Do Beginners Need Technique First? My Honest Answer

Do beginners really need fundamentals first?
Do you need to teach “the basics” before you let players play?
Are closed drills still worth doing?
What about injuries from bad technique?

These are the questions I get every single week—
From coach education courses, Instagram comments, YouTube replies, and live Q&As.

So today’s My Tennis Coaching Podcast episode is dedicated to them.

🎙️ Watch now: But What About the Basics? Tackling the Real Questions Around Skill Learning

What We Covered:

🔹 Why we need to redefine “fundamentals”
(They’re already in the environment, task, and body—not in your coaching notes.)

🔹 Why closed drills offer very little value
(And how to replace them with more impactful, match-representative tasks.)

🔹 Why beginners don’t need textbook technique
(They need variability, adaptability, and decision-making—not perfect swings.)

🔹 The truth about injuries and “bad form”
(Hint: players are more likely to get hurt from rigid models than from their own movement solutions.)

🔹 And yes… we even tackled confidence
(And why fake confidence from clean basket drills doesn’t last under pressure.)

If you're a coach stuck between tradition and transition, this one will hit home.
It’s packed with practical insight and real-world examples from sessions I’ve led this week.

Let’s reframe how we coach—from the very first lesson.

See you on the stream,
Steve

My Tennis Coaching

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