Welcome back! In this post, we will cover Strategy #2 of the 5 Simple Strategies To Get The Most Out of A Coach. Here is a link to Strategy #1 for easy referencing.
Tennis by and large is an individual sport. A self-centered sport. A family sport. A sport that is considered by scientists and physicians all over the world to bring the most health benefits. A sport that is often used by coaches to teach life lessons. A sport that can provide excellent academic and build massive network opportunities. And yes, a sport that can generate a very, very large payday for the elite.
Indeed tennis is a magnificent sport. It is worth every ounce of effort and energy to protect and to nurture the environment to allow the same benefits and opportunities to those interested to play in this sport.
Every parent seeks a healthy and productive environment for their child to grow. In order to make that happen, it would need every individual to contribute to the training field. You can’t just keep taking from the environment and expect it to be healthy and productive. It is not a self-generating machine.
More often than not, I see players attend their training sessions carrying the weight from their day. Maybe they’re tired from a lack of sleep having to finish up their school project or studying for their tests. Or maybe physically they’re exhausted from all the training. Or maybe they feel overwhelmed because they can’t keep up with the level. Or they’re frustrated because they feel rusty recovering from an injury. Or they’re feeling vulnerable because they lost their confidence.
“Don’t let what you can’t do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
The reasons may vary but one thing is for sure. If everyone attends their practice with their negative emotions thus negative attitude, they’re sucking the life out of the training environment. There is only so much coaches can do to pump up the player, to help the player out of their mental funk. It is the responsibility of each player to add to their training atmosphere with the right mindset, the positive attitude, the work ethic, the perseverance, the resiliency, no matter how hard their day was.
The next time you check in with your child to see how their day went, pay close attention to how they sound. If negative emotions are detected try to find solutions together what they will do differently, if they were to redo their day. In essence, you are helping them to build a better version of themself from the previous day. More often than not, they will approach the next training session with more optimism which in turn will add to their training environment. And that puts you on the driver’s seat because you are being proactive in making the training ground healthy for your kid.
Coaches value effort from players who take pride in giving their all day in and day out.
Good luck this week. Will see you at my next post – Strategy #3: Attitude Is A Skill
Yours Truly…