How to become a better coach

Marcin Bieniek examines the key factors that will help develop our coaching skills.

As coaches, we take care of our players, plan every practice, think about short and long-term goals, create new drills, explain tactics, etc. Most coaches want to develop their skills. We do our best on the court, learn from other coaches, read books and articles, watch videos, etc. We do everything to create an appropriate environment that will allow our players to be motivated to improve. However, what about us? Do we take care of ourselves in the same way as we care for future stars? Becoming a skilled coach is a long and complicated process, but what should we consider?

Goals

We set goals and measure the progress of our players, and in the same way, we should establish and measure our goals. The best way is to write down our short and long-term goals, but how do we decide on our goals? Firstly, we can evaluate ourselves by focusing on our strengths and weaknesses, and we can consider questions like: "What can I do better" or "How can I improve as a coach"?

An alternative approach is to ask other coaches/players to evaluate your coaching skills. You may need to create a questionnaire to help them focus on your "What to coach" skills and your "How to coach" skills. Once we have identified some goals to help us develop as a coach, then we can consider our short or long-term objectives. A short-term goal could be to observe the tennis stroke several times before providing feedback, and a long-term goal could be to involve the player in the planning process.

Questions

The use of open questions about your coaching knowledge and coaching skills can help you identify goals. You could consider the kind of question: What would I like to improve? Do you need to consider - How will I do this? When do I want to achieve it? What obstacles might I face, and how can I overcome them? What resources and help will I need? Having decided on a goal, you need to review progress regularly - daily, weekly, or monthly. Once a goal is achieved, then you can repeat the process.

Learning

My golden rule about learning is that it does not matter if you read a book, participate in a conference, search the web, or talk to another coach. Try to pick up at least one new idea each time.

If you are a good player, you improve by correcting small details, e.g. on the forehand. This might be a small adjustment of the racquet angle. The same approach applies to developing your coaching skills.

If you are new to coaching tennis, you may read books about coaching and tennis and in the process, take many notes. Year by year, book by book, you will find you take fewer notes because of the knowledge you have gained over the years.

I encourage every coach to learn something new every day, and it does not matter if you have 2 or 20 years of experience. Even one small idea could be the start of a new drill/methodology/approach. The better you are as a coach, the better your players will be.

To help a player improve his or her game, a coach should suggest the right equipment. Using a tennis ball machine, for example, can help a player improve their accuracy and speed.

Motivation

Your level of motivation is an essential factor in coaching. When we first start coaching, we are very motivated to develop our skills, but some coaches are still eager to work on the court and develop new skills while others are there only for the money. You have to find what motivates you to coach and then spend as many hours as you can in that environment. If you are losing motivation, change it because it hurts you and your fellow players when you are not motivated. Remember, coaching is a responsible job, and you can bring a smile to a player's face, or you can close the gate to their tennis world forever.

Conclusion

When challenging goals are broken down into realistic steps and then systemically achieved, motivation, commitment, and self-confidence will grow for you and the players you coach.

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

BIENIEK, M. (2012) How to become a better coach [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article111.htm [Accessed

About the Author

Marcin Bieniek is a tennis coach from Poland and a former professional player (Polish National Juniors Team). He is a certificated tennis coach by the Polish Tennis Coaching Association and the Professional Tennis Registry. Marcin has worked with many of the top 20 Polish Juniors and the top 150 players in the world.


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As coaches, we take care of our players, plan every practice, think about short and long-term goals, create new drills, explain tactics, etc. Most coaches want to develop their skills. We do our best on the court, learn from other coaches, read books and articles, watch videos, etc. We do everything to create an appropriate environment that will allow our players to be motivated to improve. However, what about us? Do we take care of ourselves in the same way as we care for future stars? Becoming a skilled coach is a long and complicated process, but what should we consider? Goals We set goals and measure the progress of our players, and in the same way, we should establish and measure our goals. The best way is to write down our short and long-term goals, but how do we decide on our goals? Firstly, we can evaluate ourselves by focusing on our strengths and weaknesses, and we can consider questions like: "What can I do better" or "How can I improve as a coach"? An alternative approach is to ask other coaches/players to evaluate your coaching skills. You may need to create a questionnaire to help them focus on your "What to coach" skills and your "How to coach" skills. Once we have identified some goals to help us develop as a coach, then we can consider our short or long-term objectives. A short-term goal could be to observe the tennis stroke several times before providing feedback, and a long-term goal could be to involve the player in the planning process. Questions The use of open questions about your coaching knowledge and coaching skills can help you identify goals. You could consider the kind of question: What would I like to improve? Do you need to consider - How will I do this? When do I want to achieve it? What obstacles might I face, and how can I overcome them? What resources and help will I need? Having decided on a goal, you need to review progress regularly - daily, weekly, or monthly. Once a goal is achieved, then you can repeat the process. Learning My golden rule about learning is that it does not matter if you read a book, participate in a conference, search the web, or talk to another coach. Try to pick up at least one new idea each time. If you are a good player, you improve by correcting small details, e.g. on the forehand. This might be a small adjustment of the racquet angle. The same approach applies to developing your coaching skills. If you are new to coaching tennis, you may read books about coaching and tennis and in the process, take many notes. Year by year, book by book, you will find you take fewer notes because of the knowledge you have gained over the years. I encourage every coach to learn something new every day, and it does not matter if you have 2 or 20 years of experience. Even one small idea could be the start of a new drill/methodology/approach. The better you are as a coach, the better your players will be. To help a player improve his or her game, a coach should suggest the right equipment. Using a tennis ball machine, for example, can help a player improve their accuracy and speed. Motivation Your level of motivation is an essential factor in coaching. When we first start coaching, we are very motivated to develop our skills, but some coaches are still eager to work on the court and develop new skills while others are there only for the money. You have to find what motivates you to coach and then spend as many hours as you can in that environment. If you are losing motivation, change it because it hurts you and your fellow players when you are not motivated. Remember, coaching is a responsible job, and you can bring a smile to a player's face, or you can close the gate to their tennis world forever. Conclusion When challenging goals are broken down into realistic steps and then systemically achieved, motivation, commitment, and self-confidence will grow for you and the players you coach. Page Reference If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is: BIENIEK, M. (2012) How to become a better coach [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article111.htm [Accessed About the Author Marcin Bieniek is a tennis coach from Poland and a former professional player (Polish National Juniors Team). He is a certificated tennis coach by the Polish Tennis Coaching Association and the Professional Tennis Registry. Marcin has worked with many of the top 20 Polish Juniors and the top 150 players in the world.