Using rally-based outcomes to develop your players

Over the past couple of years I’ve started to shift away from the my old approach to player development and began to focus more on specific rally-based outcomes, rather than using more traditional technical guidelines for player progression.
The reasons for doing this are two-fold.
Firstly, it gives both players and coaches a clearer understanding of what is required in order to improve and progress in the sport. For example, measuring how many times a player can hit a certain stroke into a predetermined area of the court provides a far more tangible goal for them to work towards as opposed to attaining a certain level of technical proficiency.
This isn’t to say that technique isn’t important; developing a sound technical base will always remain vital to a tennis player’s development. However it’s the end result of those strokes that determines what happens in the game of tennis and working backwards from the desired outcome can be a useful tool for helping players better engage in their training and provide a clear, practical pathway for them to learn the game and develop their skills.
Secondly, it provides coaches with an opportunity to design a more perceptible and measurable lesson structure. After establishing some rally-based outcomes for players to try and achieve, whether in a single lesson or across a longer period of time, coaches are able to use these tangible outcomes to govern and guide their lesson plans.
Goals that are based on developing technical proficiency are less quantifiable and far more difficult for players, particularly beginners, to engage with. However, when adopting an outcome-based approach, technique doesn’t need to be overlooked. With some additional preparation, coaches can use this approach as a tool to assist players in developing their technique, they just need to consider methods in which to apply constraints that encourage it.
By modifying drills and activities a coach can ensure their players are developing a level of comfort with their strokes and experiencing some form of progression that will better engage them in the activity, all while working towards a clear outcome. They may not be hitting with perfect technique from the outset, but they will be developing the essential skills that will enable them to achieve those competencies in the future.
Obviously this approach is best applied to players that are new to the sport and still developing their skills. Once a player has progressed to a level of competency where they are able to successfully execute their strokes in a proper match, the outcomes coaches set for them will ideally move to a more game-based, rather than rally-based approach.
However when working with beginners, focusing on rally-based outcomes can help give lessons better direction and provide player’s with a clear set of goals and objectives. I’d recommend giving it a try and seeing how it works for you.
Note: If you’re interested in more information on a program like this, a great starting point is the LTA’s Rally Awards website. Their particular assessments may not fit your coaching program, however they provide a good template with which to build from.
