About this Lesson:
In this lesson we will cover the Top Ten skills you need as a coach to effectively work with young tennis players. This information was developed by the legendary coach developer, Kirk Anderson. It is with his permission that we include it here.
Welcome to coaching.
My name is Kirk Anderson and I want to share several ideas and tips that have helped me in my coaching for over fifty years. Coaching is such a rewarding profession because we influence the lives of each one of our students. Your impact on children is the great reward of coaching.
If you think back in your mind about your favorite teachers and coaches, I want you to identify the characteristics or traits that made them special, then acquire those traits or characteristics so you can be the best coach or teacher you ever had. These characteristics will become your signature as you develop your teaching, coaching and leadership skills. We will have an opportunity to dig a little deeper in many of these characteristics throughout the summer. At all times, strive to be the teacher or coach who truly influenced your life.
You will be teaching skills, conducting drills and leading games, but it is your relationship with your players that will have a lifelong impact. They may not remember what you said or did, but they will certainly remember how you made them feel. You must always remember that you are teaching children first and tennis second. Studies have shown that the entry or developmental level coach is the most important factor if a child continues in the sport or quits.
I believe the quality of our programs will never exceed the quality of our coaching. We must all recognize that what we do is the most effective teaching tool we will ever use, so model the behavior you want and expect.
I will serve as your coach through a series of tips that will help you be the best coach you can be and help you connect with all of your players in a number of ways. I hope to inspire you with these tips. Coaching matters and what you do is important in the life of each one of your young players.
1) Encouragement
What is your job as a coach? The first things that come to mind are sharing knowledge, teaching skills, and developing character. While these are all important, your most important job is to provide encouragement. Teaching is making changes and we all need encouragement and support any time we are faced with change.
Children are learning and will feel discouraged often as they develop new skills and behaviors, and guess what; it continues even for adults. It’s not only children who need encouragement. In a Gallup survey, 79% of all people who quit their jobs cite a lack of encouragement. You can change the life of a child in your coaching today, and the life of an adult as a leadership and management skill if you look for small signs of improvement or effort and be liberal with your sincere encouragement.
After setting the standard or expectation, players can never hear enough, “I think you can do this,” and the four magical words from a coach, “I believe in you.”
When the founder of Chick-fil-a, Truett Cathy was asked, How do you know if someone needs encouragement? ”He answered, “If they are breathing.”
Remember, success comes in cans. I can, you can, and we can. Get to know your student’s dreams and help them achieve them. Be a dream manager.
So be the voice of encouragement. What could be better than working to bring out the best in every one of your students?
ACTION – Determine to give at least one word of encouragement to every person in your class. It will make a difference in the life of each of your players and may be the only encouragement they receive all day.
2) The Power of WORDS
One coach will impact more young people in a year than most people do in a lifetime. Billy Graham
Have you ever considered how important your words are? As a coach, you have a tremendous influence on your players. They are constantly watching what you do and listening to what you say.
If you reflect on your experiences with a teacher or coach who said something to you that had a lasting impact, either positively or negatively, you can still very vividly recall the words that were used. We remember those words of encouragement that made us stay on a difficult task until we had a breakthrough. We also remember very accurately if a coach told you, “You are too slow.” “You are too small.” “You have a good forehand but you can’t serve.” “I don’t think you have what it takes.” or, “Maybe you should try checkers.”
What you say will be remembered accurately and will have a profound impact on your young players – and your impact is either positive or negative, but never neutral. Be very intentional about the words you use with your students because you never know which ones will change the course of their lives.
So be aware of the words you use. Stay positive and be encouraging. Eliminate sarcasm, comparisons, and put-downs because what you say will be remembered tomorrow and fifty years from now. Choose your words carefully and be the positive coach that your players will want to cooperate with and go the extra mile for. Coaching matters and the words you use will make a difference.
ACTION – Be aware that the words you use can create happiness or discouragement. Choose words that are positive and supportive. The words you use will be remembered for a lifetime.
3) Connecting with the child
Coaching is about connecting, building trust, and developing a relationship with your players. There are a lot of ways to do this and we will address listening, welcoming, body language, caring, empathy, acknowledging, recognizing, kindness and compassion in future tips.
Before we get into the specifics of these important topics, let’s discuss a few overarching ways to connect. One is to get down on their level. It’s difficult to listen or carry on a conversation if you are towering over your students. It is impossible to do this at all times throughout the practice, but look for times to sit down with your group or kneel down to talk with a child.
To make good eye contact, take your sunglasses off so your players can see your eyes. Your eyes are the windows of your heart and it is difficult to really show you care if your young players cannot see your eyes.
Another great way to connect is to use their first names frequently. The sweetest word to any child is their name, so use their names. A good tip is to use their name before you offer a comment. For example, “Samantha, I saw that you balanced ten balls on your racquet as you walked to the basket,” or “Jose, is that the first time you hit ten backhands in a row without a miss? Your practice is paying off. Well done.”
Be sure to use the names of everyone in your practice. In a study of youth coaches in Norway, it was discovered that coaches used the first name of the top performing 20% of players 4-5 times more than the bottom 50%. I don’t think any of us do this intentionally but it is something to be aware of. The lower performers need as much or more encouragement than the top performers in your group.
We will discuss more but these three; get down to their level, make eye contact without your sunglasses on and use first names frequently, are great ways to begin to connect with the children in your group.
ACTION – Make it a point to acknowledge and welcome each and every child to your practice and use their first name, or name they prefer frequently.
4) Enthusiasm
I am the greatest builder in the world. I am the foundation of every triumph. No matter what your position is, I can better it. My name is enthusiasm. -Anonymous
Science shows that enthusiasm is contagious, literally. You cannot inspire others unless you are inspired yourself. You stand a much greater chance of persuading and inspiring your students if you are enthusiastic and passionate about what you are saying and the activities you are doing with your students.
I think we can all agree with Ralph Waldo Emerson, when he said, “Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all of your might. Put your soul into it. Stamp it with your personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and you will accomplish your objective.” He concluded by saying, “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.”
The very best method of teaching young players is by modeling, and if you model what you want with enthusiasm, it gets caught rather than taught. Show me an enthusiastic coach and I will show you an enthusiastic team. Show me an enthusiastic coach and I will show you an inspired and active practice. Enthusiasm brushes off on those you come in contact with. When you truly enjoy what you are doing your enthusiasm energizes others around you. The more you enjoy your job, the more productive and effective you will be.
A good way to recharge your enthusiasm is to spend a few minutes at the beginning of the day to consider how grateful you are to be doing what you are doing. Be grateful that you are able to be on the tennis court and have a group of children who look at you as a coach and role model. We are being paid to play games, be active and teach the sport we love. We should always remember to be enthusiastic and be grateful for what we have and do.
If you lack enthusiasm, your practices will not be fast-paced and fun. Without fun, there will be little engagement and excitement. Without excitement, life is boring and the brain does not focus on boring tasks.
I once heard a speaker at a coaching workshop say, “If you are not fired with enthusiasm, you should be fired with enthusiasm.”
ACTION – What could be better than coaching and teaching tennis? Bring your love for the game and enthusiasm for teaching children to every practice and discover the difference it makes in the energy level of your students.
5) Effort
One of the most important skills you can teach your players is to always give their best effort. Trying hard and giving their best effort is easy when they can perform a skill well, but when the task is difficult or challenging is the time you need to recognize and encourage their best effort.
How does it make you feel when you are totally engaged? How do you feel when that engagement enables you to do something you have never done before? It is a wonderful feeling and we need to reward effort over outcome. Our players can control their effort, but outcomes, such as winning, are out of their control. You must let your students know that their effort makes a difference. So praise the effort, not the result.
Tennis is a game that rewards effort. Learning new skills involves persistence and work, and the long term results are worth the effort. A simple formula is S = E/T, Success equals Effort over Time.
Effort plays a significant role in match play. In competitive tennis, it is very difficult to beat a person who gives their best effort to get to and return every ball during every point. A player’s persistent effort will wear an opponent down and gives that individual an opportunity to win, even against an opponent that is stronger or possesses better skills.
When children give their best effort during practice they stay on task and improve. The habit of always giving your best effort will carry over into competition and those gritty players are very difficult to beat. You must let your students know that their effort makes a difference.
We need to observe so we can recognize kids who try and work hard. Make it a priority in every practice and after every match to acknowledge children who try and never give up, even though they may not be getting the results they want – yet. When your players make it a habit to work hard during every practice they will eventually succeed, not only on the tennis court but in the challenges they will encounter throughout their lives.
ACTION – Make it your goal in each practice to have everyone give their best effort and recognize those who are working hard, regardless of how successful they are. Giving their best effort is a characteristic that is caught, rather than taught, by everyone in your practices.
6) Teamwork
People acting together as a group can accomplish things which no individual acting alone could ever hope to bring about. – Franklin D. Roosevelt
My favorite interview question is, “How do you make others around you better?” Even though tennis is an individual sport, most of our training is in a group or as part of a team. The great team player looks for ways to make others better by providing a word of encouragement, a high five for effort, or support for a teammate after a mistake.
This is not easy in our society where bullying, putdowns, negativity, and sarcasm are the norm but we can change that culture when we practice the skill of supporting our teammates. Throughout life, it is wonderful when we are surrounded by people who recognize, encourage and support their teammates.
With support and encouragement from your teammates, players are more likely to try harder and longer and go beyond their limitations because they won’t be criticized or laughed at if they fail. The teams that support each other will always outperform a group of individuals.
There is great synergy when teammates work together, as illustrated in the story about draft horses who are bred to pull heavy loads. It has been reported that one horse can pull 8,000 pounds while two horses can pull 24,000 pounds. However, two horses that have been trained to work together are capable of pulling 32,000 pounds. This is a clear and measurable example of obtaining much better results when individuals work together as a team.
The best teams have players that are held accountable by their teammates. You can create that culture by getting everyone supporting their teammates, always giving their best effort and listening to and respecting the coach. There is beauty and great synergy when this happens with your teams and in your group practices.
ACTION – At the beginning of your practice, ask your players to identify how they can best support their teammates, then recognize those who do the best with these ideas throughout your practice.
7) Model – Demonstrate
Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means. – Albert Einstein
The most important and powerful teaching tool is modeling. You need to be the model of what you want. You need to be an example. The Law of Reciprocity states that you will receive what you give, so the more you give, the more you will receive.
Children will like the teacher before they like the subject. Think about that. Consider the possibilities and consequences. You have the responsibility to bring fun, enjoyment, encouragement, safety, and direction to a child. You will impact each child in your practices each day with your actions, guidance and an encouraging word. So model what you want and be the best example.
If your students are bored, not having fun and not giving their best effort, look first at your actions. Are you well prepared and enthusiastic? Are you enjoying your time on the court and with your class? Are you giving your best effort beginning from your planning for every minute of every class?
If you want your students to perform a skill or task, do they know what it looks like? So many coaches talk and explain but never demonstrate the skill or activity they are looking for. Most of your students are visual learners, so the demonstration is much more valuable than an explanation.
Make sure you demonstrate. Physical education expert, Dr. Bob Pangrazi once said, “Anytime you talk for more than 30 seconds, you are teaching for perfection. The goal is activity.”
Out of 30 people, only five will understand what you say. The other 25 will follow these people.
I have always liked this quote from William Arthur Ward.
“A mediocre teacher tells. A good teacher explains. A superior teacher demonstrates.”
Find out what a great teacher does in our next coaching tip.
ACTION – Children will repeat what they see the coach does. Get them to learn skills by seeing you model precisely what you want to at the appropriate speed. Model the behavior you want from your students. Be energetic, enthusiastic, kind, and remember to smile. The law of reciprocity says you will get what you give.
8) Acknowledge and Recognize
From this day forward make it a priority to welcome every player who comes to your practice by using their first name. Acknowledge them and begin with a positive comment. This might be the only positive comment they get all day, or maybe all week. Throughout practice look for something you can positively acknowledge with your goal of at least one positive comment to each player every day.
This does not have to be about skill improvement. Recognize small accomplishments, good behavior, support of teammates and effort. It is better to praise the effort rather than the results.
Every person will respond to praise. Recognize their actions rather than the results. Use praise publicly and be genuine.
Change the role you think you have as a coach. Many coaches think it is their responsibility to look for errors and correct them. I have attended seminars and read books about error detection and correction. What would happen if we shifted from error correction to acknowledging, recognizing and encouraging as our primary focus and see if we get better results?
Positive coaching works. There is research on brain chemistry that proves that we will improve more, try harder and longer when we are in a positive environment. When I think about the two ends of the spectrum of criticism and correction compared to recognizing and acknowledgment. I know that a positive environment would work much better with me.
Here are three questions you should ask every day about every player in your program.
1. Have I helped my players learn something new today?
2. Have I praised my players for something specific they did today?
3. Did I acknowledge excellent effort by my students?
Looking for and recognizing good actions is not easy for most coaches but give it a try and see how much better your students respond and connect with you.
ACTION – Coaching is not all about error detection and correction. Instead, catch each of your students doing something right and recognize that positive behavior. This could be as simple as a smile, using their name, recognizing their behavior and giving them a high five.
9) Character and Sportsmanship
Do sports build character? Research indicates a negative relationship between participation in sports and character development. Many behaviors that are unacceptable in everyday life are considered to be acceptable in a sports setting. Studies have shown that athletes are more likely to bully their classmates, cheat on tests, and be disrespectful to adults. Athletes at every level are associated with improper behavior and poor character. Cheating scandals, drugs, violence, disrespect and other inappropriate behaviors in sports have almost become the norm.
Poor sportsmanship and questionable character are even taught by coaches. 84% of kids had coaches who taught them how to cheat. 45% had been called names or insulted by their coaches. 51% of kids see other kids act like poor sports frequently and 27% admitted to acting like bad sports after losing. Brianna Scurry, the goalkeeper of the USA World Cup championship team stated after she bent the rules, ”Everyone does it. It is only cheating if you get caught.”
Character can be taught and learned in a sports setting. A sports experience can build character, but only if the environment is planned to develop character. Tennis does not develop character and sportsmanship but coaches do. You need to expect good sportsmanship by setting the standard and modeling those characteristics you want to see in your athletes.
Good sportsmanship will not just happen but needs to be taught. Coaches need to make a conscious decision to make character development an active outcome and sport provides many opportunities to teach sportsmanship.
Coaches need to clearly define what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. It is hard work to teach character because it is much easier to keep quiet. Tennis provides so many teachable moments and it is our responsibility to acknowledge good sportsmanship and stop bad behavior so it does not become the norm and acceptable to your players.
ACTION – Decide today to identify and introduce one good character theme and check on everyone’s progress throughout your practice. Define good character and sportsmanship and recognize that behavior when you observe it. Don’t turn your back on inappropriate behavior or comments. Use these as teachable moments so your players understand what is and is not acceptable.
10) Teachable Moments
“If you ignore me, I won’t remember you. If you criticize me, I may not like you. If you encourage me, I won’t forget you.” Chuck Updike
All great coaches are great teachers and they are constantly tuned in to ways to guide, identify, recognize, reinforce and encourage. One of the most effective teaching methods for most people is with a quick tip or affirmation during a brief and unexpected stop in the action. Remember, you don’t have to wait for outstanding performance or mastery. Recognize things your students can control, such as their effort, attitude, encouragement of their teammates as well as good character and skill improvement.
Teachable moments are not limited to skill development, but include life skills such as being on time, taking care of equipment, listening to the coach and respecting officials. Remember from tip number 15, sports does not teach character, but coaches do. This means that you need to establish the standards and expectations and be quick to recognize progress as well as stop unacceptable behavior. Many times it is easier to ignore bad behavior, and when you do, you have just acknowledged and given approval for that behavior.
Keep your coaching eye open for teachable moments by finding ways to acknowledge how the skills are being used in games, drills or scrimmages. Remember the research indicates that coaches should provide five positive comments for every one correction, so look for good things that are happening and acknowledge them immediately and specifically. Most teachers tend to be hard-wired to see what is wrong, so we must adjust to a more positive mindset of positive thinking and identify what is good and right.
ACTION – Teaching is a full-time job, and the best coaches are aware of all of those moments to offer a word of acknowledgment for progress or encouragement for effort. These short comments are usually much more memorable than long verbal instructions.
