CHAPTER 1 Introduction

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "CHAPTER 1 Introduction"

Sharon Stokes
5 years ago
Views:

1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction 23

2 WIN, BUT PLAY BADLY It is not only in padel that we come across countless armchair pundits, with every Tom, Dick and Harry offering up their opinions on what it means to play well, to play attractive padel, to play stylishly, to be successful and other assessments along the same lines. I am often asked which I think is the best pairing in the sport, and my answer is simple: whichever is at number 1 in the rankings. Right now, while I am finishing this book and for more than eleven years now, that is Juan Martín Díaz and Fernando Belasteguín. If a pairing always wins most of their matches then there is no doubt about it, they are the best. They may not be the most stylish, or the pairing that people pay to watch, but they are the best. This is where we speculate, and discuss match philosophies. Just as in other sports, padel has its own way of measuring points, and determining the winner; whoever has won most games, and at least two sets wins. As such it becomes very easy to figure out who 'the best' is. Stylishness, beauty and taste are entirely subjective, nothing more. In padel, positive opinions on particular moves or shots are ten a penny, shots like when players hit the ball out the door with a drop shot, or when a player runs off the court to recover a ball that has been 24

3 hit over the side of 3-metres. Both of these shots are absolute corkers and there is no doubt that these crowd-pleasers have, in the eyes of an amateur, a far broader appeal than the ease with which Fernando Belasteguin plays his lobs, even against incoming balls that seem nearly impossible. In football you get the same discussions about taste, the beautiful game, and results. Effectiveness is a virtue that I appreciate, and as a trainer and former player, I only focus on getting a favourable result out of a match. I do not care how much applause I get, because if I won, I was the best. In matches, style and technique should be there to serve effectiveness, they should be tools that help you win, meaning that you can be stylish yet also be effective. Playing a beautiful game is not always synonymous with not getting good results. An example that I like which helps people understand the difference between technique and applied technique is with martial arts. In karate, one way of evaluating someone who wants to move up a level (in this case to the next belt colour) is using kata, which are a sequence of movements which link together a series of attack and defence techniques, which can be carried out without the need for an opponent, and are evaluated by judges who either pass or fail the competitor. Now, if someone who passed the kata has to take his or her fighting exam against someone that did not pass, in theory he or she should win, right? Well in reality, they may lose, because they came up lacking in other qualities that go beyond technique, but that the opponent does possess. In padel, there is no panel of noteworthy judges who award the game to one pairing or another according to the skills shown by each side, after a series of points have been played. If that were the case, then other trainers and I would train our players completely differently to how we train them now, with an eye to winning the match by working out how to best attract the attention of the judges. A lot of people think, that beyond the desire to win, a player is also obliged to put on a show or else nobody would go to watch matches at tournaments. In this case, the players' associations and federations would be responsible for ensuring, through changes and modifications to the rules, that the sport was attractive enough and that people enjoyed attending matches. 25

4 All sports have modified their rules over time, since our job as trainers is precisely to bend the rules as far as we can to suit the characteristics of our players and achieve the best possible results. Football incorporated a rule to limit goalkeepers to holding on to the ball for a maximum of seven seconds, to avoid them speculating and timewasting. Picking up a ball that has been kicked to the goalkeeper by a player on the goalie's own team is also not allowed. Basketball has a rule whereby if a team does not attempt a shot (1) after 24 seconds with the ball, it concedes possession. If this rule did not exist, then the Harlem Globetrotters would be able to take down the Lakers, they would only have to score one two point goal, and then all they would have to worry about would be holding onto the ball until the end of the match. Imagine how boring that sport would turn out. When I was young I played a sport called tenis criollo, an Argentinian sport similar to lawn tennis. Now known as tenis con paleta, it is played in some areas of the interior of Argentina and at some social clubs in Buenos Aires. While it remains an amateur sport, it boasts a strongly results-based culture. No value is placed on playing 'pretty', purely on who wins and who loses. Also due to the culture of this sport in particular, you'll rarely come across players who don't put their hearts in it, or what we tend to call chokers (players who wilt under pressure), since the temperament and the fighting spirit of the game are it's most defining features. Like myself, there are other players from this sport who went on to work in padel. One great example is Sebastián Nerone, who used to come to the little school I had for several years in the Club Comunicaciones in Buenos Aires. Other players include Julio Nigrelli (my friend and playing partner), Cubito Asnaghi, Armando Sarachu, who were among the top players around the year It was this cultural training I got from tenis criollo that made me focus my attention on winning. When I started out in padel, I was (1) The 1956 FIBA rule was brought in to make the game more dynamic. Its was triggered by a match between Hungary and the USSR where the latter team was in possession for more than thirteen minutes without taking a single shot at the basket. 26

5 undoubtedly one of the less polished players who still performed reasonably well. This was made even more obvious by the fact that the majority of padel players at that time were ex-tennis players. They had technique, style and class, but when the match started, lots of them hit all their shots out. They did not compete well. Let me tell you that my first tournament was in the fourth division (it went from first to sixth) and I won it without dropping a set. I turned up with my partner, we borrowed rackets (I did not even own a racket, they were very expensive), and we won every single match. The finals were all held in one afternoon, with the final of each division played back to back. I stayed on with my partner (who was Gustavo Soltz at that time, another friend from tenis criollo) to see the game as it should be played, to watch the very best players. That is where I saw Alejandro Lasaigues win the second division, he never stopped running and his performance and his game really caught my attention. Clearly I had a good eye, since he would certainly go on to win a thing or two The final of the first division put the Maquirriain brothers (Gustavo and Javier) up against Horacio Álvarez Clementi and Marcelo Cubas. This one was on a whole other level. It was an incredible match, featuring an epic comeback from the Maquis. I enjoyed that match tremendously and I think it was thanks to what I saw that day that I started to devote myself even more wholeheartedly to the game. I had a lot to learn about technique, and everything else! Unfortunately back then there was no one to teach you, there were no trainers and I learnt by watching and asking myself so why did? about everything I was seeing. I think that is what set me apart from the rest. I observed and I analysed what I saw; others, perhaps, just watched. I think I learnt how to study games like this because it was the only option I had available to me, it was the only way I could learn, seeing as I never took a single class. Then I used to practise things on court, or even at home, and that was how I made my way. I believe that that path I had to go down in order to learn is what helped me know how to teach. But getting back to playing to win, I personally experienced a lot 27

6 of people complaining about me, saying I was awful, but always under their breath as they took second prize and I first. Many had excellent technique, but I beat them. I was awful, yet I beat them, and that is how it remained until I reached the top professional division, where my party was cut short. That was where I came up against the really good players, and it was down to my work ethic and my dedication that I was able to carve out a space for myself. In the year 1990 I started going to San Jorge Tennis Club (considered the cathedral of padel back then), where I was able to train with the best and I learnt a great deal. I remember afternoons together with Gustavo Maquirriain where we spent hours talking away on a court, just the two of us, mulling over moves and shots. I believe that without a shadow of a doubt, Gustavo was one of the great students of padel. He taught me so much, and I was lucky enough to share so much with him. My partner Julio Nigrelli was also very diligent with shots. As his technique was far superior to mine, he taught me a great deal and together we made each other stronger. 28

7 HAVE CLEARLY DEFINED OBJECTIVES I often train players, taking for granted that their main objective is Winning. I noticed, however, that certain players would play a particular shot over and over again because they liked it and enjoyed playing it, whether or not it proved effective and however high their success rate with it. Only when you have clear goals is it possible to do what is necessary in order to attain them. If players wish to be recognised as the most stylish and showiest player at their club, then they can work on specific moves or shots with a mind to achieving that goal. The contradiction is exposed though, when these same players become visibly annoyed upon losing a match, in spite of having received the most applause for their style of play. In such cases, should you ever happen to come up against a player in this vein, why not be a little cheeky? On seeing the player so annoyed at losing, I would go up to him or her with a big congratulatory hug for having achieved their goal. If they realise they are being hypocritical and their anger dissipates, I would then offer them my genuine congratulations. If, on the other hand, they take my hug as me being ironic and are still annoyed at having lost they need to: Reassess their goals. (See: Indulge yourself ) What I have just recommended you do here in this previous paragraph is something that I have done many times during my training career. I have trained students who get hooked on certain shots that just aren't effective. Sometimes they simply will not stop using them, even after we have already agreed that whatever shot it is just is not working. What I used to do with these students is go up to them at the height of their anger at losing and congratulate them on playing THAT shot, which had been a determining factor in the result. This tends to have a powerful effect on students and often serves as a trigger in them. You can make them see that what they are doing simply isn't working. Though you may end up triggering off quite the opposite reaction: they may decide to take their leave and never train with you ever again! SHORT, MEDIUM AND LONG-TERM GOALS One key in anything you undertake is being clear about where you want to get to, and what you are willing to do in order to get there. I do not like using the term sacrifice seeing as once you have 29

8 chosen a path; I do not believe that you can call it a sacrifice. Sacrifice is what all those people who hate their jobs do, working long hours, for low pay without ever having the chance to move on to something better. Those people make sacrifices. On the contrary, those of us who dedicate our lives to the paths that we ourselves have chosen are the lucky ones and I believe that at the very least, we should give it our all. EVERYONE HAS PROBLEMS, BUT THE DIFFERENCE LIES IN HOW WE DEAL WITH THOSE PROBLEMS Believe it or not, not every player aims at being number 1. While from the outside we may assume that all players want to become number 1, deep down inside, some simply do not. This is the greatest limitation of all. Not believing in yourself, not having the courage to give everything without knowing for sure what you will get back. This is where you will hear thousands of excuses from players; some fair, others made up, yet necessary for these players to be able to trick themselves into justifying their own mediocrity or weaknesses. Being the best is not for everyone. I do not want to get bogged down in sayings that belong in selfhelp books (of which there are more and more around), where they tell you that if you dream it intensely enough, then you will achieve it. There is plenty of that, and I believe that if one sets small goals and dreams small, then small things will come. For me, it is having clear objectives and dreaming big that will guide us on our paths and give us the strength to move forward despite the obstacles we may face in the process. I often train players who are very sensitive about everything. They feel like they are down on their luck if they get injured or have problems with their family or partner; problems that distract them from their objectives. I do not believe in this. Either the objective is not as clear or real as these players believe or claim, or they are readying their defence in case they are not able to reach the goal that has been set. (This is the nicest possible way of saying that they choke/freeze when the stakes are high). I have gone through many difficult moments with players on a personal level, where not only have they been able to live with those 30

9 problems but also, somehow, have managed to turn them into strengths. Many people believe that the life of number ones is exactly as we see in the movies; completely problem free. But it is not like that. Maybe just before playing in a final they receive some bad news about a family member, or perhaps they have a fight with their partner, but they always manage to focus on the match at hand, and win. "THEY ARE NEVER THINKING ABOUT THE THINGS THAT COULD MAKE THEM LOSE. THEY ARE ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES THEY HAVE TO WIN I usually say that the best are made of tougher stuff than the rest of us. They also have a higher threshold for pain or suffering. I believe that the peace and satisfaction they feel when they reach their objectives is greater than the troubles and sacrifice they have gone through on the way. This is the only way we can understand how they can play whilst injured, sick or broken-hearted or in the midst of personal problems. There are a thousand examples of this, but I will just tell you a couple. At the World doubles in Barcelona, 2012, Juan Martín Diaz and Fernando Belasteguin had to play against Maxi Sanchez and Marcello Jardim in the round of 16. I was walking through the changing room and the players' lounge, when I saw Juan Martín; he was lying down and had a fever. He was due to play one hour later, but didn't even look as though he was going to be able to get up. I remember telling him: Bye Juan, I'll see you at the hotel, I'm sure you're going to win anyway. And so it was. JMD won the match. The next day he lost in the quarterfinals against Gutiérrez-Poggi, who went on to be crowned champions. But not once, not even when he lost, did he ever tell me he was feeling poorly and that it was getting in the way of his game. "BE VERY HONEST WITH YOURSELVES, SET A GOAL AND TRY AND REACH IT At the Caja Mágica tournament in Madrid, Bela won in the quarterfinals with his elbow completely in bits. A month later he had 31

10 to have it operated on. In that match I was coaching Gabriel Reca and Agustín Gomez Silingo (they decided to go their separate ways after that). At the end of the match, Bela told me that he had wanted to hide it so that none of us would realise that he was injured. While he was no great actor, he was a fantastic player. I remember replying that even though we had noticed that he was injured, I had been sure that he was not going to lose because of it, and that he would not even feel it while playing; even less so during the pivotal moments of the match. In fact, I remember that he lost just four balls on account of it. In the other quarterfinal Bebe Auguste injured his calf muscle whilst warming up. He was playing against Willy Lahoz and Aday Santana. They got to the third set and 'el Bebe' was practically on one leg. At that moment, I could not tell you who, but someone told me they were sure he would have to abandon the match. I answered that not only was he going to finish it, but he was also going to win it, and so he did. He was not able to play against el Bela and Juan in the semifinal. They ended up getting through to the final where they beat Lamperti-Grabiel. Just like these there are a thousand other examples of overcoming adversity. I did not want to include any related to death or particularly serious cases since there is no point in dwelling on bad times, but as I said, the pain threshold and tolerance is greater amongst the best of us. 32

June 8, Q. Bernhard, you're of a certain age where I don't think the tour, the PGA Tour stopped in Philadelphia. BERNHARD LANGER: Correct.

June 8, Q. Bernhard, you're of a certain age where I don't think the tour, the PGA Tour stopped in Philadelphia. BERNHARD LANGER: Correct. PRE-TOURNAMENT INTERVIEW: June 8, 2016 BERNHARD LANGER ALEX URBAN: We would lake to welcome our two-time defending champion of the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, Bernhard Langer to the interview