Throughout more than four decades of coaching, I have interacted with people
from all walks of life. I continue to be disappointed with myself for not
having kept a daily diary; something to bolster my memory and prevent the
normal loss of detail that accompanies the passage of time. So, before you
end up with the same regrets, start keeping a diary today. Diaries become
treasures that recall the minutia of an event; those micro-details that make
it worth remembering in the first place.
I have had the pleasure of witnessing the complete metamorphosis of tennis.
As a coach, I've had to adjust to the new styles of play as they came along.
Without these adjustments, my students would have been victimized by new
developments in equipment, in strategy and tactics. At the end of the day,
however, hard work, dedication and the willingness to accept responsibility
for successes and failures have always been the underpinnings of a champion
athlete. Practicing with a purpose and being repetitious is the quality
that allows an athlete to achieve absolute confidence. This repetition
translates into the life-blood of a championship performance, the experience
of having hit that shot a thousand times before, and knowing that you can
hit it this time as well.
Successful coaches have the capacity to elevate the performance of a student
to another level. All s/he can hope to achieve is to elevate the student to
reach for the maximum level of his/her ability. Trust me, this is not easy
to do! Coaches who understand their students, their moods, their fears,
their needs - of gaining the respect of talented athletes, these are the
coaches who have a chance of lifting their students to reach their
potential. Indeed, this may be the defining characteristic of a coach, and
what differentiates him from a teacher or instructor.
A coach develops an understanding of the true personality and other hidden
nuances of his student. This description is not intended to diminish the
importance or value of an instructor. His or her role is vital.... But the road to
exceptional, outstanding or world-class performances is littered with the
carcasses of talented individuals who took to the road without a coach.
One question I am often asked is do you have to be an ex-player to be a great coach or can you excel as a coach after only a limited playing career?
This is probably an argument to which there is no absolute agreement. There
are advocates for both sides, each with equally weighted arguments.
However, in the badly paraphrased words of Gertrude Stein, a coach is a
coach is a coach. His or her entire persona is wrapped up in the nuances of
coaching which include the physical, mental, and social aspects associated
with the game. You might say the same of a CEO. If he/she is good, he/she
is just as fired up, and wrapped up in all areas of the company as is the
coach in his/her team.
Many of today's coaches, who work with professional tennis players, see the
players solely at tournaments, or simply a few days prior to the start of a
tournament. In my judgment, a coach working only thirty weeks a year isn't
a coach; he/she is a traveling companion. To fit my definition, a coach at
any level must be part of the practice, planning and implementation of the
plan to succeed. How effective would Don Shulla have been simply showing up
for eleven to twelve games each year and allowing Marino to prepare on his
own? That's our definition of coaching, and in our opinion it differs from
the basic philosophy credited to a teaching professional who because of his
club responsibilities with juniors, beginners and advanced, adults and other
clientele must remain at the club to oversee all the managerial
responsibilities of his position.
According to MacMillian's Dictionary, a coach is:
"Coach (Koch)- One who trains or teaches an athlete or athletic team
v.t. To act as a coach to: train or teach, 1. To study with or be
trained
by a coach."
"Trained" appears to be the key word in this definition. You can only train
at practice, not during an event.
How important is a coach and how much
input should he or she provide the athlete on and off the playing fields?
The best who ever coached were "hands-on" men and women who had input into
every area of the young athletes' lives.
The most successful coach in women's NCAA basketball history is the
University of Tennessee's Pat Summitt. In terms of men coaches, Dick Gould
of Stanford should also be mentioned. You can bet that they didn't just
coach from three until five; they are all intimately involved in all areas
of their players' lives. This involvement, I'll wager, separates their
programs from that of the rest of the pack.
What is a Traveling Coach?
To begin with, a traveling coach must know how to, and be
prepared to do it all, both on and off the court. He/she must have some
expertise in all of the following:
- Traveling
- Leisure Activities
- Laundry
- Stringing
- Eating and Nutrition
- Transportation
- Tournament Schedule
- Arranging Practice Times and
Securing Practice Partners
- Creating and Explaining Scouting
Reports
- Mental Preparation
- Physical Preparation
You must understand and control the attitude of your student in the
following situations:
- How to deal with defeats early in the week, when far
away from home.
- What to do if you are in the tournament but need to
get to the next tournament because you are in the qualifying draw.
- Know all the rules in the event of an unusual call.
- Dealing with the student's parents.
- Dealing with younger students on the tour.
- Dealing with your significant other, while on the
road.
- Other coaches talking to your student, especially
during difficult times.
- Dealing with your student on long road trips,
especially during difficult times.
- Dealing with the problems associated with you and
your student living very far away from each other. Problems associated with
family or significant other want them to come home.
- Dealing with other opportunities; better offers from
other students.
- Dealing with a student that leaves for another
coach.
- Dealing with a student that does not live up to
his/her commitment:
a. When under contract.
b. When the contract is just a
handshake.
- Dealing with a student that makes it big and does
not share the wealth.
- Dealing with a student who has trained with you for
6 or 7 years, then leaves before they turn 18 years old.
- How does a coach avoid emotional involvement?
- Dealing with one part of the team that displays a
lack of professionalism.
- Holding your tongue to keep your job.
- Items to be included in any contract:
- # weeks worked per year,
compensation plus expenses.
- Does the coach work with his own
money or does the player or his manager give credit card or cash?
- Are traveling expenses to be paid
per day or is there some flexibility?
- If the coach moves to the player's
hometown, who provides housing and transportation?
- Salary and bonuses - incentives for
reaching certain rounds, extra bonuses for super nine and grand slams.
- Length of the contract.
- Options.
- Guarantees if the player should
become injured.
- Who provides insurance?
- Do you get paid for exhibitions?
- Do you get paid for appearance fees?
- Do you receive clothing, rackets and
shoes?
- Are you permitted to wear different
clothing than your player?
- Will players permit their wives or
families to go on the road with them?
- Clearly define the vacation time
arrangement.
- Clearly define the days off
arrangement.
Every traveling coach will need to address the majority of these issues at
some point in time.
Some of the points above relate to players that have achieved world-class
status, and others apply to all players. It is important to address the
issues related to world-class "before" the player achieves this status. If
a player breaks through and you didn't anticipate that possibility,
addressing the contract issues at this point in time will not be to your
advantage. Only on rare occasions will a coach be treated generously for the
commitment of time, energy and dedication.
