A person with a competitive nature often strives to maximise their talents and one of the biggest decisions a player has to make is his/her choice of coach and the associated program which can cause anxiety and doubt due to the unknown. It can be a difficult decision because the player generally does not know the coach other than by recommendation or reputation and would ideally like to enjoy progress working with the chosen coach without having a negative outcome.

One way of dealing with this issue is to discuss goals and to give an honest assessment of your game with the prospective coach which will allow the coach and player to plan a program taking skill levels, technique, physical conditioning, mental skills and goals into account.

There has to be a leap of faith from the player once he/she has made the decision on who they want to work with and believe that following the process will bring about the result they desire. This often means there is going to be a period of frustration from a scoring point of view because choosing a new coach essentially means you want change and that brings unfamiliarity which will have an effect on confidence levels.

The benefits however of following this route are many;

• Forming a trusting relationship with a coach who understands what you want to achieve brings peace of mind.
• Assessments of where you are enables a constructive program to be designed
• A measurable program indicates where focus should be directed to achieve desired results
• Following a process brings about sustainable improvements
• Working with a knowledgeable coach stops a haphazard approach to developing skills
• Having a coach a phone call away who knows the players technique and what their “default” is can and often does help tournament performances

This methodology applies to KeNako Academy and it has been wonderful for the coaches to see the students buy into this philosophy and develop their skills and confidence over a period of time which is giving them the consistency that all competitors strive for.

Roger Wessels
(Head Coach)