Andy Knibbs Tips on how best to use targets to develop a player’s self-belief; Tip 1. After each shot that a player hits towards a target area, ask them if they can observe and call out where each shot lands relative to the target, e.g., ‘that one was one metre left’…., ‘that was two metres long’…, ‘half a … Read more
As a psychologist, I’ve studied how people learn and change. As a coach and tutor, I’ve studied how sport is taught and learned. And while most teaching professionals acknowledge the power of the mind and the value of awareness, few know how to teach it, and even fewer make it their primary focus. Learning … Read more
Could we be paying more attention to training balance? I became aware one day of how much I was ‘off balance’ when I asked Jayne Storey from Chi Golf to look at my golf swing. To begin with, she asked me to stand up straight with feet shoulder width apart and then she pushed … Read more
Could it be Djokovic’s daily practice of meditation – the most recent addition, to his holistic approach to tennis and life, which is giving him the edge over the rest of the field at the moment? Before matches, Djokovic uses breathing techniques to help him ‘align with his thoughts’ and ‘stay composed’ – an act … Read more
Rob’s story Keen to evolve his knowledge of high performance coaching, Andy Knibbs an LTA tutor and coach invited U.S master coach Sean Brawley to present a 3 day workshop on ‘Coaching Mastery’. Sean, a former 150 ATP tennis player had been mentored by Tim Gallwey the author of the Inner Game series for 20 … Read more
In his book, ‘Focus – The Hidden Driver of Excellence’ Dan Goleman discusses how focussing on what’s critical leads to success. In order to focus on whats critical, he believes it is important for both coaches and performers to have a heightened sense of self awareness, awareness of others and awareness of their enivironment. In … Read more
‘Effective questions are at risk of death by analysis – watch out!’ At Coaching Kids 4 Self-Belief, our philosophy is based upon helping a performer to increase their awareness in order to achieve learning and to perform at higher levels in a way that empowers them from the inside out. However, it is not … Read more
‘I have always wondered if it is possible to go up a steeper learning curve with non directive coaching skills – now I believe it is……’ My coaching journey spans almost twenty years and a large part of that journey has involved learning to integrate counselling skills and non-directive coaching skills with my well-practiced command … Read more
How easy is it when practising non-directive coaching to slip back into directive coaching without even knowing it? How does this happen? And, what impact does this have on our young players? When we are being non-directive we are following our player’s agenda and when we are being directive we are following our agenda. Over … Read more
Today, “Bounce Hit” is an exercise used by coaches to achieve many different outcomes. Many coaches know of the almost magical effect it can have upon making contact with the ball for beginners and the quality of contact for more competent players, but perhaps do not know of its origins and the extent to which … Read more