Forgive me for rambling on here! Coaching champions is an art form. For one thing, the athlete has to believe in you, even when they lose. Some time ago one of my athletes went down in flames in a tie breaker, 11-8. I have to say though he was pretty excited about his progress rather than the results. I don’t know if that is a good thing or bad thing. I kind of like it when players are not happy with results, and they burn with desire to go work on things. I have learned that everyone is different and the gung-ho personality does not guarantee success and sometimes the laid back athlete often over-takes the “Marine” style racquetball player.
Back to champions. They are never satisfied. They want to get better. They want to learn more. They keep working on their craft. I see kids playing and practicing but I do not see many hungry ones who won’t get off the court. The great ones keep playing and practicing.
Want to bet who will be number one? Often it is not the one you think. I was talking with a top Pro yesterday and it came to us during conversation that we all went through many days of going to the club at 8 am and not leaving until 8 pm. Hitting, playing, hitting and playing; learning our craft kept us in the club in practice and playing sessions.
To coach a champion, you must think like a champion and encourage others to do the same. It is not what you get out of it; it is what you put into it.
Special note to coaches: I really believe It helps if you have done the work back in the day because you can relate to your players. The more work you have done, the better you will be.