Only the Brave Build with Bricks!

The Three Little Pigs – A Coaches Tale 

Once upon a time there were three coaches who set out on their journey determined to build a player.

The first coach decided that he wanted his player to win now, quickly so he taught only the strokes of tennis, ignored athletic development and the long term development of the biological and anatomical. In short he was like the Pig with the Straw House. The player could win for a short while, but his progress was ultimately limited and when he met challenges that he did not have the foundation to deliver on he ultimately didn’t have what it takes. Success was swift but also brief!

The second coach decided that he would work on developing the tennis strokes of the player. Didn’t worry about winning at 10 years old, but was more focused on the tennis player of later years, developing a game to win in their teens. Ultimately although he built a superior house of sticks, the long term future of the player was flawed by the lack of solid athletic development. Success took longer to achieve but lasted longer than coach one.

The third coach took a long term view. First he put in very solid foundations based around the athletic development of the athlete. (The ABC’s). Then he used steady solid building principles to produce a player that although took longer to develop was solid under pressure, could cope with both the physical and mental rigours of the game and had all their tennis skills in place. Not only did the player achieve success, but it was sustained over a very long period of time and was consistent.

Next time to take on the responsibility of working with a player or developing a new program remember which of the houses was left standing and how this relates to the process of Long Term Player Development.