# @mytenniscoaching on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Db9S3h8ghFv
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69004396-mytenniscoaching-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/5791ea4209.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-12T23:00:02.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Steve Whelan | International Tennis Coach Developer (@mytenniscoaching) — https://gondola.cc/mytenniscoaching

## Caption

Conversation 25/43

If your player already knows what is coming next, they are not learning to recognise when the opportunity emerges.

Many tennis practices prescribe the entire pattern:

Attack the short ball down the line.

Move forward.

Volley into the open space.

Win the point.

The player may execute the sequence successfully—but the coach has already made the important decisions.

The player knows which ball will be short.

They know where they must hit.

They know when to move forward.

They may begin organising their movement before the relevant information is even available.

That can create the appearance of successful performance without requiring the player to use the information that would regulate the same action during a match.

In competition, nobody announces:

“Here comes the short ball.”

The player must detect changes in ball flight, speed, depth, opponent position and available space. They must recognise the emerging opportunity and adapt their movement accordingly.

Knowing how to attack a short ball is not enough.

Players must become sensitive to when the situation affords an attack—and when it does not.

This does not mean prescribed patterns are always useless. They can support exploration of a particular situation. But if the sequence never becomes uncertain, players may become skilled at reproducing the drill rather than solving the problem.

Next time, don’t tell the player which ball will be short.

Design the practice so they must:

Recognise the opportunity.

Decide whether to attack.

Adapt their movement.

Experience the consequences.

Stop prescribing the pattern. Start developing the player’s ability to perceive when the pattern is available.

The conversation continues tomorrow.

Follow mytenniscoaching for evidence-based coach education.

#TennisCoaching #CoachEducation #SkillAcquisition #EcologicalDynamics #RepresentativeLearningDesign

## Stats

- **Views:** 1,101
- **Likes:** 20
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 3

## Tags

skillacquisition, ecologicaldynamics, coacheducation, representativelearningdesign, tenniscoaching

---
Copyright (c) Gondola