025 - The Ambulance Coach

The PTM Podcast

Today’s Quick Tip Is: Stop commenting on every shot and PICK ONE THING. 

Don’t try to correct each shot.  There are NO REDOS anyway, just opportunities.

Instead, Try to look for the primary issue and go from there, BEFORE THE FACT. Now you have presented an opportunity to the student.

As a tester, the student was supposed to match the primary problem we saw, but the key for me was even if the primary problem didn’t match mine, that was OK as long as long as he progressed properly and the student LEARNED and improved. 

Let’s start with the positive:

Now, depending on where you work, this might be somewhat appropriate because you WILL NOT be able to develop someone’s stroke over time.  The two positions I can think of off hand are:

  1. 1. The Resort Pro
  2. 2. The Academy/Camp Pro

As a resort pro for 30 years, to be honest, I did not give a lot of lessons to hotel guests, my staff did, but when I first started, it was all me.

The one thing I learned was that, it was like the private lesson during the USPTA test.

I had one hour with them, so I did not want to make any major grip changes, or anything else that would:

  1. 1. Take until the end of the lesson for them to accomplish
  2. 2. Not allow me to see them the next week and how the development was going.

If it was a grip change, I would say something like, “when you get back home, mention to your pro about using the continental grip on the serve and ask what he/she thinks about it”

That still might put the pro in a bad position, because it may have been something they have been overlooking.

If I could come up with something where they could see immediate success (Usually a band-aid solution),  They were happy, I was happy and they felt like it was $70 well spent.

So even if they had the wrong grip on their serve, I could still improve the serve they had and have them mention the grip to their pro back home.

Now as an academy/camp pro, you have more time, maybe a week or more to observe and develop a bit, so it is a bit easier to bring up a longer term solution.

At the end of camp, you would probably write out an evaluation that they can take home and show their pro, if they have one, but the key is that you have time (OR EVEN EXTRA TIME) 

Now the Negative:

When you teach this way, you might be confusing the student.  

They will have little to go on, when they want to go out and practice to improve because there was so much said.

Sometimes, a slick pro will use this method, until they see something stick and stay with that correction, but you need to be able to break the stroke down (in your mind), find the primary issue and work on that.

If you are just starting out, here is a good way to try to diagnose the issue.

1. Remember The ball goes exactly where the RACQUET tells it to go, so contact point is the key.

Spin, Speed, Height, Depth and Direction all affect how we make contact. You are most likely trying to give them the same ball most every time, especially off a feed.

2: During the warm-up, asses what is happening to MOST of their shots.

For example: 80% of their Forehands are going into the net.  What does this mean?  Closed racquet face at contact.

Now figure out why it is closing and focus on that.

It could be the grip, but it

If you know your progressions, this will help diagnose.

If it is a regular student, there may not be a primary issue, you are just working with them and developing their stroke or game, but I am saving this for the next episode………. So please Stay tuned.

So KNOW YOUR PROGRESSIONS 

This will help you visualize where the problems may be occurring.

As a coach, you need to be able to see the stroke being hit in slow motion side by side with the visual of the perfect progression IN YOUR HEAD.

Bottom Line: Don’t get caught in the ambulance mode, especially if you are working on regular basis with a player.  If you are seeing someone only once, picking the ONE THING may just make that once into a regular gig.

Good Luck, 

Coach Mick, USPTA