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Posted on 29 August 20237 August 2024 by Dr B

Addiction and Coaching: the Tennis Player

It is important to preface this segment by sharing that if you’re experiencing a form of addiction, please consult your local physician / GP for steps to put in place to help you overcome these behaviours. The following is not medical advice, it is based on science (behavioural) coupled lived experience.

Addiction is more often than not associated with quite drastic outcomes to behaviours and the underlying and/or more subtle addictions that can come about in the daily lives of adolescents to teenagers when they’re not receiving the attention they seek are often overlooked. An example in the sports coaching context for the tennis player may be over-training to carrying an injury without sharing — for fear of ‘loss’ of training. However, there are also more widely known addictions that may present themselves away from the training grounds that coaches can become privy to if they put the work in to build trusting/trustful relationships with their players that can also allow the coach in turn to ‘ring the alarm’ with a player’s and/or child’s parent/guardian.

There are a multitude of signs a coach can look for from a behavioural perspective and coaches are in a unique position to play their part to combat these more concerning behaviours. It is also pertinent to remember some players will be more susceptible than others due to their environment and the ‘training grounds’ (i.e. tennis courts) is one such area that can mitigate these vulnerabilities to susceptibilities with the right guidance, support network and structures than work in unison to condition the player/athlete to build more robust foundations as they transition through their younger years into adulthood.

This is one core topic that is rarely addressed that when the training environment is well-rounded it can play such a positive part in a child’s life whilst also building behavioural responses that can allow them to better cope when put in more pressurised environments away from the training grounds i.e. at-risk and/or vulnerable environments that may lead to and/or contribute towards an addiction. As a huge proponent for sports participation, one such text — What is Your Game Missing, Now? begins to address the social implications of reduced sports participation to increasing the rate of active populations.

It is well documented that active (physical) hobbies — whether casual or for the more dedicated, have incredibly positive benefits for both physical health and mental health.

Whilst the role of mental health and the tennis player has previously been touch on, the presence and/or susceptibility to addiction is new. And whilst from a societal perspective it is also well-documented that addictions are a part of our communities, that isn’t to say that the sporting athlete and with that, the tennis player, is not at-risk at developing an addiction. By all means through participation the risks are lowered, but a proactive coach that builds trust and is conscious of the signs, can not merely be a sounding board to confidant in times of need by building the triangular relationship (refer to the coach-parent relationship) this also affords a best-practice protocol when keeping a healthy eye on a child’s overall physical and mental health and preparedness to discuss and/or address the role of addiction in sport and how coaching plays an integral part in the players/athletes development.

To learn more about our data, predictive analytics and how to optimise your own performance, head on over to AM8 International. To learn more about AM8 International check out our selection of Books and/or options to join Dr B’s Pack to gain exclusive access to the best in the world. Not quite ready? Head on over to Beyond Top 10 Tennis for free access to 100+ episodes directly from Dr Berge of what it really takes to win multiple Grand Slams to securing that Top 10 tennis ranking with new episodes each week. More? Catch up on our Tips over on TikTok, Twitter, Threads or Instagram for quick snippets to apply in your game, today.

Posted on 27 August 20237 August 2024 by Dr B

Learning from Mistakes: Tennis Players Part 2

Irrespective if you’re a tennis player, coach or parent there is a lesson embedded in here for everyone — including the non-sporting individual. Mistakes do not discriminate, rather it is a part of being human and inevitable that mistakes happen. It is how we ‘learn’ from these mistakes the separates us. This learning is our core focus here and how inside the coaching environment this can be shaped to benefit player performance now and in the years to come.

First and foremost it is absolutely critical that coaches are equipped with the tools to share feedback in a way that addresses these mistakes — from errors to unforced errors and more specific game-play discrepancies to mindful practices. All in all, there are a multitude of areas to address where mistakes may occur and it really comes down to what the player understands and their capacity to follow these instructions. But remember…

…a player cannot follow instructions that he/she does not understand. Rather, they may very well be performing ‘perfectly’ in their eyes from what they understand is required. This is critical for coaches to understand themselves to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Feedback is individual and how this is delivered is dependent on the player and their core learning style — think personal characteristics and how they best receive instruction. For those who deliver a ‘one size’ approach for all, this is where mistakes are bound to happen at no fault of the player/athlete. Get it right and you’re aligning with optimal performance practices and setting up that player to embark on The Pathway.

It is key to remember that mistakes are a part of life and it is how we are conditioned to respond that makes a difference. To the coaches, helping your players better understand their errors to unforced errors and carving a action-reaction response is another key metric that not merely allows the player/athlete to develop this aspect of their game, but during competition they’re more readily able to move on to the next point and ‘re-set’ after a mistake.

Posted on 24 August 20238 August 2024 by Dr B

Learning from Mistakes: Tennis Players

Everyone makes mistakes. It is one of those things in life that is inevitable. How you respond to these mistakes will vary and these behaviours are often formed in your earlier developmental years. Only later in life, if and/or when you choose, will you begin to modify these behaviours. On this premise, it is so incredibly important to set the standards in a child’s earlier years to ensure their response is well-attuned to appropriate and builds the ‘right’ kind of behaviours opposed to setting that child up for a harder road ahead i.e. needing to ‘rewire’ these behaviours due to the poor responses initially developed and/or noted as acceptable at the given time…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

Posted on 22 August 20238 August 2024 by Dr B

What’s Your Purpose? Tennis Training with Intention

A question either asked or pondered by each and every one of us falls along the lines of “What’s Your Purpose?” to “What’s My Purpose?” and can be as deep as it sounds. From a philosophical perspective this question can dive into various proponents of life and can take a person on quite an intrinsically explorative journey. But there’s one thing for sure — asking yourself this fundamental question can lead to a more fulfilling and gratifying experience once this purpose has been unwrapped. This isn’t to say a deep dive is necessary and/or pivotal — I’d argue that the more reflective a person is capable of being at any given time serves the wider purpose of their actions opposed to falling down the rabbit hole (metaphorically)…

To read the full article please consider supporting my work through my new Book (pending release late 2024) that incorporates a variety of my writing — Dr Berge

Posted on 17 August 20237 August 2024 by Dr B

Learning: the Role of Academia in Sport and for the Tennis Player

With ‘education and sport’ remaining such an in-depth topic that is rarely afforded the attention it deserves, this is a follow-up to our most recent Blog on ‘Education and its Role in Aspiring Tennis Players and Athletes‘. As the former looked at education more broadly and its applicability to building a player’s capacity and how education can be leveraged to enhance player/athlete performance, here we’re going to dig a little deeper. Most simply, education and academia fall under the same umbrella. Education can, however, be viewed as the initial learning years that are ‘mandatory’ for those who have access to these frameworks. Academia can then be viewed as ‘non-mandatory’ and rather used as a complementary tool to enhance performance and continue along a similar trajectory as The Pathway but with a more purposeful outlook.

By this it can be implied that academia is an individual’s personal desire — to learn, to continue their initial education into a more formal area and being immersed in academia in and of itself. However, for the tennis player this can be shaped as a continued ability to leverage their education and continue to do so in one or more of their peak areas of interest. Recall that through the initial formative years of a player/athlete their is limited choice of the actual framework, in most cases, as they are encouraged to learn a multitude of subjects to set them up for their later pursuits in life and/or prepare them for a more in-depth learning process in academia (i.e. University). However, this isn’t the premise.

The premise is centred around a player’s ability to ‘learn’ laterally and contextually by varied means with the tools at their disposal and in this case, using their education and the multitude of subjects they’re learning to tap into ‘other’ elements of play. And this is where the 7 Keys can amplify a players performance.

But there’s no mistaking the complexity that underwrites The 7 Keys and for a player/athlete to have a reasonable understanding of their initial education to better grasp and understand the topics to concepts to be presented in academia. By taking the next step in education, this can be assimilated with a player’s performance advancing in unison whilst their habits remain true. In other words, the structure of formal education can be integrated into the life of the player/athlete to afford a sense of normalcy and control — structure, that allows them to continue to follow The Pathway without losing sight of their end goal; becoming more susceptible to this when that structure is no longer in place.

A more prominent benefit nonetheless of academia is for the player/athlete to ‘finally’ study what they’re most interested in and/or inclined towards. On this premise, academia can be leveraged as a balancing act in more than one way whereas the player/athlete is continuing to reach new heights as they follow The Long Game and progressively ascend towards the Top 10. This ascension can occur in conjunction with the player/athlete and academia — using academia to offset this greater ‘progressive’ load and keep their intellectual advantage that has been honed over their schooling years and is now being maintained and equally ‘progressed’ in their academic pursuits for the ‘win‘.

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