# @mytenniscoaching on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DcR5PBdgtDy
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69372485-mytenniscoaching-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/efdb9f43e3.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-21T23:00:03.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Steve Whelan | International Tennis Coach Developer (@mytenniscoaching) — https://gondola.cc/mytenniscoaching

## Caption

Conversation 34/43

Two tennis coaches can watch the same player and see two completely different problems.

That is because coaches do not observe players objectively.

We are drawn towards the information that matters within our own coaching philosophy, experiences and beliefs.

A traditionally oriented coach may watch a player and focus immediately on technique:

What does the swing look like?

Does it match the expected model?

Which movement needs correcting?

As an ecological coach, my attention is drawn elsewhere.

I look at behaviour.

What is the player trying to achieve?

What information are they using?

How are they interacting with the opponent and environment?

Can they produce behaviours in practice that remain functional under the demands of match play?

Neither coach is free from bias including me.

The crucial difference is whether we recognise the lens through which we are observing.

This also shapes the direction from which we design practice.

Traditional coaching often starts on the practice court. The coach tries to perfect a movement in controlled conditions and then hopes it transfers into competition.

I work in the opposite direction.

I begin with match play.

I identify the problem the player is struggling to solve, the information available and the functional behaviour required. I then bring those demands back into practice and design an environment that helps the player adapt.

I don’t work from the drill towards the match. I work backwards from the match towards the practice.

So here is today’s challenge:

Do you begin with what looks good on the practice court and hope it transfers?

Or do you begin with what the player needs on the match court and design practice backwards from there?

Let me know in the comments.

The conversation continues tomorrow.

#TennisCoaching #CoachEducation #EcologicalDynamics #ConstraintsLedApproach #SkillAcquisition

## Stats

- **Views:** 167
- **Likes:** 17
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 1

## Tags

constraintsledapproach, skillacquisition, ecologicaldynamics, coacheducation, tenniscoaching

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