What I learned yesterday

So again the Kohawks played twice, this time finishing at 820pm, a season's best. The playing of 3 dual matches in one day on 4 slow indoor courts makes for a long, and often mentally taxing day for the coaches. We work all week with the players training and tweaking their psyches & tennis games, shaping them for what we hope will be a performance that registers improvement from the previous Saturday.

Yesterday I learned(probably for the 54th time...I seem to be a slow learner)that this is not always the case, nor should I expect a guarantee of improvement just because I want it to happen, deem it imperative that it happen. Match experience on a tennis court cannot be bought. Growth occurs on its own timetable, different for every singles player and every doubles pair. Despite my whims, desires, and impatience!

So, I learned that some of our players are ready to perform consistently, some are not. Yet. I once again was reminded(and again, I seem to be a slow learner) just how competitive tennis is mostly about managing emotions well enough to allow the majority of the physical talent inside of a player to emerge. And, each individual learns at their own rate. AND, I cannot do it for them. Which is frustrating!

I did also learn that Coe has a deep roster, full of players who have the ability to contribute in a positive manner. Each week we inch closer to being the type of performers that I believe we can be. Another difficult challenge awaits the Kohawks next week. Carthage has very talented individuals at the top of their lineup, and certainly a more than competent lower lineup, which will not only severely test Coe's top players, but place performance stress on the remainder of our lineup.

Good! I am looking forward to seeing how we handle this. The journey continues!