My Tennis Coaching Podcast

My Tennis Coaching
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Tennis
  • Updated Weekly

The My Tennis Coaching Podcast is a practical, evidence-informed podcast for tennis coaches who want their players to perform in matches not just look good in training. Hosted by Steve Whelan, coach educator, researcher, and founder of My Tennis Coaching, the podcast explores how modern skill acquisition, ecological dynamics, and intelligent practice design can transform the way you coach. Episodes bridge research and real-world coaching, unpacking why traditional drills often fail to transfer and what to design instead. Expect clear explanations, applied examples, coach reflections, and honest conversations about what actually helps players adapt, decide, and compete. This podcast is for coaches who want to: • Design practices that show up on match day • Move beyond technique-first, drill-heavy coaching • Understand learning, not just copy methods • Coach with clarity, confidence, and intent If you’re ready to challenge convention and coach in a way that matches how players really learn, you’re in the right place.

  1. 5d ago

    Game-Based Coaching Is NOT Ecological Dynamics | Wayne Elderton

    🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆What does it really take to change how you coach after years of experience?In this episode, Wayne Elderton joins Steve Whelan for an honest discussion about his journey from information-processing approaches and Game-Based Coaching towards ecological dynamics and representative learning design.This is not simply a conversation about adding constraints or making practices more variable. Wayne and Steve explore the deeper challenge of reconsidering how we understand movement, decision-making, learning and the role of the coach.Inside the conversation:• Why match transfer should be a central measure of practice quality• The important differences between Game-Based Coaching and Ecological Dynamics• Why variability does not mean randomness• How representative practice can support adaptable decision-making• The role of self-organisation in skill acquisition• Why combining conflicting coaching philosophies can create confusion• How to preserve perception-action coupling during practice• Practical examples of manipulating constraints to shape behaviour• How coaches can explain non-traditional practices to parents• The small “baby steps” coaches can take towards a more ecological approachWayne also shares the challenges involved in questioning established coaching beliefs and changing practices that may have been reinforced across many years.Whether you are beginning to explore ecological dynamics or have been experimenting with a Constraints-Led Approach for years, this discussion will challenge you to examine not only what you coach, but the assumptions about learning that sit underneath it.Download the free Representative Practice Assessment Tool:[INSERT LINK]Explore the My Tennis Coaching Academy:https://mytenniscoachingacademy.appWhat part of your coaching philosophy has been the most difficult to reconsider? Share your experience in the comments.#EcologicalDynamics #TennisCoaching #ConstraintsLedApproachWhy do tennis players perform well in practice but struggle in matches?Most coaching focuses on technique, drills, and repetition…But that’s not how skill actually develops.On this channel, I break down:• Why tennis practice doesn’t transfer to matches• How to design match-ready sessions• Ecological dynamics & constraints-led coaching (explained simply)• Real coaching examples you can use immediatelyIf you’re a tennis coach who wants players to think, adapt, and perform under pressure, you’re in the right place.📩 Get my FREE practice design guide:https://mytenniscoaching.com/serve-return/🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆🏆 Join My Tennis Coach Academy:https://mytenniscoaching.comSteve WhelanCoach Developer & Researcher

  2. Sep 9

    How Ecological Coaches Actually Change Tennis Technique

    🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆Ecological dynamics is often accused of ignoring tennis technique and biomechanics. But ecological coaches do not abandon movement they investigate why particular movement solutions emerge.Inspired by a recent conversation with Wayne Elderton, Steve Whelan explores how intention, attention, anxiety, physical capacity and practice design can shape the technique we observe, and why describing a movement is not the same as diagnosing its cause.Why do tennis players perform well in practice but struggle in matches?Most coaching focuses on technique, drills, and repetition…But that’s not how skill actually develops.On this channel, I break down:• Why tennis practice doesn’t transfer to matches• How to design match-ready sessions• Ecological dynamics & constraints-led coaching (explained simply)• Real coaching examples you can use immediatelyIf you’re a tennis coach who wants players to think, adapt, and perform under pressure, you’re in the right place.📩 Get my FREE practice design guide:https://mytenniscoaching.com/serve-return/🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆🏆 Join My Tennis Coach Academy:https://mytenniscoaching.comSteve WhelanCoach Developer & Researcher

  3. Sep 2

    How I Coach a Complete Tennis Beginner Without Teaching Strokes First

    🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆Can ecological dynamics really be used with complete tennis beginners?Steve Whelan walks through the first twoweeks he would design for an adult who has never played tennis explaining how he scales the court, manipulates constraints, guides attention and develops functional tennis skills without teaching isolated strokes first.Why do tennis players perform well in practice but struggle in matches?Most coaching focuses on technique, drills, and repetition…But that’s not how skill actually develops.On this channel, I break down:• Why tennis practice doesn’t transfer to matches• How to design match-ready sessions• Ecological dynamics & constraints-led coaching (explained simply)• Real coaching examples you can use immediatelyIf you’re a tennis coach who wants players to think, adapt, and perform under pressure, you’re in the right place.📩 Get my FREE practice design guide:https://mytenniscoaching.com/serve-return/🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆🏆 Join My Tennis Coach Academy:https://mytenniscoaching.comSteve WhelanCoach Developer & Researcher

  4. Aug 26

    Five Things Tennis Coaches Confuse With Evidence

    🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆Tennis coaches regularly defend their methods through experience, successful players, longevity, tradition and popularity. But what do these arguments actually demonstrate?Steve Whelan examines five things tennis coaches frequently mistake for proof and explains the difference between observation, immediate performance, learning, causation and transfer.Why do tennis players perform well in practice but struggle in matches?Most coaching focuses on technique, drills, and repetition…But that’s not how skill actually develops.On this channel, I break down:• Why tennis practice doesn’t transfer to matches• How to design match-ready sessions• Ecological dynamics & constraints-led coaching (explained simply)• Real coaching examples you can use immediatelyIf you’re a tennis coach who wants players to think, adapt, and perform under pressure, you’re in the right place.📩 Get my FREE practice design guide:https://mytenniscoaching.com/serve-return/🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆🏆 Join My Tennis Coach Academy:https://mytenniscoaching.comSteve WhelanCoach Developer & Researcher

  5. Aug 19

    Why Coaches Defend Drills That Don't Transfer

    🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆For one week, Steve Whelan has assessed viral tennis drills for their potential to transfer into match play. The reaction has revealed a deeper tension: what should count as evidence that a practice develops skill?This episode explores representative practice, path dependence, confirmation bias and survivorship bias and explains why immediate improvement, attractive technique and professional-player examples cannot independently establish learning or transfer.Why do tennis players perform well in practice but struggle in matches?Most coaching focuses on technique, drills, and repetition…But that’s not how skill actually develops.On this channel, I break down:• Why tennis practice doesn’t transfer to matches• How to design match-ready sessions• Ecological dynamics & constraints-led coaching (explained simply)• Real coaching examples you can use immediatelyIf you’re a tennis coach who wants players to think, adapt, and perform under pressure, you’re in the right place.🎾 Players look great in practice but struggle in matches? Download the free Practice-to-Match Scorecard and access the mini-course here https://mytenniscoaching.com/tennis-practice-to-matchplay/ 🏆🏆 Join My Tennis Coach Academy:https://mytenniscoaching.comSteve WhelanCoach Developer & Researcher

  6. Aug 11

    The Pseudoscience Problem Taking Over Tennis Coaching

    Tennis social media is increasingly filled with coaching methods described as “research-backed,” “neuroscience-based” or scientifically proven. But what evidence actually supports these claims? Steve Whelan examines how elite-player videos, isolated studies, scientific terminology and personal testimonials can create an illusion of evidence—and why ecological coaching must be held to the same critical standards as every other approach.

  7. Aug 5

    Why Your Players Keep Looking at You During Matches

    Why do tennis players constantly look towards their coach or parent during matches?Steve Whelan explores how excessive instruction and immediate feedback can unintentionally create coach-dependent players. This episode examines the difference between providing answers and helping players become better at perceiving, solving and evaluating problems independently.

  8. Jul 29

    Why Players Look Great in Practice but Struggle in Matches

    Why do tennis players look technically strong in practice but struggle when they compete? Steve Whelan explores the difference between immediate performance and genuine learning—and asks whether conventional tennis practice creates an illusion of progress. In this episode of the My Tennis Coaching Podcast, Steve discusses practice transfer, representative learning environments, perception-action coupling and how coaches can design sessions that prepare players for the real demands of competition.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

The My Tennis Coaching Podcast is a practical, evidence-informed podcast for tennis coaches who want their players to perform in matches not just look good in training. Hosted by Steve Whelan, coach educator, researcher, and founder of My Tennis Coaching, the podcast explores how modern skill acquisition, ecological dynamics, and intelligent practice design can transform the way you coach. Episodes bridge research and real-world coaching, unpacking why traditional drills often fail to transfer and what to design instead. Expect clear explanations, applied examples, coach reflections, and honest conversations about what actually helps players adapt, decide, and compete. This podcast is for coaches who want to: • Design practices that show up on match day • Move beyond technique-first, drill-heavy coaching • Understand learning, not just copy methods • Coach with clarity, confidence, and intent If you’re ready to challenge convention and coach in a way that matches how players really learn, you’re in the right place.

Information

  • Creator
    My Tennis Coaching
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    104
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © My Tennis Coaching
  • Show Website
    My Tennis Coaching Podcast

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