Long Term Development

What is the role of long term development in creating champions? What does it take to create a junior or a professional champion? The answer is complex, but one factor that has been generally overlooked in tennis coaching is what we call long-term athletic development. To maximize a player's potential, coaching methodology should be based on a long-term philosophy. This philosophy takes into account the development of the athlete over time, not just short term competitive results. Long-term development is the basis for training in Olympic sports. Unfortunately, as in so many areas of coaching, tennis is lagging far behind when it comes to recognizing or implementing this critical principle. The Ten-year or 10,000 Hour Rule Scientific research has concluded that it takes approximately 10 years of dedicated of training for an athlete to reach elite levels. This is called the ten-year or 10,000 hour rule. For the athlete, coach, and parents, this translates into slightly about three hours of deliberate practice a day, for a period of ten years. It takes 10,000 hours of dedicated training to reach your potential. Unfortunately, too many coaches still approach training with an attitude best characterized as "Win Today". Too often, the long-term...