THE INTEGRATED APPROACH

Whether with juniors or adults, effective player development is not only a matter of quantity but also of quality.  To improve quality, there is both a science of player development (what skills to develop) and an art (the order in which they are developed, how things are sequenced together, etc.).  Most coaches, players, and parents would agree that quality is important; the question is, “quality of what”?

The trap that many fall into is the narrow view that player development is only about technique.  It is not uncommon to see coaches who have, at worst, a ‘technical only’, or at best, a ‘Technical-first approach’. A quick look at the internet easily reveals tennis’s obsession with technique.

While technique is a critical component, it is not the only one.  Disregarding others often leads to developing players who may look good but cannot play the game successfully.  So, what other components does a player need?

Internationally, the world’s top coaches agree on 4 main components that are required to develop a complete player. These are called the 4 Performance Factors:

• Psychological
• Physical
• Tactical
• Technical

These are not new.  However, coaches normally don’t spend time developing them all. The 4 Factors typically live in separate ‘silos’, and other ‘experts’ are often called in to deal with them.  Don’t get me wrong, it is extremely helpful to have specialists in other fields, but the challenge is, it is the coach who sees the player most frequently and has the biggest opportunity to impact all 4 Factors. Also, the coach is typically responsible for the player’s overall performance. Not to mention that many coaches worldwide are running small programs without the resources to include other experts (even if they wanted to).   

Coaches need to understand that players do not play matches only with their technique. They need to coach the entire human being (not just their technique). So, to truly improve match performance, a coach must address all four factors, each with its own challenges, development paths, traps to avoid, and methods.

Developing all of the components in a cohesive way is called the ‘Integrated Approach.’ It has been systemized by my coaching mentor, top international coach, coach educator and former Canadian Head National Coach, Louis Cayer. He advocates a more holistic, interconnected approach to all the factors, since each is essential to overall performance.

To make things more understandable and manageable, the Integrated approach divides individuals into two key aspects. The ‘Performer’ is their body and mind (The Psychological and Physical Performance Factors), and the ‘Player’, which is their Tactical and Technical Performance Factors.  

One important note about the Integrated approach. It does not mean a coach must become an expert specialist in every one of the 4 factors. But they must have sufficient tools to develop each one.

THE IMPORTANCE OF EACH FACTOR

Psychological Development:

The great Jimmy Connors once said, “Tennis is 90% mental.  Anyone who plays knows tennis is psychologically challenging.  Our definition of Psychological skills includes both Mental (cognitive) and emotional skills. The goal is to equip players with tools to handle all the demands the game will throw at them. 

Coaches, parents, and players must all realize that psychological skills need to be trained just like technical skills (with observed repetition and feedback).  ‘Parachuting in’ the Psychologist to do a presentation or just talking about psychology before or after a match can be helpful; however, it is not training.

To train the Psychological aspects of the ‘performer’, the coach needs to understand enough to provide relevant feedback during training to help players maintain an ideal performance state.  It is the coach and the consistent relationship with the person that will allow them to shape the person’s identity, beliefs, values, attitudes, mind-set and behaviours.

Physical Development:

In any sport, a good athlete will always have an advantage.  While athleticism is partly genetic, it is also highly trainable.  A player needs to develop many physical qualities (e.g., endurance, speed, flexibility, strength).  Some of the most critical qualities to develop are what’s called the “ABC’s” of athleticism.

• Agility
• Balance
• Coordination
• Speed.

All of these are important, developmentally speaking. Coordination has been flagged as the #1 physical capacity needed for long-term success in tennis. Therefore, it is critical to develop coordination in junior players. Coordination training builds a solid foundation for tennis much more effectively than just tennis training. 

Again, the coach doesn’t need to be a physical development ‘expert’; however, they do need to understand how the physical elements mesh with the technical for on-court performance. For example, the coach would help players learn tennis-specific footwork. If a physical expert is used, it is the coach who would direct them to the tennis-specific standards (e.g., increase leg power to recover with stronger cross-over steps after a groundstroke).  The coach would develop the footwork during training, with the Physical Trainer providing supplemental support.

There is even a process called ‘Complex training’ where physical activity (e.g. throwing a medicine ball) is alternated with actual hitting drills for direct application.

Tactical Development:

One very effective way to learn tennis is through using a Game-Based approach (GBA). This is in contrast to the traditional ‘technique first-tactics later’ approach. In a GBA, the enjoyment of playing tennis is maintained right from the beginning by recreating playing situations, adapted (or scaled down for starter players) to the players’ level. As they play, they learn they must complete specific tasks to earn more points (or lose fewer). 

In a GBA with its ‘tactics-first’ emphasis, the coach would typically train shots ‘situationally’. Players would start with a clear tactical intention and then learn techniques to address the challenges encountered in those situations. With such a direct link to playing tennis, the skills learned in training transfer more easily to match play.

In other words, people learn how to play tennis rather than just being taught how to stroke. This is one of the most critical aspects of developing a successful player. The challenge is that a coach must have a systematic way to develop tactics, so using a functional tactical framework is essential.

(For an article on GBA, click here)

Technical Development:

As mentioned previously, a “technique first” approach is not the most effective way to develop players, since technique is only a means of executing a tactic. This is not to say that technique is not important. 

Technical development has evolved dramatically over the last few decades. In the past, the goal of instruction was to get players to execute the proper ‘form.’ However, tennis is not a matter of just ‘looking proper’ (who cares how nice your follow-through is if you can’t win points with it?).

Technical development must be about adapting to the ever-changing situations encountered in play, equipping players to be more effective, win more points, and lose less (not just look nicer). 

HOLISTIC INTEGRATION (Appreciating root causes)

One of the critical reasons the Integrated approach is valuable is for getting to the true root of unsuccessful performance. The trap is that, on the surface, every error is technical. The physics of the shot were incorrect. However, an ineffective response from the coach is to assume every solution is technical.

Even on seemingly purely technical issues, the other components may be involved. For example, consider a common situation in which a player is in a third-set tie-breaker and sets up the point for an open court, volley winner. Rather than putting the ball away, they ‘pop’ it into the middle of the court. Although technically it may be true that the volley didn’t have enough racquet speed, the racquet angle was incorrect, and the racquet’s path was too level, that isn’t the whole story.

An ineffective solution by the coach is to think every solution is technical

I used to develop players with technique as the #1 priority.  Although I had some good results, I have found over the years that it works best to bring all 4 components along as a package.  At various points in their development, other players may look better technically, but in the end, the advantage will go to the complete player.  The alternative is to let the non-technical components get developed at some later stage. 

Players developed in a technical-first approach typically come out of competition thinking, ‘I can’t believe I lost. My technique is so much better than theirs!’ It is a misconception to believe that technical superiority is the goal that will translate into future wins.

The glitch is that, at every level of tennis competition, players are grouped with others of similar ability.  Beginners don’t compete against advanced players in tennis.  People need to qualify to get into the various competitive levels.  In other words, the further up in tennis you go, the more you are placed with players who are technically able to hit the ball as well as you.  So, what will make the difference on who wins?  Eventually, to perform successfully, a player will have to demonstrate superiority in the other Performance Factors. 

STEPS IN THE INTEGRATED APPROACH

Louis Cayer has outlined a 3-step coaching process when utilizing the approach:

1. WILL: Address the ‘Performer’ first. (e.g. Start the journey of adopting performance-enhancing identity, beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours.)
2. DRILL: Raise awareness with the players about the standards and norms they must achieve to be successful (at the desired level of play they want to attain). Ensure the practice activity (drill) is achieving the goal by being done appropriately.
3. SKILL: Once the ‘Drill’ and ‘Will’ are set, the coach can then address the elements required to improve the skill’s performance. To develop skills (and not simply technical ‘form’), practice activities must include perception and decision-making. This is best done in an environment that promotes problem-solving.  

SUMMARY:

Tennis is a multi-faceted game that requires a person to use everything they have. To develop everything needed, coaches must work with both the ‘Performer’ and the ‘Player’, integrating the psychological, physical, tactical, and technical components into their training. Fully equipping players for the demands of tennis involves much more than some technical instruction and hitting a million balls. It is a process that involves both the science and art of training and is sequential and systematic. Anything less is a disservice to players learning the game.