It’s Thursday and time for another edition of Van Zee’s Vault. I haven’t decided if this is my last post for the How to Build a Winning Program Series or if there will be one more. I expect that I will likely do one more to wrap it all up, but either way, today’s topic is one that I think is extremely underrated. In particular, I think tennis provides an interesting microcosm of psychological differences. You have a sport that is inherently individual in nature, but yet there is a team score. You have athlete’s who are likely the big fish in a small pond on their high school teams being thrust into the possibility of being the 5th best player on the squad. You have all sorts of personalities that can mesh well or cause conflict within the group. As a coach, it is your job to make it all work in harmony. Below, I will describe a few different personalities of tennis players that I have come across and how you might best enhance their potential on court while also honoring who they are as a person. PERSONALITY MANAGEMENT can make or break your season. In the spirit of the Australian Open, I am using professional tennis players to exemplify each type of personality.
Gael Monfils: The “talent.” This type of personality is the one that everyone loves to hate. He has all the talent in the world, but very little drive and determination to reach his potential. No matter what you do, it’s going to be extremely difficult to get this type of player to give you the output you want in practice. The best way to fully engage a player like this is to appeal to their competitive edge and the thing that fulfills all athlete’s the most: Winning! Yes you might never get them to go hard in practices and he will annoy the rest of his teammates because he doesn’t try, but on match day, let him know how important it is for him to win his match(es). Talent tends to thrive on knowing that they are important to the team’s success and that is the best way for them to show it.
Roger Federer: “The glue guy.” This is every college coaches dream player. He is the guy that has talent, works hard, and is everyone’s buddy on the team. He sets the example for his teammates on how to act on and off the court. He likely is the guy who will host all of the important recruits on their visits. Anything you ask of him, he will do because it is what is best for the team. He can squash any minor riffs between teammates because they respect him and follow his leadership. If you had a team full of this type of player, life would be easy, but sadly they are hard to come by and usually need to be molded as they mature throughout their college tennis career. As a coach, you must help them through this process and get out of the way when they are ready to lead.
Nick Krygios: “The headcase.” While entertainment value on court is easy to get with this type of personality, you cannot let them negatively impact the team with their outbursts. As a coach, you must control this from day 1. Do not allow them to get away with any type of antics in practice or at matches. What you shouldn’t do is take away all of their ways to express themselves. If you are too strict and do not allow them to outwardly express their emotions, they will not perform at their best. As a coach, you need to allow them to be vocal, but only in a positive way. Whether that is done by supporting a teammate, bouncing around on the court, or hitting a trick shot every now and then, it gives them an outlet to release what they are feeling. As soon as a negative expression comes through, penalize them. I probably gave more point penalties a season than any coach imaginable. I wouldn’t stand for negative behavior and neither should you.
Andy Murray: The diva. This type of player is difficult to manage only in that they have high expectations of you as a coach. For the most part, it’s a good thing because it forces you to live up to a certain standard. They want to be heard when they have a differing opinion about a certain drill in practice, how the lineup is set, or even what you are having for lunch in between matches. As a coach, it is your job to listen and genuinely consider what they are saying. It doesn’t mean you have to change your ways or agree, but it allows them to feel a part of the process. You might make small adjustments to drills or routines to suffice their needs. By listening to them, acknowledging their viewpoint, and explaining your own thought process, a great dialogue can be had.
David Ferrer: The hard worker. Another player that is a coaches dream. This is the guy who gets the most out of every practice. He will go hard no matter what the drill is and spends time after practice perfecting a shot they feel they need work on. They will schedule additional hitting time outside of your regularly scheduled practice and take that extra yoga or strength class knowing that it will make them a better player. The most difficult thing with a player such as this is the fact that results won’t be immediate. Getting better and achieving more success in the form of wins is a process and that needs to be stressed to the fullest when dealing with this type of personality.
Rafael Nadal: The injured. The oft injured guy is one that is difficult to manage in that you have to temper your expectations as well as give plenty of time recover. While he might have the talent to be in the lineup, rarely is he at 100% and able to perform at his best. As a coach, the best thing you can do is be patient. Do not rush this player back just because you have a big match coming up. The season is long so having them back for the duration is better than being a space filler for one match. Similar to the hard worker, stress the process in getting the injured guy back full strength. Be sure they are doing their rehab and don’t push them beyond their limits like playing two matches in a day. You have to use this player wisely.
Eric Butorac: The doubles specialist. A little D3 shout out with Butorac, but every team has a doubles specialist or two. These guys know they don’t have the talent from the baseline to compete for a singles spot, but have a weapon or two that make them a doubles candidate. Facilitate their growth by making their strength even stronger. Yes you work on their weaknesses, but that isn’t going to get them in the lineup. Mix them around with different partners and get a feel where they could be a successful contributor to the team.
Young Donald Young: The bad bench warmer. This is the freshman who comes into his first year thinking he is deserves a spot on the lineup. He likely has an inflated sense of how good he really is and believes it all should be handed to him. As a coach, he is relatively easy to deal with in that his results against teammates or opponents when given the shot will show that he isn’t quite ready for the big stage. These type of things will quickly break down the ego and hopefully allow the player to grow and eventually become someone willing to work hard for their next shot.
Old Donald Young: The good bench warmer. The seasoned veteran who has been through the wringer with tough challenges both on and off the court. He will work his butt off in practice fully realizing that he isn’t quite good enough to make an impact. If given the chance, he will give it his all for his teammates and step up. He will recognize that his place on the team is as a great practice partner and find value in contributing in such a way.
I am sure there are a few other types of personalities that I have missed, but the moral of the story is, every member of your team is different and you must treat them that way. Each has to handled appropriately, but with the team dynamics in mind. Decisions need to be based on what makes them a better teammate and what will allow for a tighter group wanting to perform at their best for each other. I will reiterate. Tennis is a highly individual sport. Therefore, you must deal with each athlete differently. The final score comes in the way of a team competition, so what are you doing each day to make each individual a better teammate and overall performer?
Our fantasy draft analysis should be coming out shortly. It is always a fun thing to be a part of mainly for the back and forth banter. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
This was a great read! One question for you which I think is at least somewhat related to this article: I know of at least two teams in the Central Region with a player on their respective squads that blatantly hooks. Both of these teams have respectable coaches, but I personally don’t feel like they’ve done enough to stop it…one has overruled his guy multiple times and the other hasn’t really done anything in my opinion. Anyway, what do you think is the best way to intervene when a player consistently hooks? Overrule and tell them they will be suspended from an upcoming match if they do it again?
That’s quite a tough question to answer. First off you need to determine why the player is hooking. Some might not necessarily be doing it on purpose and just be a terrible line caller. While that is an optimistic view point, I have seen it in the past. But on the more likely scenario, the player is hooking for one of two reasons, 1) Win at all costs or 2) fear of losing and how that might affect their spot on the team. Both are dealt with in different ways, but I think the threat of suspension is probably a bit too strong of a punishment unless it is such a frequent event that it deems it to be the only option. Conversely, educating the player on what kind of message is sent and reflected on not only themselves, but their teammates and coach is the first route to go. Everyone makes bad line calls so you don’t want to scare or intimidate the player to start calling balls in that are clearly a foot out. The hope is that they put the team and reputation ahead of themselves. Until that happens, you follow the code of conduct of warning, point, game, match. If a player ever gets to a game penalty, suspension is a must in my eyes.