March Blog
With no tournaments or training on court lately, it’s been an unusual stretch for me. But that doesn’t mean nothing is happening – far from it. Between new projects, personal and team reflections, the past weeks have been just as interesting and intense, just in a different way. Also, this entry might not be specifically fun - not because I’ve lost my humor obviously, but more because I want to touch on “serious” things.
Firstly, let’s look away from any tennis courts or gym weights. The company I also work for, called “Beyond Sports,” has some exciting projects coming up. Although I’m really happy to be part of this company, it’s not so easy to set my priorities right for “off court” projects. With my final exams coming up in May (thanks to Beyond Sports’ school program), it’s tempting to dive into these new projects for the company instead of studying. In one project, I can help develop and improve the current school program. In another, I’ve been asked to consult on the creation of its new website. And in the third and brand-new initiative, we’ve started talking about a potential completely new wing of the company. I’m purposely not revealing what that is, but what I can say is that the philosophy behind this project aligns closely with my approach to coaching and to life in sports overall.
Next, I have to be honest with you. It’s not easy to keep this from turning into a casual life update blog when there’s neither travel nor tennis happening right now. But that doesn’t mean I - or we as team – aren’t working on improving ourselves.
In March, I met up with Thiemo (in the beautiful spring sun – damn that hits different) to reflect on my first official year of coaching. We talked about my evolution, his learnings and the work we’ve done together. We discussed what coaching skills I’ve learned, things I have changed since the beginning and things I’m insecure about. Although our coaching philosophies are obviously quite similar, we each bring our own identity to the table, which made for a really open and valuable exchange.
What made it interesting was the way we were able to shift perspectives - from the way I see it, to the way he sees it and vice versa. I’ll give you an example: I shared that sometimes I feel like I’ve been losing a bit of impact on Leandro’s project - being fully aware that my main craft is on the tennis court, which we have barely been on for the past 7 months now. Thiemo was surprised to hear that. From his point of view, he said, not much would be running as smoothly as it is now, nor the progress would be as impactful without my role in this team. “Your daily consistent contributions, as well as your role as the communicator in this team, are the foundation for why this project works,” he said.
Now those who know me know that this isn’t about praising myself. It’s about showing you how outside perspectives can help shift our own in a positive way. In fact, it’s to tell anyone that is working toward a big goal, to remember: it’s easy to lose sight of the progress you’re making because you are so close to it every day. Keep your head down, take one small step at a time, consistently - and when you eventually look back, you’ll be surprised how far you’ve come.
Today, we also had a check-in as a team to assess where we’re at in this rehab process. The outlook is promising to get back on tennis courts, so hopefully in my next blog entry, I can finally share some tennis content again. Until then - let’s keep doing good and I’ll see you in 4 weeks.