How to coach padel*

*Or any other complex, uncertain, variable… sport

The philosophical style has often led me to hear the words: “OK, Martí, I agree with you. But how do I do it? How do I put all this theory into practice?”

Few days ago, a padel coach sent me a long message. In short, he explained his situation in Sweden to me and, concerned, concluded that: “I largely share the vision but it is very difficult for me to apply it with the type of student and type of training that is proposed to this day in many Swedish clubs. What do you think would be the best way to deal with classes with groups of adults?”

I set out to give him some answer, I made an attempt —failed— to put philosophy aside and gave him my point of view. I would describe it as a general recipe for how I understand padel training. If it weren’t for the contradictions, what would become of our sad life?

I am attaching it below. I am talking about padel but it could refer to all other sports. Don’t expect the secret of garlic soup; I only discuss some situations, tips, examples and tasks. I am someone who would be satisfied with coming close to reach the lowest level of Marcelo Bielsa reasoning but barely surpasses Robez’s highest one.

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What I would do if I were in his place

“[Name of the coach]!

Your question makes me think of Nassim Taleb and his quote: “Taleb, I get the point, but what should I do? If you get the point, you are pretty much there.”

First of all, I am pushing it to teach, as you say, “in a less automated and robotic way and more to teach in a more global and analytical way” not because I like it or it is my opinion. But it’s science... and when I’ve tried it, it has worked really well.

You must know this well: the INEFC —National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia—, is a bar… but also a university! And there are things that we coaches still do today that are more than proven —scientifically— to make no sense. But, many times, the bridge between university —theory— and practice is non-existent. Science has a bad connotation... and I think we’re wrong. We defend our ideals (we don’t even question them!), afraid to change, and it does us more harm than good.

This, added to the fact that the popular life of padel is just beginning, I think has led to the fact that there are many coaches who know a lot about padel (they were former players) and nothing about pedagogy or learning processes. Myself, if I look around me: the only studies of the coaches around me has been in the federation’s coaching courses, for the most part of them. And I think we’ll agree that it’s not where you learn more about it... because almost everything is based on opinions and biased realities. Later, I’ll send you a chapter of evidence based facts on learning and teaching… and it is funny to me because most padel coaches do the opposite.

In fact, this is what has led me to be a weirdo. With a paper by John Kiely, Periodization Theory: Confronting an Inconvenient Truth, I realized that I was a “monkey”. That many of the things I did were because it had always been done that way and had never been questioned. This gave me a lot of headaches but it also gave me more freedom and power: to have knowledge, to know why things happen, to understand it.

In relation to what you comment on the short and long term is curious. A more global, more “complex” methodology... does not give you the placebo in the short term but the results are seen in the long term. In fact, many times, we coaches become obsessed with technique, to learn it quickly. What you comment about “the problem is that better results in the short term does not mean better efficiency and performance in the medium-long term” I think is what happens to coaches who understand the game as a collection of technical shots, as if it is a purely “technical” sport. That the player learns the technique quickly has no guarantee, it deceives us in the short term... because what is truly important is perception and how you link it with action.

One of the pillars of a complex systems approach is that there are no recipes. What means? I won’t tell you what to do, but everything is based on a criterion, some principles. Understanding these principles means that, wherever you are and whoever you are with, you can find the best for them. And the final result, what you offer them, will be different in Sweden or Catalonia, with amateur or competitive players... but the principles for reasoning and making decisions are the same. The best guide is the paper Training or Synergizing? where the methodological principles are proposed with which you can analyze each context. It must be read —3 or 4 times to understand it well—, it is very difficult to summarize.

In relation to your scenario or your situation, maybe I can tell you what I would do... but I am not in your place. I don’t have all the information... so I don’t know if it will help you.

For me the first thing is the intention: Do you have pigs or chickens? In an English breakfast, pigs put their lives to make the bacon; hens, on the other hand, make only a small effort to lay eggs. If we mix pigs and chickens in a team, there will surely be problems. Why? Because the intentions are not aligned.