My honest opinion of Andy Murray

Andy Murray, my honest view

Now I’ll be honest, I struggled with Andy a few years back, I couldn’t get behind an emotionless man who would mainly win with very little of his personality on show. 

Being British I would support Andy in tournaments but it was more about him being British than him as a person, I still preferred Tsonga, Nadal and Djokovic.

Watching him play I found difficult, I would just wait to see the results rather than watch him play, or watch other matches with more ‘exciting’ players.

This went on for a few years with him even admitting that he was the most boring man in tennis, and it was that remark that left me questioning why he was even being made fuss over. 

What was the most boring man in tennis doing for participation in the sport?

This question was ringing out for answers, and to start with I don’t think it helped at all, just hardcore tennis fans and coaches loving this boring Scottish bloke who clearly had a gift but no one really knew if he enjoyed tennis or whether, like Nick Kyrgios today, was his job and nothing more. 

The LTA might have thought ‘here we go, a future world number 1, the players will come pouring into clubs and onto courts to play’, I think the British public found it difficult to connect with him and therefore he was doing very little for participation around the U.K.

What changed?

Nothing to start with, Andy continued playing well but he was getting further in tournaments and he was beating some of the best in the world, all of a sudden he was in the spotlight a bit more.

Then gradually we were seeing little sparks of emotion, little fist pumps and the odd roar in disappointment or in celebration during matches, it was like the little Scot was waking up!

I’ll always remember the times when Nadal would always play in sleeveless shirts and celebrate with a ‘gun show’, as he was well known for his physical appearance and the powerful shots you would expect to go with it, now I can’t remember if it was against Nadal or not but Andy decided to celebrate a win in the least likely way imaginable for Andy.

Andy’s Gun Show

Andy Murray wasn’t exactly well known for his muscular physique in fact he was quite the opposite, he was a skinny Scot who Seemed to have a pretty good idea how to use a tennis racquet.

There was one match that Andy had battled through and once he sealed the victory he proceeded to roll up his sleeve and give us his own gun show which was met with a mixed reaction but it stirred up the British public! The public both celebrated and jeered him, he was celebrated for the victory but jeered and almost the victim of a whole host of internet bullies for having the audacity to copy a celebration from Nadal, who compared to Murray, was the human hulk!

Whatever peoples view of that moment, it got people talking and we had our first real insight into Andy’s passion for tennis and his character starting to shine through this plain, flat, boring shell.

The ‘gun show’ was the start of the nation getting behind Andy and not just tennis enthusiasts and coaches, Andy was now getting a fan base which stirred Great Britain’s interest in tennis again as the Henman/Rusedski era started to fade and slow down our passion for the sport!

Andy’s ever growing popularity

Not long after this we had more passion on court and also more enjoyment, all of a sudden we had a tennis player who was the best our country has had for years, and also a likeable player with more visible passion in his game which seemed to increase with his fan base.

By this time Andy was picking up a mass of ranking points through tournament wins and getting to finals and even a Grand Slam win under his belt, now the U.K. Had a tennis star they could get behind and he was seen to be much more interesting and much less boring that previously thought. And had changed not only my concept of him but the nation as a whole was seeing a much more likeable player.

Modern Day Andy

Now he’s sealed the world No.1 spot double Olympic gold, it would seem that he’s well known in pretty much every household in the U.K. Not just the hardcore tennis fans.

He is clearly the hardest worker and in my opinion the most visibly passionate player on the tour of recent times. I read an article the other day saying how becoming a dad has made Andy the player he is now and as a parent myself I can understand that but as a coach I can see it’s so much more than that. 

Inspiration

Before Andy showed us his personality it was no secret that he was hardly the most inspiring person around but there was a documentary on about his life and what he’d been through and it changed a lot of people’s impressions of him.

He is now inspiring the next generation of players such as Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans, Junior Davis Cup and Senior Davis Cup winners with Kyle playing in more Slams now and making his way through qualifying on a regular basis now. 

I would put a lot of his down the Andy and both his passion but also his commitment to the next generation and almost the ‘big brother’ role he seems to have adopted in the Davis Cup team. 

On a much more personal scale, I see much more activity at my courts and so many more players of all ages talking about Andy rather than the other big three of recent times. More players on court clearly is the influence of Andy’s success and if you ask me, tennis in now becoming one of he most popular sports in the U.K. And I would put the recent growth in participation mainly down the the influence and inspiration of this hard grafting Scot from Dunblane.

What’s next…..

 Who knows but one thing can be certain, that apart from injury it will be very difficult to stop Andy in 2017, and can see him holding onto the No.1 spot for quite a while yet and I expect a few more Slams this year, put him up there with Rafa, Roger and Novak!

What excuses are there for not playing tennis/low numbers of top players and what can parents/players/coaches do about the issues?

Are too many potentially top players slipping through the net (if you pardon the pun)? Too often we hear excuses in tennis which have a massive impact on participation, such as the weather, or, we don’t have as many people playing as the countries that have lots of top players! Or finally, it’s just too expensive to keep playing.
Are these valid excuses or is there more to it than that?
This is something I have been challenged by recently and have found that I’m guilty of, but I think it may impact how effective I am as a coach even in a small local setup. 

I will attempt to put my views across on the above points and referencing my faults and my observations from seeing coaching at different venues nationwide without offending but apologies if I do offend, this is purely my own views and thoughts.
Let’s start with the weather. Now I have, in the past, cancelled a lesson because rain was forecast and it looked like it was due to rain, but at what point can I see into the future or am I a fully qualified expert on the weather? It’s better for me to start the lesson and see what happens, I might get a full lesson in before it even starts spitting, surely the player would benefit and enjoy that rather than be put off by my seeming lack of enthusiasm to coach, leading to them starting to lose interest in tennis.

I have also coached in the rain, sleet and even snow in sub zero temperatures, and to be honest, I’ve enjoyed them just as much and more than some lessons in the middle of Summer, and the players reacted to the fact that I seemed to enjoy it which brought them back the next week when it was very similar conditions. 

Because of the amount of indoor courts across the UK, we are soft to the weather, and I’ve seen it at numerous centres and clubs where if it’s forecast rain then they cancel 8 hours before the session is even due to run. Is that down to the coach not wanting to risk working in the rain? Usually yes! Sometimes, if you are coaching on grass then fair enough but on hard court then you can run sessions in the rain, just adapt it or change it if you think the surface is too slippery, move onto serve technique or something that doesn’t require players to run flat out. 

If we as coaches cancel a session that the players think they can play in, how long before they think that we aren’t bothered and soon start to get less enthusiastic and more negative, these players might love tennis and want to keep playing but get put off because the coach ‘can’t be bothered’???

I’ve seen sessions cancelled because of the weather and the players have turned up to play outside with friends while the coach is in the clubhouse watching! How pathetic!
Let’s look at another reason for potential top players not reaching their potential in a sport they want to play. 

What about the excuse that the countries with more top players have a bigger pool of players to develop?

How many coaches want that one player that’s going to carry them through a coaching career, ‘I’ve got this player so far’ blah blah blah… Now, I’m not saying that’s wrong BUT why look for that one player? Realistically, how many coaches out there could actually train a Grand Slam winner? Yeah, you can get them so far but are you willing to pass your player onto a more suitable coach to get them to the next level, or are you wanting to keep hold of them, potentially holding them back from reaching their full potential? I haven’t found my one player so I don’t know how I would act with them, I would like to think that I would advise them to go with another coach to reach their potential but I can’t say for sure I would. Surely as a country we should be looking to bring in a larger pool of players which means starting from the bottom and working up. It’s no secret that as players get older they drop off, so from a pool of 50 red players, maybe 30 players are there at Orange level, then 15-20 at green and maybe 10-12 at full ball, that’s a drop off of around 35-40 kids out of every 50. 

Now it could be seen as the coach not doing their job properly if players are leaving but it is known that players drop off from every programme so is it every coach? Of course not.

So the question begs, what can we do to increase the number of junior players? Well…if you look at the drop off rate then the most obvious solution is to increase the number of red players.

Now I know a lot of coaches that love what they do however I am finding a worrying amount of coaches that think they are too high a playing standard to work with non hitting 3 year olds, they put these session on to level 1/2 coaches and expect them to get the players hitting so the more qualified coaches/better players can work with the better players.

I do agree with this to a point, however in my experiences and observations, level 1/2 coaches are younger people, some of which aren’t tennis ‘players’ and yet they are given the responsibility to both retain players and improve them. In my opinion, more experienced coaches and higher qualified should lead by example, ‘get their hands dirty’, and work with the new and less able players, after all they might have more enthusiasm and be better at retaining players and letting the level 1/2’s learn from them.

This set up has been implemented in places I have worked in the past and is proven to have been successful with sessions growing and a high retention of players of all levels and ages with a smaller drop off rate than national stats suggest.

Due to the relationship these coaches build with players at such a young age, as they keep playing and improving the more likely they are to stay with a particular coach. 

How many coaches can tell if a player is going to be an academy or high performance player from the age 3-4? Very few I expect seeing as the development of children indicates that the average age to be confident in which hand is dominant to be five years old!
Finally, let’s look at my third argument that I hear majority of the time from parents, adults and those in charge of finance in a household…that tennis is just too expensive!

Now, while this idea isn’t wrong as tennis can be quite pricey, tennis can be as cheap or as expensive as people want to make it.

To play tennis as a child it can cost as little as £20 for a racquet and I’ve known some group lessons to be as cheap as £3 per hour, now £3 per week to develop these life skills (co-ordination, agility, balance, catching, throwing), is pretty cheap and most places even supply the racquet.

Now if you compare that to one of the most popular sports, football, where boots, shin pads, gloves, which are all essential, are extras to pay for, and training/ matches each week. As someone who plays football I know which is more expensive to train and the startup costs are very similar as you get older but as a youngster playing for a local team…
Boots-£30

Shin pads-£10

Gloves-£10
Equipment-£50
Training/matches…

Match day -£4.50

Training-£4 per session (usually 2 per week)
Total £12.50 per week

With tennis you could get 2 racquets with money left over to start up, and 4 hours coaching a week with money left over too. 
So as a hobby to keep active as a child and junior player tennis would be a cheaper alternative which also teaches a sense of independence and helps develop a mental toughness as well as teamwork as tennis players play doubles and play in team tennis events.

As players get older, they can decide whether they would like to continue and if they want to keep going as a hobby then it can work out at roughly the same price as football but if a player wants to take things further and the coach thinks they are capable then it will cost more with travelling, entry fees for competitions, more equipment and further coaching. 
If a player/parent want to have a faster rate of improvement then they can make tennis as expensive as they want with private tuition which can cost much more starting from around £8+ per hour depending on the coach. For players to improve technique and develop their skills faster then I would encourage private tuition however there is no point in just having private lessons if you are not playing in group sessions or tournaments to put what you learn into practice as there is only so much you can learn in a lesson before you peak. A coach can only push so much, matches will also develop players faster as they put into practice what they learn in lessons. 

Now obviously it is up to the player/parents how much they want to spend or invest in their tennis but it doesn’t have to be as expensive as people assume.

Now as a coach how can I help battle this issue?

My personal solution is to provide more opportunities at ground level by making tennis affordable and enjoyable. 

My aim is to provide tennis on mass utilising level 1&2 coaches to lead sessions of 8-10 players each paying £3 so a full session brings in £30 perfect to pay a level 2 coach £15 and the level 1 would earn £10 and £5 going into the business to create a fall back fund for equipment or to make up any sessions that aren’t full. 

I’m already looking into the possibility of running school sessions not affiliated to any specific tennis club as I mentioned in previous blogs about the stereotypes of clubs which can put some people off. Get a class of 30 children and run a session once a week but they each have to bring in £1 per session and you can suddenly make tennis both accessible and affordable for all! If players enjoy then they can come to other sessions.

It’s not always about finding the talent and riding on their collar, but it is about making such a great sport accessible for all, no matter what! 

When your job as a tennis coach becomes more about money and less about job satisfaction, in seeing players improve and more importantly enjoying tennis, then it’s time to reconsider your career choice in my opinion!

Does a lazy player stem from a lazy coach?

Lazy coach = Lazy player?

How can a coach expect a player to be in a constant state of ready if the coach is letting the ball bounce 2-3 times before hitting it back or even feeding in another ball when they can’t be bothered to move to a ball that isn’t right back to them?

Too often I see coaches ‘camping’ next to a basket and just feeding ball after ball or Walking across and letting the ball bounce 2-3 times and just shouting ‘play it’ when they return it.

Don’t get me wrong, it all depends on the nature of the drill and the standard of players, some may need continuous basket feeds when working on a particular shot however I have had experienced coaches working on cross court drills with higher standard players hitting ball after ball, from the basket, when the cross court shot requires them to move. What sort of example is that setting to our younger players?
If a player needs to see the effectiveness of a particular shot, but the coach shows no effort at all to reach the ball, what is the point in doing that drill?

I work with a number of players and some by their own admission are lazy which has left me with a problem in the past. My solution has been to introduce more strength and conditioning work in at the start of a session demanding a certain standard even before a tennis ball has been hit. One of these players is now one of the best movers around the court that I work with.

I see players coming from sessions bright red, sweating and tired thinking they’ve worked hard and just behind them is a coach looking as fresh as the moment they arrived on the court. By my own admission, there are occasions where I don’t feel I’ve put in the required effort to demonstrate the effectiveness to my players.

Unless we, as coaches show the reason for specific drills then our players will not see any purpose in taking these things on board and therefore won’t use them in matches.

There are times when the coach isn’t required to hit anything, such as group coaching sessions with even numbers, does that mean the coach doesn’t really take part in the session? NO!!! Too often coaches will take a step back to ‘observe’ a session. Feedback from parents and players has personally led me to believe that players want the coach to be more involved, they want nothing more than to have a shot at getting one over on the coach. There is nothing wrong with the coach swapping in for a couple of hits with each player, even adding a new level of challenge if their opponent isn’t strong enough to challenge them.

I coach a session that uses 4 courts and when all players are playing points that doesn’t require me to join in as it is winding down to the end of a session, it’s easy for me to stay by the top court and only watch the players that ‘earn’ their way to the top and to pay less attention to the players that need the most help. I have tried to ensure that each player is watched no matter what court however it is difficult to keep track sometimes but if that is the case then I game of champions at the end so I can watch all players even if it is doubles champions.

I do think there is a time and a place for basket feeding and observing group play but I don’t think coaches should use it as an excuse to be lazy, influencing their players in a negative way, stopping them from performing at their best.

Is tennis elitist and what impact does that have on participation?

***WARNING***

THIS POST MAY OFFEND HOWEVER IT IS A MASSIVE ISSUE WITHIN TENNIS IN THE UK!!!

Excuse me…Do you have those noisy kids on court today, would you mind changing the day they come in as it disturbs our doubles?

I don’t think those kids on court 1 are properly dressed for tennis.

These are just 2 comments I have heard recently in regards to participation in tennis, most of the comments we hear are about either age and dress code.

This in my eyes is, sadly, the picture of tennis painted across the uk because of the history and past costs of playing this fantastic sport!

So, should tennis be seen as elitist? What can be done to break down the stereotypes surrounding tennis?
First off, let’s break down the barriers putting people off and then look at solutions. All barriers have been put in place in years gone by and are almost treated as law in the game!

1. Is tennis just for quiet players?
Well, no, to give a short answer. Yes, tennis is played in quiet conditions but it’s not for quiet players. If my mini reds are making a lot of noise then that would mean to me they are enjoying the sessions and if 24 mini red players enjoying themselves on court one upset 4 60+ year olds on court four because they are enjoying tennis then tough, these youngsters are the future of tennis and stopping the sport dying out!
I have juniors that play at my centre that have been kicked out of school; does that mean they can’t play tennis? No, they are just as welcomed at our place as seasoned veterans!
I coach visually impaired tennis too, if that is played in silence then it would be impossible, so, should visually impaired tennis be scrapped? Certainly not, anyone and everyone should have access to tennis! VI tennis has a ball with a bell in it so should we take the bell out to suit those who want to play on quiet courts? Absolutely not! What about deaf tennis, they don’t understand how much noise they make, should they be banned too, should we only accommodate the seasoned players or the high standards? NO!

In my experiences in both a membership based club and a pay & play centre the difference has been, sadly, and elitist attitude. At the members club I used to play for, during my county squad days, it was widely accepted that only club members could use the courts unless they paid an astronomical fee!. There was no social ‘non members’ night which straight away excluded masses of potential players if they didn’t have the disposable income to pay a membership fee for the year when they might only get on court a handful of times a month!
At my current Centre, which is purely pay & play, there is a social tennis session running almost every day for different people, we have 16+ non members on 4 indoor courts over two hours. Players happy to wait off for their chance to get on court again!
We have no membership fees so everyone pays the same for court hire, from the poorest to the wealthiest we encourage anyone and everyone to pick up a racket and get on court, we offer deals to get more people on court which can cause the usual comments such as ‘they shouldn’t be on a tennis court’, which leads us to ask the questions… WHY?

How many potential Andy Murray’s are there that are put off tennis before they even start because they haven’t got the money to pay for membership and then to pay for their courses on top of that?
Membership fees are a lot just to get you in through the door!

I know a lot of people reading this will argue that the membership fees are the guaranteed income needed to keep operating, but I argue that if you exclude those earning below a certain amount then your possible clients is massively reduced.

If tennis is acceptable for all the. There are more people to play, with more people playing the. More people are paying, this leads to more potential top players and a larger revenue stream created.

Forget stereotypes and the ‘must wear your tennis whites’ players. Is tennis easier to play because you are in white shorts and a white top or in a tracksuit? Is it easier to hit a ball with a slazenger t-shirt or a quicksilver hoody?
Are you a better player or do you enjoy tennis more when you play in a quiet match? Or do you enjoy chatting while you play?

In my eyes, it shouldn’t matter what you wear, how much noise you make, or how much you pay when playing tennis, common sense tells you that you’re more likely to get more top players if you have more players on court, so let’s get rid of the elitism and stereotypes in tennis and create more chances for more people to get on court!

Comeback at me with comments and thoughts, I’d love to hear what other coaches and authorities in tennis think about the current stereotypes and elitism surrounding our fantastic sport????

Touchtennis – pointless or brilliant?

First thing’s first…What is touchtennis?

well…Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!

In a nutshell it’s mini red tennis for 16+ year old and instantly a number of people will have lost interest but I beg you to keep reading…

Now, i’m not going to bore you with all the rules and regulations of touchtennis as you will switch off straight away when i’m trying to get you into this incredible branch of this amazing sport. For all the rules, court sizes, specifications and news then check out www.touchtennis.co.uk.

Now…

You watch 3-8 year olds on mini red courts and you think ‘that’s so easy, i’d smash them’, just remember…they are 3-8 years old!!! How would you fair against another adult?

Even from a player development view, what do we teach players from an early stage? Do we teach them it’s whoever hits the ball hardest? NO! It’s all about ball placement and working the court and touchtennis is not only perfect for that but it is also a LOT of fun!

Above, you can see some of the players I work with playing at the Premier League 4 Sport (PL4S) touchtennis tournament at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, and sandwiched in the middle was our ‘drag sceptical parents on court’ lunchtime plate to introduce adults into this type of tennis and the award they were battling it out for with other parents and staff was the below prestigious plate…

It doesn’t look like much but it got a lot of parents involved and they started off thinking it would be easy and they boring but they came off court absolutely loving it and wanting to know what our direction was going to be with it.

Touchtennis may be played with a sponge ball but that doesn’t mean its for kids, sponge balls can still travel fast! The balls may move a little slower when you first start playing but as with most new branches of a sport, it levels the playing field at the introductory phase. Pretty much anyone aged 16+ can rally with a sponge ball and a 21″ racket and as with all adults, there’s is only so much rallying people can do before things start getting a little heated and competitive…

Here’s another benefit of touchtennis…

Imagine…You book a court at your local tennis club, you haven’t held a racket for years and you spend the majority of your hour chasing and picking up balls, is that value for money?

What if you want to play competitive points but haven’t got a hope on a full sized court? Jump on a touch tennis court with ANYONE and I can guarantee that you won’t come off with out a severe sweat on.

If you’re still reading then I must have your attention, now I have come across a number of adults that laugh off touchtennis without giving it a try, ‘it’s for kids’ is the usual line we get when promoting it, people think they are too old for it but it’s the complete opposite, there are no upper age limits, it’s more beneficial as you age as you are participating in longer rallies and getting a better work out.

Most players will be hooked after 5 mins so why not give it a go when you get chance.

Touchtennis is an action packed, fast paced game that will test pretty much all aspects of tennis and in particular, your control of a ball in a smaller space. This is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK with tournaments popping up everywhere and an ever growing network of players looking for their next match.

To finish off…

Don’t knock it till you try it!!!

This blog does touchtennis no justice but just check it out on youtube and on the official touchtennis website and see how amazing it is for yourself!

Should players have two or more coaches, or should they stick to just one?

Is it right for players these days to have more than one coach or is it a case of too many cooks?

I do believe that players should have a ‘team’ around them but the team should consist of one coach, someone to do strength and conditioning, a hitting partner and of course the family as support.

In this blog I will break down the roles of each person in the team and to make this clear…this topic is really aimed at players of a higher performing level, NOT your average joe who plays in the club open every year and the rest of the time is a recreational player who plays with friends.

The role of the coach

A players coach is responsible for how the player performs on a tennis court, taking control of everything from technique, strategy and court behaviour.

To break it down further a coach will work on every aspect of the players tennis playing ability, and this happens through months and months, years and years of hard work and grafting. Players don’t improve overnight, it takes time, patience and effort on both parties, from the coach to the player. Coaches take the time to watch players both in sessions and in matches to determine what weaknesses their players have and then plan training sessions accordingly. The hard work for the player comes not only from the tennis side of but also from the patience of listening to their coach.

A coach will determine a weakness and focus on that for as many future sessions as required to improve however other aspects will also be covered.

In my experience, with a particular player, the area we needed to work on was the serve and so we focussed purely on the serve for a number of sessions over 2 weeks and then started to expand the sessions bringing in other skills such as attacking off the serve once a level of consistency was achieved. Once the consistency was there there was room then to fine tune technique and bring in some strengths to build confidence.

With that goal being closed in on it was time to look at other goals such as consistency with ground strokes, during matches it was clear that the player wanted to kill off the point early however once the rally passed  shots the point ‘had to end’ in the mind of my player so to improve there, my player had to, and still has to, hit 15, 20, 25 shot rallies with me before we can play the point to help with his consistency.

Putting both of these into practice in recent sessions, my player now has a much more consistent serve however it is still very much work in progress but consistency in ground strokes has massively improved and my player is much more capable of going through longer points and coming out on top.

Moving onto…

The role of the hitting partner

A hitting partner is much needed to practice the techniques and strategies taught by a coach, in which the coach can occasionally observe to check on the players progress without being on the other side of the net.

A hitting partner is just that…hitting partner, NOT a coach, they should be of an equal ability or able to put pressure on the player in the areas that need improvement.

Hitting partners should not coach or even attempt to coach on what the players coach has instructed as this can lead to massive confusion when the player steps onto court in matchplay or in tournaments.

Again, in my experience, players that have a second coach instead of a hitting partner get conflicting coaching leading to confusion and mistakes in matches. My player that I have been working on consistency in ground strokes with has been coached, by another less qualified coach, to hit high to the baseline which I totally agree with, at the right time, however as it is not a main focus and not an area they need to work on until the required technique and grip is achieved, my player is now hitting short balls bringing their opponent into the net and hitting short lobs, setting opponents for easy smashes and volleys as the player is confused and is trying to finish the point early with a dropshot and lob.

The consistency I am working with them to achieve will develop into depth as we continue to work on technique and as they hit more with hitting partners/matchplay leading to a point where the high ball to the baseline/corners will be much more effective.

In my eyes, hitting partners are invaluable and are a must for all players, not just players who play at a high level. They help players work on techniques learned in group sessions as well as private sessions. Even as a coach I have a hitting partner as I sill need to keep improving and develop my own game to help my players improve.

The last person in a players team…

The role of a strength and conditioning coach

The roles of these coaches are not specifically tennis related, these are aimed at the athletic ability of each player. There is only so much a coach can do e.g. footwork but if a coach can see where a player is struggling then they can tell the S&C coach giving them a target area to work on such as speed around the court, balance or core strength.

Once again, in my experience, I have sought the advice of a S&C coach and done the best I can as finding time for the S&C coach to work with my player is proving extremely difficult therefore my player cannot reach their full potential until we achieve their goals on a non tennis related skill set which at the moment is court coverage and movement, which means I can start to develop footwork further.

The final part of a players team is…

The role of the players family

A players family plays a massive role in a players development as a tennis player, through their attitude and encouragement.

Now families can have positive and negative impacts on players depending on how they interact with the player.

Families that get too involved with no tennis knowledge can have a negative impact as they don’t always understand the players achievements.

My experience tells me that this can be the case, with a family of a player I coach, I have to reiterate the results of matches and the achievements of the player, one match my player won 6-2, a family member was picking out mistakes my player was making which is a perfect example of family getting too involved in a players play. in another match, the same player went 5-2 down, saved 3 match points then clawed back to go 6-5 up only to lose 7-6 in a tiebreak and a family member again was picking out mistake after mistake. This was a concern for me as I firmly believe that to encourage a player the family should have been complimenting the player, in the first match, on the result and in the second match, the saving of match points and even going a game away from victory. It is the job of the coach to focus on the mistakes and plan what needs to be done to improve and rule out the mistakes made.

The importance of all of these factors is HUGE to a players development but at the centre of all of this is the coach, if you have two coaches then it gets overly and unnecessarily complicated leading to mass confusion and it will be counter productive to the player.

See below the relationships of each of the team with each other…

Coach – Player – coach develops player in every aspect of tennis

Coach – Hitting partner – coach informs hitting partner of area to focus on

Coach – S&C coach – coach outlines difficulty player has for S&C coach to work on

Coach – Family of player – coach keeps family in the loop and explains all helping family be as supportive as possible

S&C Coach – Player – S&C coach works with player to improve athletic ability

S&C Coach – Hitting Partner – No link

S&C Coach – Family of player – No link

Hitting Partner – Player – hitting partner works with player on specific area outlined by the coach

Hitting partner – Family of player – No link

Family of player – Player – source of encouragement and positive/constructive comments

Any comments and feedback to this blog is welcomed as I am a young and developing coach and this is as far as my understanding goes at the moment and I am wanting to learn!

Does enthusiasm deteriorate as coaches age

Ok…You’ve just got your level 1 coaching qualification and you’re ready to change the face of tennis coaching in the UK…where do you start?

Yes… Level 2, now you can really start to make a difference in tennis…Now let me lead a session!

Level 3…here goes, watch me start coaching the next big thing in tennis with my new found skills…

Level 3 (5 years later)…The next big thing will be here soon…

Level 3 (10 years later)… hmmm, maybe i’ll just keep as I am and run my sessions…

Level 3 (20 years later)… Basket feeding and i’ll just stand here and shout…

Maybe you go further and get level 4 a year or two after level 3, ‘right, this is it, if the player won’t come to me, i’m gonna turn an average player into a Wimbledon champion…

Level 4 (10 years later)…ok they’re playing county tournaments, not bad, at least i’m working in a performance group.

Level 4 (20 years later)… Basket feeding and shouting…

How many coaches have the same level as enthusiasm from the first day of coaching right through their career? It’s rare to find a coach that is that enthusiastic, especially on a cold, wet day in the middle of winter with a group of 12 year old beginners that aren’t enthusiastic themselves.

It’s the job of YOU, the coach, to inject enthusiasm into any groups or individuals that you coach!

Is it simply that coaching techniques have changed since the ‘more experienced’ coaches qualified? Coaches do go on CPD courses but some coaches are set in their ways and go on these courses just to get their points up for the year.

I’m in a fantastic position where the coaches I am surrounded by are coaches brimming with enthusiasm and leading as an example for all of the younger coaches coming through, myself included!
The coaches I am surrounded by are like new coaches even though they are experienced, bouncing around with mini red players, joking and smiling with oranges and greens, injecting enthusiasm into juniors with conversation and jokes and even their coaching of the adults is enthusiastic enough without being over the top!

Too many coaches ‘skate’ by in the sense that they turn up to work, coach their sessions, wave players on court and wave them off again and the waving is about all the enthusiasm they show!

What makes a coach enthusiastic?

Coaches that are enthusiastic are ‘busy’ with their body language with gestures and clear demonstrations, engaging players in conversation and being excitable with their voice!

A lot of coaches that are ‘racquet huggers’ and ‘basket feeders’, show little enthusiasm and get by through shouting to players from next to their baskets and standing by the net or baseline, again, shouting at players.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is a time and a place for basket feeding however it is a skill to inject enthusiasm when feeding from a basket and also basket feeding creates a false environment of rallying/playing ponts. There are also numbers of players to take into consideration as too many players on a session means that too many players would be waiting off while the coach feeds to one player.
Same with ‘racquet hugging’, there is a time and place to observe players but coaches don’t use a racquet just to look the part, a coach uses a racquet to lead a session, with demonstrations and to also jump into drills even if it means a player waiting off and watching the coach use that time to teach.
Coaches that join in and engage with players can inject enthusiasm, create a positive atmosphere and can make the session ‘special’ meaning players enjoy and want to return to the sessions in the future.

Just remember, no one wants to be:

A) waiting off court while 5/6 other players get basket feeding.
B) coached by a coach that tries to fuse their racquet with their jacket for the whole session.
C) shouted at by a coach that hasn’t either engaged them in conversation or joined in to hit with/teach them any individual points.

Are you a basket feeding racquet hugger or are you the enthusiastic coach players respond to?

Coaching disability tennis and getting started

From my experience of coaching disability tennis, I found it best to jump in at the deep end, I would offer to take or assist with any or every disability session possible. There are so many courses to go on that are brilliant for preparing you to coach, however with the different areas of disability tennis, without the players to gain experience with you are limited to other coaches on the course with simulating equipment like glasses and earplugs which are ok but not ideal!

From my experience with VI Tennis, I went on a VI course where a number of coaches who know the drills and are not visually impaired at all put glasses on to falsify the scenario. This is not in any way like a VI session with VI players. The players I work with are much more understanding and have learned to adapt with their impairment. During the course the content was fantastic but until you get stuck in with VI players and speak with them during and after sessions, then you will never have a complete understanding of VI tennis. I am only a few weeks into my experience and love it however the courses I have been on have not fully prepared me for the sessions.
The courses focus too much on the drills and not enough on the players themselves but this comes from not having any VI players to work with.

It’s much the same in Deaf tennis although the courses were much more helpful as the course tutor was a GB deaf tennis player. With that course there was a lot more focus on the players and communication and a smaller section on court running 2 or 3 drills. Even though the course was fantastic, it focused too much on a higher standard of tennis and the players I am working with are all beginners and range from 5-90 years of age. They are based in a small hall and the largest group I take is 20 5-18 year olds with two mini red courts, with limited signing skills I had been taught the basics on the course, like ‘stand there’ and ‘watch me’ etc, which has been extremely helpful.

I work the closest with LD (learning difficulty) tennis, and one player in particular who is currently competing regularly in national LD tournaments and I am starting to introduce to mainstream matchplay and tournaments. With no prior training on working with LD players I have had to adapt through experience, and the players I work with are mainly autistic and I have had experience with autism as one of my social group has autism.
As autism is more common than is thought, more coaches need to be trained in LD tennis in particular as conditions such as ADHD and autism are common in mainstream tennis and coaches just think that the players are deliberately being naughty. The player I work with had been pushed from coach to coach as he was seen to be difficult however he has calmed down now and is being invited into mainstream squads and matchplay.

I would advise anyone doing any tennis coaching to go on as many disability coaching courses as they can as it will start to prepare them for anything although the best thing to do alongside the courses is jump in at the deep end and offer your time up to any disability session to gain ‘proper’ experience not a falsified environment.

When you are coaching a child you are not only coaching a child

How many coaches know the names of the kids they coach?

All of them? Probably

How many coaches can tell you the names of the parents or guardians?

Most of them? Maybe

How many coaches know the siblings of the players even though they never come to watch them train?

Every coach? Most definitely not!

When you take on a new player, it’s not only just to coach but you are getting involved in their lives! How many of you can remember you first ever tennis coach?
I can, my first experience of tennis was an after school club at my primary school and it was run by Sammy and Elaine on a Wednesday and I loved it.
Soon after starting it was noticed that I had a knack for tennis! If it wasn’t for the coaches of that session then I would have packed tennis in there and then. By the end of my first session both Sammy and Elaine had asked about me and made me feel more like a player than a pound sign. That was nearly 23 years ago and the impact they had means I still remember and still say hi to them when I visit home, and, more amazingly, they still remember me!

That is the biggest challenge to me, can I remembers players I coached 2 years ago? How can I possibly remember players after 20+ years when I struggle now?

I fear that this type of mentality is not emphasised enough to new coaches, that these players are more than just pound signs, they are individuals! Of course we remember the better players but what about the non hitting beginners on a wet Tuesday evening when you are cold and soaking? What are their names, do they have hobbies, any siblings? Can you engage them all on topics that relate to them as individuals or is everything general… How was school today guys? How about… How was your guitar exam Tommy? Or, Polly, how was your friends birthday party?

Players that are treated as individuals and that feel like they matter will come back! You don’t get paid extra for this but it will help during sessions as players will respect a coach that knows them as an individual!

Would you rather be treated as an individual or just a pound sign in a t-shirt?

Challenge for any coaches reading this…learn all the names of players in your smallest group and one other hobby apart from tennis, then the next group and so on!

Hope this helps in your coaching path, just try going that extra mile, you might enjoy it!