My Coach - February 2012 issue

A SECTION DEDICATED TO TENNIS AUSTRALIA COACH MEMBERS

MyCoach

68 Keys to effective communication

The ability to communicate effectively with players is a critical element in coaching them.

70 Sweat, tears and courage

Coach Ryan Kebblewhite combines coaching tennis and actually playing it superbly.

71 What do you see?

Known for his powerful serve, Juan Martin del Potro provides a quality example for students to follow.

72 What does a coach see?

There’s science in developing superior observational abilities.

74 Coach Talk 76 Coaches’ Corner

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2012

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A SECTION DEDICATED TO TENNIS AUSTRALIA COACH MEMBERS Tennis Australia Coach Membership T: 03 9914 4191 F: 03 9650 1040 Email: coachmembership@tennis.com.au Website: www.tennis.com.au/membership

Marian Vajda, long-time coach to Novak Djokovic, understands communication is a two-way process.

Look and Listen before You Leap:

Keys to Effective Communications with Players

MyCoach

The ability to communicate effectively with players is the most crucial ingredient in coaching them – and as DR JANET YOUNG explains, it’s a skill that coaches can build and continually refine.

“One of the keys to successful endeavours is the ability to communicate effectively. This means being able to listen carefully, help clarify shared values, identify a common vision and focus on resources to accomplish a goal.”

– Linda Bunker, Scholar

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magine one of your players is going to an awards night and will be talking about you as his/her coach. What would you like your player to say about you as a coach? While the response to this question will inevitably vary for each

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coach, it is likely that most coaches will nominate they would like to be recognised as a “good communicator”, a person who knows what to say, when and how to say it and what not to say.

After observing many coaches working with players both nationally and internationally, and also drawing on my own experiences as a coach and former professional player, I offer the following key guidelines and tips coaches might consider in developing and fostering effective, open and harmonious communications with players.

Guidelines to Improved Communications ■■ Effective communication is a two-way process (i.e. involves phases or steps and a shared understanding between two or more individuals).

■■ Effective communication between coach and player addresses three integrated issues – What, Why and How – what the player is to do, why he/she should do so, and how he/she should do it.

■■ Effective communication generally stems from a coach/player relationship based on respect and trust (rather than criticism and control). Remember that comments to players need not be judgemental.

Coaches should acknowledge a player’s strengths, achievements and efforts (thereby facilitating learning whereas judgement generally interferes).

questions require more than just a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Open-ended questions usually begin with What, How, Could, Would e.g. “How would you like me to help you?” “What do you have to achieve this lesson?”

■■ The appropriate use of non-verbal cues (e.g. hand and body movement, voice tone, and gestures) can greatly enhance effective communication. Use these powerful tools wisely! Also, the ability to “read” a player’s non-verbal cues/ body language can be invaluable in understanding your player.

■■ Use paraphrasing to show a player you understand what he/she is saying. For example: Player – “I don’t know what to do. I keep losing first round matches even though I am playing against girls I should win against. I feel like my tennis is going backwards, yet I am putting in more and more hours on the court. It is getting me down”.

Coach’s Response – “You are working very hard at your tennis yet not winning matches you feel you should. Naturally you are feeling discouraged”.

■■ All the ideas, theories and techniques will be ineffective if you cannot make them relevant, practical and meaningful to the individual.

■■ It is possible that a player can tell you something, ask that you keep it confidential, yet unconsciously want you to take some action (that may be why they tell you). In some situations coaches will have a duty of care (to that player and others) to act.

■■ There will be times when you must be willing to honestly tell a player what you think (such as when a player is not putting in the effort to achieve his goal).

The challenge here is for a coach to communicate respectfully and tactfully.

Tips for Improved Communications ■■ Be a good listener – to what a player wants, to what works for them and to their suggestions. Does the player feel he/ she is the only or most important person in the world when interacting with you?

■■ Take the time to know each individual – what does a player bring to a situation (such as age, experience, attitude) that allows you to see it “through the eyes” of that player?

Non-verbal cues enhance effective communication.

■■ Take a case-by-case approach – not only is each player different but the same player can react to a similar situation in different ways over time. Be aware that players are motivated to play for different reasons (such as to be the best they can, win Grand Slams, play against the best in the world, play Davis or Fed Cups) and these reasons may change over time.

■■ Gain an awareness of what you bring to each situation (e.g. your beliefs, experience, goals). Be aware that you create the “coaching climate” such that the criteria for a player’s success can be winning and/or getting better and improving one’s game. This should be tailored to each individual and continually monitored.

■■ Don’t rely on a “my door is always open” approach with your players – also go out and find them to discuss how things are going or if there are issues to address.

■■ Use positive terminology – for example, instead of talking about “choking” rephrase it in terms of being tough and determined to find a way to fight back.

■■ Keep it simple – use words and terms understood by the player.

■■ Use non-verbal cues to appropriately complement what you want to convey.

Every player reacts to situations differently.

■■ Use open-ended questions – this facilitates understanding a player’s feelings, opinion or problem because such

■■ Avoid “communication blockers/blunders” as these tend to negate the rapport you have with a player, invalidate a player’s feelings and imply he/she is wrong, inferior or unworthy. For example: —— Ordering, commanding: “You must get your serve in”.

—— Warning: “You had better not lose to this player”.

—— Criticising, disagreeing: “You are wrong to get another partner”; “How could you possibly think that was going to help your tennis”.

—— Berating: “You’re acting like a two-yearold brat”, “You shouldn’t feel like that”.

—— Give and get feedback – short, simple, constructive, immediate and direct feedback tends to be most effective and accelerates the learning process.

Conclusion Given there will be numerous distractions and obstacles on the road to excellence, coaches play a vital role in guiding players.

To do this successfully, coaches need to communicate to players with sensitivity, respect and honesty. This requires taking the time to know a player, listening to him/ her and then thinking before you set the direction for that player in what you say (or fail to say). Remember there are different “coaching styles” but all “good coaches” are effective communicators.

Dr Janet Young is a Tennis Australia Club Professional Coach / Sport and Exercise Psychologist.

Reprinted with permission from the ITF Coaching and Sport Science Review www.itftennis.com/coaching/sportscience Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2012

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■■ Players should know that coaches genuinely “care” about them as people.

Coaches therefore need to be concerned about the person as well as the player (for example, being able to recall what a player told you in previous discussions is a good way to show the player that you really listen and care).

Sweat, tears and courage Having been encouraged by his Pa when he moved from Sydney to the Gold Coast, Kebblewhite started playing tennis at the age of 12.

“He took me to the local courts and from there on I loved it and ite started doing lessons with the e wh a l ia e bbl r K t s local coach Bev Peck,” he says. n u ya is A e: R en n h T The Tennis Australia Club : Na m n ub, coa c atio i s Cl li fic ssiona l Professional coach has now n a n u Q Te e in P rof e a ch r r u mb B been coaching for nine years e l u Club C vil ot t s e a c h ld C o a s t P B and the bond he formed : b m l o Clu Pa l, G st a nd Coa with athletes was the c ho o S W h t S h r N ig No ts H catalyst for his decision pper 9) S p or WU 0 S 0 N 2 ( : s r to coach in a more d a r e Awa of t he Y permanent role. h c Coa “When I finished Year 12 I was asked by local coach Scott Syman to help him with a couple of lessons on an arvo. At this stage I was training fulltime and heading to tournaments pretty much most weekends,” he says.

“But as time went on my hours on the coaching court were building up and my The saying may be ‘Those friendship and bond with all the kids was so good. This is when I decided that I wanted who can’t do, teach’, but to be a coach and have a real crack at it.”

Kebblewhite is now the Director and head this is far from the truth coach of Sonic Tennis, which is located at Pottsville Beach in New South Wales and for Ryan Kebblewhite who Palm Beach Currumbin Sports High School combines both playing and in the Gold Coast.

“I started my own business Sonic Tennis coaching successfully. in January 2009 and in November 2010 Sonic Tennis took over coaching rights at Palm Beach Currumbin,” he says.

And he’s definitely seen it grow. When he he pressure on the court, the times first started, Pottsville Beach Tennis Club only when you feel like you’re down and had 12 athletes involved within the coaching out but come back from the brink program, but these days Kebblewhite has 145 are moments that every player experiences athletes enrolled in coaching, along with nine during their tennis playing days. competition teams, which were only one.

But when this is still fresh in the mind At the moment 14 of Kebblewhite’s of a coach, who in fact feels these as he athletes have national points and with his continues to compete, this is sure to be an commitment to his players, he’s sure to make advantage to the student who is under this an even bigger impact to the tennis careers type of coach’s guidance. of many juniors.

“When I play matches and students are “One thing I want my players to take away watching I give nothing less than 110 percent from my coaching is the intensity and hard win or lose,” Ryan Kebblewhite says. work that we focus on in our sessions. My “I want to walk off that court knowing goal as a coach for each session is to have the that I have nothing else left in the tank and kids walking off the court feeling that I have hopefully my students see that as a good reached or gone past their maximum effort of thing and it inspires them to work just as level of play and intensity,” he says. hard. I will always prepare, be organised and “Knowing that I reached that makes me be ready for anything. So this can only been happy and I want all my students to use that passed onto my students.”

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key factor when it comes to the battle in the arena. I never want my students or myself walking off court saying ‘what if?’.”

With this philosophy in place, Kebblewhite is aiming to get the most out of his athletes, and with not singling out favourites; he upholds a positive relationship with all his athletes. And at 25 years of age, he can still relate to many of his athletes.

“I keep everyone on the same par … I respect my red class players just as much as I respect my High Intensity Squad tournament players,” he says.

“I will always listen to what every student has to say. When we are away travelling, when we are not at the courts I try to have as much fun with them as possible as well as trying to engage into what the students like music, hobbies and movies.”

And to experience the travelling tour, Kebblewhite travels with a group of athletes

Ryan Kebblewhite encourages his students to give it their all.

to 15–20 tournaments a year. They even ventured to Melbourne for the first three days of the Australian Open last month.

During the Melbourne tour a week before the Australian Open Kebblewhite’s athletes played the Victorian Grasscourts at Wodonga with Dylan Bloor and Blake Kebblewhite winning the 16 boys’ doubles.

“They were down 1-6, 0-5, down two match points at 15-40 in the final, but they came back and won 1-6, 7-5, 11-9. So was very impressed to see the fighting effort I use and teach for every point wear off on my students.”

“Seeing students improve, seeing children battle it out on court sweat, tears and courage and seeing them walk off doing things you have taught them is what it’s all about.”

What do you see?

By the Stroke Master

Named as the Comeback Player of the Year in 2011 Juan Martin del Potro jumped from No. 485 to finish the season as the world No. 11. Below we look at his powerful service action.

Shoulder tilt allows shoulder over shoulder rotation for a more powerful serve.

Elbow is spaced well away from the trunk to allow an effective throwing motion and assist with racquet displacement upon the beginning of the forward swing.

Separation angle between the hips and shoulders. This places the muscles of the trunk on stretch that results in a more powerful serve.

MyCoach

Effective knee flexion drives the racquet behind and away from the body.

Foot up technique allows for greater vertical power up to contact.

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2012

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Observation is a critical component of a coach’s role.

What can a coach see?

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ennis coaches spend a lot of time out on court monitoring and scrutinising the performance of their players. It’s their job to view a player’s action, analyse critical features, detect errors and provide timely and accurate feedback so that the player’s performance can be improved.

Consequently, the skill of observation is critical for coaches and is likely to impact the success of the coach. What the coach can or can’t see when observing a player’s technique directly influences the feedback that can be provided to a player.

A coach who displays advanced observation skills is likely to see more of the technical features of a player’s action and as a result will be able to provide the player with more detailed feedback.

A coach with less advanced observation skill will pick up less information from the player’s action and therefore provide less detailed feedback. What a coach sees are the kinematics of the action; that is how the player’s limbs are positioned and coordinated in space to produce the desired movement outcome (ball speed and direction).

On court, a coach regularly views a player’s technique, provides instruction and then 72

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reviews his/her technique again to see if the player has implemented the instruction correctly. Here, while some experienced coaches would have the player believe that they are able to detect even the most subtle of technical changes, the extent to which coaches can actually do this remains untested and has received little attention

in both coach and sport science focused research. In other words, it is not known how sensitive coaches are at detecting changes in technique, nor to what degree change must occur for it to be detected.

It therefore shapes as an interesting paradox that research on expert performance and the perception skills of tennis players has been

The perception skills of athletes allow them to anticipate shot direction.

coaches of all levels should consider the practical implications of any feedback that they prescribe, ensuring feedback is tailored to a level which can be understood and then implemented by athletes.

Ever wonder … whether you can ‘test’ the technical skill required in our sport?

Throughout 2011, approximately 100 players (aged six–12 years) took part in a range of tennis skills tests. Their results for each test were correlated with their Australian ranking and age ranking to determine which tests were valid measures of tennis skill. The results indicated that the volley test, which involved players standing three metres from a wall and alternating forehand and backhand volleys to a one and a half metre wide x one metre high target area suspended one metre from the ground, was the most valid measure of tennis skill among this group of players. Other tests conducted included an occlusion test and an adaptability test; however, correlations between the players’ scores on these tests and their age and Australian ranking revealed much weaker associations.

Anticipating a serve correctly can be a huge advantage.

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Had the most difficulty anticipating the slice serve yet were able to identify, with reasonable accuracy, where slice serves were being hit.

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Whom were ranked higher were significantly better at predicting the slice serve and its direction as well as the kick serve and its direction.

Volley test best score 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4

From the stands

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“He always begins with a serve down the centre!”

Why do the best players appear to ‘know’ where the ball is going before it has been hit? It appears that these players become aware of their opponents’ habits and base their judgements on what is referred to as situational probability information. For example, if a player generally aims the first serve of each game to the T, it is highly likely that better players will recognise this and begin to anticipate accordingly.

Indeed, recent research has confirmed just that: in a comparison of the anticipatory responses (to tennis serves presented on a plasma screen) of Australia’s best 16–20year-old players versus 10–12-year-old players, the older players were observed to pick up the occurrence of the imbedded service patterns significantly earlier than the younger players. This highlights the importance of situational probability information in aiding anticipation, but also demonstrates that it takes time and practice for this capacity to be developed.

By Georgia Gilbin and Tim Buszard (Tennis Australia PhD students).

0.2 0.1 0

Age

Aust Rank

Age Rank

Figure 1. The correlation between the volley best score and the player’s age, Australian ranking, and age ranking. The circle highlights the correlations that were significant at the 0.01 level.

Research Corner … can young players anticipate the type and direction of a tennis serve?

Recent research assessed the ability of young players to anticipate the type and direction of a Wayne Arthurs’s tennis serve presented on a plasma touch screen. Three types of serves were presented: slice, kick and flat, while the directions of the serves were classified as wide, body or T. Some interesting results were observed. Young players: ■■ Generally anticipated the type of each serve more accurately than the direction of the serve.

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Found the flat serve the easiest to identify (as compared to the kick or flat); but with trouble in predicting its direction.

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2012

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Spearman’s rho correlation coefficent

so plentiful. For example, the notion that expert players have “all the time in the world” has received much attention. It’s borne out of experts having superior ability to see and understand body kinematics, which ultimately affords them more time to react. In tennis, expert players have been shown as better at perceiving and interpreting an opponent’s body movements prior to ball impact, allowing them to accurately anticipate shot direction and produce a successful response.

While coaches are not under the same time pressure as players returning a serve or a ground stroke, their ability to interpret body and racquet kinematics is critical to effective coaching – particularly when it comes to providing meaningful feedback.

Like with expert players, it could be that expert coaches are also better equipped to perceive and interpret important kinematic information, and then to use this information to determine changes in technique. Indeed, work in gymnastics, suggests that expert judges have a similar ability to expert players to use kinematic information to anticipate (errors in) an upcoming action.

This enhanced understanding or ability to interpret the kinematics of an action is what separates the expert players, coaches and judges from the less skilled novices, allowing experts to make informed, accurate and often quick decisions.

In tennis coaching, a sound understanding of the technical components which make up an action is crucial regardless of skill level.

Technical analysis and error detection rely on the coach’s ability to view the kinematics of an action and compare them to an ideal model or template of the same action. With a greater understanding of kinematics, a coach is able to identify global problems (e.g. low clearance over net) and use their superior knowledge to pinpoint the causes of these problems.

This knowledge allows the coach to prescribe more specific exercises or drills targeted at addressing the mechanical cause and not effect. A more compelling question then becomes what degree of change needs to occur for a coach to be able to detect a change in technique? As abovementioned, the answer is unknown yet critically important to the success of any interventions prescribed by a coach. An intervention is likely to be more successful if the coach is sensitive to changes in the desired kinematics, and of course, the athlete is able to then accurately implement and execute the instruction.

It is possible that expert tennis coaches are highly attuned to the kinematics of an action, with the ability to detect relatively small changes in technique, yet our understanding of what a coach can see remains limited and requires further research. In any case,

Coach Talk

Coach and Talent Development update

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hat a huge year 2011 was in Coach and Talent Development, with significant advancements of our coaching pathway, record numbers attending professional development workshops and further development of the online learning platform Bounce. As we move forward into 2012 and we continue to develop coaches who can drive participation and performance, see below what Coach Education has to offer.

Professional Development In 2012 there will be more than 50 face-toface professional development activities a coach can complete to stay up-to-date with the latest trends in tennis coaching. This year there will be a greater emphasis on Business Development and Facility Management as we continue to support coaches growing their programs and pathways.

We will also be coordinating numerous First Aid courses to ensure you have the opportunity to gain your First Aid certification before 30 June, allowing you to meet the new Coach Membership requirement of compulsory First Aid.

MyCoach

The 2012 Australian Grand Slam Coaches’ Conference This year’s conference was an overwhelming success with a record number of delegates.

Over 240 coaches and industry professionals were educated and entertained by over 30 world-class speakers including Judy Murray, Jofre Porta, Kenneth Bastiaens, Craig Jones, Butch Staples, Michele Krause, Vic Braden and Frank Giampaolo to name but a few. One of the real treats was hearing the thoughts of Toni Nadal who closed 74

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the conference giving his thoughts on the game and what it’s like to develop one of the greatest players of the modern era.

Delegates also had the rare opportunity to watch Australian Open 2011 champion Kim Clijsters in a closed practice session and to hear the coaching insights of James Hird at the Coaches’ Conference dinner at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. The conference also offered the delegates the ability to create their own conference experience via the various streams: Champions, MLC Tennis Hot Shots, Cardio Tennis and Places to Play and the additional practical sessions on the final Sunday.

Bounce – Online learning Bounce is an initiative by Coach Development to improve our already world leading courses, along with providing far greater professional development opportunities than ever before. Bounce is an online platform, which will bring about a fun and interactive learning environment to further develop the learning journey of a coach. There a many features of Bounce which include: videos from conferences and workshops, discussion forums, coaching tips and activities, interactive flash presentations, questionnaires, networking opportunities, marketing resources and templates.

Coaches who are an MLC Tennis Hot Shots Deliverer, Cardio Tennis Coach or Talent Development Coach will receive the added benefit of additional content on Bounce which is directly related to these programs. Each qualified coach member can access Bounce (www.tennis.com.au/coaches/login) through their MyTennis profile. For further information

on Bounce or for technical support please contact bouncesupport@tennis.com.au.

Coaching courses and qualifications Tennis Australia Coach Development offers coaching courses to meet the needs of all potential or current coaches, from school teachers and volunteers through to coaches working with high performance players on the tour.

In 2012, we will be linking the Tennis Australia courses with the Vocational Education and Training Sector, which will allow eligible coaches to access Federal and State Government funding and complete Traineeships. This is an exciting development that will be rolled out nationally throughout 2012. For further information on any of our coaching courses including upcoming dates please visit www.tennis.com.au/tacourses.

Coach and Talent Development Teams in your state We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome the new staff who represent coaches in your state or territory who will provide the courses, professional development workshops, Project Talent initiatives such as Talent Development Camps, Super 10’s competitions and work with the coaches specialising in the development of 12/u players as well as all the other Coach and Talent Development initiatives, services and benefits.

Vic.: Bernie Goerlitz, Alex Jago, Adriana Szili; NSW: Nicole Arendt, John McDougall, Margaret Parker; Qld: Ash Naumann, Derek Burden, Courtney Haynes; WA: Callum Beale; SA: Brett McLennan; NT: Pat Coburn; Tas.: Appointment pending.

Coach Talk

Kids take over Australian Open 2012

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experience and have fun and we hope the day helps inspire the next generation to play tennis,” said Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia’s Director of Tennis and Australian Open Tournament Director.

We would like to send a huge thank you to the 50+ tennis coaches who contributed to making MLC Kids Tennis Day a positive and memorable tennis experience for all of the kids involved.

MyCoach

he kids took over Melbourne Park on Saturday 14 January for the second annual MLC Kids Tennis Day. The event had over 6000 registrations, more than triple that of last year, and provided kids the opportunity to play tennis on the same courts as their Australian Open heroes and play MLC Tennis Hot Shots under the guidance of Tennis Australia qualified coaches.

Other activities included a craft tent, photos with the Australian Open trophies, racquet stringing demonstrations plus roving entertainers and face painting. The event concluded with a showcase featuring local celebrities plus the big name players … Kim Clijsters, Sam Stosur, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal and legends Henri Leconte and Mansour Bahrami plus a concert from high energy pop-artist, Timomatic.

“The motivation behind MLC Kids Tennis Day is to give kids a great tennis

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2012

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Coaches’ corner

Key ingredients to running a successful business Boasting numerous accolades, including BRW Fastest Growing Private Business in 2010 (turnover less than $100 million), Sportsnet Corporation has built a reputation as an industry leader in sports travel. With this in mind, CEO and founder of Sportsnet Coroporation, Rob Cecconi presented at the Australian Open Workshop Series, held in Brisbane.

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n 4 January, Tennis Australia Coach Development once again played host to Queensland’s premier professional development workshop for tennis coaches; The Australian Open Workshop Series.

Attendees were able to hear from experts in a range of fields covering the workshops theme, “Business and Performance – Creating the Link”.

Rob Cecconi commenced proceedings with a presentation on ‘Key Ingredients to Running a Successful Business: The 12 Lessons.’ More than qualified to discuss this topic, Cecconi is the founder and CEO of Sportsnet Corporation, a travel company in its 14th year of operation which specialises in creating and marketing “travel experiences” to major sporting events worldwide. He is also currently building the Sportsnet Foundation, with a vision to inspire children to dream without limits and to embrace sport.

Lesson #1 vision: The ability to visualise and articulate a possible future state for a business is a vital component of success.

For example, Sportsnet’s vision is: ‘To be recognised as the world’s most innovative lifestyle travel group’.

MyCoach

Lesson #2 purpose: Every organisation has a purpose. Every organisation needs its purpose, to simply exist. Because our need for purpose is so great, we long for tools that might help us clarify, communicate and understand our collective purpose. In addition to communicating our purpose, we also want to move towards it. Tangibly, deliberately, assuredly. Using the Sportsnet Foundation as an example, those involved operates in and around a single purpose: to ‘Inspire children to dream without limits.’

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Lesson #3 core values: Cecconi stated that the nexus of his organisation is its core values. Core values are those which bind thoughts, decisions, and actions.

In discussing Sportsnet’s core values in other articles, Cecconi said “the quality of your life is all relative to the emotions you feel every day. Our core values are constant reminders to always display a positive, resourceful and obliging state when dealing with clients, suppliers and each other.”

Lesson #4 culture is king: The team culture of business today places greater emphasis on the ability to work effectively within a team environment. Before creating the environment, a business must have the right people. Positive measures to ensure a winning culture include celebrating success, supplemented training and charity days.

Lesson #5 small is big: The coaching industry is being fiercely contested with new business every day. In order to compete with, and ultimately surpass its competitors, it must produce and sustain quality products and delivery. Attention to detail is the easiest way to ensure quality of product and delivery.

Lesson #6 innovate (culture): Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Cecconi employed his audience and fellow businessmen to adapt the same principle in their own environments.

Lesson #7 solve problems first: The only way a business can maintain fast growth is by giving staff the authority to solve problems as they occur. Change is uncontrollable. What a successful business MUST ensure, is that the

rate of change within the business remains greater to that outside it.

Lesson #8 R & D (rip-off and duplicate): Steve Jobs once said “It’s hard to be original.” With this in mind, Cecconi encourages his employees to ‘ripoff and duplicate,’ striving to be bigger and better with innovation as the key.

Lesson #9 do the opposite: Sometimes doing exactly the opposite of what you have been doing up until now can turn out to be the perfect solution. Challenge your competitors not through doing the same thing better; challenge your competitors by doing the opposite.

Lesson #10 sales & marketing focus: Sales and marketing is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves. Model your business on world leading organisations; you know their brand for a reason.

Lesson #11 find a better way: Akin to lesson 6, businesses must never be of the mentality that they have achieved all there is to achieve in their chosen marketplace. Time nor change waits for no man, and thus if innovation is not embraced, one will be left behind.

Lesson #12 manage risk: The ability to control risk is fundamental to entrepreneurial resilience. Good risk managers can take more bets, recover from setbacks and stay in the game longer. They learn to see mistakes as part of an entrepreneurial “trial and error” process rather than a killer blow.