Players Turned Coach. Does it Work?

Lendl, Connors, Mauresmo, now Agassi. What do they all have in common? They all were once top players now turned coaches. They have the experience, they have the talent, insight, and championship mentality for coaching current players on tour. With Djokovic announcing that Andre Agassi will be his next coach after his “shock therapy”, it got me thinking. Does their experience make current players become as legendary as they were?

At some point, most players just need an edge that can put them over the top of everyone else. Having the right mindset and backup on your coaching staff is key to understanding how you can win consistently against top ranked players. Nowadays, most of these coaches do not even need a second job. The average salary of a coach is 5,000 to 13,000 dollars a week. I would hope with that kind of money most coaches would be willing to travel with their player and give them the attention they need. “These are the first group of guys coaching who are independently wealthy and who don’t need the work,” said Courier. “They are choosing it because they want to, not because they need to, and that’s an interesting distinction.”

Personally, I’ve had coaches who have played both at the college and professional level. Each one has provided me with unique insight to improve my technical skills as well as my mentality throughout matches. But, I felt that I was still trying to find someone who could help me find my true game style instead of someone else’s. Professional players must have the same trouble. A player needs to create their own unique playing style that someone can help enhance in order to compete. Former pros can take your game and tweek it to make sure that you can become the high caliber player you want to become. I believe former pros can help and make you a better player through their insight and experience.