A study of a tennis coach’s approach to training a novice child

─ Case of a professional player’s childhood ─

Abstract

 Since coaching aims to improve a player’s performance, it is necessary for the coach to tailor his/her method to the individual, especially when the learner is a child. This study focuses on the case of a tennis coach’s approach to training his daughter, who later became a professional player.

 The author looks back on her first year playing tennis, her training program, the advice her coach gave her, and the resulting emotional and technical changes this advice triggered in her.

 The objectives of the coach’s approach included the following:

① Appealing to the player’s senses through imagery

② Extracting individual elements from complex movements, and training each one separately, so that the player could focus on one element at a time

③ Discussing the purpose and result of each day’s practice session, and the player’s impression of the day.

 Through this approach, the player was delighted to improve more quickly than she would have without coaching. This rapid improvement encouraged her curiosity to explore new techniques, and motivated her to devote more of her time and energy to tennis.