By Jim Winterton

This IPRO coaching tip comes from a question I received while instructing at a Level 4 Coaching Clinic a few years ago.  The question was, “What do you write in those notes during a match?  We know you write something down.

It is not a surprise that I am secretive when I write.  I do not want someone to look over my shoulders and be able to read what I am going to say to an athlete.  Coaches should invent their own system of shorthand.  What follows is a few of the things that gets ‘coached up’ during a match; probably no more than two of these would be approached during a match:

1. Shot Selection—most of the time down the line is the shot that will work.  During most of the big matches, the pinch is overused.
2. Serves that will work—It depends on the opponent.  I like to preview my athlete’s opponent play.  Even if they win via a blowout, I may find a weakness with a serve.  This serve may prove the difference between winning and losing.

3. Changing Tempo of a Match—An advantage of note-taking is that I can get into the match mentally.  It puts me in a ‘feel’ for the match so I have an idea of when to speed it up and when to slow it down.

4. Positioning—It is surprising that many of the top athletes develop ‘sloppy’ positioning. Feet to the side wall and not looking at the ball are two at the top of the list. 

5. Leaning—Your athlete’s opponent will look for a certain serve, or shot during the rally. During my recent experience coaching the top male and female professionals, this lean is often subtle and not always easy to determine due to the speed of the game.

6. Footwork issues—Sometimes an injury or problem leads to poor footwork. The opponent may not move right or left, and up or back too well. 

7. Zone of Weakness—Divide the court into four zones (squares).  Find the square in which the opponent is weakest and attempt to exploit that zone.

8. Best serve for my Athlete—I constantly am thinking about this.  A good serve earns point opportunities; therefore, a majority of my time is spent on this skill.

None of the above will work unless the coach exhibits some match play common sense.  An athlete cannot absorb all of the information above; nor, are they required to do so.  For example, if one is leaning right or left, instead of saying “they are leaning right/left”, say, ‘when the ball is on the right side of the court, the cross court pass is open.’  This is a better cue than saying, ‘when they lean to the right, go left,’ or, ‘they are leaning to the right.’  An athlete will not process more than one thing at a time.  Sometimes saying nothing is better than offering too much information.  Especially when your athlete is winning, writing down information for review at a later time might be a smart decision.

In closing, I will have between three and seven things written in my notebook for each match.  I notate the most important item and ask myself, “will this impact the match?  If yes, I give the information to my athlete at the moment.  Most of the time I wait until the match is over in order to share the information with the athlete.  The bottom line on note-taking is, write liberally but speak sparingly. 

Jim is an IPRO Clinician, former US National Team Coach, Mexican National Team Coach, and is currently coach of the National Racquetball Team of Ireland