Robert Lansdorp: Discipline

Discipline. That almost sounds like an old-fashioned word today, like something negative. Nowadays, everybody has to be politically correct, and so there is less and less discipline, and sometimes none at all. Discipline was the key to developing Pete’s forehand-and the strokes of every player I’ve worked with. Parents, especially today, are so into the concept of positive reinforcement, “Let’s always be positive!” And I think that’s good. That should be the role of the parent. But what they don’t see is that the kid never accomplishes anything. The kid may be very “positive” but he’s never going to be a tennis player if he isn’t disciplined and taught to go from Step 1 to Step 2. That’s where I come in. I’m the one who gives them a reality check. I put a lot of effort into discipline because I know how important it is. When I worked with players like Tracy Austin and Pete Sampras at a young age, I was very tough. The discipline was intense. I’m sure Tracy, Pete and maybe a lot of other players I could mention hated me at times. Tracy in particular thought I was very tough. But later, they both acknowledged…