3 Pillars of Effective Coaching

Create Environment

• Why it has been Included
• Environment can be Intangible or Tangible
• Intangibles are subdivided into Positive Vision / Appropriate Challenge / Personal Best Climate
• Tangibles are subdivided into Location / Setting / Decor

Effective Working relationships

• Effective Working Relationships comprise Empathy / Sincerity / Care
• Four Ideas for Effective and Healthy Working Relationships
• Example Story in the Resource Library revisited

Steepening The Learning Curve

• Practice does not guarantee Progress
• Four Ideas to help Steepen the Learning Curve
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Tennis Lessons

Analogies

The use of analogies/similes during the coaching process is arguably one of the most effective methods of providing an environment in which the pupil can learn.

• Analogies/Similes are Brilliant in Facilitating Learning
• Examples from Different Fields for You to Use in Your Coaching

Beware the Idle Match Play

Realistic match rehearsal is realistic. Unrealistic match rehearsal is unrealistic: Beware the Idle Match Play

• Do Coaches Inhibit Development of Good Match Play?
• Benefits of Match Play Rehearsal
• Key ingredients of Creative Match Play Rehearsal
• Examples of Creative Match Play Rehearsal
• Dr. Chris Harwood and Competitive Challenge
• Examples of Competitive Challenge
• Summary

Coaching Motivation

This group of 3T's Mental Skills Lesson Plan Cards include 11 great, ready to use coaching themes which contain 77 vital teaching points and practical ideas.

• Coaching Motivation - C.A.R.
• Engagement
• Taking Responsibility (1)
• Taking responsibility (2)
• The Choice is Yours
• Effort vs Ability
• Did You Win?
• Limiting Beliefs
• Building Confidence
• Coaching Confidence (1)
• Coaching Confidence (2)

Concentration

“Come on – concentrate!” How many times has this been uttered and in how many different situations? Is it of any value?

• Define concentration in a way that helps you and your players understand its role in tennis.
• Provides you with ideas/activities for developing concentration.
• Tests for progress.

Confidence

Would you define confidence as the mental skill of primary importance?

• What is Confidence?
• Why Confidence is Important
• Benefits of having Confidence
• Building Confidence

Dealing with Defeat

I know I'm young but I try hard, so why should I lose?

Helping players to understand and accept defeat:

• Defeat and Disappointment are Natural Partners
• Get Inoculated Against Defeat
• The Role of the Parents
• Avoidance Not 'First Aid'

Developing Awareness & Self Reflection

So awareness is a key skill for accelerating learning because it precedes change and too often we as coaches skip over this stage in our desire to ‘get things done’ and ‘fix things quickly’.

• Relationship between Awareness and Behaviour
• Coach’s Tools for Developing Awareness
• Awareness and Super Coaching
• Stay Professionally EFFECTIVE
• Relationship between Awareness Behavior and Choice
• Practise Self Reflection
• STOP START CONTINUE

Did You Win?

Motivation is the key mental skill and the reasons pupils give for success and failure are the major influencers on their commitment. Lets take a closer look at this relationship from the seemingly inocuous question of 'Did you win?':

• 'Did you win?' may be a dangerous question
• Ecamples of Great Questions in Win / Lose / Don't Know Result Situations
• Digging Deeper into a player's thoughts
• Attributing reasons for a Player's Success or Failure
• Healthy Player Responses to Wins and Losses 

Effective Practice

This group of 3T's Mental Skills Lesson Plan Cards includes 7 great, ready to use coaching themes which contain 41 vital teaching points and practical ideas.

• Sticky Lessons (1)
• Sticky Lessons (2)
• Effective Practice
• Cross or Line?
• Practice with Match Purpose
• Learning to Learn (1) 
• Learning To Learn (2)

Effective Questioning

It is very common for the role of effective questioning to form part of the highlight in any coach education programme or certification.

• Is Questioning Normal?
• Exploring Communication Styles through six forms of Questions
• Why Questioning is Beneficial
• Five broad categories of Questions
• Knowing when your Questioning is Right or Wrong
• Tips on How and How Not to Ask Questions
• ‘Generally Asked Questions’ about Questions
• A Question Test to help your Understanding
• Conclusion

Emotional Control

Losing emotional control is the easiest mental condition to identify.

• Helen’s Story
• Belief Systems
• The Thought Process Hierarchy
• Managing Emotions
• Sherlock Holmes It!
• Fight, Flight or Freeze?
• The Power of Decision Making

Emotional Control Pressure Play

This group of 3T's Mental Skills Lesson Plan Cards includes 12 great, ready to use coaching themes which contain 81 vital teaching points and practical ideas.

• Control the 'Controllables'
• Performance vs Outcome
• Ratings
• Breathe!
• Learning to Focus
• Focus on the Process
• Focus on What You Can Control
• Concentration
• Time - Friend or Foe? (1)
• Time - Friend or Foe? (2)
• Tennis is Best Played One Point at a Time (1)
• Tennis is Best Played One Point at a Time (2)

Exploring Effort

The phrase 'Remember to Try Hard' is standard and common, but what value is it?

• What is Motivation Comprised Of?
• Is Effort a Skill or Ability?
• Hard Work Can be Mental or Physical and Both
• Hard work and the Coach’s Responsibilities
• 20 Coaching Tools to Enhance Effort and Hard Work

Feedback

‘If practice and repetition is number one in importance for successful motor skill learning, then running a close second is feedback’.

• Feedback roles and benefits
• Types of Feedback; KR / KP
• Feedback and Confidence
• Feedback and Motivation
• Effort v Ability
• Feedback and Rewards
• Feedback and Stages of Learning
• Consistency of Delivery
• Feedback Bandwidth

Goal Setting

The most talked about and the most underused coaching tool

• How and Why has the Coach/Pupil Relationship Begun?
• Is the Coach a Victim or a Volunteer?
• Important Features of Getting Ready to Change
• The Imaginary Future
• Unravelling and Meaning to Outcome/Performance/Process Goals
• Gaining Commitment and Giving Goals Life
• A Goal Setting Task
• Detailing Outcome Performance and Processing Goals
• Eliciting Commitment
• Unravelling the Acronym S.M.A.R.T.(E.R.)
• Cross Reference To Confidence and Competence
• The Sum Total Leading To Purpose
• Develop a vision of what your pupil and their future game can become

Managing Mistakes

This group of 3T's Mental Skills Lesson Plan Cards includes 10 great, ready to use coaching themes which contain 54 vital teaching points and practical ideas.

• Accepting Mistakes
• Accepting the Nature of Competitive Tennis
• The Little Voice...It's your Choice
• Helpful Mistakes
• Managing Mistakes
• Self Talk
• All or Nothing Thinking
• Striving for Less Imperfection
• Correct Our Thinking Errors - There's No Good in 'Should'
• Body Language

Match Management

This group of 3T's Mental Skills Lesson Plan Cards includes 10 great, ready to use coaching themes which contain 84 vital teaching points and practical ideas.

• Starting the Point - Serving (1)
• Starting the Point - Returning (1)
• Building the Point (1)
• Staying in the Point (1)
• Turning the Point Around
• Finishing the Point
• Playing from Infront
• Developing a Pre-Point Routine
• Developing a Bomb Proof Routine
• Two Ways to Win a Tennis Match

Motivation

In this section we focus on motivation which we propose is the most important of all of the qualities comprising mental performance and potential of a player.

The resource includes:

• Tom’ Story
• Motivation’s Three Levels
• Unravelling Tom’s Story
• Identifying Motivational Behaviour
• Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
• The Continuum between Intrinsic and Extrinsic 
• Player’s Psychological Needs C.A.R.
• Luke’s Unhappy Story
• Unravelling Luke’s Story
• Your Role as the Coach

Oh help! What do I say now?

Have you ever experienced that ‘Oh help!’ moment when the response you were looking for from the player or parent did not appear, and you wondered what to say next?

This great article provides you with lots of real-life scenarios and communication solutions supported by a framework to follow.

The resource includes:

• Watch Out for your Assumptions
• Communication Tools
• Dialogue Examples of Coaches - Players
• Dialogue Examples of Coaches – Parents
• An Action Plan Idea

Parents Support

Supporting and Working with Parents is a Vital Element in your Effective Coaching of their Children

1. Behind the result (1) which includes:

• Example of a supportive Coach’s Parental Newsletter
• Outcome Obsession
• Me Then, Me Now
• Consistent Feedback

2. Behind the result (2) which includes:

• Example of a supportive Coach’s Parental Newsletter
• Focus on performance for a healthier car journey!

3. Behind the Result (3) which includes:

4. Parent Match Support & Reflection Log

Resource Library (Full Downloadable Version)

This stand-alone, full downloadable version of the Resource Library contains 602 great coaching tools and ideas highlighted against the backdrop of both comfortable and modern sport psycholgy.

• 22 major headings with all the sub-sections you need
• The Toolkit 8 Stories are cross-referenced into the Resource Library
• Contains 50 x 3T's Mental Skills Lesson Plans - see below
• Approximately 306 downloadable pages

Sticky Coaching

A little dramatic but hopefully it has retained your attention for long enough for us to tell you that all our efforts, as authors, and your diligence as readers and practitioners, are directed towards helping your coaching to become ever more ‘sticky’.

This article includes:

• Health Warning
• Stickiness has Negative and Positive characteristics
• A Story about John and Ben’s Lesson
• Your Review using the Three Pillars
• Our Review using the Three Pillars
• The Importance of Motivation
• The Importance of Emotion
• Conclusion