This week I want to talk about the nationals and the importance of communication between players, parents and coaches
Ideally you want to be at tournaments for scouting and setting game plans, but as much as we would like to, we cannot always attened matches, and for this reason I ask parents to fill in the S9 match charting sheets. These are simple to fill out and give me lots of information as to what happened at the match.
One of my players, aged 13, is playing better than ever and achieving their goals. Last year she entered a grade 1; this was a far cry from a year ago when I assessed her at stage 5 of the SYSTEM-9 model (if you have yet to come across the 9 stages, then check out the red ball book).
Most players I have coached to a high level, (with two wining the nationals), start around S9 stages 5/6. I work with them to finish the 9 stages, and then go on to improve their knowledge of their own game AND that of their opponents. This means working out their strengths, shoring up any weaknesses and setting the top three set plays which they can use during matches. From then, it’s a matter of matching the scouting report to our players strengths and the opponents’ weaker shots/areas of the court.
The importance of charting is huge!
- Coaches learn more about players
- Fellow players, parents and coaches can help scout opponents
- When practicing charting, players understand what happens in a match. This helps players practice workingout how to beat opponents when playing themselves.
- From scouting,coaches can set up game plans to help beat potential opponents in the next or future games. This is why it’s important to keep a record of ALL matches.
If you want to learn the whole journey from 4 to Tour then you are welcome to attend the S9 Tennis University Course. Check out our first course in Florida in April this year COURSES – SYSTEM-9
Buy hardcopy of S9: Match Charting | Buy ebook copy of S9: Match Charting
If you are interested in attending this course in the future drop us an email and we will add you to the list.
Enjoy you week and we will be back next week with more coach information and tips!
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