Coaching guides
Coaching guides for racket sports
Practical, opinionated guides on planning sessions, assessing players and building development plans, written for coaches, not software buyers.
Latest · 8 min read
How to assess a squash player: a six-pillar method
Score a squash player on six pillars with anchored levels, from length and the boast-drop to movement off the T. Spot the self-assessment gap, then set goals.
Read- 8 min read The six-pillar assessment framework for racket-sport coaches A repeatable way to assess racket-sport players: six pillars, anchored 0-10 levels, player self-assessment, and an assess-goal-plan-deliver-reassess loop that drives a development plan.
- 8 min read How to assess a pickleball player: a six-pillar method Score a pickleball player on six pillars with anchored levels, from the dink and the third-shot drop to movement at the kitchen line. Spot the self-assessment gap, then set goals.
- 8 min read How to run effective group and squad coaching sessions Keep a whole group active and progressing: structure for any number, stations and rotations to kill queueing, one drill differentiated up and down, and squad work that still moves individuals.
- 8 min read How to build a coaching drill library that gets used Most drill collections rot in a notebook. Here is how to organise drills by skill and assessment pillar, write them so any coach can run them, and keep the library living.
- 8 min read How to reduce drop-out and keep juniors in the sport The real reasons young players quit, from invisible progress to wrong-pitched challenge to no sense of belonging, and what a coach can actually do about each.
- 8 min read How to onboard players and parents into a coaching programme A practical first-week setup for racket coaches: invite players and parents, decide what each person sees, set expectations early, and get consents in place from the start.
- 8 min read How to assess a padel player: a six-pillar method Score a padel player on six pillars with anchored levels, from wall play and the bandeja to court positioning as a pair. Spot the self-assessment gap, then set goals.
- 8 min read How to assess a tennis player: a six-pillar method A repeatable six-pillar tennis assessment with anchored 0-10 levels so two coaches agree, plus player self-assessment and turning the weakest pillar into a goal.
- 7 min read Squad selection criteria: a fair Red/Amber/Green review How to run fair, objective squad selection on a talent pathway: criteria tied to assessment not gut feel, a RAG review, and kind retain/nominate/release decisions.
- 7 min read How to run an effective 1-2-1 coaching session Make a private lesson worth the price: one clear objective from the player's plan, the right feed-to-play ratio, sharp cueing, homework, and proof of progress.
- 7 min read Measuring player progress over a season Move past 'they seem better'. Set a baseline, pick leading and lagging indicators, reassess on a cadence, and show then-vs-now progress that motivates.
- 8 min read Periodisation for junior athletes: a coach's guide Periodisation made practical for grassroots racket coaches: macro, meso and micro cycles, blocks, load, peaking for key events and avoiding junior burnout.
- 7 min read Communicating with parents as a coach: a practical guide How to set boundaries, share progress and turn parents into allies in junior racket coaching: what to share, how often, and how to handle hard conversations.
- 7 min read Mental skills for young athletes: a coach's guide Practical mental skills for junior racket players: reset routines, focus cues, responding to errors, pre-serve routines and building confidence. No clinical claims.
- 8 min read Annual training plan for junior racket players Map a junior season into preparation, competition and transition phases, balance technical, tactical and physical work, and work around school terms and exams.
- 6 min read A warm-up routine for racket sports (RAMP, 10 min) A reusable RAMP-style warm-up for badminton, tennis and padel: raise, activate, mobilise, potentiate. A copyable 10-minute routine and the mistakes to avoid.
- 7 min read Goal setting for young athletes: a coach's guide Why outcome-only goals demotivate juniors, how to derive controllable process goals from a player's weakest pillar, and how to review and adjust them.
- 7 min read Player development plan template (PDP) for racket coaches What a player development plan is, what goes in it, and a copyable PDP template you can lift today. Plus how reassessment closes the loop.
- 8 min read How to assess a badminton player (a six-pillar framework) A repeatable way to assess a badminton player: six pillars, anchored levels so two coaches agree, self-assessment to surface the perception gap, and goals drawn from the weakest area.
- 7 min read How to write a coaching session plan (with a template) A practical, repeatable structure for racket-sport session plans: objective, warm-up, technical and tactical blocks, game, review. Plus how to ladder sessions into a season.
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