Change is going to happen, did you cause it or are you the cause?

It’s funny how one day I am contemplating what makes me giggle then the next I am knee deep in the discussion of why we make changes. The word change evokes multitudes of thoughts. It can be as simple as the stuff we keep in the console of our cars or what we need to do with our clothes after a hard workout but the change I am speaking about is the paradigm shift that is occurring with the FSC tennis team. Change is part of life and happens every day but as a society we like things as our perceived normal and really don’t embrace it when something takes us out of our comfort zone. I am a creature of habit. I coach in a laid back style with most of my process being done on the practice court and through conversation with my players. This style has worked for me well but over the last couple years I have become too comfortable and putting the emphasis on what the players wanted to do versus what they probably needed to do. Being a realist I also decided that if they truly wanted to make changes with where they were they would initiate the process on their own. I was wrong. We have steadily declined in the national rankings over the past 3 years and that has not settled well with me. I really hate losing but really hate not reaching the full potential that I see available in my team. This led me to research my methods and see what I could do to help facilitate a change in the direction the team is headed. As creatures of habit change is a painful and not always fun process. We get comfortable with where we are and the way we approach what we do. We always feel that we are doing everything we can do and that maybe we just don’t have what it takes to make the next step. When we are honest with ourselves we know that there is more we can do, we know we can work harder, and we know that there are sacrifices we can make. But, damn that word, we then think what happens when I make those changes and I still don’t succeed? That in itself is one of the main reasons we stop right there. The fear of failure when we step out of the comfort zone keeps us from changing. If we keep the status quo we can justify our failure but as soon as we put in the extra’s and still fail what is the excuse then? That’s the problem; there then are no excuses and we must admit we failed. Change will happen but it doesn’t mean it creates success. Sometimes change teaches us that we need to make other changes but failure isn’t the problem. Failure is a great teacher because when the pain is great enough we will change out of necessity. The FSC men’s tennis team is my job and I too enjoy being comfortable. The process of changing the way I approach coaching is one of the most challenging and uncomfortable things I am currently tackling. I want my team to be as successful as they are capable of being but more importantly I want them to be as successful as they think they can be when they know they have done the work necessary. If I fail as a coach I can live with that when I know I have done everything possible to be successful. Sometimes success isn’t the wins or losses but getting people to become uncomfortable and realizing their comfort zone can be moved and that in time they will be better.