Last time I wrote here was just before Acapulco where Stan made the quarters before falling to Kyrgios in 3 sets in the quarters. Nick went on to win the title.
The following US hardcourt season was ok for our team but off course we would have liked to have some better results. I was with Stan in Indian Wells where we had 2 really hard fought wins before falling to Federer. He played simply too good.
A quick turnaround to Monte Carlo where Stan had a solid win in the first round before falling in 3 sets in the second round. A tough loss as I felt he was hitting the ball well. He served for the match at 5-4 in the second set.
Now we are recharging with hopefully a good week of training together with the whole team. Really looking forward to that. After the training week there are the Masters 1000 tournaments in Madrid and Rome where Yannick will be with Stan.
If we look at the type on injury Stan had and the complex surgery that was carried out it is apparently a miracle that he is competing at this level again after speaking to a few doctors. We are happy with where we are but we want more off course.
During the last few weeks I have also been involved planning the Swedish coaches mentorship program as well. We had a full day at Good to Great Tennis Academy together with 14 coaches. Maria Strandlund Tomsvik is in charge of the program this year and she is doing a great job.
The day at the academy included talks from Johan Hedsberg, Ali Ghelem, Dejan Zlicar and myself. We also had sessions on the court and in the gym. I hope that the participants could bring something valuable with them back home.
On that note I’m also happy to announce that I will be oneof the speakers at the 2019 Tennis&Medicine conference in Stockholm. Enter through the website.The academy is running well. Or actually I don’t know what the definition of a successful academy is. Is it the filling rate? Is it results by the players? It is satisfaction among employees? How should we define success? I don’t know. But what I do know is that it hurts in my stomach when players, that are in our program, is having a tough time and not getting the results they hope for. Or are not happy with what we do. That must mean something. We have been very late to announce the summer camps as there has been big uncertainty about the outdoor courts. Now we have a green light and the summer camps for competitive players will be at 4 different dates. You can find more information about the camps here
We hosted Champions Bowl Sweden for boys and girls 12 years old. A great weekend with many quality matches. The finalists will go all inclusive with Good to Great Tennis Academy to the world finals in Umag Croatia.
On a more personal development note my philosophy is to keep learning. Keep improving and keep looking forward. Whats my next step? How can I help my players better? What can I change? What do I need to improve? What do I need to do when getting older to stay healthy and ”on my toes”? One reflection that I have made is that I have been on a tennis court since 10 years old. As a coach and before as a player. It takes energy. Left everything out there. Sometimes more than what’s been healthy for me. I realize that I love helping others. It fits my personality better than actually playing. Im trying to wrap my head around how I can save energy to help others with passion and stay involved for many more years as I love what I do. Perhaps a smart move would be to redirect my focus away from from day to day coaching and interaction with athletes 365 days of the year, to coaching coaches and consulting with players and help development that way. It is a struggle in my mind still however as my passion is to see the daily grind. To have the fingers involved in all the details. To see people and players grow their game and develop day to day and week to week. But perhaps it might be a smart move keep my mind fresh and to be able to stay involved with passion for the rest of my life. Im just not interested in just coaching for the sake of coaching. I need projects to stay passionate. It gets me going. The future will see what life has in store. Anyway. Enough about tennis:)
My hobby Triathlon? Yes, actually did my first race of the season on Sunday in Cannes International Triathlon. The race was a 2000m swim-110 km bike-16 km run race. Mass start and Australian exit for the first time in my life. I ended up in 6h4min after a very tough bike.
Im quite happy with the race. Despite Arthritis in the knee and the fact that I haven’t been able to practice a lot of hours because of work etc I must say I was quite satisfied finishing the race. Thanks to PT and Naprapath, Louise Svaton, for helping me with my knee. Next races will be some local races in Sweden when time allows and if the knee allows.
Hope you guys will enjoy the clay court season. I will keep you updated from our camp.
Magnus
