Questions for College Coaches
1) What do you analyze in pairing up your doubles teams? List in order of
importance.
We look at a variety of factors…which guys have good chemistry, game styles,
which sides each player prefers to play, etc. Typically near the top of the lineup
(your No. 1 team) will have bigger hitters and guys who are more accomplished at
the net. I think except for the top teams in the world on the tour actual doubles
skills have certainly become a lost art. Teams are able to be successful by serving,
playing more aggressive and simply being better tennis players. That‟s true on the
Challenge/Future level and college tennis. But we do try to make sure the guys at
No. 1 can serve well, control the net and have a sense of what they‟re trying to do
with movement. At No. 3 you‟ll see a lot of teams serve and stay back, rip
groundies and exploit their opponent‟s weaker volleys. Tour teams do this at times
so it‟s not limited to lesser players….but you tend to see more variety of styles at
the No. 3 position in college. The above factors help us create a framework for
our doubles lineup but it‟s constantly evolving throughout the year and we
continually change our teams. Sometimes we match up partnerships with the old
„hammer- wedge” theory of having a finisher (big hitter) with a set up guy (crafty
player). That works well as long as the hammer can help the wedge hold serve.
2) What is your philosophy about “stacking” your line-up? Stacking is against
the rules so we certainly make sure to follow the ITA rules regarding this. Players
are to be placed in order of strength. It can be an issue in college tennis at times
but many conferences (like the SEC and Big 12) and bigger events (NCAA‟s,
national indoors, etc) have lineups that must be approved by opposing teams in
advance. So a lot of the stacking issues have been eliminated.
3) One of your players is consistently losing and has lost his confidence. Do you
keep playing him at that position, move him down, or take him out of the line-
up? Explain your reasons for doing each of these. We would simply assess his
record each week. If he continues to lose, and consequently loses confidence, it‟s
best to move him down. You can only move a player one spot each match so if he‟s
playing No. 3, for instance, we might move him to No. 4 the following week.
Sometimes, however, you may have a team that is very balanced after the top
position with players all relatively equal. The problem this presents (and we have
had before) is who can win enough at No. 2 or 3? Often you have to pick the best
option (maybe a guy who is more physical and can play “up” to his competition
and therefore lift his level. So it‟s important to have candid conversations with
the players as to what their role is and why they‟re playing a particular position.
Certain guys might have to embrace a role in a position where they are going to
lose often and constantly be challenged. You have to pick the guy with the best
temperament in this scenario. If they are struggling and the coach makes a change
the player may be relieved to move down a spot or two to hopefully pick up some
wins and regain confidence. We talk to the players a lot about managing
winning/losing. We often tell them if they want to play the tour they will lose….a
lot. We will point to the top guys on tour and encourage them to look at their ITF
records several years back to see just how much a guy like Federer or Roddick lost
before they became who they are now.
4) Do you find it harder to turn a singles player into a doubles player or vice-
versa?
It‟s probably harder to develop a doubles player than a singles player the way the
game is taught and played today. So much of what people are teaching involves
developing big serves and big forehands. And most players‟ movement patterns
are built around moving to their left to hit forehands from the backhand corner. I
think this has resulted in players having a hard time transitioning to net based on
their court position. Therefore, you see less of the “straight ahead” players who
focus on playing from the middle of the court with the hopes of transitioning to
net as fast as they can. Obviously these are the players we typically look at and
think “doubles specialist” or at least those with skills that lend themselves to
doubles. Because most players are not as skillful at the net compared to 20 years
ago, you see more singles players who must improve technically and tactically to
become good doubles players. However, by referencing the answers to question 1
above, you also have a different style of doubles players today who are equally
effective. So to say there‟s one way to play doubles would be inaccurate just as it
would be to say a guy who‟s a singles specialist couldn‟t find a way to be a
successful doubles player. By serving and staying back, having a strong return
game along with functional (if not spectacular volleys) a player can be a very
effective doubles player (Massu/Gonzalez won Olympic Gold medal in 2004
serving and staying back). Ultimately, if a guy is a great tennis player, he can
find a way to be a great doubles player as well. Likewise, there are some guys
with limited singles talents (poor movement, athleticism) but maybe are physical
guys with big serves that keep things simple and become great doubles players.
5) Approximately how much of your practice time is spent on drilling,
conditioning, singles play, and doubles play Is there a particular practice
regimen you use to get your players ready for matches?
Generally speaking, we usually spend three days a week on drilling (either fed ball or
live ball) along with 2-3 days of point/match play (including both singles and
doubles). We typically try to play a bit more as we get closer to competition.
6) What is the most important aspect in getting your players ready for matches?
Why?
There are a lot of components to getting your players ready for matches and many
of them involve off court areas such as rehab, nutrition, mental strategies,
watching video, etc. With college tennis its obviously very different because
you‟re really trying to balance the hectic schedule college students have. Once
we‟re in the middle of the season it‟s important to gauge the mental and physical
condition of your team. It‟s critical to recognize less is more sometimes. If we
play 2 difficult SEC matches on the road on a given weekend for instance, we‟ll
certainly give them Monday off. However, it‟s important they come in for rehab if
they have a small injury or soreness (about half of will have such an issue). Also,
we provide massage therapy and a chiropractor on these days so they may visit
them to enhance their mental and physical recovery. We also have our strength
coach do foam roller stretching during these weeks and probably only one, maybe
2 hard days of fitness (Tuesday-Wednesday) assuming we must play again on
Friday. Periodization is critical year -round and we must recognize when to build
(strength/fitness, technical work, tactical etc) and when to taper off and focus on
mentally/physically recovery and preparing for matches. In the fall we have a lot
more time to devote to our strength program while also working on court with
technical changes and tactical changes. As far as getting ready for a big match
it‟s a year round preparation (or more) and definately a continual process. We
try to look at the whole approach rather than putting more emphasis on one match.
Furthermore, once in season, based on the result (win or lose) we must get the
guys to either stay grounded/maintain momentum (based on win) or bouncing back
emotionally (based on loss). I feel like determining the right buttons to push in this
area is one of the most critical for our success. The key is to reinforce the process
and performance goal setting vs. outcomes.