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TennisConsult received the following question from a tennis parent:

My daughter is 9 years old and she has a huge potential to do something in this sport.. A lot of coaches sees the same thing. Very tall, strong; her UTR is 5 but we have a huge problem. This great talent is not hardest worker out there. WHAT TO DO? Moving feet is a huge problem. Sometimes I think if you don’t have that hard work ethic in you from very young age you can’t just thing that you can teach that. I used to play soccer, but I was a grinder out the she is not. WHAT TO DO? We don’t want to waste her talent.

I asked TennisConsult experts David Mullins and Marcin Bieniek answer the question

David Mullins: You can cajole, demand, pressure, negotiate and talk with your daughter all you want about moving her feet but all will be short lived as she will doing it to please you and not herself. This approach can be effective in the short run but detrimental for her long term athletic and personal development. It sounds like the ball striking aspect of the sport has come relatively easily to her and maybe she has received too much praise for this ability too often, for too long (it is only one of many components that make a great player).

Due to this praise she may have lost some of her intrinsic motivation to play the sport as her performance or ball striking was praised rather than her effort. I would be very careful as a coach/parent telling a child of that age how good they could be if they just moved their feet! If winning and competing at a high level in the sport is that important to her then she will figure it out on her own and start moving her feet, if it is not, then it is just not that important to her, and that is okay, it is her life.

On a more practical level, maybe you make her tennis sessions shorter and purely focus on her effort level. The drills should focus on quick bursts of energy rather than long, drawn out crosscourt hitting etc. Over time she may build up her tolerance and be able to sustain her effort for longer. Maybe you give her a break from tennis and let her focus on some other sports and see if she misses playing tennis.

Your investment in terms of time and resources should match her commitment to the sport. If your commitment and effort is greater than hers, then that will cause further issues. Most importantly, I would only focus on praising her effort level, I would stay away from praising her talent. Be sure to read Carol Dweck’s research on the growth mindset.

Marcin Bieniek: Some kids have hard-work ethic from the beginning. It comes from their inner motivation to fight for everything. Of course environment has a big impact on kid’s character but there are also other factors that have to be considered while thinking about the reasons why one child is not as hard-working as other.

Sometimes work ethic has to be learned and all you need are involvement and patience. Every day kid has to hear how it is important to do own best as also it has to be shown by actions.

Let’s keep in mind that actions give stronger message than words so everyone who is working with your kid should reflect this approach. However the most important question is: Does your kid like playing tennis? If she does then you shouldn’t worry and you have to focus on the process. If she doesn’t then probably it is better to look for other sport where your kid will find inner motivation to give a little bit more.

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