South West Sydney Tennis

Good coaching isn’t about finding one “perfect” drill.

Different exercises are simply tools we can use to develop movement qualities.

The bigger goal is helping young athletes become more capable, confident and adaptable movers.

That’s the thinking behind Baseline Athletics.

Message me if you’d like information about the Foundation Athlete Program.

Sport-specific skills matter.

But underneath every footballer, tennis player or young competitor is an athlete who needs to run, jump, land, react, coordinate and adapt.

Develop the movement foundation first — then give them opportunities to express it through sport.

Build the athlete. Not just the player.

CTA: Message me for information about the Foundation Athlete Program.

Sport is rarely one isolated movement.

An athlete may jump, land, change direction, accelerate and react within seconds.

That’s why athletic development shouldn’t only build individual movements.

We also need to teach athletes how to connect them.

Structured drills are useful because they allow athletes to learn movement.

But sport doesn’t give athletes advance notice about what’s going to happen.

They have to see information, make a decision and move.

That’s why athletic development should eventually progress beyond completely predictable movement.

Save this for your next training session.

One of the most common things parents want their young athletes to improve is speed.

But speed isn’t simply telling a child to “run faster.”

Position, force, coordination, rhythm and exposure to sprinting all matter.

That’s why sprinting has a place within the Baseline Athletics development system.

Message me if you’d like information about the Foundation Athlete Program.

A drill isn’t the end goal.

We use jumping, landing, sprinting, changing direction and reaction work to build qualities that athletes can eventually use naturally in sport.

The goal isn’t simply getting better at the drill.

The goal is transfer.

Parents interested in the Foundation Athlete Program can message me for details.

Athletic development isn’t one exercise, one drill or one physical quality.

It starts with movement.

Then we develop control.

We learn to produce force, absorb it and redirect it.

We introduce reaction, decision-making and adaptability.

And eventually we ask the athlete to put it all together.

MOVE → CONTROL → PRODUCE → ABSORB → REACT → ADAPT → PERFORM

Build the mover.

Then build the athlete.

That’s what Baseline Behaviour is about.

Follow Baseline Behaviour for a different approach to athletic development.

Progression isn’t about finding the hardest-looking version of an exercise.

Start with the movement.

Develop control.

Increase the demand when the athlete is ready.

Then add speed, force, complexity, reaction and eventually application.

START → CONTROL → CHALLENGE → APPLY

The goal isn’t to make exercises harder.

It’s to make the athlete more capable.

Are you progressing movement — or just making exercises harder?

Fast feet aren’t much use if the athlete can’t respond to what’s happening around them.

Sport isn’t predetermined.

Athletes have to SEE what’s happening, DECIDE what to do and then MOVE.

That’s why athletic development shouldn’t only be about rehearsing movements. At some point, the athlete needs a problem to solve.

SEE → DECIDE → MOVE

How often does your training make you think?