Philosophy - Keys to Coaching a Tennis Professional

by David Sammel and Jim Edgar

The number of times I’ve heard the words “I want to be a pro tennis player” is long past the counting stage. “How do you hope to achieve this” I reply. The answer invariably is along the lines of “by practicing a lot and working hard”.

For example – would Carl Lewis have been a top class player had he chosen tennis rather than athletics? The answer is we do not know. It would depend on whether he has the necessary racquet ability. We know the physical and mental skills of a champion are present so the only question mark would be the racquet ability.

It is my opinion that a marked deficiency in any of the three skill areas counts a player out. If you analyze the top players under these three categories it is easy to see which of the three areas is the foundation of their game. The beauty of tennis is the possibility of compensating to some extent for one of the skills through discipline and hard work. This leads me to what I believe is the most important coaching skill in producing a player.

Never forget that Tennis is an individual game so keep it individual to each pupil while getting the fundamental basics correct.

I have always treated my pupils as individuals in terms of how their playing styles develop. I have never stuck rigidly to a single ’method’ or style of teaching as experience has taught me that each player must develop his or her unique technical and tactical method of play based on his or her abilities. I have tried to avoid the mistake of treating girls and boys in the same way and I have never taught my pupils the things that I did just because they worked for me when I used to play. This approach makes no sense in a sport that has changed so much in the last 10-15 years that those techniques and tactics are now largely obsolete. As I will explain, whatever game plan you develop, certain basics or fundamentals must be put in place if players are to have a chance to achieve their potential.

Pupils come in all shapes and sizes, with widely differing physical and mental abilities and capacities. It is important not to assume that all will be capable of playing the same way, with the same technique and tactics. Physical and mental maturation takes place at different timescales in children and even when they have matured they are still very different and their method of play must reflect this.

One only has to look at the top players in the world to see how they have honed their unique abilities into successful playing methods. The slightly built Lleyton Hewitt uses his natural speed and incredible competitive willpower to produce a playing method founded on unshakeable consistency. In contrast Andy Roddick is a physical giant with perhaps less natural speed and consistency than Hewitt but he uses his huge power on serve and forehand as his major weapons. Two different methods of play, but equally successful in players who are winners of Grand Slam tournaments.

Andy Roddick is a physical giant without the pure  speed and consistency of Hewitt but brings huge power off his serve and forehand to the court, giving him different advantages.

It is easy when looking at the finished product to see how obvious it is that Hewitt and Roddick would end up playing the way they do. However consider whether this was so obvious when both boys were 12 years old without the benefit of hindsight.

Perhaps not! It is more than likely that they were guided by experienced coaches to become the players they are. That is why we must be very diligent as coaches to ensure that our pupils get the right advice and direction in their long-term development as players.

Physical: Must be very strong with dynamic movement and ultimately very quick.

Technical: Usually has a good serve and solid return and at least one ground stroke will be a major weapon. Forehand grip will be semi western. Has the ability to produce great racquet head speed and probably will develop an excellent drive volley.

The Attacker

Needs to be solid and penetrating enough form the back court to receive a shorter ball where again the player must be extremely damaging from the mid-court area with good approach shots. Obviously hours must be spent on net play, the place where the attacker wants to be at the end of most points. A good serve is essential and the ability to serve and volley fairly regularly is also vital for this player. It is also crucial that the player can attack second serves by taking the return early so most points begin with this type of player dictating the play. This player must be taught to have the discipline and courage to go forward on big points.

Physical: Usually tall with athleticism approaching that of basketball players.

Technical: Very powerful serve and excellent volley and smash. Grips are usually conventional Eastern.

The All Court Player needs to be very proficient in all areas of the game. It is still vital that this player is aggressive. The skill in teaching this fabulous talent is the right choice of shot at the correct time. This boils down to understanding percentage tennis because players with great skill often try the low percentage shot because they know that it is possible. This leads to over playing and then indecision.

Roger Federer is the modern all court player. He has every shot and few, if any, weaknesses.

Generally it takes longer to learn what is appropriate for this player which possibly explains Federer winning his first Slam at 22 because his mental choices needed sharpening. It is being able to define the style for the moment.

Mental: Open minded and receptive to new ideas. Not scared to try out new things or to make mistakes. Not easily embarrassed. Perhaps more artistic than the player types above. Can adapt tactics during matches and often a very good decision maker under pressure. Relaxed about life and sees the game as an opportunity to express this. Perhaps not the most consistent player in training.

• Good balance during strokes and recovery. This means the player can move around the court with co-ordination and the ability to play their strokes with their weight going through the ball. As a good starting point check whether they split step on time. The Split step is used before every stroke except the serve. Many problems with balance arise from mistiming the split step. Players who split step too late are easily wrong footed and will be off balance or over stretching as they play their shots. It is an easy thing for a coach to recognize and correcting it will give the player the chance to develop.

• Serve and return of serve. The importance of the serve and return cannot be underestimated in today’s game. Wimbledon has to a great extent become a serve and return contest. For example, the year Lleyton Hewitt won Wimbledon he made 100% returns of serve off second serves up to the quarter final. You must ensure your pupils practice these shots for at least 40% of the time during individual lessons.

Proper grip and body rotation made Pete Sampras perhaps the greatest server of all time, both first and second serves.

Ball placement and contact height must be correct. Explosive transfer of body weight up to and through the ball must be achieved and fast racquet head speed developed. A totally reliable second serve with spin and placement must also be a priority.

You cannot sidestep these basics or you will be unable to maximize the long-term potential of the player. Below are some more helpful tips.

Try to see beyond the immediate success of unconventional technique. Look to the future. Will the technique really hold together as it has to face harder shots as the player gets older? Perhaps it would be better to ‘bite the bullet’ and alter the shot now before it becomes even more ingrained.

2. Teaching young top players to copy the Pro’s isn’t always a good idea. Players aged 11 or younger are often taught to copy the technique of top pro’s. I believe that in some cases this is a bad idea.

Rotation, especially in the upper body on the forehand follow through is a product of the huge racquet head speed but is it a good idea to teach this to an eleven year old boy?

We know that top players have increased the hip and upper body rotation on their groundstrokes in the last 10 years. Rotation, especially in the upper body on the forehand follow through is a product of the huge racquet head speed that players now generate. As the racquet accelerates more, the length of its deceleration will increase thus creating greater rotation. However, actively teaching under 11 players to rotate as much as this without being able to generate the racquet head speed is at best pointless. At worst it can lead to poor timing at contact and loss of balance as the player pulls their upper body too far to the backhand side.

I believe that we must understand clearly how technique develops progressively in tune with physical development. To teach a 11 year old player to copy all the techniques of an adult professional tennis pro is not sensible.

No coach wants to hear this, but often the most consistent skill that your pupil possesses is probably the one that you did not teach him/her! When you have a pupil with a superb, natural stroke, just go with it and encourage the player to enjoy hitting it without too much thought. Huge damage is often done when an over zealous coach tampers with a natural shot that works fine.

I have a pupil who is 14 years old with a very good serve. I make sure he practices aiming at targets for at least 15-20 minutes of every individual lesson we have. He asked me recently why I had never really taught him anything about his serve, just encouraged him to generate an explosive movement and get racquet head speed. I told him there was nothing technical that it needed and I just reminded him that as he grows it would get more powerful and become his biggest weapon. I do not feel bad about having no technical job to do here, even though I love teaching the serve. Do not fix a natural technique unless it doesn’t work.

A good game plan only works if the tools are present in the player. If a person was dropped 10 miles from the North Pole in normal clothes and told to walk to the North Pole it would not matter how mentally tough that person was, they would not reach the North Pole. The correct training, clothing and equipment would be needed to survive and even then it is a difficult challenge.

A mentally tough player will not come through without the necessary technical and physical skills, just as a walker to the North Pole would have to prepare extremely well for a chance to survive the journey. The coach has to give the player the necessary information and direction. The player brings the desire, discipline and the natural skills to the table.

The coach needs to give the player a clear picture of what type of game they will play not only for the players benefit but for his own. It keeps a constant direction in the coaches teaching. It is also important not to impose your personal preferences for playing on the player but rather to carefully assess the style most suitable to exploit the player’s strengths and personality. It is also desirable to give the player a role model to follow (i.e. a top 10 player in the world).

Begin with the end in mind! (Stephen Covey ‘First things first’)