Kids and coaching!

Is there such a thing as too much coaching?

Don't get me wrong, I think coaching plays an hugely important part in the development of a child's game and certainly sets them on the right path if they are to make anything of themselves in their tennis careers.

So why then do I ask this question?

Well I suppose basing it on my own child hood experiences and having watched kids playing tournaments of all levels for the last number of years, I see very few, if any kids actually enjoying the game.

And I wonder if half of them didn't have coaching organised, would they spend any time at all on the court.
When I was growing up getting me off the court was the problem and I know for a fact that was the case for most of my friends.

Coaching isn't cheap and I know most parents are trying to give their children the best possible opportunities in life but there has to be a happy medium, whereby the child actually wants to go to coaching and is then eager themselves to get out during the week and practice what they have learned in their session.  If this isn't happening, you have to ask yourself, is it worth it?

That is one aspect of my question, the other is, are kids over coached to the point that they can't think for themselves on court.

A lot of junior tennis is about patterns and if you watch closely enough you can see the patterns they have learned.  Now what happens if you meet an opponent who doesn't play by the "patterns" rule?
A lot of juniors don't have an answer and visibly looked shocked and bemused at the fact that their opponent isn't playing the way they are supposed, ie. their way.

If you were to show any of the juniors a DVD of a Borg versus McEnroe match they wouldn't appreciate the skill involved in constructing a point.  They would probably comment on how slow the game was.
And that would epitomize the problem in todays game, it's all about power.

I believe coaching does play a very important part in learning tennis, both competitively and socially. But parents have a responsibility to ensure that their kids are getting the most out of coaching.  This could be group sessions, for the child who doesn't want to be a world beater, where tennis is thought through fun games or individual sessions where the child is into serious drilling and wants to be the best they can be.

The coaching should reflect what the child wants and with this in mind parents should also spend more time researching the coaches ability and not just believe the hype that some coaches sell about themselves.

Good players or talkers don't always make the best coaches!

Just to finish, I'm not knocking coaches, I will send my own two boys to coaching if that is what they want, so I suppose i'm just wondering what peoples hopes are for these kids that have had a fortune spent on them with coaching yet never progress past the first or second rounds of tournaments.
Is it good for their confidence?
Is it really what they wanted to do?
Are they still playing the game?