New Year Tennis Resolutions for 2013

How can the tennis community inspire more people to take up the game?

Work with Local Authorities to create opportunities for more people to participate

Build practice walls in highly populated urban areas and more tennis courts in parks and public places.

Encourage Parents to be aspirational with youngsters because in dreaming, we discover.

Instil in Coaches and Clubs a sense of responsibility towards the communities within which they operate 

Offer your services for free once a month. Visit a local primary school, run a Facebook competition with your members for a free one to one lesson or offer your courts to a community group to run their own session. You will reap what you sow.

Always play in the rain if the players are willing...

Inspire PLAYers to look at tennis as a game for life

Promote practice, YouTube searches, watching tournaments, taking part in tournaments. Gather groups of children together to train because although tennis is an individual sport, children learn best when in an environment with other children. Foster in them a desire to ask questions of their peers, their parents and coaches. Make sure they have fun. But most of all...

PLAY the game!

You never know when this - 

can turn into this:

Let's have a ball in 2013!

Follow the Yellow Balloon

I had my very own 'Dorothy' moment yesterday.

The conditions were perfect: no tornadoes or wild winds from the West. There weren't even any winged monkeys to distract me from the task in hand. Nor was there a road of yellow brick.

But there was a yellow balloon.

I decided to aim for a finish time of 3.10 which means trying to run each km in 4 mins, 30 secs. I went through the first km in 4.25. So far, so good, only 41.2 to go. At 2k, the watch said 8:40 so I knew I had run a little faster and tried to calm myself down to a riot. At 3k my watch said 12:36 and I decided to suspend looking at the watch till 10k to offset the stress that was building about peaking too soon. That's when I spotted the yellow balloon.

I ran along behind it for a while trying to see what it said. It was attached to a man who looked rather fit and he was running beside another man who had a flag extending from his head. I soon realised they were 3 hour pacers and I decided in that moment to suspend what my scarecrow brain had planned for me and try and keep them in my sights.

They had attracted quite a following. I usually end up running on my own in races for some reason. It's always crowded at the start but I quickly fall into a running vacuum. It was a different experience to run with a large pack of 15-20, mainly men. There were 2-3 women including me. We were all slight, no taller than 5"2 and I have no doubt that running behind this group helped us all, like 'drafting' in cycling. Well, there have to be some advantages of hailing from the Land of Munchkins.

I couldn't keep up the whole time so I spent the race falling behind and catching up like the tide going in and out. At points I didn't have the heart to keep up, especially after drink stations where my strategy was to stop and walk for a bit while swallowing, as I can't really drink and run at the same time. A sense of pride provided bursts of energy when I heard voices from the crowd announcing in awe, "they're the 3 hour group", or, "that's 3 hour pace, son". Still, I held myself in check, not pushing too soon. Pride comes before a fall and I was nowhere near sub 3 yet.

I had heard of a dreaded hill at 35k and so I made a surge to stick with the pacers. This helped a lot as they spent the whole time commentating and chatting. "Tram tracks ahead!", "drinks station on the left", "hey, look there's that guy we paced in his first marathon in Bangkok!". I found it quite entertaining which was a great distraction from suffering and self-doubt. After running with them for a few minutes, I felt a new wave of courage come over me and I decided to make a break and move in front of the 3 hour group.

The feeling of elation that came over me at this point was the only power I could call upon to offset the pain. My heart and lungs were in great shape but my legs and my abdominal muscles were crying out for help. My head was starting to hurt a little too as the temperature crept up and dehydration kicked in.

But the end was nigh. There was a gift of a downward spiral into the MCG. "Take the camber, take the camber", I chanted to myself having no idea what it actually meant, as I approached the entrance to the stadium. I felt my legs continue to build speed as I heard first a steward call out, "marathoners to the right" and then my brother's voice rise up through the noise of the crowd, "come on Julie, you're doing a great time!". I sensed the excitement in his tone. He knew that I was on the verge of going sub 3 but I didn't dare look at my watch again. I had no idea how much further I had to go inside the MCG as I took the middle lane reserved for marathon runners. Glancing up, I could see that there was at least 200m left to the inflatable red archways that marked the end. My legs were going strong and I pushed through, overtaking one other runner on the way to my very own Emerald City.

After the race, I was overwhelmed by emotion and sobbed quietly to myself, clicking my heels together. Out of nowhere a man appeared with a huge microphone and beside him, a TV camera.

"Can we interview you for Marathon TV?"
"Of course." I replied, choking back the tears and wondering whether this was a real or imaginary moment, such is the feeling of post traumatic marathon disorder.
"Can you tell us a little bit about your experience today?"
"Well," I began, "there were no wild winds or winged monkeys, but there was a yellow balloon."

Julie finished the Melbourne Marathon on Sunday 14th October 2012 in 2:58:12 and wants to thank everyone who helped her on her journey. You know who you are.

Pressure is a privilege...

So goes the title of tennis legend Billie Jean King's book about lessons she has learned from life.

I'm going to adopt this as my mantra as I attempt to run the marathon tomorrow in 3.10 or better. I wonder if it will work as I struggle with the hill I hear is awaiting at 35k...

The coach at my running club in Australia posted a picture of the finish on Facebook a few minutes ago which is going to be etched in my mind's eye as inspiration.

My Scottish running coach always says, "you're only as good as your next race". This helps me keep a sense of perspective. No matter how well or how badly tomorrow goes, there will be other races, other moments in time to relish like this one.

I often find myself trying to convey this sense of perspective to the pupils I have who play tournaments. The reality is that most people lose more matches than they win, especially in the beginning. Players can get so disheartened but if they could see that it's all part of a long journey and become more goal orientated then I think it would help them to fulfil their potential in a more holistic way, learning valuable life lessons as they go.

For now it's early to bed, early to rise and hope to report on a good time tomorrow.

Back to the G

G is for guts.

The last six miles of a marathon show you what you're made of as a runner and as a person. You've exhausted the glycogen in your muscles and the benefit of your training has been used up. It's all down to the power of your mind.

In my case it's also down to physical guts. I've experimented with diet a lot over the last twelve months and I think healthier eating has allowed me to become leaner and faster. I've been consuming more good carbs and taken on more protein and good fats.

However, although my legs and lungs usually hold out ok, my stomach lining doesn't really like being pounded around for hours on end. I've been practising pre marathon meals but haven't found the right fit so I've concluded that its going to be porridge and toast for dinner on Saturday night. I'll liven it up with a selection of jams and peanut butters. Life in the fast lane, eh?

The race starts on Sunday at 7 am so it will be up at 4 am for a plate of porridge for breakfast too.

More in future posts about diet.

G is for goals.

When the race has been run next week, there will be nothing left to work for unless there's another goal in place. My goals for the rest of 2012 are to get my 5k and 10k times down and to do this in interesting locations in Australia or New Zealand!

'Mind is everything; muscles, mere pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind.'

Paavo Nurmi, nine time Olympic hold medallist.

Commitment

I regularly listen to a running podcast called 'marathon talk' for hints and tips on training. it is hosted by Martin Yelling (husband of Liz Yelling) and Tom Williams (UK Director of parkrun).

A recent discussion on the show highlighted the importance of commitment in training. There are two aspects to this:

1. The commitment to turning up in the first place ie not missing a session where possible, getting out there every day to practise. Nae excuses!

2. The commitment you bring with you to each session in terms of intensity, purpose and quality

In terms of number 1, Tom and Martin got into a discussion about the triathletes, Alistair and Jonny Brownlee. Tom had been listening to their coach, Jack Maitland, talking about their commitment to training. There is a cycling group that trains in Leeds called the Chain Gang. Usually 50-100 riders turn up every Thursday night. One particularly wet night in the Spring of 2012 only seven people turned up. Three of those seven went on to win medals at the Olympics this year. They were Alistair and Jonny Brownlee and Lizzie Armisted.

Now of course I can't say that if you turn up to every session you will win an Olympic medal. But the story about training in the rain reminded me of all the children who turn up no matter what for coaching. Their parents tell me that, try as they will, they cannot dissuade them from coming to the club. They are an inspiration and it makes me realise more than ever the duty of care we have to all the children in front of us but perhaps these athletes deserve a little bit extra.

It is their commitment to the session, the enthusiasm, drive and determination they display that makes them a little bit special. I wish I could bottle up that commitment and take a spoonful every day with breakfast. The commitment that we decide to bring to a session is directly proportionate to the amount of value that we gain from a session. And I say decide because, for me, this is the mental side of things. It is never easy. I often want to skip a run, not try so hard, cut a few miles here and there. And I do admit to doing these things. But it's not worth it. You need to set the bar high and try your hardest to meet and exceed those expectations.

And so I will try and take my own advice in the next ten days as I build towards Melbourne Marathon 2012!

- Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.

www.marathontalk.com if interested in a good running podcast.
Www.parkrun.com if interested in free 5k timed runs for the whole family all over the world!

Next blog.... Back to the G....

Motivation

What motivates me to run every day? As I write this, I am due to go out and run 17 miles as my final long run pre marathon. I feel a little light headed. Is is psychological? Am I dehydrated? Am I a hypochondriac? The doubts and fears creep in.

It was easier when I started running because there were more extrinsic drivers at play. The bad angel was hushed by telling myself that I had to get out there as people were sponsoring me for charity or a friend was relying on me to accompany them on a long run.

But this one's just for me. So it's more difficult because it's an internal journey and, in some respects, that means there's more to lose. No rewards if I miss my PB. Noone cares if I get my nutrition wrong or miss a couple of training sessions. The only person I'm letting down is me.

It's a very individual journey and very similar to being on a tennis court. This reflection has made me more empathetic to the children that I coach. How do they keep going when they're 4-0 down in the second set after losing the first? How do they maintain intensity in a training session when they have had a hard day at school? What inspires them to get up at 6 am in the morning to practise 7-815 am before school?

A lot of a participant's motivation for attending coaching or training can be attributed to the enthusiasm and energy of the coach. (And there is no excuse for a coach not giving 100% every session). But a coach isn't there when you're 4-0 down in the second set or you reach 20 miles in a marathon. There is only you. What do you want to see in that mirror?

The reflection that I am faced with in moments like this is what motivates me to run every day. I want to be able to look at myself and say that I did my best. This is what I wish for in the players that I coach and what makes my job such a privilege. If you can guide young people into preparing to cope as well as they can when the chips are down and still give their best, then you have entered into a territory that transcends sport into what it means to be a human being.

'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.'
- Aristotle

MCG

I am running the Melbourne Marathon on 14th October. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to take part in this event not least of all because it finishes in the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) which is the biggest stadium in Australia and the biggest cricket ground in the world. It was the centrepiece of the Commonwealth Games, held in Melbourne in 2006, and referred to by locals as the 'G'. The tag line for this year's event is 'Back to the G' because it wasn't possible to finish there last year.

The promise of doing a lap of this stadium with the big screens displaying the action and the stands packed with spectators is what's keeping me going in the training now. It will be a once in a lifetime moment that I will be able to treasure forever and it feels like the ultimate finale to my first year in Australia. The effort I have invested in working towards this race has become symbiotic with my experience of being in Melbourne itself.

I have struggled with motivation for this, my fourth marathon, perhaps more than any other I have run. Yesterday, I ran with my iPhone using the mapmyrun app to give me some feedback on distance and speed. It is a hassle running with a phone but it had the benefit of allowing me to listen to the new Deacon Blue album I had just downloaded, The Hipsters. It was inspirational, particularly the title track that captures the spirit of a group of young people standing at the cliff edge of life, wondering what's going to happen and if they'll ever become the people they aspire to be.

It felt like an epiphany moment to combat the running misery I've been feeling recently and got me reflecting on what it's all about, really. I'm fond of an acronym so, since making it to the MCG has become my short term goal, I thought I would reflect on Motivation and Commitment in my next post. And...well, back to the G, what do you think it should stand for?

Back to the Future

Now that I'm back in Australia after a lovely ten weeks in Scotland, I have been pondering over a subject that I could write about on this blog that would be a) interesting b) allow me to post consistently and c) combine the challenges of tennis coaching and life.

The inspiration came to me today and, for those of you that know me, you'll wonder at it feeling like a lightbulb moment.

At some point this morning while taking part in an activity that I do every day, I had my eureka moment: write about running.

So I'm going to start writing about what I talk about when I talk about running. (Sorry Haruki!)

Triumphs and Tribulations

As I'm sure most tennis coaches and teachers can identify with, everyone can have a bad day at the office so to speak.

I have been coaching for 20 years (yes, I started at the ripe old age of 16 and, darn it, that's my age out of the bag too) and I do consider myself to be fairly experienced. However, I can still lose control especially now that I'm the new coach on the block.

I had one such day yesterday when a group of four 11 year old girls arrived for their lesson full of nonsense. I cottoned onto this straight away and tried to run a fairly tight warm up which usually does the trick. Not this time. I had asked one of them to do laps of the court within the first three minutes which is usually not a good omen for coach or player for the rest of the session.

The next 45 minutes continued in this vein and nothing I tried to do really worked. Matters were made worse when I called them in for a 'chat' as they just proceeded to giggle together and I started to think they were laughing at my Scottish turn of phrase which of course then became more accentuated. A memory of my past life as an English teacher flashed through my mind. I was scarred for at least a week when a room full of 16 year olds reduced me to tears with mobile phone pranks during a lesson on Philip Larkin. At least, I consoled myself at the time, they had grasped the concept of irony.

Finally, I got them onto an exercise where they were spread out and using the full court to play points against each other and this exercise engaged them sufficiently that I could end the lesson with an iota of self-respect still intact.

Two out of the next group of four arrived on skateboards. My inward groan reverberated across Melbourne. This lesson, however, could not have possibly gone better.

I began by asking them if they were any good on their skateboards and could they show me some tricks? (Rule one: engage them on their level.) They showed me one or two things and I quickly realised that I could use these boards to start off the lesson. (Rule Two: never be afraid to improvise or deviate from the plan.) I asked the 'boarders' to assume their positions while the other two girls were to throw balls to them, challenging them to catch without losing balance. This was perceived as great fun and they all had a turn on the boards. We managed to build it up to a team throwing and catching exercise involving three balls and all four girls, an exercise that pushed them but more than anything, prepared them to listen and learn for the rest of the hour.(Rule Three: start with something that they can succeed at but quickly push them into a zone that challenges them without being impossible). I had earned enough brownie points in the first five minutes by incorporating those boards to be able ask them to do anything I wanted for the rest of the lesson.

I'll need to come up with some similar trick for that other group next week and "begin afresh, afresh, afresh"!

So much of good coaching and teaching is being organised ahead of the lesson. Here is what I did in red/ orange lessons this week with beginner to improver players.

You always need to start with a really good warm up that is simple to deliver and strikes a balance between getting the children ready to play and focus but at the same time not too excited.

I set up cone ladders on the court as per pictured to do some footwork and asked them to do a split step at the end of the ladder. To do this I put down a throw down line at the end in a vertical position and asked them to do a little jump with each foot landing on either side of the line. I spent 2 to 3 minutes on this as I would return to it later.

After this I moved the children to the main court area where I had them overarm throwing to targets on crates/buckets. I colour coded the throwing to encourage cross court placement without having to tell them too much.

This was followed by some individual racket and ball skills encouraging rhythm and contact with the falling ball.

By this time, I could run a feeding situation whereby I combined exercises one and two. So they ran through the ladder, split stepped at the top and hit a falling ball fed out to the side of their body.

It is important to always incorporate some aspect of the lesson that feels to them like 'real tennis' so I put them into pairs and had them working on rallies whether that meant one throwing and one hitting or both hitting. In between basket feeding, I had asked the children to practise throwing balls into the buckets or trolley as a fun means of collection which is a good way of teaching them how to feed gently. Differentiate as appropriate.

If I had time I did another drill where I asked them to swing for a long target and then fed a short ball and asked them to drop shot it to a short target. This was usually points related. I do this as at beginner stage because they may get the moving, the split step and contact with the ball, but they will swing with no concept of a court in mind. Targets and points focus them in this way.

I repeated the rally activities in pairs again, asking them to start a rally/ point with an overarm diagonal throw or serve..

It is a long journey with the athletic development 5 to 9 year olds and it is better to stop early while they are enjoying an activity than try and run it to death. I like to leave them wanting more and make time for a fun game that is tennis related if possible.

I try not to give too much instruction during the lesson unless completely necessary preferring to encourage good performance and show them quickly how to do something and let them start. I will stop a drill if necessary and make some general points but feel that is better most of the time to remember that perfection can't be achieved in the course of one lesson.

It is better to repeat the drill again in the next lesson and aim for improvement through incremental repetition over a period of time.

As for the older ones, that's a different story. More later.

The White Knight and the Caped Crusader

Once upon a time there was a White Knight:

This Knight, also known as Andy Murray, was into the Quarter Finals of the Australian Open and was next due to meet a Japanese warrier named Nishikori. Nishikori was starting to become very famous as he had just become the first Japanese man to make the quarter finals of the AO in 80 years...

What way will this story go?

Will Nishikori make history on Wednesday in the quarter finals or will the White Knight proceed once again to the semis?

We looked to the Caped Crusader for some guidance but he was too busy beating a hasty retreat:

Maybe, just maybe ...

Sound bite (2)

Some more observations on the subtle differences between Australian and Scottish English...

Recently I have noticed that Australian people seem to be practically horizontal in their approach to life. I occasionally find myself a little harassed by day to day challenges which may lead me to utter a phrase like, "I'm pure stressed out of my box", where a native 'Aussie' would say, "no worries, mate". A similar phrase that the Australians use is, "no dramas", which in Older Scots, the language of most of their forefathers, would be translated into, "dinnae fash yerself".

They are very friendly too and seem to add the suffix, 'mate', onto the end of all sentences e.g. "G'day mate", "no worries, mate", "want another beer, mate?" In Glasgow we are more commonly used to adding the suffix, 'but' or 'by the way' to the end of our sentences e.g. "Do you know what I mean, but?" or "I fancy a fish supper on the way home, by the way." Glaswegians can sometimes take offence to this. For instance I have overheard my countrymen many a time utter the words, "who do you think you're calling 'by the way', by the way' in a slightly threatening tone leading me to the conclusion that to call everyone 'mate' is a much better way to get along with people.

Furthermore, Australians seem to think that everything is very simple which I have noticed by the frequency of the word 'easy' or the phrase, 'too easy' in everyday speech. For example, back home if one asks something slightly out of the ordinary like, "can you pass me the salt as we don't have any on our table", or "can I have two rolls well fired and two soft this morning", one might be met with a tsk tsk or a sigh or even worse a roll of the eyes. In Australia, you would normally be answered with, 'easy' or 'too easy'. That's, of course, only after they have asked me to repeat oneself four times to catch the jist of what I'm saying.

Uncle Toni Nadal in conversation at the 2012 Australian Open Coaches Conference...

"Uncle Toni" has become legendary in tennis circles. He is the coach of Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest tennis players in the world. He is possibly most well known for coaching 'Rafa' since he was 4 years old and is still his main coach to the present day.


Toni was posed questions from the audience which he responded to in Spanish and then they were translated for us. This is the only way I could write so quickly!




Is there anything you did with Rafa at the age of 4 or 5 years of age that is linked to what you do with him now?

The first thing I do in tennis and in life is to do everything very simple. All sports are very simple. All sports a game and some coaches make it difficult. A very simple system. Play points. If he make a mistake on the forehand, we practise the forehand, if he make a mistake on the backhand, we practise the backhand. For me it is very important that the player understands the game. The game is not the same if you have the luck to have a player like Rafael or Roger. See what the attitude of the player is and from there .. Apply the basic principles of tennis: Hit the ball when it is rising. Understand the pathway the player has to make.

What skills did Rafa get from playing football that he has now has taken to tennis? 

Playing different sports when you're young is good. Football has helped his footwork.

Is it true that Rafa  was a right handed player and you changed him?

No. When he started, he played both sides with both hands and soccer with his left foot. I am not very clever so i think he  must be left-handed too. But he is right handed. And now the only thing he can do with his left is play tennis. Everything else right handed - brushing his teeth, playing golf etc.

Has every tennis session been delivered with full intensity from a young age?

For me it was always important to work with a lot of intensity. Rafa has always been an intense person. A player who is complicated. He is not sure if he has the ability, the skill. So he wasn't sure if he had coordination or not. In football he didn't look good but he could do good things with the ball. When he played tennis he always did strange things. So i believe it is important for rafa maybe. For Roger it is different.

Were you tough on Rafa mentally when he was young?

I was a hard coach mentally. Not always a coach of giving good news. I wanted to let him know he was not always the best player so he always had something to work for.

When did he go to one hand and was it guided by you?

Until he was ten years old, he played two hands on both sides and then the change. If we trained for two hours we would practise for twenty mins one hand. After four years he could do one hand.

How did you keep him so humble?

Rafa is not very humble. He is just the same as you. The only difference is that Rafa  is number two in the world but you are not there yet . If there is a tennis player who continues to win and is not humble he is an idiot. Because he cannot keep on winning. Rafa good at only one thing - tennis. In everything else he is normal. 


What, for you, is Rafas's greatest achievement? 


Of course, Melbourne. No, Wimbledon 2008....The first French... And Melbourne because many people said he couldn't win on hard courts. 


Why did Rafa not play ITF junior tournaments? 


I didn't think the most important thing was to play ITF. Keep it simple. Play in Spain. I was looking for him to play good quality matches. We are lucky in Spain because there are lots of Futures tournaments. The only junior event I wanted him to do was Wimbledon because we never had seen a grass court so it was important to see a grass court. Australia was too far away. The French open was at same time as school exams. If you are always playing people slightly above you that is good and then you can progress. 


Any comments on Rafa s grip? Did it affect his ability to go from clay to grass? 


It was easier to go from clay to grass than it was from clay to hard court.  


Was there a difficulty in coaching a family member? 


Hard for Rafa as I was too tough. Hard for me as no money. One advantage as I have more investment in him as family member. But on the other side I am more like a father because we are very close. You want them to succeed but sometimes you are scared or worried and you sometimes put more pressure on the player because they are a family member. 


What physical training did Rafa do at a young age? 


He didn't do a lot of physical work as a young teenager. I am a coach from the olden days. I don't believe a lot in the physical work. I believe on doing it on the court for two reasons. One we don't have very much time. He didn't have a lot of time because of football, school etc. He did more when he started on the ATP tour. Also if they train hard on the court then they don't have to train so hard off the court. I have a friend who drives to the golf course and drives back and then comes home and goes walking on his treadmill. Some players train like they are walking and then have to go for a run afterwards. There is no need if you train hard on the court. 


What sort of on court hours was Nadal doing when he was younger? 


Can't remember exactly but he trained more before than he does now. So six days per week but not when he was ten as he did football as well. So when he was twelve he would have played six days per week about 2.5 hours per day and tournaments. 


What next for you? Do you think you will take on another professional player?


I would like to work with some kids. With a group of boys. There is one thing which is difficult when you are coaching professional players. The player starts to think you are their servant. You take them the rackets, get them strung,  get the water. Rafa does all of those things himself so no one else would want me as a coach. <Laughter> When you do the work that is not the work of a coach the problem there is that when the player becomes accustomed to it. A coach should not do this for two reasons. One, there must be respect because the coach is older. And two you have to have the authority to say to the player what you believe. 


Do you think that the way Rafa trains and plays has led to injuries and do you have any ways to manage that? 


I am going to say one thing. Many times people speak about this. I have never spoken about this because it is not interesting. He had an injury in 2005 which was very serious. The doctor say he can not play more. He has a congenital problem in his foot. So he had to put orthotics in his shoes to change the way he lands with his feet. So because of having the orthotics, this has caused some problems in his knees, in his back. So even though he has had injuries, the year he won Australian Open 2009, we couldn't funish a single training session in December because of the pain. He couldn't finish one training session in the whole month of December because of the pain in his foot. So the doctor that told him says he cannot understand how he can still play. Now we train less. In 2005 we thought we might be able to last two more years but now it is 2012 and still we are here. 


Can you answer the following 3 questions? 1 does Rafa use a 4 and one quarter grip size? 2 does He wears his shoes one size too small? 3 does he wears comfie undies? (in reference to his pant pulling habits) 


1 I don't know what grip size he uses.  
2 I don't know. 
3 Even when he was young he was always very nervous and he always .... After the Verdasco match in 2009 ...we were warming up in Margaret court ... After fifteen minutes ha had soreness in his calves...sore head....sore shoulder...when it was all going so bad he said let's stop training....I say it is looking bad .... And rafa said everything is hurting and I said, don't tell me your stories. And rafa said don't tell me it is easy. I say, I know it's not easy otherwise I would have done it myself. And let me tell you that in two hours after the final you will feel even worse. But for you, you will never be so close to winning the Australian open as you are now. And Rafa responded agaain, for you everything is easy. And I said I know everything is not easy but one thing I am sure of: if you had someone pointing a gun at you, you would not stop running no matter how sore you were. So it all depends on you and the motivation you can find to win.  


At the end of the day, we thought Rafa was fresher in the fifth set than Roger. So the motivation is such a special thing. Roger is a better player but sometimes you can beat him with motivation. If you were selecting players to coach, would you look at them as an athlete first and tennis player second, or would you look at their tennis first and then their athletic potential?  I am not very smart. I would look to see who is winning. I am always looking and in this life I try and copy. Sometimes I copy badly. But look at the best- 


- Novak excellent coordination and great condition. 
- Murray also coordinated and great hands and power. 
- Federer also. 


The difference between the good and the very good is their eye. It is the player who can see the play early. In 2006 I was in Wimbledon and we were moving from the practice courts we were walking and we stopped to have a look at a guy who was playing on court 18. I didn't know who it was. I watched for ten to fifteen minutes. I went to see Rafa in the locker room and I say to him, we have a problem. Who was the player? Novak Djokovic. I had not seen him before this time. When you see a player like Novak or Murray you can see they have potential for the future. The primary characteristic is the best players look like they can control the time. This is the key characteristic in spotting talent. 


How can you have played with him every day and he did not pick up your kind of technique? 


When I played, I was a level two player in Spain. So I had it clear that Rafa  had to do the exact opposite of what I had done if he was going to make it. I was a hard player but I never won the point. I passed the ball very well but couldn't finish the point. For this reason I practised with Rafa  making him play winners off the forehand from the start. The clear idea was to do the opposite of what I had done. This can be a problem with coaches is that they want the players to do what they have done. You need to let your tennis and player evolve. Different eras, different play. The next generation will play different again. So the coach must forget what they have done themselves. You always have to think about where the game is going to evolve and where it is going to be. When Rafa was eleven, I would train him for what I thought he would need when he was twenty. Which is why when Rafa was fourteen, I had not much interest in the ITF tournaments.   


Thank you very much Uncle Toni for all of those insights!

Murray Magic

Don't worry, I'm not going to blog about every lesson I do in Australia but I thought that coaching job number two in Melbourne was worth a mention.

I was helping out at an RBS sponsored tennis clinic at Fawkner Park with Judy and Andy Murray.

RBS had invited the children of their key corporate clients along for tennis fun and games. There were around 50 in total with the ages ranging from 3 to 17. Excitement was running high among the kids and coaches alike.

I was struck, as always, by the professionalism of Judy. We were in the presence of the newly appointed GB Fed Cup team captain and this event was being organised with the same precision and commitment as if it was an international make or break tie. Because she cares.

She wants to do the best for the children and players standing in front of her. She wants them not only to enjoy their session but also to learn something about tennis. She wants the coaches to feel comfortable about working with her and ensures they are fully briefed so the ninety minutes that follow are seamless and straightforward.

Because she cares, she makes sure that she speaks to every child in attendance. Each of them will get an individual word of encouragement, a coaching tip or a smile or nod of acknowledgment. Her only worry of the day? That she didn't give enough time to each child as it was so busy.

Not only that but she also looks after Andy who moved from court to court with her, joining the lines of children, laughing and joking with them and making sure that they were all having fun. I was lucky enough to be on Andy's team for a competition at the end with the 6 to 9 yrs squad. Andy was as competitive as ever diving to get balls around the net that others had missed but also making sure that every child on his side of the court got to hit the ball during the game. Because he cares too.

It brought to mind a line from the famous Kipling poem,

'If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch'.

The inspiring thing about Judy and Andy is that they treat everyone equally and that each minute that they spend with you is 'sixty seconds worth of distance run'.

And this, my friends, is the magic of the Murray (s).
To see pictures of this event, click here

Sound bite (1)

Some curious sociolinguistic observations from down under: 

Differences in Vocabulary

(1) Wrong about the thong

I was slightly alarmed recently to hear two perfectly respectable young men traversing the city centre on a weekend morning bemoaning the fact that their thongs were giving them some trouble. Something about a friction burn. Good heavens, I thought, are native Australian men so metrosexual that not only do they wear thongs but they are perfectly au fait with discussing them willy nilly walking along the street, pardon the pun.

Imagine my relief when I discovered that the term 'thong' in Australia refers to what we in Scotland may call a flip flop. A rare word in our vocabulary. Flip flop that is. Owing to our climactic differences.

(2) Acronyms

A commonly used acronym in my home town of Glasgow is N.E.D. which stands for Non-Educated Delinquent although most people just say 'ned' or 'neds' in day to day usage e.g. 'thereanedovererr' ('There's a N.E.D.over yonder') or 'watchooterrabunchonedsroonthecorner' (Be careful! There is a gathering of N.E.D.s round that corner.)

'Neds' are known as 'bogans' over here. So much more onomatopoeic, don't you think? I wonder what it stands for. Answers on a postcard...

Double Trouble

I delivered my first tennis lesson in Australia yesterday. I was a bit nervous as my shipping hasn't arrived yet and I was using a borrowed racket, borrowed balls and forced to wear running shoes (as opposed to 'proper' tennis shoes that give you more balance in tennis specific movements).

I also didn't know who I would be coaching ... the only info I had been given was a mysterious female name.... was it an adult, a child, a beginner, a pro?

It turned out to be a couple who were rising to a challenge from his boss. Boss + his missus versus my client + his missus. So the competitive stakes were raised from the start. We had a lot of fun working in a doubles context. I hope I passed on to them some fundamentals of doubles play e.g. communication is essential, know your partner's strengths and weaknesses, court coverage and a few basic technical points about volleys and serves.

A first lesson with adults is tricky. You have to get the balance of how to manage their expectations of what they might think they are paying for (lots of instruction and technical information) with what the coach thinks might be the most appropriate way of teaching (lots of game based scenarios interspersed with nuggets of technical tips if necessary). It is a bit of a double edged sword. So it is always a bit disheartening when the first question is, 'How do I hold the racket?' or 'Can you show me the right grip?' before the player has even struck a ball. The coach then has to decide whether, 'let's just hit a few balls and see what you are doing first', appeases the player or if they feel like they are getting a raw deal or even worse that the coach is avoiding the question because they don't know the answer.

This is in contrast with a child's perspective of a tennis lesson. A typical fresh faced 5 year old arrives at the courts and after a fun warm up and some co-ordination exercises spends the rest of the lesson begging to know when they are going to get to play "real tennis". And they don't mean an ancient form of tennis played on a four walled court. More on how to manage this expectation in a positive way in a future post.

This looks like an interesting read on the philosophy of sport:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/dec/30/non-fiction-roundup-review

R&B

At this time of year, people are talking about New Year resolutions. Coming from a coaching background, I think it is a great idea to focus on our goals for the rest of the year right at the start. But how many of us believe we will achieve them?


Since I have come to Melbourne, I have realised how proud everyone is of this city. Melburnians and those who have adopted it as their second home fall over themselves to extol its virtues. It is a fantastic city for coffee, cricket, tennis and live music. There is a great arts scene, fabulous schools, parks, and even a beach only two miles from the city centre. Public Transport is efficient and jumping on and off trams is enjoyable. You can eat and drink in top class restaurants and bars to your heart's content.


I tend to subscribe to all of the above but I have a question: is it all as wonderful as it appears or is it because people believe it is wonderful. Starting with the coffee, for example, is it really amazing coffee or is it because everyone believes it is amazing coffee because they have been told so often? Is it the best place in Australia to watch live sport or is it because everyone believes that it is because they have heard it so many times before? Are the bars and restaurants any better than those in other attractive cities of the world or is it because Melburnians are the slickest self-marketeers known in the history of the universe?


The point is, it doesn't really matter because everyone believes Melbourne is fab. And this belief has been interwoven into the Melburnian psyche for many years as natives and immigrants have constructed a city that reflects their beliefs. Or have their beliefs shaped the city in which they now live?


Has the collective consciousness of the last two hundred years shaped the way Melbourne is today or has the great city that is Melbourne shaped the collective consciousness of its inhabitants? Is the success of this city due in part to its cultural beliefs and if so, what can we learn from this model?


If I compare Scotland to Australia for a brief moment, then it seems that in Scotland, we often find ourselves trapped in a culture of failure. What a shame we didn't succeed, but not to worry, we didn't expect to win anyway. Do we fail because we believe we were going to fail? I'm going to challenge myself, as I set my goals for 2012, to really believe that I can achieve them. 


Here's Mark Twain, to get me started:


"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one."                                         


-MARK TWAIN 


P.S. (There is actually proof that Melbourne is the best city in the world. If you don't believe me, read this!).

Happy New Year!

Seasons Greetings from Australia.

It was beginning to not feel like Christmas this year. What with the busy unruly sun shining upside down and everything.

But all was well with the world when the heavens opened and it rained in a monsoon like fashion for most of Christmas Day. Suddenly all was well with the world again.