Philosophy and approach to tennis coaching
Philosophy of tennis development
We always work in a perspective of maximizing long term development – not short-term results. We believe it is the only way to truly become good at your craft. I do it through a goal-oriented process backed up by deliberate practice on a day-to-day basis. Every player is different and therefore the road is never the same. I do my best to see and understand every individual human being that I work with so I can provide the best coaching possible. That is why I prefer to keep my team small – I want to have time to do the best job possible for every player that I am working with.
The reality is that few players will become professional and make a living out of it. The journey of trying to become truly good at something is filled with mental and emotional challenges and mirrors a lot of the challenges we go through in life. I believe a full-on tennis journey, no matter how far you can take it, will benefit you in life. It will teach you discipline, how to rely on yourself, and a growth mindset that helps you overcome challenges and understand that making mistakes is part of the journey. Therefore, the journey, no matter how far you can take it, is never wasted.
Training philosophy
Practice is always specific and focused to the individual player with respect to the technical, tactical, physical, and mental/emotional aspects. We focus on what is within our power to control like effort, mindset, and attitude. If we maximize on these things that we can control, then we can explore our full potential whether it is as tennis players or human beings. Sometimes the results will be how we want them to be - sometimes they won't, but if we maximize effort then there will be development, and we can always look ourselves in the mirror and be satisfied because we did our best; therefore, we try to only judge ourselves from the things we can control.
The journey can sometimes be challenging and a lot of hard work, so it is important to also keep it fun and light, because we want a lot of big smiles on the way!