Here in the states we have the kids in the developmental stage when they are in middle and high school, so it’s not only about the tennis player and it’s not only about competition. We want to reinforce that the persons make the effort of trying to become the best that they can be.

Asking former players like Dimitrov, Murray and Kuznetsova what it was like for them to be at the academy, they all talk about what values they experienced. They talk about how it made them stronger. If you are a parent that is what you want from your kids. You want them to have strong values and a strong character to face adversity and difficulties in life.

Tennis is so demanding that it brings you to the edge every single time. So, if you get used to through shots, patterns, situations and practices to create good habits you are going to work on your character.

It’s about the hard work, the discipline and the respect. We embrace those values on a daily basis as they will stay with you for life. It’s not necessarily what is said, but it is what is done. Therefore, you need to be an example. You need to be a mirror. It doesn’t make sense that you praise hard work and you don’t show up. Discipline, if you arrive late. You have to go with whatever you say that you are and then show it every day.

The effort, even for the player who really desires to be top players cannot be taken for granted. They are doing normal school plus they are doing tennis. That’s a lot of effort for a kid. Already putting in maximum effort in school that is already very tiring and very tough. In some moments of course the kids are going to be very tired, some moments they are very off and some other moments they are very disappointed.

What’s important is that we are there on the court to help them give the best that they have in the situation. At the end the key is not to be the best on the days where everything comes out. The days where everything is flawless and perfect takes care of themselves. What happens when you have a headache, when you feel bad or when you have a huge problem are you then able to give your best on the day? – That’s what really matters. We have to learn how to do our best on the days where we are 50 or 60 percent of our maximum. We have to learn how manage ourselves to perform the best when we are not feeling the best. That’s one of the things that some of the better players are really good at. Even when they play terrible, compared to their own standard and level, most of the time they find a way to win.