Craig Tiley - player and coach development (PDF, 414 Kb)

Player and Coach Development
“Refocusing to Win”

Re-igniting a Tennis Nation…….
The Action Plan
I. Identify the Issues
II. Define the Development Principles
III. Develop the Strategy
IV. Drive the Change
“We don’t need a message of action but a message of persistent
and additional action”

I. Identify the Issues

Australian Tennis in Crisis – The Decline
1. A 15 year decline of Australian players ranked inside the top 500 on the
professional tours
2. The average age of ranked Australian players in the top 500 is well
above the international average
3. The last Australian player to win out of his/her age group did so ten
years ago
4. No Australian player has transitioned into the top 100 within 12 – 18
months after juniors, since Lleyton Hewitt
5. No junior players have been clearly dominant internationally for the
past 15 years

6. Australia has consistently shown the weakest transition from juniors to the
professional rankings compared to other tennis nations
Countries
Australia France Spain USA Russia Czech England China Argentina Brazil
Population (November 2005) 20.1 Million 60.7 Million 40.3 Million 296 Million 143.1 Million 10.2 Million 60.4 Million 1.30 Billion 39.6 Million 186.8 Million
Boys (B) / Girls (G) B G B G B G B G B G B G B G B G B G B G
ITF 150 10 5 3 2 1 0 21 20 4 22 8 8 2 2 2 3 3 1 5 3
ITF 300 19 10 9 3 2 0 30 34 12 33 8 11 8 8 3 4 5 1 8 5
ITF 400 - 16's 9 8 2 2 0 0 9 10 3 19 3 6 2 4 0 2 0 0 0 2
ITF 600 - 16's 9 9 2 3 0 0 12 14 7 21 4 7 3 6 0 2 0 0 0 3
ITF Ranked - 15 (total) 8 14 7 9 3 4 14 25 15 34 3 15 2 13 3 2 1 2 0 3
ITF Ranked Players (total) 66 68 40 44 33 20 129 167 81 125 40 24 59 62 13 8 39 32 60 39
Male(M) / Female (F) M W M W M W M W M W M W M W M W M W M W
ATP/WTA 100 2 2 9 8 12 6 8 10 5 14 8 6 3 0 0 3 10 2 0 0
ATP/WTA 200 5 4 21 13 20 9 17 23 7 20 10 15 4 1 2 7 15 5 7 1
ATP/WTA 350 10 8 28 17 31 12 31 36 9 29 16 23 12 5 3 10 27 10 11 4
ATP/WTA 500 15 17 36 31 42 20 42 46 12 37 24 29 19 11 3 11 34 14 16 5

Flawed Strategy
1. Excessive governance and administration requirements in high
performance
2. Lack of accountability and responsibility of athletes and coaches
3. Athletes allowed to dictate training loads and support – Athlete driven
programs
4. Lack of national curriculum for skill development, tactics and physical
training.
5. Lack of a holistic view by parents, coaches and athletes
6. No ability to directly influence the standard of coaching
7. Insufficient funds to drive change and implement national programs
8. Uncoordinated national pathway with no clearly defined entry and exit
points

II. Define the Development Principles

1. Coach Driven versus Athlete Driven Programs
2. A national athlete and coach pathway with clearly defined entry
and exit points
3. Recognition of national and international competition
4. A coordinated national program with a focus on long term
athlete development
5. Draw on past successes – Collective training environments
6. Clearly defined systems of athlete, coach and parent
accountability
7. Integration of sport science and available resources

8. Defining a sport specific player development model
Execution
Biomechanics
and
Technique
Decision
Making
Mental
Awareness
Scheduling
Tactics –
Doubles,
Singles
Physical
Speed and Agility
Cardiovascular
Endurance
Strength and Power
Flexibility
Speed/Agility
Endurance
Nutrition
Hydration

9. Coaching Generation Y versus Generation X and knowing future trends
Influence
Baby Boomer Generation X Generation Y
Role Model
Men of character
Men and women of
character
What is character?
Respecting Elders
Automatic
Is polite
Whatever?
Money
Earn it
It is not everything
Give it to me
Loyalty
Work my way to the
top
Shortcut to the top
Give me Saturday off
or I will quit
Change
Resist it
Accept it
Want it
Decision Making
Calculated
Based on research
Based on advice of
friends
Learning
Important
Want structure
Want freedom and
experiences
Technology
Ignorant of it
Comfortable
Feel it in their gut
Gen Y – “They don’t care how much you know until they
know how much you care.” – Peter Sheahan

10. Incorporate components of Athletic Success
(as ranked in a recent survey of over 300 Olympic medallists)
• Dedication and Persistence
• Family and Friends
• Coaches
• Love of the Sport – Passion
• Training program and Facilities
• Natural talent
• Competitiveness
• Focus
• Work Ethic
• Financial Support

III. Develop the Strategy

Planning Pyramid
Mission
Strategic
Plan
Vision
Core Values
Strategic Priorities
Stable
Foundation
Goals and Objectives
Key Performance Objectives
Action Plan
Key Performance Indicators
Business
Unit
Operating
Plans
Rewards and Recognition

IV. Drive the Change

Coach Development
Strategic Priority #1: Deliver a successful national coaching program
Objectives:
a. Conduct junior development, club professional and high performance coaching courses
b. Grow coach membership
c. Deliver professional development programs for coaches including national
conferences, online education and workshop series
d. Produce world class coaching resources
Strategic Priority #2: Enhance the opportunities and well-being of athletes
and parents
Objectives:
a. Provide parent education
b. Develop direct and online athlete education opportunities

Athlete Development
Strategic Priority #3: Identify and provide opportunities for talented athletes
Objectives:
a. Promote and grow the National Talent Search program
b. Identify and resource Talent Development Coaches
c. Produce Talent Identification resources
d. Link Talent Identification to national programs
Strategic Priority #4: Develop highly focused collective training environments
Objectives:
a. Develop High Performance Academies
b. Increase the number, conversion and retention of scholarship holders while maintaining
the highest standards of behaviour
c. Standardise National High Performance Academy training

Tennis Australia
• Long Term Athlete Development Matrix

Training Pathway

Strategic Priority #5: Integrate sport science and medicine to enhance
athlete and coach development
Objectives:
a. Develop and adhere to all standardised testing protocols
b. Design and implement an all-encompassing national sports medicine program
Strategic Priority #6: Foster successful professional athlete performance
Objectives:
a. Be competitive in World Group in Fed Cup, Davis Cup and the Olympic Games
b. Ensure a positive ranking improvement ratio for all athletes in the AIS Pro Tour
Program
c. Set an exemplary standard of professionalism

Tournaments & Competitions
Strategic Priority #7: Integrate tournaments and competitions into a
national framework
Objectives:
a. Align national, state and local competition formats
b. Design a user-friendly national calendar
c. Maintain the ongoing development of the Australian Ranking system
Strategic Priority #8: Enhance junior tournaments, competitions, tours and
camps
Objectives:
a. Increase junior competitive and Australian Ranking opportunities
b. Advance the consistent delivery of standardised tours and camps

Competitions Pathway

Strategic Priority #9: Maximise the quality and quantity of professional
competitive opportunities
Objectives:
a. Design an annual Pro Circuit calendar reflective of our athletes’ objectives
b. Develop resources and education for the advancement of Pro Circuits
c. Develop and implement a model to increase the number and standard of Australian
Money Tournaments
Strategic Priority #10: Deliver successful events through a commercial
promoter model
Objectives:
a. Identify commercial promoters for Pro Circuit and Australian Open Series events
b. Implement venue buy-in and/or commercial promoter models for Pro Circuit and
Australian Open Series events
c. Drive a uniform standard and consistent delivery of Pro Circuit and Australian Open
Series events

IN SUMMARY…

Athlete Development
BEFORE
Selection subjective
Programs athlete driven and adjusted
to the level of the player
Parents kept at arms length
Disjointed and uncoordinated National
Athlete Pathway
Tennis Players came through via
natural selection
NOW
Selection based on criteria:
-Ranking
-Results
-Participation
Athletes meet the standards of the
program
Parents educated on their role and
involvement in their child’s program
National Athlete Pathway with clearly
defined entry and exit points
Searching for the Athletes

Tournaments & Competitions
BEFORE
Independent selectors
NOW
National Coaches as selectors
Junior players compete without
parents to teach independence
Consider and include parents
Fewer competitive opportunities
16 year-olds to compete in 70-80
competitive matches

Coach Development
BEFORE
Traditional teaching methods
Manual based focus
Exam-based assessment
Touring coaches predominantly former
players
Independent modified junior tennis
programs
NOW
Competency based training
framework
On-court practical focus,
Simulated and real-work
environments
Ongoing assessment and
professional development
Touring coaches have completed
formal training and High Performance
Coaches Course
Nationally integrated development
programs such as Hot Shots

“The definition of insanity is doing the
same thing over and over again and
expecting different results”
Albert Einstein