When I first started coaching, I did what most coaches do.

I followed the textbook.

Lesson plans. Progressions. Basket feeding.
All the technical instruction I was taught to deliver.

And for a while, it felt like I was doing everything right.
But then something kept happening.

My players looked great in practice.
Clean technique. Consistent drills. Good results on court.

But come match day?
It didn’t transfer. They crumbled.

They weren’t adaptable. They weren’t solving problems.
They were following patterns… not making decisions.

That question……..why doesn’t learning transfer from the practice court to the match court?, changed my whole coaching journey.

And now, years later, that question has led to something I never expected:
A chapter in an academic textbook on Ecological Dynamics in Sport Coaching.

I’m proud to say my chapter focuses on tennis.
And it highlights something we don’t talk about enough: intention-led coaching through the Constraints-Led Approach (CLA).

The Turning Point: When Textbook Coaching Stopped Making Sense

Early in my career, I chased technical perfection.

I spent hours fixing forehands, breaking down serves, teaching footwork.
I used cones, targets, and lots of isolated drills.

And it looked like it was working.
Until it wasn’t.

When players stepped into matches, the skills disappeared.
They couldn’t make decisions under pressure.
They couldn’t adapt when the rally changed or the opponent did something unexpected.

At first, I thought I was doing something wrong.
So I added more structure. More detail. More repetition.

But the more I tried to control learning, the less my players could handle the game.

That’s when I started reading. A lot.

I found the Constraints-Led Approach.
Then I found Ecological Dynamics.
And eventually, Ecological Psychology.

These weren’t just theories.
They explained what I was seeing on court.

Skills don’t transfer when they’re trained in isolation.
Learning isn’t stored and replayed, it emerges from the environment.
And coaching isn’t about delivering information.
It’s about designing environments where players can find their own way.

This changed everything for me.

Coaching Through the Lens of Intention

What I’ve learned, and what I write about in my chapter, is that intention is the missing link in most tennis coaching.

Not just how the player hits.
But why they’re hitting.

What’s the intention behind the movement?

In tennis, intention might be:

• Jam your opponent
• Stretch them wide
• Survive and neutralise the point

When you coach with intention, you give players something to aim for.
A tactical reason to move, adapt, and act.

The Constraints-Led Approach helps bring this to life.
By adjusting rules, space, task goals, or starting positions, you shape the environment around that intention.

In my chapter, I call these intention-led constraints.

Here’s an example:

• Want to train “jamming” your opponent? Only score points when the ball lands in a narrow central zone within 2–3 shots.
• Want to train “stretching”? Score bonus points for hitting past wide recovery markers.
• Want to train “surviving”? Start the player at a disadvantage, deep behind the baseline—and reward them for extending the rally.

These are small changes. But they lead to real learning.
Because now, players aren’t copying technique. They’re solving problems.

They’re learning to perceive, decide, and act in context, which is what matches actually demand.

Why This Chapter Matters (And Why I Wrote It)

When Dr. Steve Smith asked me to contribute to his upcoming textbook, I was genuinely surprised, and a little nervous.

I’ve spent over 24 years on court.
Thousands of hours, thousands of sessions.
I’ve worked with kids, adults, regional players, performance squads.

But this was different.
This was academic. Published.
My name in a book alongside researchers I’ve read for years.

Still, I said yes. Because I knew exactly what I wanted to write about.

Too many coaches are trying to modernise their practice…
…but feel lost.

They try to use CLA. They add constraints.
But then, without realising, they guide the player through exactly what to do.

They give the answer before the question has even been asked.
They remove the problem-solving.
They remove the struggle.

That’s what I see, and that’s what I wrote about.

Coaching with intention means letting go of control.
It means trusting the athlete to find their way.
It means designing environments that ask questions, not give answers.

When we coach this way, anchored in intention, we create space for real development.

The athlete becomes the driver.
Not just a passenger in your session plan.

What I Hope Coaches Take Away

If you read the chapter (and I hope you do), I want you to leave with one thing:

You don’t need more structure.
You need more purpose.

That purpose starts with intention.

Not a drill. Not a model. Not a textbook swing.
But a clear, tactical goal rooted in the demands of the game.

Intention gives learning direction.
Constraints give it shape.
The player gives it meaning.

That’s how transfer happens.

That’s how tennis becomes more than just “hit and hope.”

And maybe—just maybe—that’s how we keep more players playing, learning, and thriving.

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