Dad, what were you like in the 90s?

Back in the 90s Andy waterman played a lot of tennis.

“I loved it but I was clueless. I focused on what looked cool (Jim Courier’s forehand), and never thought about actually winning (the point). I didn’t understand how to progress, and after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory one too many times, I drifted into endurance sports, where the relationship between input and outcome was more predictable.

A couple of summers ago, I got the urge to pick up a racket again. Progress has been pedestrian, but it’s there: three decades in endurance sports teaches you the compounding value of showing up. And more than anything, I’ve grown to appreciate the benefits of play.

I’ve been reading a lot recently about Ecological Dynamics. Rather than focusing on technique, this approach moves straight to games, with the caveat that the games are constrained to encourage specific developments. This isn’t so dissimilar to Samuel Beckett writing in French before back-translating to English as a way of simplifying his vocabulary. In tennis, this constraints-led approach has worked wonders, making me think about my weaknesses and devise games that force me to challenge myself and ultimately, improve.

I recently qualified as an LTA Coaching Assistant, and at that level, it’s all about getting kids to start rallying asap. That’s interesting. I think of it like kids learning to speak: fluency comes first, accurate grammar comes later. It’s something I’m trying to use in other parts of my life too – you learn a lot more when the ball’s in play than you do between points, regardless of how inept those points look.”