Predictability hides the problem
Knowing which ball is coming and which stroke to play removes much of the work required in competition.
Free scorecard + mini-course
Great in practice.
Lost in matches?
Your player may not have a confidence, concentration or technical problem. The practice itself may be preparing them for the wrong challenge.
Use 10 simple questions to reveal what your practice preserves, what it removes and how strongly it connects to competition.
Free access • Three focused modules • For coaches at every age and stage
Watch Steve explain why practice success can disappear in matches.
10 questionsOne assessment
3 ratingsRed • Amber • Green
2 examplesDrill versus game
100% freePack and mini-course
The uncomfortable truth
Players can improve at practice without improving at tennis.
Clean technique and long rallies can look like learning. But when an activity removes the information, decisions and consequences of the game, success inside it can be misleading.
If players can complete the practice without solving match problems, why expect the learning to transfer?
Repetition creates false confidence
Stable success feels productive. The real test is adaptation when ball flight, space, pressure and opponent behaviour change.
Players get blamed for design failure
Sometimes “freezing” or “losing focus” simply reflects a practice that never prepared the player to solve a live problem.
Court time develops the wrong adaptation
Players adapt to the conditions you create. A drill may produce a better drill performer rather than a more adaptable competitor.
Stop guessing. Start seeing.
Score what your practice actually demands.
Assess what happened—not what you hoped would happen—across 10 observable features.
01Match-connected purpose
02Relevant information
03Real decisions
04Game-like action
05Authentic flow
06Useful variability
07Player interaction
08Meaningful consequences
09Player-task fit
10Adaptive repetition
Red = 0Amber = 0.5Green = 1
Same stroke. Different environment.
The score makes the gap visible.
Both examples focus on the backhand. Only one consistently preserves the information and interaction that organise action in a live point.
1.5/10
Controlled, but weakly connected
- Known feed and prescribed response
- No live opponent or developing point
- Minimal uncertainty or consequence
- Repetition without meaningful adaptation
9/10
Messier, but preserves the problem
- Live opponent, serve and point outcome
- Variable ball flight, space and positioning
- Real decisions shape every action
- Repetition through changing situations
This is not “bad practice versus good practice.” The score reveals what each activity makes available—and removes—so you can coach with greater intention.
Everything you need
One free pack. Four practical tools.
A clear method you can apply to a real session straight away.
12-page guide
Understand the practice-to-match problem and use the scorecard responsibly.
Printable scorecard
Take it courtside and assess what players actually do.
Fillable version
Record ratings and reflections digitally.
Free mini-course
Watch Steve score a traditional drill and a live practice game.
Get the complete pack
Assess your next practice before coaching another repetition.
Enter your email and I’ll send the complete resource pack. Use it on one session this week and discover what your practice is really teaching.
- 10 assessment questions
- Printable and fillable scorecards
- 12-page coach-friendly guide
- Free scoring mini-course
Learn the scoring process
Three short modules. One practice seen differently.
Apply the scorecard accurately using two contrasting examples.
Understand the score
Use red, amber and green without treating the final number as a guarantee of learning.
Score a traditional drill
See why visible technical success can create a weak match connection.
Score a live practice game
See how interaction, information, decisions and consequences change the profile.
Used in real coach-development environments
Research-informed. Court-tested. Shared with coaches.
Built from contemporary skill-acquisition thinking and refined through years of coaching, coach education and professional discussion.
Your coach educator
Built by a coach who stopped accepting “it worked in practice” as proof.
Steve Whelan has spent more than two decades coaching players and developing coaches. His work applies contemporary skill-acquisition research to everyday tennis.
This tool helps you ask better questions. It does not label every drill “bad” or pretend a score can guarantee learning.
24+ years in tennis coaching
Coach educator and developer
Ecological Dynamics practitioner
Postgraduate researcher
Questions before you begin
No hype. A clearer way to assess practice.
Is the scorecard and mini-course really free?
Yes. Receive the resource pack by email and enrol on the short course at no cost.
Does every practice need to score 10 out of 10?
No. The score is a reflection tool, not a moral judgement or guarantee of learning. The key is understanding what the practice preserves and removes.
Is this only for performance players?
No. Apply the questions from early-stage players through to adult and performance environments, always relative to the players and intended competitive problem.
Are the scoring bands scientifically validated cut-offs?
No. They are practical guidance informed by representative practice-design principles, not validated predictions of learning or match performance.
What happens after the free course?
If you want to redesign conventional activities and create more representative environments, the next step is From Drills to Skills.
Your next session is the test
Stop asking, “Did the drill look good?” Start asking, “What did it prepare them for?”
Enrol, score one practice you regularly use and make the practice-to-match gap impossible to ignore.
Start the free mini-course →