From basket drills to problem-solvers: the shift I made

Hey coach,

For 18 years, I coached the way I was taught.

Basket drills. Step-by-step technique. Static biomechanics.
On paper, my sessions looked great.
But on court?
My players broke down under pressure.

Especially in matches. Especially when it mattered.

I blamed them at first—focus, nerves, laziness.
Then I realized it was me.
My coaching didn’t prepare them for real tennis.

That’s when everything changed.

What I use now is a simple 3-phase framework.
It’s made my players more adaptable, confident, and match-ready.

It’s also brought the fun back—for them and me.

3 Coaching Insights

1️⃣ Practice Design: Shape the game
Don’t start with drills.
Start with this:

Then use constraints—space, time, task—to guide behavior.
Design sessions that feel like tennis and demand decision-making.

2️⃣ Coaching Lens: Guide, don’t control
Your job isn’t to correct. It’s to notice.

Instead of giving answers, ask better questions.
Shape the challenge. Let the player shape the solution.

3️⃣ Player Review: Ask first, speak second
You don’t see what the player sees.
So start with their voice. Ask:

When players reflect, they learn.
When coaches dominate, they often just direct.

2 Questions to Reflect On

🔹 Are you designing sessions to look good—or to transfer to match day?
🔹 Do your players leave practice with answers—or more questions to explore?

1 Challenge for This Week
🎾 Flip the review.

Next time a player finishes a point, don’t tell them what to fix.
Ask them what they saw. What they were trying. What they’d try next.

You might learn something they never would have said otherwise.

Talk soon,
Steve Whelan
My Tennis Coach Academy