Coaching people vs teaching racquetball to people; that is a subtle difference. Teaching someone return of serve may go like this:
Work with them on the court. Work on their footwork. Collect the money. Make an appointment for the next lesson and go home.
One of my athletes told me the first lesson with me blew their mind.
“How so?” I asked.
“You asked me about my family, how I was doing at school and sports. You actually took an interest in me.”
I like to know who I am working with and how to work with them!
Related to this was the story I saw about the Olympic Athlete who was training and her brother passed away. Her coach would not let her return to her family and her family went along with it. She stated that for the rest of her life she will regret her decision to “go along” with her family and her coach. So her coach was looking out for his interests, and his NGB’s (National Governing Body) interest and not his athlete’s.
So coaching return of serve would go like this.
Work with them on the court after you ask how much time they have to put into their game. When you find out they are going on a religious retreat, going to a family reunion, traveling to Costa Rica, or studying for the ACTs,you have a decision to make. You must take all of the above and honor their commitments to family, Religion, and education. Then together we develop a plan based on the schedule and have that athlete do their best.
Many times my athletes have won with all of the above tasks. Why? Peace of mind for my athletes because they did the right thing! Me? The last thing in the world I want to do is force someone to train when they want to be somewhere else. It does not mean they have a bad attitude but it does mean enduring some losses in these situations. But you know what? I have peace of mind too!
That is the difference between Coaching an athlete and teaching an athlete!