I was speaking with Steve McGlouchlin, head coach for Leeds High Performance Tennis Centre, about identifying new players to join the programme, and we got on to the topic of what do we look for in new talented players. Steve has worked as a tennis coach for many years and has developed some strong players.

Current talent ID models are very much geared towards statistics, data collection and athletic attributes. When I asked for steve’s thoughts he said simply that an individuals timing was the key. By this he referred to timing of the tennis stroke and movement to the ball. To identify this Steve uses a range of hand-eye and foot-eye co-ordination drills.

Alongside timing the other factors that both of us agreed on were mental strength and body awareness.

The importance of the psychological aspects of competition are well documented. What is the value of identifying an individual with exceptional athletic ability if they do not have the will or determination (amongst other qualities) to succeed at the highest levels. The last element that I particularly feel is important is one of body awareness. There are clearly genetic factors that play a part in an individuals athletic potential, however from my perspective the ability for an individual to have control over their body segments within coaching scenarios and then move this into the competitive arena is key. So for example the ability for them to move their hips into a certain position to initiate a deadlift or squat at the basic level, through to sport specific postures at a more complex level and then applying these within the sport at an even more complex level. The diagram below shows the importance that has been placed on the psychological factors by soviet talent ID models in the past as well as the performance factors.