Lessons Learned By Rohan Goetzke onsidering I’ve been around tennis for over 50 years, I can honestly say that tennis is one of those sports that’s harder than it looks! From playing tennis, coaching juniors, traveling and coaching on the tour, and managing tennis programs at federations and academies – over the years I’ve been involved with tennis in different roles and from different perspectives and one of the questions I am often asked is, “What did I learn over the years?”
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Being consistent Tennis is a roller coaster for the player and for the coach. There are no short cuts and tennis requires both player and coach to concentrate on the long game. That means celebrating the win and learning from the loss because both offer an opportunity to improve. While you may play brilliantly, you may still lose the match because you simply won a few less points at the end of the day. As a coach, looking at a player’s development from a long-term 40
perspective is critical. Most players are going to lose many more matches than they will win, or in the best-case scenario it is a 50/50 split. With the exception a few of the top players with unbelievable results, for the rest there is a lot of losing going on and naturally a lot of emotion as well. That is why consistency is key. If a player is struggling, losing focus, misbehaving or not doing what you they have been asked to do, a consistent message and steady emotions are critical. Chopping and changing the message every day depending on your mood or the mood of the player not only creates uncertainty and confusion, it makes it easy to drift away from the plan. Both coach and player need to accept that some days you win and some days you lose but, no matter what, tomorrow we go to work again. Quick fixes or tweaks often end up causing more harm than good and create a great deal of confusion at the same time. Consistency is essential so stick to the plan! Being the best coach Being the best coach doesn’t
New York Tennis Magazine • September/October 2020 • NYTennisMag.com
necessarily mean being the most famous coach or the most expensive coach. Being the best coach is a result of the relationship between a player and coach—the player makes the coach as much as the coach makes the player, no matter what people say. Of course, the coach’s ability, experience and character are all important but a coach makes only a small input on a player’s game in the end. In turn, the player needs to possess the character, capabilities and talent to reach their personal goals. A coach is like a guide, keeping a player on the path they’ve chosen. For me personally, some of my best coaching was with players that never made it to the tour even though they improved and got closer to their goals. Regardless, as a coach being humble is key and keeping your feet on the ground and head out of the clouds has always been my motto. Using the data It is clear that embracing technology and making it part of coaching strategy is not a choice, it’s a necessity. I have seen first-hand how coaches are using the available technology and analytics
