challenging and rewarding, according to Witt. “When you work with somebody of her caliber, a lot of people think that these top athletes don’t need coaches because they’re at the highest level,” he said. “I think it’s more important that the top athletes have coaches to reinforce lessons, remind them what they have to do.”
“They say it’s tough to teach an old dog new tricks. That’s probably the toughest thing about working with a top athlete, getting them to change or try something different because they’ve had their set ways for over 20 years. You also need to keep them motivated and having fun. Finding motivation and having fun are huge factors in keeping athletes at that level going.”
Already regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Williams has nothing to prove. Regardless of the future results, she will go down as a four-time Olympic gold medalist, a seven-time Grand Slam title winner, one of the few players to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams, among countless other accolades. However, she continues to compete successfully at the highest level while having fun doing it, which is a credit to Witt’s coaching style.
According to Witt, trust is another crucial component to his coaching style. “You have to form a friendship and bond, as well as build chemistry and trust,” he explained. “Once that happens and everything is clicking, results happen. When you’re having fun, learning new things, and working hard, that’s when the results come.”
So, how does Witt get the best results out of Venus? It’s all about finding what motivates her, and once again, having fun. “Anytime you’re coaching athletes who have won Grand Slams, you have to keep everything light, have fun with it. If you come out to practice every day and it’s not fun, it’s difficult to work hard,” he said. “That comes from me, but it also comes from her. My coaching role is to try to push her to go that extra mile, while still having fun.”
Despite the massive success that she has had on the court, Witt says that his favorite part about coaching Venus is simply getting to know her as a person. “Outside of tennis, she is a beautiful person both inside and out. I’ve been able to be a part of her growth over the last 10-11 years. She’s going to go down as one of the greatest female athletes in history – not just tennis players – to be a part of that is an honor.”
Through his coaching career, Witt has exemplified all of the qualities outlined in the criteria for the Florey award. He has consistently treated his athletes with respect, has been supportive in both wins and losses, has acted as a true professional in a challenging role, and has been an advocate for the sport of women’s tennis.
“Everything that Andrew Florent was about, in both coaching and in life – caring, giving, how he could just light up a room, how everybody loved him, and how he was such an easy person to get to know and love – everything about what he stood for is exemplified in the award. It’s an honor to win this award because it’s in honor of him and the things that he stood for.”
Witt hopes that he can continue to display these same values that Andrew Florent stood for in his future coaching endeavors. He believes that one of the best ways to give back to the sport is to be an admirable coach. Simply put, respectful and deliberate coaches are the key to keeping more females in the game.
“It comes back to this award and what Andrew did so well as a coach,” he said. “With young players coming up, no matter the federation, you have to have the right coaching in place to take these athletes to the next level. As coaches, we have to work on building that trust so that more female athletes will continue to play our sport.”