My Coach - February 2013 issue

Tennis Australia Coach Membership T: 03 9914 4191 F: 03 9650 1040 Email: coachmembership@tennis.com.au Website: www.tennis.com.au/membership

MyCoach

68 Hit or miss?

With a coach’s professionalism constantly on show, delivering an appropriate level of information and interactivity is critical.

70 Creating a tennis culture Honesty, fun and participation are all a focus as Tim Connelly sets about creating a top tennis culture.

71 What do you see?

World No.1 Novak Djokovic has perfected his volley action for a flawless result.

72 Perceptions of training

Does your coach think that last training session was as hard as you thought it was?

How important is it to tournament preparation?

74 Coach business:

Managing relationships The agreement a coach makes with a club could be the most important one for their business.

75 Coach drills

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2013

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Having kids stay active keeps them engaged.

Hit or Miss?

With a coach’s professionalism constantly on show, delivering the appropriate level of interactivity, punctuality and information should always be considered.

ADRIANA SZILI reports

MyCoach

T

ennis coaching is not just about forehands and backhands, but providing a professional and high quality service to all those who step onto your court. Providing clients with a positive experience allows coaches to differentiate themselves. Most people have been disgruntled with ineffective service, whether it be in a restaurant, doctors surgery or retail outlet and unfortunately the tennis industry is not exempt.

Tennis coaches are constantly being challenged by a wide variety of personalities and differing motivations. For instance, trying to coach children whose motivations fluctuate and at the same time appease their parents by providing value for money is a delicate balancing act.

Those children who may not be so enthusiastic would perhaps benefit from shorter bursts of a variety of activities. In addition, keeping children active throughout the duration of each activity can also aid in maintaining their enthusiasm rather than simply lining children up and feeding forehands and backhands. Ultimately, the goal is to give all children a positive experience so that they keep coming back for more.

Setting boundaries within lessons is another mechanism to encourage enthusiastic learners. Coaches may want to consider negotiating with students. For example, giving these more difficult children

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Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2013

an opportunity to have one minute at the beginning of the lesson dedicated to drawing on the court, dancing or using their racquets as musical instruments under the condition they dedicate the rest of the lesson to all things related to tennis. This often results in children begging to hit some balls and seldom reverting to ‘off-task’ behaviour.

As for the topic of lines, this is a coaching practice that seems to have been around for decades. Let’s face it, you can’t always avoid the line, but let’s make sure that on the odd occasion where lining children up is unavoidable, a certain amount of fluidity is maintained.

Parents who watch their children line up for a copious amount of time before they get a turn become frustrated and often question whether the lesson is worth the money they spent for it. However, more importantly, the children involved are often having a negative or uninspiring experience that drives them out of the sport.

Incorporating circuit type activities in place for at least a portion of the session can make for a more productive and enjoyable lesson. This way you can focus your attention on one or two children at a time while the rest are performing other tennis related activities.

Another issue that often arises is the constant use of mobile phones on court.

Is that phone call so important it cannot

wait until the end of the 30-minute lesson?

Does the coach really need to update their Facebook status? The answer is a certain no. Admittedly, things come up which are unavoidable and yes, most coaches have been guilty of this but why do it? Nothing was that important before the invention of mobiles, so why now? The answer to this may simply be to leave phones switched off throughout the duration of each lesson which will allow for an uninterrupted and more effective service.

Punctuality is another topic for discussion. So many coaches and other professionals are habitually late. When you are constantly late to meet clients or start lessons, it really devalues the importance of your client’s time. Unforeseen circumstances are an exception, but if coaches know what time lessons are due to begin it is their duty to ensure that they are ready to start on time.

Ideally, coaches should be arriving at their clubs early enough to have the courts prepared. That is bagged, watered, having the equipment set-up and the basket of balls out ready for the lesson. This is a more professional approach and demonstrates greater commitment than running in and out of the club room to collect bits and pieces just before the beginning of a lesson.

Maintaining a safe environment is also of ample importance when conducting

lessons. Scanning the courts prior to lessons is always good coaching practice, as is ensuring that all those participating in lessons are adhering to the rules set out by the coach. Keeping an eye out for faults on the courts or in club rooms, making sure children aren’t swinging racquets around and having the courts clear of balls during activities is an essential part of being a professional coach. While coaches should always endeavour to keep clients safe, accidents will occur and as a result, coaches need to continually update their first aid training to stay informed.

Presentation is also vital to a professional profile. While wearing clean and appropriate tennis attire seems an obvious requirement, it’s surprising how many don’t adhere to this. Although the ‘just rolled out of bed’ look might be fashionable, coaches need to leave that for their social engagements and not the tennis court.

But it’s not all doom and gloom! The tennis coaching profession has many great practitioners who instil all which is good into tennis coaching. However, for those coaches who may be guilty of answering a phone on court, keeping kids in long lines, allowing children to disrupt lessons and getting to the courts late, just try to think of how this impacts the industry as a whole. Coaches all want to be known as professional, punctual and informed. After all, it’s those people who are thriving in the business!

Maintaining a high level of professionalism is key to being a successful coach.

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69

MY TENNIS LIFE

Creating a tennis culture here (CATCH) I started playing tennis at Greenvale Tennis Club in 1980 when the club was first reestablished. My mother and father, along with other members of the local community were prominent in re-establishing the club.

My first tennis coach was former AFL premiership player Barry Davis. At the time Barry was a tennis coach and a physical education lecturer at Latrobe University but more than that he was a great teacher and role model. At the age of 16 he asked me to assist him with coaching at the club and I immediately loved it.

My coaching business Complete Tennis Services runs programs and lessons at Greenvale Tennis Club. This is the first club I played tennis at and I am now the head coach. I have seen it grow from a two-court club in the ‘80s to a nine-court facility and one of the largest junior participation clubs in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. My business also runs at Craigieburn Tennis Club – a six-court complex – and Hidden Valley Country Club. I have been coaching for more than 25 years.

Our philosophy is about providing opportunities at a grassroots level for players to enjoy the game of tennis. To generate passion, we believe tennis needs to be played and learnt in a fun environment.

MyCoach

Tim Connelly believes that tennis should be fun and easy to keep players coming back.

Our vision is “to provide an educational and fun environment that encourages people to play tennis.

We are passionate about tennis and want to see tennis develop and grow in the community.”

Our mission is “to teach all people to serve, return, rally and score. We do this by using the latest teaching method so all players are fully educated about the modern game of tennis. We love what we do because we are doing what we love.

We want you and your children to feel inspired, happy and excited by your tennis experience. We want tennis to become part of your life just as it is part of ours.”

If it is fun and enjoyable players will want to play tennis. Assisting players to develop the right attitude is about speaking their language. It’s all about finding the words or narrative they can relate to.

You have to be honest with your athletes and with junior players you must set boundaries – young players need a person who they respect and who helps to create aspirations for them.

Tennis coaching is about relationships and what I enjoy most is the people you meet along the way. Through tennis I have made

Name: Ti m Co

nnel ly Qualification s: TCAM Club Professional , United Stat es Professional Tennis Assoc iation Pro 2 Venue: Gree nvale Tenn is Club, Crai giebur n Tenn is Club and H idden Va lley Coun tr y Club Other: Tenn is Austral ia ’s M LC Tenn Hot Shots m is entor coach an d Tenn is Austral ia Ta lent Develop ment Coach

lifelong friends, travelled the world and learnt how to operate a business.

I want to continue to grow the clubs where we coach and inspire players to enjoy the game. When I was young tennis clubs seemed to be a significant hub in our local communities. In a bid to reconnect tennis clubs with schools, parents and children I have developed a program called CATCH – Creating A Tennis Culture Here. I would love to see this philosophy help regenerate the positive and healthy aspect tennis brings to peoples’ lives.

It is the pride and excitement I see on children’s faces when they are playing that I remember.

We have worked more closely with Tennis Australia, Tennis Victoria and local schools and now proudly offer all national programs. Importantly they have increased participation at all levels of competition.

These relationships have also given children the opportunity to have inspiring lifetime experiences. We have had children play on court at the Australian Open, meet their tennis idols, win major tournaments, feature in local newspaper articles and make many new friends.

When you can see that you or your sport is having a positive impact on the lives of those you teach it validates my passion for the sport and my reasons for putting so much into tennis coaching.

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Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2013

What do you see?

By the Stroke Master

To achieve the perfect under-spin on a backhand volley the racquet needs to remain opened slightly. World No.1 Novak Djokovic has perfected his volley action for a flawless result.

Racquet face is slightly open (continental grip) to impart underspin on the ball.

Head remains still and eyes are focused on the ball.

Left elbow and hand remain high to act as a ledge to ensure the racquet head does not drop.

Trunk and shoulder rotate to align the racquet to the oncoming ball.

MyCoach

Movement is continuous through contact.

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2013

71

Coaches use training sessions to prepare athletes for the worst case scenario.

Where science meets the court Does your coach think that last training session was as hard as you thought it was?

How important is this for tournament preparation?

Research corner … do coaches and players perceive training the same?

MyCoach

U

nlike other sports, in tennis there is an increased element of unpredictability, including match intensity and duration, with matches ranging in length from less than an hour to over five hours in some cases. That said, training is generally used to adequately prepare athletes for what is commonly referred to as the “worse case scenario”. Adding to this, playing schedules are continuously changing due to the complicated logistics of year-round tournaments, travel, and injury. Reliable knowledge as to what training dose is being prescribed during training is therefore vital.

To allow athletes to adequately prepare for the demands of (repeated, year-round) tennis matches, training preparation must be appropriate to the perceived and required load. With this in mind, recent research completed by Tennis Australia has investigated the perceived load of athletes from over 60 training sessions, and using a 0-10 scoring system of how hard each drill 72

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2013

and session was (RPE), this was compared to what the coaches thought. Athletes and coaches were also asked to estimate the amount of shots hit and errors made per drill.

The research findings suggest that tennis coaches have a good understanding of athlete perceived load for individual drills.

However, when comparing perception of the entire session, the findings show that coaches tend to underestimate the load perceived by the athlete. This discrepancy in session load rating is most likely due to the coach not recognising the accumulation of load throughout a session i.e. a carry over effect from each previous drill. With regards to athlete and coach stroke volume estimation, the research found that coaches are more accurate than athletes however both parties overestimated the number of shots hit throughout a given drill. Similarly, coaches and athletes both overestimated the number of errors made, although athletes were more accurate in this instance.

The benefits of the project include providing greater knowledge and awareness to coaches and athletes of physical and perceptual load on athletes during training

sessions. Some take home messages include: Coaches should be aware that although drill RPE predictions are relatively accurate, the internal load perceived by the athletes accumulates for the total session.

■■

■■

When coaches are concerned with regulating shot volume in training, it should be taken into consideration that they tend to overestimate shot count, particularly for hard court surfaces.

■■

If monitoring performance through errors in training, coaches should be aware that they tend to overestimate errors.

Practice … what do 2-on-1’s really look like?

As a follow-on project by Tennis Australia, the drills were then catalogued to form a coaching resource describing the player responses to different types of drills. One particular drill type, which is commonly used by many tennis coaches and players, are 2-on-1’s. Here we include a description of a couple 2-on-1 drills, both with all players at the baseline, then with one player at the net.

Physiological, perceptual and performance responses to 2-on-1 drills training drills and match play.

All players on baseline Average Range

One player at net

Average Range

Peak heart rate

180 ± 12

145 – 197

Peak heart rate

174 ± 12

149 – 194

Average heart rate

155 ± 15

122 – 180

Average heart rate

148 ± 19

107 – 177

Mental RPE (0–10)

5.5 ± 1.5

Mental RPE (0-10)

5.8 ± 1.7

Physical RPE (0–10)

5.4 ± 1.7

Physical RPE (0-10)

5.7 ± 1.3

Stroke volume

159 ± 81

Stroke volume

122 ± 48

Shot rate (shots/six sec)

0.9 ± 0.3

Shot rate (shots/six sec)

0.8 ± 0.4

Unforced error count

19.3 ± 13

Unforced error count

15 ± 8

Error rate (%)

12 ± 5

Error rate (%)

13 ± 4

From the stands … how much tougher is playing on hard than clay?

Naturally, with tennis played across multiple surfaces, the Tennis Australia research team has also looked at the effect of surface on the physiological and performance characteristics of match play and training scenarios. The two court surfaces that feature most prominently on the professional and developmental tournament calendars are clay and hard. With developing players involved in substantial volumes of on-court training, it is important to develop evidence-based guidelines to inform the effect of court surface on the content and structure of training from physiological and performance standpoints.

The investigation looked at two days of morning and afternoon sessions on both hard and clay with eight professional level players. The morning sessions consisted of a 90 minute drill battery, while the afternoon involved 90 minutes of match play. The testing measures used to compare the two surfaces included: ■■ Vertical jump.

A major finding to summarise from the two tables is that a greater reduction in vertical jump following match play on hard court was observed. Further, perceptual measures of RPE, muscle soreness, and joint soreness were all increased for both drills and match play on hard compared to clay court. Technical analysis from target hitting drills show a greater level of accuracy in target hitting drills by players on hard court surfaces. However, during match play sessions on hard courts a greater error rate was recorded. Finally, there was a greater player load response (GPS) during drills and match play on hard court compared to clay.

Key take home messages in comparing hard and clay court surfaces during drill and match play sessions are that it seems there are subtle differences in the technical proficiency and physiological load when training on clay compared to hard courts.

Coaches and athletes should be aware of the possible differences when scheduling training drills and match play on both hard and clay surfaces.

The training load needs to be appropriate for each player.

Alistair Murphy, Tennis Australia, PhD candidate Charles Sturt University

Physiological, perceptual and performance differences between hard and clay surfaces during training drills and match play.

Clay court

Average

Hard court

Average

Vertical jump decrease from match play

-0.23cm

Vertical jump decrease from match play

-2.02cm

Drill peak heart rate

176 bpm

Drill peak heart rate

177 bpm

Match play peak heart rate

170 bpm

Match play peak heart rate

173 bpm

Drill session RPE

6 au

Drill session RPE

7.5 au

Match play RPE

4.5 au

Match play RPE

5.5 au

■■

Heart rate.

Muscle soreness 8pm post sessions

6 au

RPE (0–10).

Muscle soreness 8pm post sessions

4 au

■■ ■■

Muscle soreness (0–10).

Joint soreness post match play

1.5 au

Joint soreness post match play

4.5 au

■■

Joint soreness (0–10).

Drill target accuracy

41%

Drill target accuracy

48%

■■

Performance measures (shots, errors and accuracy during target drills).

Match play winners

20

Match play winners

16

Match play % error

9%

Match play % error

11%

■■

Player load (force from change of direction using GPS).

Drill player load

4.6 PL/min

Drill player load

8.0 PL/min

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2013

MyCoach

Coaches and athletes can use this analysis to help make informed decisions about training sessions using 2-on-1 drills. When compared to previous match play research, it can be suggested that these 2-on-1 drills may be used to replicate match demands for heart rate and stroke rate responses.

Coaches could use this as a valuable tool to prepare athletes for a “worse case scenario” during a match.

73

Coach Business

Managing Relationships – Club/Coach Agreements The agreement you make with

Becoming involved in club activities is among many ways that coaches can build their important relationships.

your local club could be the most important relationship in your tennis coaching business.

Natasha Kersten provides some crucial advice.

W

ith the tennis industry becoming increasingly commercial, there is a growing emphasis on fostering healthy club-coach relationships.

In order to establish and preserve healthy relationships, there are a number of factors that tennis coaches looking to establish themselves at tennis facilities should consider – but none are more crucial than the club-coach agreement (contract for service agreement).

It is hard to believe that there are still coaches operating under hand shake agreements, outdated, short and/or vague service for contract agreements. This approach may appeal to some coaches due to its simplicity in the short term; however the reality is that these arrangements put both parties in a vulnerable position.

It is crucial that the relationship between club/facility and coach is formalised in a contract that outlines a job description, remuneration, any costs relating to court access and lighting, targets in services offered, dispute resolution and termination process and any additional duties or expectations. Below are a few useful points which are often overlooked by coaches when entering into a contract for service agreement.

MyCoach

1. A strong club-coach agreement has mutual objectives When entering into a contract for service agreement with a club, it is vital to understand the clubs vision and objectives.

It is important to know if you are both on the same page and whether the committee is going to support or hinder your coaching/ business activity. By jointly going through this process both the club and coach can work together on shared objectives to 74

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2013

achieve their shared vision. If the club and coach cannot agree on a shared vision then it is best discovered prior to entering a formal agreement.

2. Get involved in club activities Tennis Australia’s 2008 coaching census indicates that the most successful club/ facility-coach relationships are those where coaches are involved in club activities. Clubs and their coaches should discuss areas in which the coach can contribute such as membership promotion (progressing young players into competition and therefore membership), selection of junior teams and open days. It is important that these areas are discussed openly by both the club and coach. Clearly outline the activities which you as the coach will be involved with and in what capacity.

3. Consider your exit strategy When entering an agreement you should always have the end in mind. If you build up the coaching business and client base at a club over a period and then decide to move on, what are your options? Can you sell your goodwill? Can you transfer the contract and sell your coaching business?

Will you walk away with nothing? Ensure

that these issues are discussed openly with the committee and any agreements are formalised in the contract.

4. Have a clear process for dispute resolution Even with the best intentions, disputes can sometimes arise between tennis facility committees and coaches. A contract gives both parties the opportunity to resolve issues and should clearly identify steps to be taken to rectify disputes. Grievance handling procedures are a valuable service offered as part of Tennis Australia’s Coach Membership, guiding members through issue resolution steps and if necessary directing them to subsidised sports mediation where necessary. This process should be outlined in the contract.

A positive relationship between a club committee and club coach is central to the success of both the coaching business and the tennis club. While we never expect a relationship to sour, processes must be in place to protect your business and livelihood.

Go to tennis.com.au/coaches/your-coach for a copy of the Tennis Australia contract for services template.

Stealing Space and Time C

Author: Ashley Naumann Focus: Stealing space and time.

Stage: Green.

Equipment: Drop down lines, racquets.

1. Bounce feed approach Objective:

First Progression:

• The objective of this activity is to use the angle and take your opponent out of court to create space and take time away from your opponent.

• Add scoring. Each player receives a point for each ball they hit into the target area.

Description:

• Expand or reduce the target area based on how successful the players are.

• Set drop down lines in the appropriate area of the court (as per diagram).

Second Progression:

• Players focus on hitting the ball into the appropriate target area.

Coaching Point: • Reinforce and discuss with the players (through questioning) the type of skills required to hit the ball into the target area and what they are trying to achieve. For example, by hitting the ball into the appropriate target area (angle) what opportunities will that create for the player? Continue to ask appropriate questions to the players as they progress through the activities.

Key

• The first player to hit the ball into the target (the value doubles for this player) the point becomes open and played out.

• Take away markers and play the point out with a focus of creating the angle and taking space and time away from your opponent.

Coach

Coach feed

Ball direction

Player

Thrower/Catcher

Player movement

Spot markers Drop down lines

MyCoach

• Players start on baseline and feed crosscourt to their opponent.

Buckets Hoops

Australian Tennis Magazine | February 2013

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