Last week, we discussed the basics of Tennis 10s and the introduction to tennis using Tennis 10s events as a vehicle. As was explained, this medium of tennis is important, especially for kids of a certain age group who are exploring their preferences in search of a game that suits them best. In this regard, with special emphasis on a child’s psyche of “achieving success” or “feeling good about themselves”, the Tennis 10s format plays a vital role in making sure the game of tennis retains young children from the medium to long term in the game. The important thing that all parents need to decide for their offspring is what their kids hope to achieve from the game of tennis. In the Sri Lankan context, at least for the moment, the infrastructure and facilities required for players to turn professional in the game of tennis don’t exist. It is important to have realistic and achievable goals in the game. Here, it is important for the parents to get their kids to play the game of tennis with at least a medium-term objective in mind. Of course, going forward, it is doubly important that all parents have a long-term goal too, for their children. Medium-term and long-term goals In the medium term, the most achievable and most attractive goal is to be selected to play in one of the Sri Lanka junior teams. Tennis is most probably the only game where players are chosen for age group-based Sri Lanka teams at a very young age. This is because there is an “Asian 12 and Under” tournament. A Sri Lanka team is chosen pertaining to that age group to take part in that tournament. Furthermore, U-14 teams for both girls and boys are chosen for the annual World Junior Tennis Tournament, and U-16 teams are picked for the annual Junior Davis Cup (for boys) and the Junior Fed Cup (for girls). Therefore, there are plenty of very realistic and attractive medium-term goals that the young junior players can aspire to achieve. Whilst these medium-term goals are attainable, the players’ parents should always have a long-term goal at the back of their minds as well. At the moment, the best possible and most realistic goal for young tennis players is to aim for collegiate scholarships in the US through their tennis achievements. This would mean that the young players are then able to fashion their life using the sport of tennis. Therefore, this is an extremely attractive pathway forward. Not results, but performance The question then arises as to what course of action should be followed so as to achieve the above objective. How can they use the Tennis 10s programme in the best way possible to achieve the above objective? What would be the best pathway forward, since the decisions taken at this stage would definitely play a part in achieving the final objective? The undeniable fact is that the performances of the players have to gradually improve as the players move to the higher age groups. But how to achieve this? The best way forward in this situation is to make sure that the parents and the coach focus on the players’ performances in the Tennis 10s age groups rather than the outcomes of the games. The outcome would be the result. Performances, while the term is self-explanatory, need to be looked at in terms of what would be the best for the player in the long term. Training in the game of tennis is basically done in four separate aspects: Technical, tactical, physical, and mental. Therefore in the Tennis 10s, the parents and the coaches need to be far more focused and interested in developing the above aspects, rather than looking at the results only. Short-term pain for long-term gain For example, in this age group, the coaches totally neglect the mental aspect of the game. They barely focus on the physical aspect of the game as well. And even if they do focus on the physical aspects of tennis, it is always on general rather than specific physical aspects that need to be focused on in tennis. Then, in terms of the development of the tactical aspect, the tactic taught is to get one extra ball over the net or wait for the opponent to miss one. As such, in this case, while most players have developed reasonable techniques, in some cases the only technique taught is to get the ball over the net somehow, by doing “anything”. This kind of approach MIGHT work well in this age group, but in the long run these habits will work against the player’s development. This is where the coaches need to be ready to feel short-term pain for long-term gain. Next week: In the concluding article of this series, I will discuss the specific dos and don’ts in Tennis 10s with special focus on making certain the player becomes more rounded and a champion in the higher age groups. That’s why, at the end of the day, they start playing tennis in the first place.