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June 1999 Article Wild Cards Archives:
Tennis Server
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by Nick Bollettieri
Throughout more than four decades of coaching, I have interacted with people
from all walks of life. I continue to be disappointed with myself for not
having kept a daily diary; something to bolster my memory and prevent the
normal loss of detail that accompanies the passage of time. So, before you
end up with the same regrets, start keeping a diary today. Diaries become
treasures that recall the minutia of an event; those micro-details that make
it worth remembering in the first place.
I have had the pleasure of witnessing the complete metamorphosis of tennis.
As a coach, I've had to adjust to the new styles of play as they came along.
Without these adjustments, my students would have been victimized by new
developments in equipment, in strategy and tactics. At the end of the day,
however, hard work, dedication and the willingness to accept responsibility
for successes and failures have always been the underpinnings of a champion
athlete. Practicing with a purpose and being repetitious is the quality
that allows an athlete to achieve absolute confidence. This repetition
translates into the life-blood of a championship performance, the experience
of having hit that shot a thousand times before, and knowing that you can
hit it this time as well.
Successful coaches have the capacity to elevate the performance of a student
to another level. All s/he can hope to achieve is to elevate the student to
reach for the maximum level of his/her ability. Trust me, this is not easy
to do! Coaches who understand their students, their moods, their fears,
their needs - of gaining the respect of talented athletes, these are the
coaches who have a chance of lifting their students to reach their
potential. Indeed, this may be the defining characteristic of a coach, and
what differentiates him from a teacher or instructor.
A coach develops an understanding of the true personality and other hidden
nuances of his student. This description is not intended to diminish the
importance or value of an instructor. His or her role is vital.... But the road to
exceptional, outstanding or world-class performances is littered with the
carcasses of talented individuals who took to the road without a coach.
One question I am often asked is do you have to be an ex-player to be a great coach or can you excel as a coach after only a limited playing career?
This is probably an argument to which there is no absolute agreement. There
are advocates for both sides, each with equally weighted arguments.
However, in the badly paraphrased words of Gertrude Stein, a coach is a
coach is a coach. His or her entire persona is wrapped up in the nuances of
coaching which include the physical, mental, and social aspects associated
with the game. You might say the same of a CEO. If he/she is good, he/she
is just as fired up, and wrapped up in all areas of the company as is the
coach in his/her team.
Many of today's coaches, who work with professional tennis players, see the
players solely at tournaments, or simply a few days prior to the start of a
tournament. In my judgment, a coach working only thirty weeks a year isn't
a coach; he/she is a traveling companion. To fit my definition, a coach at
any level must be part of the practice, planning and implementation of the
plan to succeed. How effective would Don Shulla have been simply showing up
for eleven to twelve games each year and allowing Marino to prepare on his
own? That's our definition of coaching, and in our opinion it differs from
the basic philosophy credited to a teaching professional who because of his
club responsibilities with juniors, beginners and advanced, adults and other
clientele must remain at the club to oversee all the managerial
responsibilities of his position.
According to MacMillian's Dictionary, a coach is: How important is a coach and how much
input should he or she provide the athlete on and off the playing fields?
The best who ever coached were "hands-on" men and women who had input into
every area of the young athletes' lives.
The most successful coach in women's NCAA basketball history is the
University of Tennessee's Pat Summitt. In terms of men coaches, Dick Gould
of Stanford should also be mentioned. You can bet that they didn't just
coach from three until five; they are all intimately involved in all areas
of their players' lives. This involvement, I'll wager, separates their
programs from that of the rest of the pack.
What is a Traveling Coach?
To begin with, a traveling coach must know how to, and be
prepared to do it all, both on and off the court. He/she must have some
expertise in all of the following:
You must understand and control the attitude of your student in the
following situations:
Nick Bollettieri can also be reached at http://www.bollettieri.com/. If you wish to provide a comment to the author of this Wild Cards column, please use this form. Tennis Server will forward the comment to the author.
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