| Home | About SJSRC | Calendar | Adult Tennis | Junior Tennis | Links | Document Library |
| Tips & Strategies | Swim & Fitness | What's New | Club Champs | Contact Us
Shop Online | In the Game Blog |


Coaching your young player after a loss….

Comment First
tennischarge

Stay positive.

The last thing I want to hear as a player when I come off the court is a dissertation about the match I just lost. I dread hearing about how well I played, what happened when I almost had the match and all other well intended comments. Give me a few moments to come out of my “competitive zone” and enter back into my real life zone.

When your young player comes off the court, offer encouragement and support in a positive manner. This is not the time to go over all the mistakes you saw them make.

Allow them a “come down” time that permits them to leave the competitive zone, relax and have a rational view of what transpired. Coach Wayne Bryan of the world’s #1 ranked doubles team always said his first question for the boys was, “where do you want to go eat?” The next day he would devise drills that worked upon the errors he saw during the match. Now I am sure there was a few other comments that would transpire at a later time about the match as well.

Help the player focus on a couple of simple skills they can work on and achieve positive results quickly to rebuild their confidence. Focus on the positives you saw in the match or progress made toward new skills they had been working on the past few weeks. An example would be to mention that they got 75% of their first serves in play or they managed their time between points really well in the match.

Ask their opinion as to what they think they should work on based upon their last performance. Be specific with skills like footwork, technique or strategy that need work.

Staying positive in a match that you care about can be very draining. You are feeling all the same emotions as the player with no real way to release them as a spectator. Players will notice when you grimace, turn your head away or show disappointment. This can have a very negative impact on their already suffering psychic.

When you are watching their match, be positive and offer encouragement. Saying things like, “Come on, you can do it” and “Let’s go” are good supportive comments.

Photo Credits: Sudhamshu

Blog Traffic Exchange Related Posts
  • sanjoseswimandracquetclub11 Ways to Improve Your Tennis Game at San Jose Swim & Racquet Club - Year 'Round... [/caption] The following are 11 ways to improve your tennis game at the San Jose Swim & Racquet Club: Private hour and half hour lessons. These lessons can include technical work and hitting with the pro during that time to see if the technical and strategy changes work. Semi private......
  • captureGPTA Keynote Speaker I was invited to speak at the Georgia Professional Tennis Association's winter meeting at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Atlanta, Georgia. The club is the home of the famous golfer, Bobby Jones. They have a trophy room with all his trophies, pictures and memorabilia. There is even a statue of......
  • tennisballmachinBall Machines – Using them for Doubles Practice [/caption] Ball machines are great for practicing your doubles shots – if positioned correctly. 5 things NOT to do when using a ball machine: Do not place the ball machine on the baseline in the center of the court Do not have the ball machine oscillate from deuce court to......
  • ken3tennisKen DeHart Presents "Strategy and Tactics of Tennis" at Missouri Valley USPTA USPTA Master Professional, Ken DeHart was the kick-off speaker at the 2009 Missouri Valley USPTA Conference at the Homestead Country Club in Kansas City, Missouri. Ken presented a 4 hour continuing education course on Strategy and Tactics to more than 80 tennis teaching professionals and high school coaches attending......
  • oneupOne Up and One Back Formations When teams play this formation, they can be the easiest to beat – if you play smart. This formation leaves lots of holes in their defense and can make their net player a target for the other team. Don’t be afraid of the net. Reasons for the serving team to......
Blog Traffic Exchange Related Websites
  • blog traffic exchangeAndy Murray Tennis Player Profile Andy Murray was born on May 15, 1987 and is a professional tennis player from Scotland who also happens to be the highest ranking player in Britain at current. He officially broke into the ATP Top 10 on April 16, 2007, and reached a career high of No. 4 ranking......
  • blog traffic exchangeTennis Player Profile for Lleyton Hewitt Lleyton Hewitt was born on February 24, 1981 and is a former World No 1 tennis player that hails from Australia. He became the youngest male ever to obtain a number 1 ranking in 2001. He has numerous career achievements, awards and wins, including a 2001 US Open win, a......
  • venusVenus Williams Changes Focus The Wimbledon championship's top female champion Venus Williams has withdrawn from the upcoming Wimbledon open in order to prepare for the another match that is coming up. The match in question is the $ 4.5 millions Sony Ericsson Championships, and this is the season ender for the WTA Tour that......
  • blog traffic exchangeMaman Not Affected Issues New Coach BANDUNG - libero Persib Bandung Maman Abdurahman claimed that he was not affected by the issue of the coming new French coach Daniel Darko Janackovic. He admitted that the task itself as a professional player is to practice and compete with the maximum. "As a player I think exercise......
  • Yankees owner George Steinbrenner dies at 80Yankees owner George Steinbrenner dies at 80 [/caption] NEW YORK —George Steinbrenner, who rebuilt the New York Yankees into a sports empire with a mix of bluster and big bucks that polarized fans all across America, died Tuesday. He had just celebrated his 80th birthday July 4. Steinbrenner had a heart attack, was taken to St. Joseph’s......
This post involves:

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

... and focuses on:

Coaching

Posted by Ken DeHart on May 11, 2009 in Coaching. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

 
Leave a Reply

Previous: Where does Power come from?
Next: Winning the Warming Up – in The Warm Up
 

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us

© 2004-2010 Ken DeHart Tennis All Rights Reserved -- Copyright notice by Blog Copyright


Blog Managed by Buildify
Tennis Industry Association