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The end of year ITA Coaches convention provided a great opportunity for coaches to get prepared and pumped for the upcoming spring season. About 300 coaches attended this conference in Naples, Florida from December 12th through the 15th. Nothing could be better for tennis players than the sun in December, a beach resort, and tennis, tennis, and more tennis. Everything you could think of was discussed over the weekend: peak performance, singles drills, doubles drills, running practice, life lessons taught in tennis, strategy and tactics, rock n’ roll and tennis, cardio tennis, and biomechanics just to name a few. Below is a little taste to the shared wisdom, fun, and humor over the weekend.
Coach Greg Patton, head men’s tennis coach from Bosie State shared his innovativeness when it comes to making practice fun and productive. Tennis is an individual sport but college tennis turns a solo sport into a team sport. Coach Patton describes “…everyone wants to belong on a team and practice can create that feeling…instead of playing for yourself, you can create an atmosphere where you are playing for each other…playing for a common goal…” One way Coach Patton creates this environment is also through music – Bob Marley to be specific during practice (Ya man!). He described the tennis courts as the “fountain of youth” and “a playground…play for that type of feeling again!” Patton asked the question, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” Most responses would be, “losing.” But, Coach reminds us, “No, it’s not losing. It’s not playing!”
Now, how about women’s tennis? Head women’s coach for Northwestern University and the 2008 Wilson/ITA National Coach of the year for Division I, Claire Pollard led a clinic entitled, “Getting the most out of Women in College Tennis.” Her introduction started off with a story:
A man walking along a California beach asked the Lord to grant him one wish. The Lord said “Because you have tried to be faithful to me, I will grant you one wish.” The man said “Build me a highway to Hawaii, so I can drive over anytime I want.” The Lord said “Think of the enormous challenges for that kind of project. The supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific. The concrete and steel it would take! Take a little more time and think of another wish.” The man thought about it for a long time and finally he said, “Lord, I wish that I could understand women. I want to know how they feel inside, what they are thinking when they give me the silent treatment, why they cry, what they mean when they say ‘Nothing’, and how I can make a woman truly happy.” The Lord replied, “Do you want two lanes or four?”
Coach Pollard shared in her experience and some ways that produced successful results for her program. One tip included understanding the trends of the women’s game. For example: 56% of points end within the first 4 shots of the game, return of serve is very important – good returners win 43% of pts on opponent’s 1st serve and 62% of points on 2nd serves… Pressure situational drills are added to practice to simulate pressure situations during matches. One example of this is a serving exercise- if a double fault occurs then the entire team has to run. Pollard also has individualized programs for each player on her team to account for each unique difference in their game and personality. She encourages her team to answer the question, “Are you out there for yourself or for the team?”
Another interesting topic that was covered was entitled, “Coaching Various Player Personalities,” given by Brandyn Fisher, Performance Consultant, and assistant coach at West Virginia University. He also started out with a quote,
“I’ve made mistakes with players like everyone else and I would like to take back some words that I have said or some actions that I have done. But it is a part of life to accept that we are in roles where, in some respect, we learn through trial and error. We do not always know what the right solution is, so we have to take risks.”
Coach Fisher talked about understanding the player personality. It would take an entire article in itself to discuss the details of this topic. But in summary four major player personalities were addressed:
(1) Type A (“Driver”) – this type of player often has a “yes coach” type of attitude. Motivation: constant challenges that maintain attention and desire, goal setting are important, but goal achievement is key…
(2) Analyst (Organized, wants feedback) – this type of player tends to needs structure, and wants to know what to expect. Motivation: goal setting works well, practice plans and play status are effective…
(3) Social Butterfly – this type of player is like the spirit of the team. Motivation: challenges are useful, consisting of ideas to make practice stimulating yet intense...
(4) Follower – quiet, reserved socially, leader by example on the court/conditioning. Motivation: provide leadership opportunities…
By understanding these types of trends in personality, Fisher says it can help with motivating certain players, increase communication, help prevent/limit communication breakdown, assist in conflict resolution, and foster more team cohesion.
The following topics above were just a snap shot of some of the information provided. There was many many more. It was a great event for coaches to meet with other coaches, share thoughts and ideas on how to improve as coaches on the court and off the court, and it also gave them a chance to play a little tennis themselves.
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