A while ago, in a conversation with one of my athletes it came up that he heard from a legend that he should play better players mostly. That works if your technique is good. Well shoot, that works I guess if your technique is not good either. But consider this idea: Most players should also play lesser skill level athletes to work on their mechanics and footwork.
In two separate workouts I observed two of the best pros in the world, one male and one female play lower skilled athletes. In both workouts I gave no feedback on mechanics or footwork. I watched what they were working on as they played racquetball with very good technique.-No, scratch that-with excellent technique! If I coached any other pros on the planet those practice sessions might not go so smoothly.
Forget winning or losing, and think about injuries due to poor technique. Poor technique causes injury and inconsistency. Many young coaches are not well-versed in technique. Worse, when I try to teach them, they are resistant. Worse than resistant I have had them actually tell me I do not know what I am doing!
Part of me is happy as they coach people my athletes compete against, but part of me is sad because if they coach nationally, they create a new generation of players who could have over-use injuries. I will repeat something I have said here often-racquetball is a new sport and most coaches teach they they play or used to play. Best case scenario that results in inconsistent play and worst case scenario, it results in injury!