“Same routine, every match, win or lose.”
Matches and tournaments are a tool for learning, not the goal of training. They keep motivation high, test skills under pressure, and teach how to handle winning and losing.
“The match is part of practice. What are you working on today?”
The orange stage is when players move gradually from fun, promotional events to formal under-10 competition, with the right court, ball and equipment for their level.
“We'll start with team events before individual tournaments.”
Every match should have one or two clear learning goals the player keeps trying until they succeed, whatever the score.
“Win or lose, did you hit your match goal?”
Commitment, discipline, and respectful behaviour toward opponents, officials and coaches. The same standard applies to parents.
“Shake hands, look them in the eye, say good match.”
Matches as a learning tool.
Matches and tournaments are a tool for learning, not the goal of training. They keep motivation high, test skills under pressure, and teach how to handle winning and losing.
“The match is part of practice. What are you working on today?”
Every match should have one or two clear learning goals the player keeps trying until they succeed, whatever the score.
“Win or lose, did you hit your match goal?”
Commitment, discipline, and respectful behaviour toward opponents, officials and coaches. The same standard applies to parents.
“Shake hands, look them in the eye, say good match.”
Two or three simple intentions for a match, based on the player's strengths and the opponent's weaknesses.
“Plan A: make them hit backhands.”
Watching or researching an opponent before a match to find patterns and weaknesses.
“She misses more when you give her no pace.”
Recording what happens in a match point by point, such as serve percentages, errors and patterns, to guide training.
“The chart shows most errors came on the backhand return.”