Beyond The Whistle: Ex-Yale Tennis Coach Christian Appleman
Hundreds of thousands of amazing student-athletes with perfect test scores and grades submit their applications to the Ivy league universities every year. The Ivy League reviews its athletic programs very carefully and is extremely selective about the athletes who are accepted. Harvard, Princeton, Yale and Columbia are the toughest athletic recruiting programs. Cornell and Dartmouth and Brown are solid, too. Having been a tennis coach at Yale for over 16 years, I’ve always been especially impressed by the commitment and dedication of Asian athletes who play for these teams.
I’ve always enjoyed recruiting and coaching Asian athletes. They are highly motivated and determined: traits any coach looks for in an athlete.
I first met Akshay Maliwal almost six years ago when he was accompanying a few junior players for a showcase event at Yale University and I was amazed by the dedication these players displayed.
The DreamBig Tennis Showcase Event in Asia
I stayed in touch with Akshay and his DreamBig Events team, as he continued to bring Asian students to the US for summer tour events. When the DreamBig Events team invited coaches from Princeton, Columbia and Yale to the first-ever Tennis Showcase Event with junior athletes in New Delhi, I was delighted to accept.
There has been no looking back since! My interest in watching these first-rate players led me to visit India, Singapore, Manila to scout the possible junior-athlete talent pool in Asia over the course of the last several years.
The AddedEducation Platform
I have been a Tennis Coach at Yale University for the last 15 years, and have recruited several Asian student-athletes for Yale’s tennis lineup. When it was time to finally wrap my coaching career at Yale, I realized that I wanted to continue supporting and advising these eager young talented athletes.
Akshay’s original idea to help student-athletes from Asia has now evolved into a first-class operation. These gifted athletes from Asia need a mentor with experience in Ivy league athletic recruiting. AddedEducation’s platform is the best way for me to continue helping budding student-athletes become world-class players.
Coaches and universities look for motivated, “coachable” students who demonstrate the right attitude and an advanced skill set. My role with AddedEducation includes educating the network of high-quality College Tennis Coaches about the work we are doing in Asian and the brilliant pool of talented players. Being a former Ivy league athletic recruiter at Yale, my word will add credibility to what we do here at AddedEducation.
Guidance and Mentoring
With the uncertainty of the COVID-19 outbreak, acceptances from Ivy League schools have become incredibly difficult. I want to help students thrive and be successful in whatever school they choose by guiding them correctly with the right advice.
Like I said before, Asian athletes are highly motivated and strive for perfection. But it tends to make them nervous and fearful at times. So when athletes make that recruiting video to send to coaches, they need to remember that college coaches are not looking for that perfect video; they want to see athletes make mistakes on the court and see how they react to them.
I am here to guide and help Asian athletes understand the importance of letting loose and just playing on the court.
It is important to experience the fun part of the game too. I look forward to connecting with more talented Asian players and showing them what it really takes to get into highly-selective athletic programs including the Ivy League program.
With AddedEducation’s expert guidance and my life experiences, we will strive to help students find what’s truly best for them. Reach out to our team of experts for a free consultation.
Christian Appleman Chairman Tennis & Advisory Board Member
