How One Moment at a National Camp Changed Everything

For 18 years, I coached the way I was taught: with structure, repetition, and a relentless focus on technique. I had lesson plans, progressions, and routines for every situation. And it worked—on the surface.

Players looked sharp in practice. Their serves were textbook. Footwork crisp. Movement clean. But then came match day—and it all fell apart.

One moment in particular stuck with me. I was at a national training camp. We’d spent six to eight weeks isolated on improving a player’s serve. Every detail had been drilled—ball toss, body shape, contact point. In practice, it looked great.

Then we entered a tournament.

Sitting courtside with the player’s parents, we watched the first few service games… and our hearts sank. The new serve we’d ‘fixed’ crumbled under pressure. It wasn’t the same one from the controlled environment of training.

That was the turning point.

No One Ever Mentioned Constraints

I realised something that day. In 18 years of coach education—not once had I heard about constraints, affordances, ecological psychology, or dynamical systems theory.

Everything I had learned was grounded in the information processing model. The idea that we store ‘correct’ techniques in our brain, recall them on command, and execute with precision.

But that’s not how sport works. And it’s definitely not how tennis works.

Tennis is unpredictable. It’s reactive. It’s problem-solving under pressure.

So why were we teaching it like ballet? Like a perfect sequence of moves repeated until flawless?

From Scripts to Chaos: Letting Go of Control

That moment at the national camp set me on a path. I began studying ecological dynamics. I listened to every episode of The Talent Equation. I read research by Gibson, Davids, Renshaw, Araújo. And I started to see learning differently.

Instead of pre-planned sessions, I began each session with an intention, not a script. I stopped demonstrating “the right way” and started designing environments where players could explore solutions.

And guess what? They played. They adapted. They made decisions.

“We coach like we train ballet dancers… but tennis is an MMA fight.”

That quote captures it all for me. We’re preparing players with delicate routines for a sport that’s messy, unpredictable, and combative. No two matches are the same. No two players are the same. So why are our sessions identical week to week?

The Battle with Coach Education and Expectations

As I transitioned to this approach, the pushback came fast.

• “That’s not what coaching looks like.”
• “Where’s your lesson plan?”
• “You’re not correcting the technique.”

And then there were the parents. Used to seeing drills and correction, some questioned the games and exploration.

So I adapted. I now send every parent a document explaining our approach and why we use it. I frame expectations from the start. And surprisingly, most parents appreciate it—they just need to understand the why.

But it highlighted something else: we’re not just re-educating players. We’re re-educating everyone—ourselves, our colleagues, the parents, the system.

From Frustrated Coach to Empowered Facilitator

I used to drive to the tennis centre anxious, wondering if I had enough planned. Now, I turn up with a clear intention—but the players do the exploring.

I’m calmer. More flexible. And far more connected to the people in front of me.

What changed? I stopped trying to control the outcome, and started designing for adaptability.

Because players aren’t robots. They’re dynamic. Their mood changes. Their energy changes. Their needs change—every session.

My job isn’t to provide answers. It’s to create problems worth solving.

Tennis Is Chaotic. Coaching Should Reflect That.

What frustrates me most is that I wasn’t given this option earlier. Not once in my formal training did someone say, “Hey, there’s another way.”

That’s why I share this story. Not because I have the answers—but because I wish someone had handed me a different lens to look through.

If you’re a coach reading this who feels stuck, frustrated, or uncertain—know that you’re not alone. And more importantly, know that there is a better way.

We don’t need players who are perfect in practice. We need players who can fight in the chaos of competition.

And to do that, we need to coach differently.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on The Talent Equation podcast above to hear more of the journey, lessons, and stories.

Key Takeaways:

• Ecological dynamics reframes learning as emergent, not prescribed.
• Session design should prioritise adaptability, not control.
• Parents and players respond well—when they understand the purpose.
• It’s not about being radical. It’s about being relevant to the reality of the game.

Final Thought: If tennis is an MMA fight, then our coaching needs to stop choreographing and start equipping.