After 24 years on court and over 36,000 tennis lessons delivered, I have a confession:
I spent years basket feeding millions of balls—and only a couple of my players ever reached national or international level.
If you still believe basket feeding and isolated practice are the most effective ways to coach tennis, this article is for you.
Here are five honest reasons why I stopped basket feeding—and why you might want to rethink it too.
1. It Looks Good, But It Doesn’t Transfer
Basket drilling can be deceiving. I’d feed 100 forehands, and sure enough—by shot 97, 98, 99—the movement looked perfect.
But the moment we dropped back into a practice match? That beautiful forehand disappeared.
The truth is, hitting 100 identical forehands in a static drill doesn’t prepare players for the chaos of real tennis. The open environment of a match presents constant variability—position, ball speed, spin, intent.
✅ The Fix: Repetition Without Repetition
Instead of repeating the same shot, we repeat the intention. Can you hit the forehand in different ways, under different conditions? Let the outcome stay constant, but vary the path to get there. That’s how skill transfers.
2. Basket Feeding Kills Decision-Making
When I fed from a basket, I controlled everything:
- Where the ball went
- When the player hit
- What they were “supposed” to do
Players became passive robots waiting for instructions. In matches, they struggled to:
- Make decisions
- Problem solve
- Adapt under pressure
They’d look at me after every error, desperate for answers. That’s when I realised:
I was coaching dependence, not autonomy.
✅ The Fix: Create Game-Like Problems
Now, I design environments where the player must think, adjust, and decide. The game asks the questions. The player finds the answers.
3. I Created Information Addicts
I used to coach like a commentator:
- “Turn your shoulders!”
- “Finish over the shoulder!”
- “Low to high!”
I thought more feedback = more value.
But the side effect? My players couldn’t function without constant input. In matches, with no coach nearby, they were lost.
I hadn’t taught them how to solve problems. I’d just trained them to rely on me.
✅ The Fix: Say Less, Set More Problems
Now I speak less. I design better tasks. Players develop feel, not just form. They don’t need my voice—they need their own judgment.
4. I Was Rewarding Compliance, Not Adaptability
In a basket drill, when players followed my instructions perfectly, I praised them.
The result?
- Neat sessions
- Happy parents
- Players who couldn’t handle pressure
They weren’t learning—they were performing. And when matches got tough, they melted.
Learning isn’t tidy. It’s messy, full of failure, and often looks chaotic.
✅ The Fix: Make Players Uncomfortable
Learning happens on the edge of failure. Now I design practices that:
- Create imbalance
- Increase variability
- Force players to adapt
Because in a match, chaos is guaranteed. And our job as coaches is to prepare players for the storm, not shield them from it.
5. It Was About Me, Not the Player
Basket feeding made me feel like an expert. I controlled the session. I delivered the knowledge. I ran the show.
But coaching isn’t performance—it’s partnership.
Basket drills fed my ego more than my players’ development. It looked great on the outside, but did very little inside the player’s learning system.
✅ The Fix: Let Go of Control
Real coaching is:
- Giving up the spotlight
- Creating shared ownership
- Shaping environments, not movements
It’s not about how much you know. It’s about how well the player can learn without you.
Final Thoughts: From Fixing to Facilitating
Basket feeding isn’t evil. But when it becomes your default, you’re likely:
- Chasing perfection instead of adaptability
- Coaching compliance over creativity
- Looking for performance instead of learning
It’s time we stop coaching to look good—and start coaching to create adaptable, self-reliant players.
Because the game has changed—and so should the way we coach it.
#TennisCoaching #BasketFeeding #SkillTransfer #ConstraintsLedApproach #EcologicalDynamics #ModernCoaching
