Coaching from the sidelines...

[stotty]

Wawrinka puts across a convincing case here against uncle Toni's ploy of coaching Rafa during matches.

http://www.espn.co.uk/tennis/sport/story/255151.html

I don't know what coverage you guys get over the pond but here in the UK the networks don't pan their cameras towards any of this. I'd like to know what Toni is doing...verbal instruction...sign language...what? Can anyone shed more light on these goings on?

Rafa's and Djokovic's coaching team are always so THERE. Murray is another one who is always looking back to his entourage during matches. Federer's coaching team in the past has always seemed so discreet by comparison. Personally I prefer players to be more self-contained as Federer is. Can't these guys survive on their own for a couple of hours during a match?

[tennisplayer]

Well, as with everything, when a million dollars is the difference between honesty and a little bit of cheating, the outcome is predictable and inevitable...

[don_budge]

Human Nature...and Modern Tennis!

Well, as with everything, when a million dollars is the difference between honesty and a little bit of cheating, the outcome is predictable and inevitable...

Yeah...tennisplayer. It's sort of human nature. I don't know though if coaching from the sidelines could make much of a difference. How is it done? Signals? Secret Signals? Secret Secrets? It's conspirational...isn't it? I love a good conspiracy...know what my favorite one is?

But at any rate...I question why these guys need all of this stuff going on in the boxes. It's a game within the game. Who all is in that box anyways? Girlfriends...coaches...guys in charge of the magic potions. I can't wait for a guy to have his girlfriend and his mistress in the same box. I love a good cat fight.

How much does it cost to maintain these entourages? I remember when the guys would show up for a match with three or four racquets, a towel and a tennis can filled with water. Nowadays...it is a couple of suitcases and a bunch of people too. Cheating? Coaching? Drugs and gamesmanship?

What a show!

[GeoffWilliams]

Well, as with everything, when a million dollars is the difference between honesty and a little bit of cheating, the outcome is predictable and inevitable...

Anyone who thinks their hero is ped clean, is most probably wrong. Ask how Lance cheated the testing all those years. It's easy for the chemists to change a molecular stream. Testing does not show it until they find that stream.

Cheating lessens life spans. Do you think Bonds thought about the death of his 57 yr. old father Bobby when he was taking all those peds? They don't think about it. If you could make $20 million playing would a little drug cocktail stop you? When everyone else is doing it? Hgh, testosterone, steroids, etc, are all running through their bloodstreams right now. One of the side effects is diseases that attack the immune system/lymph nodes, such as Sjrogens.

[stotty]

davis Cup Style...

I see Greg Rusedski, Boris Becker, Annabelle Croft and Mark Pecci are all strongly in favour of ATP players being allowed to receive advice from their coaches at changeovers...Davis Cup style. They say it would add another dimension, make the game more interesting.

Magnus Norman thinks tennis is an individual sport, and when a player walks on court he should be on his own. Magnus believes once play starts it should be all about the player.

I think Magnus is right...

[arturohernandez]

Interesting thread! I remember Maria Sharapova saying that she only half listened to her coach. She was playing on instinct and there was no way to try and think through what she should do. I don't think coaching is going to help that much. Think about it. Imagine that they allowed coaching all the time. So the ball is flying through the air and then uncle toni tells rafa to hit the ball down the line rather than cross court. Is this really going to help him?

Even Phil Jackson tried to reduce the amount of coaching from the sidelines. Ultimately, the players have to be in the moment playing shot by shot on instinct. Thinking gets in the way at this point. It is all about how they feel and playing on instinct.

Let them coach!

It will make it worse not better.

[stotty]

Interesting thread! I remember Maria Sharapova saying that she only half listened to her coach. She was playing on instinct and there was no way to try and think through what she should do. I don't think coaching is going to help that much. Think about it. Imagine that they allowed coaching all the time. So the ball is flying through the air and then uncle toni tells rafa to hit the ball down the line rather than cross court. Is this really going to help him?

Even Phil Jackson tried to reduce the amount of coaching from the sidelines. Ultimately, the players have to be in the moment playing shot by shot on instinct. Thinking gets in the way at this point. It is all about how they feel and playing on instinct.

Let them coach!

It will make it worse not better.

I don't think the intention is to coach them in the middle of points...just at changeovers and by signalling between points. And, yes, it could make a difference in some instances. The coach may see something the player doesn't, and be in a position to communicate it. It could be significant in big matches...not always, but sometimes, yes.