The Coaches Playbook Newsletter

Summer competition season does something interesting. It doesn’t just expose players. It exposes coaches. Long days.Tight matches.Emotional swings.Unexpected behaviours. Suddenly the things that mattered in practice become very obvious. And so do the things that didn’t. 3 Coaching Ideas Summer tennis reveals what players trust under pressureNot what they can do in controlled environments. Match play changes how coaches see learningYou stop obsessing over technique and start noticing...

Hi Coach, For the last few months, I've been working behind the scenes on something I've wanted to build for a long time. A brand-new home for My Tennis Coaching. Today, I'm excited to announce that the new My Tennis Coaching Academy App is now live. The goal was simple: ✅ Mobile-friendly learning ✅ Easier navigation ✅ Faster access to content ✅ A cleaner, more modern experience Most importantly, I wanted to make it easier for coaches to access practical coach education wherever they are....

Hi Coach, Let me ask you a question. How much of your coaching week is spent working with doubles players? Now here's the harder question... How much formal education have you actually received on coaching doubles? For most coaches, the answer is very little. Yet doubles is what the majority of adult club players actually play. And it's often where coaches struggle the most. Players stand in the wrong positions. Partners don't communicate. Everyone hugs the tramlines. The net player becomes a...

By the time summer tournaments arrive, most player behaviours are already stabilised. Not technically. Behaviourally. How they: respond under pressure use space manage uncertainty adapt when things get uncomfortable These patterns don’t suddenly appear in June. They’ve been shaped for months. Usually by practice. 3 Coaching Ideas Match identity is trained dailyCompetition reveals habits already formed. The environment teaches emotional responsesNot just tactical ones. Summer tennis punishes...

Hi Coach, Can I ask you a question? Do you secretly dread coaching Blue Stage or tots tennis? Not because you don't enjoy working with young children... But because it often feels like complete chaos. One child is hanging off the net. Another has wandered off to tell you about their pet hamster. Two are chasing balls around the court. And you're standing there wondering: "Am I actually coaching tennis here?" If you've ever felt like that, you're not alone. The truth is, coaching 3–5-year-olds...

A basket of balls isn’t match play. Neither is: cooperative rallying predictable feeding rehearsed patterns Even if it looks “game-like.” Real match play contains: uncertainty emotional pressure information consequence adaptation That’s what players need experience solving. 3 Coaching Ideas Representative practice is emotional as well as tacticalThe player must feel consequence. Good match play training changes behaviourNot just shot execution. Match confidence comes from exposureNot...

I used to believe pressure caused technical breakdown. Now I’m not so sure. Watching matches changed my thinking. At 30–40: players stop moving forward stop using space stop taking opportunities Not because technique disappeared. Because intention changed. The player shifts from: solving the game to: surviving the moment. That changes everything. 3 Coaching Ideas Pressure changes attentionPlayers narrow focus and become threat-oriented. Match behaviour must be trainedYou cannot “talk players...

Hi everyone, Over the past two years, My Tennis Coaching Academy has grown far beyond what I originally imagined. What started as a collection of webinars, presentations, practice designs, and conversations has evolved into a library of hundreds of hours of coach education content. And now it's time for the next step. A New Academy Platform Is Coming As many of you know, we're currently migrating the Academy to a brand-new learning platform. The new platform will be: Fully mobile optimised...

For years, I thought players struggled in matches because of pressure. Now I think something else is often happening. The match simply exposes what practice never prepared them for. Clay court season makes this incredibly obvious. Longer rallies.More uncertainty.More movement problems.More decisions. Players can no longer rely on rehearsed patterns. And suddenly coaches say: “Why can’t they do it in matches?” “They do it perfectly in practice.” “They just need confidence.” But confidence is...