For my fellow tennis teaching professionals… especially those who think that the western grip is outside the realm of acceptability and that the follow through is the most important thing to teach a nine year old.
“It’s not just about what it is, it’s about what it can be” – the Once-ler, Dr. Seuss’ THE LORAX
“Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint” – King Solomon
“The one thing worse than not being able to see is having no vision” – Helen Keller
So many lessons… so many tips… so many balls fed to so many students. Have you ever felt this way? Picture this: The parent of a young player meets you at the club and asks “do you have time for a lesson with Audrey?” “Of course!” you say, hoping to fill that nasty Tuesday 7pm time slot that no one seems to want this season. But now think what you’re really getting into…
Let’s say that Audrey is ten years old, a pretty good little athlete and has parents that both play competitive tennis. She goes to a good school with a history of good tennis teams and has a peer group who all like to play tennis as well.
Audrey needs a vision. And she needs you as her coach to cast that vision because as a ten-year old player, she cannot see it. The question that this article is going to challenge you on is: are you a “tip” pro or are you a “visionary pro?” First, let’s start with the differences between the two:
A tip pro bounces from stroke to stroke, working a little on everything all the time. A visionary pro has projects that are identified with the student and the parent.
A tip pro rarely, if ever, adds the element of competition to lessons – they play “tennis stroke.” A visionary pro teaches that tennis is a game to be played and makes game ready players through game ready lessons. They play TENNIS!
A tip pro talks a lot, always feeding their own ego and pride with all the knowledge that they’ve accumulated over years of giving tips. A visionary pro speaks very little but when they do it pertains directly to the vision for the player and there is passion behind it.
A tip pro sees the player today. A visionary pro sees the player years from now.
A tip pro looks at the physicality, strength and body type of the player today – often times seeing them as limitations that can’t be overcome. A visionary pro looks at what the players’ size, strength, and body type will be years from now and develops a style of play based on it.
A tip pro never writes things down. A visionary pro has a written plan for their students.
A tip pro tells the student what it is. A visionary pro tells the student what it can become.
A tip pro focuses on weaknesses. A visionary pro focuses on strengths.
A tip pro sees every player as fitting into one game style. A visionary pro picks the game style based on the player’s instincts.
A tip pro thinks that technique is king. A visionary pro knows that tactics always precede technique.
Finally, a tip pro develops hitters. A visionary pro develops players.
Let’s talk briefly about goal setting. So many things have been written about goal setting that we’ll keep it short as it pertains to vision. There are two types of goals for tennis: Performance goals and outcome goals.
Performance goals: These are goals that the player has complete control over. They are specific, measurable, and hopefully reasonable for the player to achieve. They may be written something like:
Double fault no more than one time per set.
Spin my serve to the backhand on the ad side.
Control my attitude between points by specifically looking at my strings when I miss badly.
Attack any short ball by approaching the net and looking to finish with a volley.
Use my forehand on any ball that comes up the middle third of the court.
Performance goals are essential for the player to have because they are completely within the control of the player and can build confidence when achieved. As I’ve told many students – “even if you lose 0-6, 0-6, if you achieve your performance goals, you’re a winner.”
Outcome goals: These are goals that the player can influence the outcome of, but ultimately they do not control whether or not they are achieved. They are also specific, measurable, and reasonable for the player to achieve. They may be written something like:
Win my first round of the district qualifier.
Get to the finals of the regional championship.
Make the singles line up of my high school team.
Get a Division one scholarship for tennis.
Achieve a ranking of top ten in the midwest.
Outcome goals are also essential for the player to have because they measure progress from year to year and give players something “bigger” to work towards. These are the outcome challenges that come from improving one’s game.
If planned correctly, the performance goals help one to achieve their outcome goals.
In short, vision is the over-arching theme by which all our decisions as teaching pros should be measured. If it helps the player to become the vision, then do it. If it doesn’t, then don’t waste either of your time.
daviddbrouwer 