when I started to really observe and be aware of the differences in training
female and male athletes. One particular incident had a profound effect
on me. Amanda Basica, a highly ranked player from Southern California,
came for a lesson one morning in the fall of 1996. We started hitting and
grooving her groundstrokes. Ten minutes into the lesson, I noticed tears
coming down her cheeks. I let her be for a while and finally asked her, "Is
everything okay? Would you like to stop and talk about what is bothering
you?" Her response was a gentle, "No. I am fine. We can carry on." She
cried the entire lesson and hit the ball crisply and moved effortlessly. Oc-
casionally I would give her some feedback and she would receive it well
and execute it. When the hour was over, she thanked me for the lesson
and off she went to her classes.
make the right decision to give her space? Should I have stopped the les-
son and talked to her or let her go back to her room to regroup?" Twenty-
four years later when I reflect on that encounter, I realize that the
approach I had taken is the reason I have been successful coaching
women for all these years. Coaching female athletes is about knowing
what to say, what not to say, when to say it and how to say it. The following
are five lessons I have learned about coaching female athletes.
well intended but not always effective. When I became the Head Coach
at the University of Illinois, I learned a great lesson. We were playing the
#1 ranked and undefeated Duke team that was coming off of winning the
National Indoor Championship the week before. We were ranked #49 and
went into the match as huge underdogs. Half an hour into the match, we
were getting destroyed in doubles on courts #2 and #3. Our #1 team kept
plugging away and fighting. Momentum started to shift our way and you
could notice the opponents getting annoyed and start to rush. We ended
up winning the match in a tie-break.
going to give to rally our troops. I had fancy words and quotes that I was
going to use. When I approached the door, I heard a senior member of
the team yelling, "We are not going to lose to that team! Did you see that
they played us with their practice shorts on?"
my speech. We huddled and I let that senior do the talking. We lost two
singles matches quickly going down 0-3 in the match and the rest is his-
tory. We came back all the way and won the deciding set of deciding
match 7-6 in the third set. To this day, it remains one of, if not the greatest
upset in the history of collegiate women's tennis.
answers can be right in front of you. All you have to do is to ask questions
first and then listen carefully. Start meetings with the team's feedback.
Start lessons by asking what the athlete feels is going well and in what
areas s/he is feeling insecure. Keep your coaching short, simple and to
the point. Effective coaching requires you to understand the emotions of
your student. It goes a long way in coaching female athletes for them to
feel that they are being heard.
with my athletes as opposed to my time with them on the courts or in the gym.
The constant communication comes in the form of meetings, Skype or phone
conversations, text messages and emails. I have realized the importance of
keeping their souls alive and giving them ownership of everything they do. My
job is to convey how much I care about and believe in them and to be honest in
my evaluations of them. The most important ingredient in coaching female ath-
letes is gaining their trust. Once that is accomplished, you are in for a magical
ride. They are more coachable and listen better. You've probably heard women
are more emotional and that emotions get in their way. Yes, that is true, but I
like to say that when those emotions are channeled correctly, it ignites their
passion and love for their game, and that results in quality effort and attitude.
Yelling, screaming, threatening and other extrinsic motivation don't work be-
cause it doesn't touch the heart and soul. That's where it starts, because female
athletes thrive on being loved, cared for and valued.
came from Kazakhstan to play at the University of Arkansas, a Top 25 program
at the time. In the competitive environment of the SEC, she had lost confidence
after losing some very close matches. She transferred for her last two years of
college, and helped us win two conference titles and ended up winning critical
and deciding matches both years. From the first day she was on campus, our
goal was to nurture her and express our confidence in her, regardless of her re-
sults. In fact, we made it a point to be extra positive after her losses. Slowly
but surely we chipped away at her doubts and fears and started wrapping her
with confidence and belief. Her first year with us, she played the deciding match
in the semifinals of the conference championship against University of Denver.
She was down 2-5 in the deciding set. On the changeover, I sat next to her and
calmly asked her to look at me. She was tense, nervous and felt the pressure
to deliver for her team. I smiled and asked her to breathe and told her, "Val, this
is exactly where we want you to be. This is why you came to our program and
why you worked so hard. This is your moment to shine, so go after it with no re-
grets." She went on to win seven straight games to win the match 7-5 in the
third set. The next year, she did it again in the finals of the conference champi-
onship against Georgia State. Valentina is just one example that inside-out
coaching can propel athletes to believe and in their ability and eventually exe-
cute under pressure.
of calm and stability. The on court rituals of Rafael Nadal take it to a whole new
level, bordering superstition, but it is interesting to observe the consistency of
his routines. What I did not realize in my early years of coaching is that these
routines start way before practice and competition.
first opportunity to travel with Amanda Coetzer, a former Top 10 WTA player from
South Africa. Coming off a high of watching Amanda play the Hopman Cup and
win the Victorian Open in Melbourne the week before for her maiden WTA title,
I was gaining confidence as a hitting partner/travelling coach representing the
Van Der Meer Tennis World-Class Academy.
to the other side of the stadium to drop off six racquets to be strung. I wanted
to impress her, so I woke up early next morning, picked up the racquets, sten-
ciled the logos and put on the over grips. Later that morning, I proudly handed
the racquets to Amanda. I still remember the look on her face when she took
the racquets from me. If looks could kill, I would have been dead right there.
With her gentle voice she calmly said, "Don't ever do this again, Sujay."