The Player Pathway Sounds Great—But It’s Letting Most Players Down
Most federations love a clean system.
A “player pathway.”
Start at your local club.
Climb through county, regional, maybe even national squads.
Then, if all goes to plan, you’re on the road to the pros.
It sounds neat. It sounds organised.
And yet… it rarely works.
I’ve been around these systems for years.
Inside them. Outside them.
I’ve worked in performance centres, national setups, private clubs, seen it from every angle.
And the more time I spend with it, the more it feels like a system designed to look good on paper.
Not one that actually helps players flourish.
It’s a Funnel. And It Gets Narrow—Fast.
The structure of the pathway is built like a funnel.
Lots of players at the bottom.
Fewer as you go up.
It’s simple. And brutal.
At age 9 or 10, kids are already being told they’re not good enough.
That they didn’t “make the list.”
That they won’t be offered a spot in regional training or the under-10 squad.
And okay……yes, some kids take that and bounce back stronger.
But many don’t.
They start to doubt themselves. Or worse, they just stop playing.
What are we really saying to them?
“You’re 10, and we’ve already decided your future in the sport.”
I don’t know. That doesn’t sit well with me. Especially when we know development isn’t linear.
Growth spurts. Maturity. Life outside tennis. These things don’t follow a schedule.
And yet we act like they do.
What Even Is a Performance Coach?
This one really gets me.
You hear this phrase all the time in coaching circles: “performance coach.”
As if that somehow makes you more serious. More elite.
But what does it actually mean?
Is it about qualifications? No.
Is it about who you coach? Kind of.
But also not really.
I once heard someone define it as “a coach who works with players who want to improve.”
Right. So… basically everyone?
I’ve coached players in their 70s who train harder than some county juniors.
I’ve worked with 6-year-olds who compete every weekend.
Are those not “performance players”?
See, the label means less than we think.
And maybe that’s the problem.
We’ve tied status to the wrong things. Titles. Roles. Tracksuits.
But if coaching is about helping someone get better…..then every coach is a performance coach.
Even the ones working on cracked outdoor courts with kids who forget their water bottles.
Maybe especially them.
The Centre Isn’t Always Better
Parents often get told: “If you want your child to improve, they need to move to a performance centre.”
It’s said with authority. Like it’s the obvious next step.
And yes, there are some benefits.
Indoor courts. Exposure to more players. Structured sessions.
But what they don’t tell you is what gets lost in the move.
The relationship with their club coach.
The friendship group they’ve grown up training with.
The consistency. The comfort. The fun.
And now they’re in a new place.
Different coach. New expectations.
Pressure to meet standards, most of which aren’t even that clear.
Sometimes the player adapts.
Other times… they don’t.
I’ve seen kids flourish at their local club. Genuinely thrive. Then move to a centre and slowly lose their spark.
And honestly? The coaching at the centre isn’t always better.
Sometimes it’s just louder.
More intense. More rigid.
But not more effective.
The “Sparring” Myth
Here’s something I used to believe:
“If you want to improve, you need to train with better players.”
Sounds right, doesn’t it?
Only, it’s not that simple.
Sparring sessions in performance centres?
Often staged. Controlled. Carefully managed to avoid too much ego bruising.
Actual match play? Rare.
Real pressure? Even rarer.
Funny thing is, players get more genuine experience by entering tournaments.
Where they face different styles. Different levels. Actual consequences.
You want your players to spar? Let them compete.
And honestly, sometimes I think they get more from hitting with someone unpredictable.
Like Carol from club night, who swings late and lobs every second ball.
At least that keeps them on their toes.
Private Lessons Won’t Fix Everything
Another belief I used to hold: more lessons = more progress.
It took me years to see the trap.
Parents want results.
So they pay for more lessons.
Twice a week. Then three. Then maybe a fitness coach and a psychologist too.
But what gets missed is that coaching doesn’t scale like that.
At some point, more instruction just means more interference.
More chances to overthink. Less space to explore.
Do they need coaching? Sure.
But they also need time to play.
To make decisions. To fail. To figure stuff out without someone stepping in every five seconds.
That’s where the real learning happens.
Funding Goes the Wrong Way
Here’s something that still frustrates me.
Most of the funding in player development goes to centres.
Not the clubs. Not the coaches who actually develop the players.
So you end up with this situation:
A coach spends years building a relationship with a player.
Invests time. Cuts prices. Drives them to tournaments. Builds trust.
Then the player gets selected.
Moves to a centre.
And the coach who got them there?
They’re out of the picture.
No funding. No recognition.
No support to help the next player.
Meanwhile, the centre, who may have just met the kid, gets the funding.
Does that sound fair? I don’t think so.
So What’s the Answer?
Honestly? I’m still figuring that out.
But here’s what I believe now.
We don’t need a player pathway.
We need:
- Clubs to be seen as valuable, not second-class
- Coaches to be supported, not replaced
- Parents to feel empowered, not pressured
- Players to be seen as people—not rankings or stats
And we need to stop pretending we can predict the future at age 9.
Because we can’t.
Let coaches coach.
Let players grow at their own pace.
Let relationships matter more than logos.
And maybe, just maybe, we’ll keep more kids in the game.
Want More Coaching Thoughts Like This?
Every week, I share a short email with real insights, small experiments, and no-fluff ideas for coaches.
It’s called The Coaching Playbook.
If you’ve ever felt stuck between what you’re told to do… and what you feel is right,
this might help.
