Playing against your coach in a tournament...

[High Lama]

I played a 9.0 ( 2, 4.5s players playing together) mixed doubles tournament this past weekend. In the second match I had to play my coach who does clinics at the same tournament facility. Early in the first set on a random point I called one of his shots wide and my partner concurred. He threw a tantrum about the call. For the rest of the set he acted like a five year old. Anytime he hit a winner there would be a taunt asking us if that was in. He somewhat tanked the first set doing stupid stuff like hitting balls at me at the net off my partner second serve with me moving out of the way and watching the ball hit the fence... There were some awkward changeovers. We ended up winning the match.

I was wondering if anyone else has ever had to play their coach or former coach in a competitive settting? I usually pay this guy $25 a week for the clinic and now I obviously don't want to. The thought of giving this guy money sickens me. I'm an adult so I have other tennis options. Regardless, I don't see how I could go back to those clinics even though they have some good players there. What would you do in this situation?

 

[ChaelAZ]

The guy might be good with the clinics, but obviously not in the mental aspects and attitudes of play. Seems you already made up your mind about not going back. I would kinda feel the same personally.

Bummer.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I played a 9.0 ( 2, 4.5s players playing together) mixed doubles tournament this past weekend. In the second match I had to play my coach who does clinics at the same tournament facility. Early in the first set on a random point I called one of his shots wide and my partner concurred. He threw a tantrum about the call. For the rest of the set he acted like a five year old. Anytime he hit a winner there would be a taunt asking us if that was in. He somewhat tanked the first set doing stupid stuff like hitting balls at me at the net off my partner second serve with me moving out of the way and watching the ball hit the fence... There were some awkward changeovers. We ended up winning the match.

He sounds insecure: he was faced with the prospect of losing to a "student" [although a group clinic is not the same as a lesson, IMO] and responded by acting like a child.

I was wondering if anyone else has ever had to play their coach or former coach in a competitive settting? I usually pay this guy $25 a week for the clinic and now I obviously don't want to. The thought of giving this guy money sickens me. I'm an adult so I have other tennis options. Regardless, I don't see how I could go back to those clinics even though they have some good players there. What would you do in this situation?

Forget about the tournament for a moment: do you get your money's worth in the clinic? Do you enjoy his drills as well as the other people? If so, you might still attend and just avoid tournaments where he's playing. He's obviously not threatened in the clinic setting because he controls everything.

 

[Doctah]

i would not go back. any coach worth a flip would want you to succeed and should be proud of your play

 

[CHtennis]

I had this very thing happen to me as well in slightly different conditions. I was in college and went to clinics with this pro with my brother and he was very good. He wanted to get back into playing so I played him in a singles practice match and he was completely nuts. Huge dichotomy, really great and kind in clinics, complete Ahole in the practice match. Questioned multilple obvious calls, got really pissy when I did not change them, was aggressively frustrated, saying things like "How could I be losing to someone so bad???". I did win 7-5, 6-4, not that it matters in a practice match but he was very intense about it so I raised my intensity about wanting to win. Afterwards he did apologize about his behavior so good, but still very strange. My brother also had a similar experience playing him in singles. We did like his clinics so we continued to go to them, but we decided we would never play him again if we did not have to.

 

[J_R_B]

Teaching pros are often not very good tournament players. If you spend your days feeding fluffballs to 2.5 beginners clinics, you lose the edge to actually hit balls in a competitive setting, and even if you have great strokes (since most teaching pros are formerly very strong players), you underachieve by not facing the proper competition 99% of the time you're on the tennis court. I've seen teaching pros who don't play tournaments regularly have a complete meltdown trying to play competitively and not living up to their own unrealistic standard of what they think their game should be. It has to be frustrating, although if someone acted like this against me, I'd undoubtedly stop going to their clinic, too.

 

[High Lama]

He calmed down after the first set but everything was still tense and awkward in the second set. I had been going to the clinic for the past 2 years and never had any arguments or incidents with him. I had played practice doubles sets against him with decent results. He used to be a 5.0 but he’s like 65 now so like a 4.5 senior. He’s been a tennis pro for maybe 40 years.

The clinic is a nice change of pace from the usual tennis stuff. It’s nothing spectacular. We do drills, king of the court, and 2 sets of regular doubles over the course of 2.5 hours.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

He calmed down after the first set but everything was still tense and awkward in the second set. I had been going to the clinic for the past 2 years and never had any arguments or incidents with him. I had played practice doubles sets against him with decent results. He used to be a 5.0 but he’s like 65 now so like a 4.5 senior. He’s been a tennis pro for maybe 40 years.

The clinic is a nice change of pace from the usual tennis stuff. It’s nothing spectacular. We do drills, king of the court, and 2 sets of regular doubles over the course of 2.5 hours.

it's probably more his frustrations and insecurities than anything you did. Whether you go back to clinic depends on if you can compartmentalize it from the tournament experience.

 

[SavvyStringer]

I played a 9.0 ( 2, 4.5s players playing together) mixed doubles tournament this past weekend. In the second match I had to play my coach who does clinics at the same tournament facility. Early in the first set on a random point I called one of his shots wide and my partner concurred. He threw a tantrum about the call. For the rest of the set he acted like a five year old. Anytime he hit a winner there would be a taunt asking us if that was in. He somewhat tanked the first set doing stupid stuff like hitting balls at me at the net off my partner second serve with me moving out of the way and watching the ball hit the fence... There were some awkward changeovers. We ended up winning the match.

I was wondering if anyone else has ever had to play their coach or former coach in a competitive settting? I usually pay this guy $25 a week for the clinic and now I obviously don't want to. The thought of giving this guy money sickens me. I'm an adult so I have other tennis options. Regardless, I don't see how I could go back to those clinics even though they have some good players there. What would you do in this situation?

I agree that you shouldn't go back. That's incredibly childish behavior from someone who should in theory be superior to you in if not skill, but knowledge on a tennis court. Even if your strokes are bigger or you have a physical advantage your 'coach' should likely still be able to compensate for it by being better mentally and knowing the game better. Clearly this person doesn't do that. Most of the time when you see coaches against players in tournaments it's not that the coach is so much better physically but that they play smarter and exploit the weaknesses they know that the players have. Based on the fact that your coach didn't work you over on your weaknesses, I would say that alone suggests you need a new coach regardless of the tantrum.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Based on the fact that your coach didn't work you over on your weaknesses, I would say that alone suggests you need a new coach regardless of the tantrum.

He's not a coach in the sense of instructing, though: he leads a clinic through drills. I would say that's a difference: I can still get benefit from a clinic led by someone that I am better than because it's the drills that are making me better, not the guy leading them.

I think the key point for most people would be whether they could overlook the tantrum and compartmentalize the two scenarios.

The "Gamecock" is the mascot for Univ of South Carolina?

Have you ever played the other USC [Univ of Southern CA]? If they win, it's "Trojans over [Game]Cocks".

 

[SavvyStringer]

He's not a coach in the sense of instructing, though: he leads a clinic through drills. I would say that's a difference: I can still get benefit from a clinic led by someone that I am better than because it's the drills that are making me better, not the guy leading them.

I think the key point for most people would be whether they could overlook the tantrum and compartmentalize the two scenarios.

The "Gamecock" is the mascot for Univ of South Carolina?

Have you ever played the other USC [Univ of Southern CA]? If they win, it's "Trojans over [Game]Cocks".

If I'm paying someone for drills regularly they better be coaching me too. I can and do organize drills for our team at practice. Most of the guys hate it because its straight up the court, cross courts, one up one back, serves to spots, returns with intent. It's 1000% of the balls they would usually hit in a 'practice' or match. We did it a while back and a half hour in they were worn out because it's basically nonstop hitting not just playing points.

Our men's and women's team played Southern Cal last year in the ITA event held at the Australian Open. Both of our teams had some injury issues and lost the matches. Our women got a rematch with them later in the season in the round of 16 and won the rematch.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

If I'm paying someone for drills regularly they better be coaching me too. I can and do organize drills for our team at practice. Most of the guys hate it because its straight up the court, cross courts, one up one back, serves to spots, returns with intent. It's 1000% of the balls they would usually hit in a 'practice' or match. We did it a while back and a half hour in they were worn out because it's basically nonstop hitting not just playing points.

The clinics I go to tend to be simulated games/points with no instruction.

 

[SavvyStringer]

The clinics I go to tend to be simulated games/points with no instruction.

Not even like shot selection coaching? I wouldn't pay to go hit with a group of people. Especially for drills I can organize.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Not even like shot selection coaching? I wouldn't pay to go hit with a group of people. Especially for drills I can organize.

If it's egregious [ie I attempted to hit a drop shot while 8' behind the BL and moving backwards]. Otherwise, the clinic guy is the ball feeder, facilitator, occasional heckler, and line call dispute resolver. It's a blast to get 10 friends on the court and try to out-do each other.

Could I organize it? Sure. But I'm lazy so I pay for someone else to do it.

 

[J_R_B]

Not even like shot selection coaching? I wouldn't pay to go hit with a group of people. Especially for drills I can organize.

I occasionally go to a 3.5-4.5 level drill organized at a local club. Typically, the pros will pick a concept to work on, most of the time related to doubles (e.g. poaching, covering the middle, lobbing, serve & volley etc.). There will be a warm up, then maybe 10-15 mins of instruction on the basic concept, then a set of drills specifically emphasizing that concept (with feedback where appropriate), then usually another 5-10 min instruction on more advanced applications (or on problems they noticed from the first set of drills) and then another set of drills until the 2 hours is up. That format seems to work well.

 

[R1FF]

What a ******. Avoid his clinics. There’s no way he’s a decent teacher with that sorta attitude.

 

[Kevind]

I'd report him to whoever is in charge of the facility. They need to know they have someone like that working for them

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

What a ******. Avoid his clinics. There’s no way he’s a decent teacher with that sorta attitude.

If he was a really bad teacher, shouldn't that have been apparent prior to the tournament?

IMO, he's a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde and Mr. Hyde only comes out at tournaments. I'm betting in clinic it's straight Dr. Jekyll.

Now, if Mr. Hyde started making appearances at clinic, adios.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

I'd report him to whoever is in charge of the facility. They need to know they have someone like that working for them

And what would the report be?

You: "So and so is really pissy when he's losing in a tournament."

Facility person: "And how does that effect his clinics?"

You: "Uh..."

 

[High Lama]

It’s a large fancy facility with 27 courts and he’s been there since the beginning. They have several coaches but he’s been there longer than most if not all of them. I’ve only seen him get angry once when a student rolled his eyes at him.

If it was a clay court I could check the mark and confirm the call but was hard. My partner was stronger than his but she tweaked her knee in the middle of the second set. We pulled it out 6-4 6-4. It was taxing mentally. The heat was over 90. We played no ad so we had several sudden death points. I also felt bad for the other lady since we picked on her during the points and she brought her family to cheer. I had to wait 20 minutes in the second set to see if my partner could still play.

I don’t think I can compartminalize. The more I think about it the more aggravated I get that I spent over $2,000 in 2 years to a guy that yelled and taunted us during a charity tennis tournament. He probably expects me to keep paying after all that. I’d rather throw away 2 grand at a casino or club.

 

[Jack the Hack]

It’s a large fancy facility with 27 courts and he’s been there since the beginning. They have several coaches but he’s been there longer than most if not all of them. I’ve only seen him get angry once when a student rolled his eyes at him.

If it was a clay court I could check the mark and confirm the call but was hard. My partner was stronger than his but she tweaked her knee in the middle of the second set. We pulled it out 6-4 6-4. It was taxing mentally. The heat was over 90. We played no ad so we had several sudden death points. I also felt bad for the other lady since we picked on her during the points and she brought her family to cheer. I had to wait 20 minutes in the second set to see if my partner could still play.

I don’t think I can compartminalize. The more I think about it the more aggravated I get that I spent over $2,000 in 2 years to a guy that yelled and taunted us during a charity tennis tournament. He probably expects me to keep paying after all that. I’d rather throw away 2 grand at a casino or club.

It's pretty dumb for a 65 year old man that makes his living as a teaching professional to lose his temper and act that way. For him, everyone on the tennis court is a potential client, and this was mixed doubles in a charity tournament, so he completely lost his perspective. However, everyone is human and capable of making bad mistakes.

If you feel as strongly about this situation as you seem to, the mature adult thing to do would be to meet with him one-on-one and tell him that you've enjoyed going to his clinics the past few years, and were very surprised by the way that he treated you during that match. Allow him the opportunity to save some face by highlighting that this doesn't seem to be something that he would normally do, and that you want to make sure that the air is cleared. If he responds contritely and apologizes, forgive and forget that this happened. He was just having a bad day. However, if he continues hostility or refuses to acknowlege what happened, then he has a problem and probably should consider retiring (after he loses you and likely others as clinic participants).

 

[tonylg]

Why do people feel the need to hang onto this stuff? There's always two sides to a story and although you say "he calmed down after the first set", you still want to come onto the internet and have a sook about it?

What if a coach came on here and said they played some random who had come to a few clinics - who made bad calls and got sooky because you dared call them out on it? That could well be his perspective on what happened.

I get the American way is to feel insulted and take him court / pop a cap in his arse or go to war. The Australian way (Kyrgios excluded) is to show up to his clinic (if you enjoy them) and have a laugh about your match that got tense for a few games, then get on with life.

Try the Aussie way and if that really doesn't work, by all means send in the troops.

 

[High Lama]

I’m going The Australian way like Bernie Tomic and doing a interview documentary on it.

 

[tonylg]

I’m going The Australian way like Bernie Tomic and doing a interview documentary on it.

We like to think of Bernie as Croatian.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[High Lama]

I understand what y’all are saying and would probably do what tony and jack said if I didn’t have other options. I have lived in the same city for most of my life and met many Tennis players. I’m not super angry just a bit salty and disappointed. If nothing else, it would be really awkward to go back to his clinics or try to hash it out. I created the thread wondering if others have ever had to play their coach in a competitive match with something on the line.

 

[J_R_B]

Why do people feel the need to hang onto this stuff? There's always two sides to a story and although you say "he calmed down after the first set", you still want to come onto the internet and have a sook about it?

What if a coach came on here and said they played some random who had come to a few clinics - who made bad calls and got sooky because you dared call them out on it? That could well be his perspective on what happened.

I get the American way is to feel insulted and take him court / pop a cap in his arse or go to war. The Australian way (Kyrgios excluded) is to show up to his clinic (if you enjoy them) and have a laugh about your match that got tense for a few games, then get on with life.

Try the Aussie way and if that really doesn't work, by all means send in the troops.

The Kyrgios way is to hold an interview and say that your bestie banged his girlfriend.

 

[tonylg]

I understand what y’all are saying and would probably do what tony and jack said if I didn’t have other options. I have lived in the same city for most of my life and met many Tennis players. I’m not super angry just a bit salty and disappointed. If nothing else, it would be really awkward to go back to his clinics or try to hash it out. I created the thread wondering if others have ever had to play their coach in a competitive match with something on the line.

I actually have. He's now much older than this guy and currently playing in Asia with a decent ITF seniors ranking. I played junior doubles with his son who is still a teaching pro and we are all good mates who laugh about the day I beat him and he got ****ty and left me a couple of bruises that looked like I'd been set upon with an iron bar. After 40 years, I consider him one of my best friends. You can move on past this stuff.

 

[R1FF]

If he was a really bad teacher, shouldn't that have been apparent prior to the tournament?

IMO, he's a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde and Mr. Hyde only comes out at tournaments. I'm betting in clinic it's straight Dr. Jekyll.

Now, if Mr. Hyde started making appearances at clinic, adios.

I think the standards for tennis coaching as a whole in this sport are very low.

There’s a LOT of good tennis players, that run clinics, but they’re hardly what I’d call a “coach”. When I think coach, I think father figure.

There’s a certain amount of patience required of a coach. Like that of a parent. It requires control of one’s emotions. This guy the OP is talking about does not have control of his emotions. He might be a good player. But that doesnt make him a good coach. There’s an old coaching proverb...

“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care”

 

[R1FF]

Why do people feel the need to hang onto this stuff? There's always two sides to a story and although you say "he calmed down after the first set", you still want to come onto the internet and have a sook about it?

What if a coach came on here and said they played some random who had come to a few clinics - who made bad calls and got sooky because you dared call them out on it? That could well be his perspective on what happened.

I get the American way is to feel insulted and take him court / pop a cap in his arse or go to war. The Australian way (Kyrgios excluded) is to show up to his clinic (if you enjoy them) and have a laugh about your match that got tense for a few games, then get on with life.

Try the Aussie way and if that really doesn't work, by all means send in the troops.

Fair points.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

This guy the OP is talking about does not have control of his emotions. He might be a good player. But that doesnt make him a good coach.

My point was that the OP has been going to this clinic for 2 years with no complaints. If the coach wasn't good, that should have been apparent in that 2 years. Since the subject never came up, I'm assuming that means the coach was acceptable. The tantrum merely exposed a certain part of the coach's personality; but will that affect future clinic sessions? If OP thinks the answer is "no" and he enjoys the sessions, then maybe a "forgive and forget" is the right approach.

If he can't let it go or if he thinks that future clinics will be affected, then leave.

I like @Jack the Hack's approach.

 

[Enga]

I played against a former coach in friendly matches. I guess since he is much better, it wasnt very frustrating for him, he beat me handily. But I dont think he would be angry even if I did beat him. He is a nice guy, not amazing technical skills, got injured a lot, but he was patient, fun and friendly. Against friends I dont get very competitive. And when I notice them getting angry I tend to back off.

 

[Holdfast44ID]

Guy sounds like a jerk on the court. Not professional. I'd point that out if there is a next time. Ask what proper etiquette should be shown when questioning calls and how do "teaching pros" show professionalism?

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

 

[SavvyStringer]

I occasionally go to a 3.5-4.5 level drill organized at a local club. Typically, the pros will pick a concept to work on, most of the time related to doubles (e.g. poaching, covering the middle, lobbing, serve & volley etc.). There will be a warm up, then maybe 10-15 mins of instruction on the basic concept, then a set of drills specifically emphasizing that concept (with feedback where appropriate), then usually another 5-10 min instruction on more advanced applications (or on problems they noticed from the first set of drills) and then another set of drills until the 2 hours is up. That format seems to work well.

Right but at least you're getting something specific to work on not just paying for someone else to start the points.

 

[High Lama]

I don’t mind playing him again in a tournament. I don’t want to avoid tournaments just because of one player. I just don’t want to spend part of my measly salary on a guy that turns tennis into angry dodgeball and taunts us during points. I play in 4 different places and the clinic is just one of three options in this facility. I spent roughly $1000 a year on the clinic. I could quit the clinic and join a country club for the same price. The tournament director told me today that he was drunk that day...

 

[Nicholas Noker]

I would give him a chance. Go back to a clinic. Who knows, you might walk into him apologizing for being immature. How redeeming would that be?

 

[Nostradamus]

I played a 9.0 ( 2, 4.5s players playing together) mixed doubles tournament this past weekend. In the second match I had to play my coach who does clinics at the same tournament facility. Early in the first set on a random point I called one of his shots wide and my partner concurred. He threw a tantrum about the call. For the rest of the set he acted like a five year old. Anytime he hit a winner there would be a taunt asking us if that was in. He somewhat tanked the first set doing stupid stuff like hitting balls at me at the net off my partner second serve with me moving out of the way and watching the ball hit the fence... There were some awkward changeovers. We ended up winning the match.

I was wondering if anyone else has ever had to play their coach or former coach in a competitive settting? I usually pay this guy $25 a week for the clinic and now I obviously don't want to. The thought of giving this guy money sickens me. I'm an adult so I have other tennis options. Regardless, I don't see how I could go back to those clinics even though they have some good players there. What would you do in this situation?

Dump him.. it Is good that you found out what he is REALLY all about. Childish bully loser. you don't want anything to do with people like that, stay away from people like this, keep them far far away.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

The tournament director told me today that he was drunk that day...

And that's supposed to make things better??

 

[Nostradamus]

And that's supposed to make things better??

Guy like this also makes a terrible husband to some nice girl.

 

[R1FF]

I don’t mind playing him again in a tournament. I don’t want to avoid tournaments just because of one player. I just don’t want to spend part of my measly salary on a guy that turns tennis into angry dodgeball and taunts us during points. I play in 4 different places and the clinic is just one of three options in this facility. I spent roughly $1000 a year on the clinic. I could quit the clinic and join a country club for the same price. The tournament director told me today that he was drunk that day...

I stand firm in my original assessment.

Drunk while in competition? That in itself is so damn irresponsible.

And drunkish behaviour as a result he can own. Alcohol is a truth serum, not a get-out-of-jail-free card. This is who that guy REALLY is.

 

[chatt_town]

I played a 9.0 ( 2, 4.5s players playing together) mixed doubles tournament this past weekend. In the second match I had to play my coach who does clinics at the same tournament facility. Early in the first set on a random point I called one of his shots wide and my partner concurred. He threw a tantrum about the call. For the rest of the set he acted like a five year old. Anytime he hit a winner there would be a taunt asking us if that was in. He somewhat tanked the first set doing stupid stuff like hitting balls at me at the net off my partner second serve with me moving out of the way and watching the ball hit the fence... There were some awkward changeovers. We ended up winning the match.

I was wondering if anyone else has ever had to play their coach or former coach in a competitive settting? I usually pay this guy $25 a week for the clinic and now I obviously don't want to. The thought of giving this guy money sickens me. I'm an adult so I have other tennis options. Regardless, I don't see how I could go back to those clinics even though they have some good players there. What would you do in this situation?

This is not surprising. Just see it for what it is and move on. I'd not give him any more of my money. He didn't think about that(he is actually getting money from you for lessons) while you were playing him. Some of them can't handle losing especially to a student. We had a so called teaching pro quit on us in the middle of a match because of a disagreement that he caused. I don't know if we would've won the match as they had won the first set, but all the momentum was swinging when he quit in the second...all we had to do was get it to a 3rd as his partner was toast. So it happens. Some of them see losing to someone they taught as not good for business.lol So some can be arrogant pricks...why I say sometimes coaching is overrated anyway. Some are great. You just have to look at them on a case by case basis.

 

[S&V-not_dead_yet]

Some of them see losing to someone they taught as not good for business.lol

What do they think is going to happen? That I'm going to go around telling people I beat my coach so don't take lessons from him? That's insecurity.

Another way of looking at it is that it's good for business: the coach successfully guided your improvement to the point where you have now surpassed him. Isn't this what parents want [I hope this coach doesn't treat his kids this way]? [The whole "Darth Vader vs Obi Wan Kenobi" thing notwithstanding.]

Yeah, the episode does reveal a character flaw [we all have them, of course] so I guess the bottom line of whether to keep attending is whether you accept the flaw.

 

[High Lama]

What do they think is going to happen? That I'm going to go around telling people I beat my coach so don't take lessons from him? That's insecurity.

Another way of looking at it is that it's good for business: the coach successfully guided your improvement to the point where you have now surpassed him. Isn't this what parents want [I hope this coach doesn't treat his kids this way]? [The whole "Darth Vader vs Obi Wan Kenobi" thing notwithstanding.]

Yeah, the episode does reveal a character flaw [we all have them, of course] so I guess the bottom line of whether to keep attending is whether you accept the flaw.

There wasn't even a thought in my mind of there being pressure for him to win. Its a charity tournament for mentally handicapped children. There were several of these kids at the event accompanied by their parents. We were on a court next to a large gazebo where all the activities were being held. There were a good number of people around.

We played our first matches Friday night. He played with a star pupil teenager. I didn't get to see much of there match but she appeared to be a 5.0. They won their first match 6-1 6-0. He was drunk after the match. I didn't think much of it though since the match was over and it was a Friday night... The teenage girl couldn't play Saturday for whatever reason. The next day he played with a 40ish hard hitting lady but she wasn't that consistent. My partner was better or at least before she hurt her knee.

 

[chatt_town]

What do they think is going to happen? That I'm going to go around telling people I beat my coach so don't take lessons from him? That's insecurity.

Another way of looking at it is that it's good for business: the coach successfully guided your improvement to the point where you have now surpassed him. Isn't this what parents want [I hope this coach doesn't treat his kids this way]? [The whole "Darth Vader vs Obi Wan Kenobi" thing notwithstanding.]

Yeah, the episode does reveal a character flaw [we all have them, of course] so I guess the bottom line of whether to keep attending is whether you accept the flaw.

In many cases the first...especially if he was acting an @$$ on the court. Some coaches are cool...some are @$$holes on the court. If you coach and you like for your kids or adults to be able to beat you at some point...that is great...but many are too arrogant to think that way. In other words, I know some that as you said want their students to improve but I know many more that would want you to improve as long as you can't beat them....they always want to see themselves as superior.

 

[R1FF]

In many cases the first...especially if he was acting an @$$ on the court. Some coaches are cool...some are @$$holes on the court. If you coach and you like for your kids or adults to be able to beat you at some point...that is great...but many are too arrogant to think that way. In other words, I know some that as you said want their students to improve but I know many more that would want you to improve as long as you can't beat them....they always want to see themselves as superior.

Thus my initial response in this thread. Anyone with that attitude is not a “coach”.

If they’re too arrogant to be proud of a pupil’s growth, they’re not a coach. They just arent.

 

[chatt_town]

There wasn't even a thought in my mind of there being pressure for him to win. Its a charity tournament for mentally handicapped children. There were several of these kids at the event accompanied by their parents. We were on a court next to a large gazebo where all the activities were being held. There were a good number of people around.

We played our first matches Friday night. He played with a star pupil teenager. I didn't get to see much of there match but she appeared to be a 5.0. They won their first match 6-1 6-0. He was drunk after the match. I didn't think much of it though since the match was over and it was a Friday night... The teenage girl couldn't play Saturday for whatever reason. The next day he played with a 40ish hard hitting lady but she wasn't that consistent. My partner was better or at least before she hurt her knee.

Precisely my point...see how he probably grabbed one of the top 2 best women available in the whole damn town to play with. SMH...Why am I not surprised at a coach doing that. lol

 

[chatt_town]

Thus my initial response in this thread. Anyone with that attitude is not a “coach”.

If they’re too arrogant to be proud of a pupil’s growth, they’re not a coach. They just arent.

I agree...many are full of $h*t. You just have to watch their actions and not listen to their mouths. He showed exactly what he thought of you as a student. You were all good as long as you were throwing those 25 or 30 bucks in his pocket and getting in line, doing the drills and not asking too many questions....give me your money and get on down the road.

 

[tonylg]

Zverev beat his coach last night.