Dinith Pathiraja On Court
It has been proved by sociologists that the present generation of young people has the shortest attention span of any generation in the recent past. The world is a fast-paced place these days. Everything is quick, lots of things are automated, and most pieces of information are available at a click of the mouse. What this has contributed is the fact that most of humanity tends to live only in the present. It has been proved by sociologists that the present generation of young people has the shortest attention span of any generation in the recent past. With this particular attribute comes the fact that even the young sportsmen and women are more addicted to their electronic gadgets and other technological devices than any other generation before them. The only ‘problem solver’ is you On the other hand, the sport of tennis is an individual one. And apart from the recent experimental approaches to having a “coaching break” in junior individual tennis events, coaching or any outside help is not allowed to the players during the match time. What this does is the fact that the player him/herself is the only “problem solver” in action at the individual events at a match.
Therefore, it is an interesting exercise to examine the impact of the short attention span of players as well as the fact of their unwarranted, in most cases, reliance on electronic/digital appliances on the eventual performances of the young tennis players.
Impact of reliance on various gadgets
Another interesting piece of this puzzle is the fact that, because of their “addiction” to these devices, most young tennis players spend hardly any time reading or expanding their knowledge through the use of the books.
And since it is the use of the books which, in most cases, help the players in terms of arousing their curiosity regarding the game and its history, this lack of use of books and their reliance on the various modern gadgets like smartphones need to be explored further to decode their importance on the improvement, or the lack of it, in the young tennis players.
Who knows Borg and McEnroe?
Most of the young players today have no idea about the history of the game and its great players from yesteryear. As a coach, when this writer makes inquiries from young players regarding the “greats” of the past, such as Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Mats Wilander, and so on, the players have little to no idea about them or their styles, or their activities.
The question is if this lack of knowledge and the attention span has a bearing on their improvement or development – or, for that matter, if there is any impact on their improvement or development at all.
Philip Omoregie’s research
Whilst there have been few such scientific studies done on the subject, one such study has been published as a research paper by Philip Omoregie of the Heritage Christian University College.
In it, he summarises as follows: “Sporting technologies are man-made means developed to reach human interests or goals in or relating to a particular sport. It is a technical means by which athletes attempt to improve their training and competitive surroundings in order to enhance their overall athletic performance.
“It is the knowledge and application of using specialised equipment and the latest modern technologies to perform tasks more efficiently. Therefore, coaches and athletes must be aware of sport technologies, and make wise choices about how it affects their performances.”
It’s the player who makes the decision
That is the crux of the matter. It is all about the kinds of choices that need to be made by the players and the coaches. And how these choices affect the players will differ from player to player. But there is an undeniable fact.
The player has to make individual snap decisions while on the court by him/herself. As the rules are at the moment, no help can be garnered from outside sources. In this particular situation, the more information the player has at his or her disposal, the better informed they will be to make the appropriate decision.
Knowledge is essential for youngsters
In this context, the knowledge about the history of the game, especially as to how other players have handled particular problems and the solutions they have come up with, is of special significance. Therefore, the knowledge of the history and important milestones of the game do play a vital role in the development of young players.
How this particular knowledge is gathered is a personal choice. There is no “one size fits all” answer to that question. But what is most important is the fact that knowledge should be gathered to improve the game of the young tennis players, whatever the source may be at the end of the day.