# @mytenniscoaching on Instagram

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DcKK1O8tdI_
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69372497-mytenniscoaching-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/95b2d22788.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-17T23:00:06.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Steve Whelan | International Tennis Coach Developer (@mytenniscoaching) — https://gondola.cc/mytenniscoaching

## Caption

Conversation 30/43 

Controversial but…what looks like a technical problem may actually be a behavioural problem created by the practice environment.

Beginners are often told:

“The serve is the most important shot in tennis.”

“You have to get it in to start the point.”

They then step up to the baseline afraid to miss. Their movement becomes cautious, the racket slows down and they guide the ball towards a small target.

A coach may immediately identify poor technique and begin correcting the action.

But the movement might be an entirely functional response to the problem the player perceives:

Don’t miss.

Anxiety, intention and perceived consequences can all influence how a player moves. If the player believes success means carefully placing the ball into a small service box, a slow and protective action should not surprise us.

So before changing the technique, change the problem.

Keep the serve within tennis, but enlarge the target. Extend the service box towards the orange baseline or create a wider scoring area.

The player now has more space to explore, less fear of failure and greater freedom to accelerate the racket and strike the ball.

You have not explicitly instructed a faster action.

You have changed what the environment invites the player to do.

This does not mean every serving difficulty is caused by anxiety or that technical guidance is never required. It means movement should not be assessed independently of the intention, information and pressure shaping it.

Before correcting the action, ask:

What behaviour is this environment currently inviting?

Sometimes the most effective technical intervention is not changing the player.

It is changing the task.

The conversation continues tomorrow.

Follow mytenniscoaching for evidence-based coach education.

#TennisCoaching #CoachEducation #SkillAcquisition #EcologicalDynamics #ConstraintsLedApproach

## Stats

- **Views:** 2,060
- **Likes:** 38
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 1

## Tags

constraintsledapproach, skillacquisition, ecologicaldynamics, coacheducation, tenniscoaching

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