I believe coaching is all about trying to help the player reach their highest potential and ability and ultimately achieve their long term goals. For me it’s very important for the player to understand why they are winning and why they are losing out there on the court. It’s relative to what they are doing during a match that will determine this, not the coach. Coaching has to be fun for both the player and, of course, the coach.
If both parties communicate well, the outcome and learning process increases dramatically. Coaches can’t always be at all of your matches, so they must rely on truthful feedback to be able to go forward and work on problem areas. Don’t go telling your coach something what they want to hear, it must be what you believed happened out on the court otherwise it is too hard to develop your game. Remember, most weeks you are going to have a loss so as a player it’s critical that you learn from your losses.
Todd Woodbridge says that: “Coaches are a player’s second set of eyes.”
“As a player you look out and you see the world yourself and you have your own dreams, your own goals and you think you’re on the right path but you always need somebody to be looking at you.”
“They’re not just a tennis coach, they’re a life coach.”
For me personally, I worked with some very good coaches during my playing days and I was also very fortunate to be able to work with, and be guided by, one of the world’s best tennis coaches in Tony Roche. All of these people played an important role not just in my tennis, but also my own personal development. These are integral points that I too pass onto players that I am involved with. Coaching is a job where I look to learn something new every day.
Pete Tramacchi
