Dave Sammel: The pros and cons of going it alone
Roger Federer
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Maybe Roger Federer was right after all. After months of suggestions from the tennis world that he needed to find himself a full-time coach, tweak his game and generally work harder if he wanted to win Grand Slams again, he’s done it all by himself!
A couple of months ago, Federer was all washed up (or so said the media). But now, having won last year’s US Open, his first French Open on Sunday and with his favourite major of all, Wimbledon, just around the corner, in a few weeks’ time he could conceivably be the holder of three of the four Grand Slams.
So all of a sudden he’s made the experts look a bit daft. Perhaps travelling alone and figuring the game out for yourself is more advantageous than people think.
A week before the French Open our very own tennishead blogger and world No.49 Anne Keothavong was at it too when she decided to play the Warsaw Open without either of her coaches present. The result? She made her first clay court semi-final at Sony Ericsson WTA Tour level!
“I decided to come here alone without a coach or anyone else because at times I like my space and I value my independence,” she wrote in her blog at the time.
“I think it’s healthy to do some weeks on your own and in the past it’s paid off. I won two of my four tournaments last year while being alone and had some of my best wins so I don’t worry about not having any help and support occasionally; it’s only a phonecall away if I need it.”
We asked our coaching editor Dave Sammel what he thought about players going it alone…
Sammel says…
The idea that a player is better off without a coach some of the time is true. Players sometimes need time to work things out for themselves, although this has to be carefully managed with younger players (anyone under 20 as far as I’m concerned).
However, there are also some myths surrounding players travelling ‘without coaches’ because many of them still actually travel with some degree of support.
Roger Federer has Severin Luthi as a hitting partner, and his wife Mirka (who, having been a pro herself, knows tennis) and Anne has Claire Curran and Nigel Sears advising most weeks. Some players travel with a fitness coach or physio for support – for example, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski for long periods during their careers.
Although these ‘supporters’ are not named as coaches, the feel-good factor of having people around that add value to the player is key.
Mature and experienced players have a feel for what they need and will manage this well. I set up the MCTA Touring Academy because I recognised the fact that teams around players is the future.
At the highest level players can afford to have their own MCTA, but young pros can have a very effective team by sharing the same resources.
The one-on-one coaching model is claustrophobic for both players and coaches and, in my opinion, will become increasingly rare at the highest level.
