I can’t remember how many times I have had meetings with players, coaches and parents who have just felt that something was not quite right, the tennis coaching is of high quality, but it is not getting the results. You do not need to be a World Class Coach or player to know when your Tennis Performance Programme is just not delivering the development you deserve. In this blog I’m going to cover the golden rules of a Tennis Performance Programme, and, in a subsequent follow-up blog, I will cover these golden rules in detail.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5Kk-55XpYk]
Tennis is an incredibly dynamic sport, developing great athletic footwork is very necessary. AMS in Indian Wells ATP Rafael Nadal videoed by Nino Severino.
Tennis coaching and the tennis specific skill development it is meant to deliver is constantly being challenged by limiting factors, and these limiting factors come in all shapes and sizes and at completely different times. The areas where these limited factors are found are as follows:
- Physical
- Mental
And each of the above can be divided into many sub areas, and this is where the “Training Intelligence” part comes into play!! If you do not possess the knowledge of limiting factors and their sub divisions it’s very hard sometimes to understand why players lack good levels of development and this can be confusing, it makes you say “My tennis coaching is good, I can’t work any harder, I give everything and other players are developing more”!! So the natural reaction is to think you need to work even harder, for even longer, and then of course any negative issues can become worse.
Golden Rule No.1
Create “Training Intelligence”, so you may ask, what do I mean by this?
I use an analogy, players who want to improve their standard need to be treated like thorough bred horses, not donkeys! Thoroughbred horses work meaningfully; they work hard and with purpose using intelligent training techniques. If we now look at the donkey and the volume of work it delivers in a day, I think we would all agree the donkey will beat the thoroughbred in terms of work load every time, but race them in the Grand National and there will only be one winner. My point is, hard and relentless work alone is nowhere near enough! You need both, Training Intelligence and hard relentless work, achieve this combination and you increase your chances of earning the talent you deserve.
Golden Rule No.2
Accept there are two limiting factors and then learn the sub divisions.
If you can achieve this it provides you with two important strings to your bow
- A clear plan of areas that need to be implemented and managed in any great Tennis Performance Programme
- And the ability to “Go Forensic” when things are going wrong or development is slow
The AMS Programme comprehensively deals with the two “Limiting Factor” components and their sub divisions in a very clear and concise way. It gives players, coaches and parents the opportunity to study the knowledge and then apply this into their programme in a very structured way. As in any craft, we need to learn the knowledge, for those who invest time in learning about the limiting factors and how to manage them; it can only increase the chances of success.
During my time on the tour I have seen how players can be transformed when they start to address the limiting factors. There is currently a tennis player on the tour who I have been following, the tennis coaching has always been of a very high quality, but this particular player has never quite hit the top league of the tour. Recently, and I mean over the last 10 months, the coach has addressed one of the limiting factors which without doubt has held this player back, and the results have been nothing short of a miracle. The player has now joined the ranks of the world’s top players and has had numerous wins against the top 10 players in the world, how can this be!! The coach and player identified the limiting factor, delivered the solution and are now reaping the rewards.
Limiting factors and the way you manage them applies to all players at all levels, you do not need to be a World Class Coach or world class player to benefit from this programme management knowledge. Understanding the golden rules and how to apply them dramatically increases your chances of development and increased performance, that’s a fact!
Golden Rule No.3
Practice “Disciplined Day to Day Training”.
Ok, so now we know, the tennis coaching needs to be of a high standard, we also know that within the two limiting factors, physical and mental there can be many hidden issues that can prevent development. We know that educating ourselves about the limiting factors can not only create a clear plan, but also gives us the detective and forensic ability to deal with problems, issues and lack of development, and to deliver valuable solutions when these are experienced.
Across the tennis specific work, which includes forehands, backhands, volleys, serves etc and the other Tennis Performance Programme elements that are non-specific, there needs to be a mind-set in the team that runs through the player, coach and parents. It’s the commitment to the day to day, week to week, month to month and year to year training discipline which is the bed rock of all players who experience rapid levels of skill development. As soon as this is abandoned, the problems will follow!!
No one was born a tennis winner, this right as in all sports must be earned. It’s earnt through understanding what a Tennis Performance Programme should include, implementing “Training Intelligence” and ensuring that this is delivered with undying regularity over a very long time. It’s really important at this point to mention that recovery is a very important element of any day to day Tennis Performance Programme and must be respected.
I’m sure you heard the saying, “If it was that easy, everybody would be doing it”!! Learning the art of “The Athlete Management System” is an investment; it takes time, and dedication. All this brings rewards, including the knowledge of limiting factors. Invest your time, as I did, do what others are not prepared to do and I can guarantee you, the chances of success increase enormously.
In my next blog I will cover in detail the two limiting factors and their many sub components.
Nino Severino
Head Coach AMS Sport
www.amssportuk.com/
