Courtside with Stuart Wilkinson

Stuart Wilkinson is a highly experienced tennis coach with a Level 4 tennis coaching qualification. He has worked with players from grass roots to internationally ranked players and has been involved in coaching at Grand Slam events and five Paralympic Games. His coaching philosophy is centred around inclusivity, aiming to help everyone find a way to reach their potential.

We caught up with him to chat about his experiences to date and his role at Middlesex Tennis 10U Performance Coach.

What is your coaching philosophy?

Inclusivity, creativity and reliability

What certifications or qualifications do you have?

Level 4 performance coach

UK Sport Elite Programme graduate

How do you structure your training sessions?

Warm up (physical/mental), focus point of the lesson (maybe technical or tactical or both), some drills on a loop, followed by points then debrief and cool down.

How do you assess a player’s skill level and track their progress?

From a county perspective I use the talent characteristics form LTA, as a broad overview – from an individual coach in addition to that I am able to have more contact time with players so can monitor technical or tactical progress in conditioned drills, matchplay and finally results (this is the last piece of the jigsaw NOT the most important piece in junior age tennis).

What strategies do you use to motivate unmotivated or difficult players?

Be creative on the exercises so as not to be overly repetitive. Always try and relate the exercise back to the game – using pro players as examples as well as other junior players that may know from an older category. This shows them that every player has been at the stage they are now at some point.

Work with the player to help them to produce ideas for their training, their game style – involve the player in decision making.

Can you describe a successful coaching experience you’ve had?

I have been very lucky to have worked with some successful players – Pete Norfolk winning a Gold medal in Beijing Paralympics, Andy Lapthorne winning quad wheelchair US Open, and most recently, Alfie Hewett winning 3 Grand Slam singles titles and 10 Grand Slam doubles titles with me as his coach.

Equally, I value winning the County Cup with the 10U squad last year, and also the older lady I coach at my club making her first appearance in the ladies 3rd team.

Everyone has their own dreams or goals.

How do you stay updated with the latest developments in tennis?

CPD courses through the LTA, Middlesex Tennis and online workshops.

What do you believe are the most important skills for a tennis player to develop?

Resilience

Ability to move, balance and weight transfer

Ability to control their racket on all scenarios (racket skills)

How do you handle conflicts or disagreements with players or parents?

I try where possible to understand from their point of view, share similar experiences form my coaching journey to help explain my point of view. I am always fair, firm and not biased.

What are your future goals as a coach?

I’m pretty lucky to have achieved a lot of my goals in tennis, but I want to help grow Middlesex Tennis and help as many people as possible on their journeys.

And finally, your 40 second quick fire volley questions…