FIRST..."SET UP THE OPPORTUNITY TO TEACH"


When I was a young coach coming up and wanting to eventually coach competitive players, a close friend of mine got the opportunity to coach a Davis Cup team. I thought this was the ultimate, and I desperately wanted to pick his brains and learn as much as possible about his experience.

Something he told me back then stuck with me. He said, "Before you teach, you must first set up the opportunity to teach." This means not to presume that just because you're the "Coach", every player will be ready to follow your teachings without question. Far from it! 

Advanced players can be very wary of any advice 
from someone they haven't built trust with yet

It's a common scenario for highly skilled players to be bombarded with advice on improving their game and ranking from every corner. In the realm of sports, it seems everyone is an expert. This reality further reinforced the need for a cautious coaching strategy.

Advanced tennis players meet "experts" 
everywhere and learn to shut 
out their advice quickly


LEARN WHEN NOT TO TEACH

Understanding the unique needs of each player is crucial. I would often repeat this to myself when working with advanced players or teams. Rather than diving straight into teaching, I would take the time to understand their game and their individual needs, fostering a deeper connection and trust.

A mistake that is made at the beginning of the
relationship between a coach and player(s) is
sometimes impossible to mend

Even today, if I work with a top player or team, I will tread carefully in the beginning until I have collected knowledge of their games and the players themselves began to learn that I was someone who could be trusted with their game.

"Sometimes it's impossible to recover
from a mistake when jumping in
and teaching too early."

From a player's perspective, what will separate you from "the rest" is that you do not jump in and teach too soon. Waiting to gain a clearer perspective of the player or team will help to differentiate you from other coaches and ultimately clear the way for a great relationship in the future.

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

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