The excitement of the men’s Wimbledon final is fast approaching and some of us are hoping for another Murray win. But he is going to need drive, stamina and support to get his hands on the coveted silverware, as well as a jolly good coaching team behind him.
Andy Murray has seen more success on the courts in the past few years than any other UK player, but he has had a turbulent ride with this coaching team. He was said to have been deeply wounded by the departure of Ivan Lendl, and had to part company with several others who have been friends not just coaching staff. And his latest coach Jonas Bjorkman has just been quoted as saying that Novak Djokovic is the ‘favourite’ to win this year; quite a confidence filler.
So how do these changes and disturbances within a support team affect the overall performance of an individual? And could it be said that if there had been more stability behind the scenes his trophy cabinet would have welcomed many more new additions?
The relationship you have with your coach, regardless of industry or level, is one of confidence and trust. Your head should be clear of issues and focused on the task at hand. You need to be able to relate to them in ways that motivate you and allow you to discuss and explore your thinking without fear. It should also help you with understanding your behaviours and what makes you react. This could be supported through an analysis programme such as Clarity4D, to give a profile of your personality, which could be measured against that of those around you, to help facilitate understanding and team working.
We are all looking for success in our lives, and it is often the behind the scenes support that we surround ourselves with that makes the difference between the ‘success’ and the ‘could have been’ situations. Having an understanding of our own behaviours and that of our team gives us a winning edge over our competitors and develops inclusion, determination and cohesion to enable any hurdle to be overcome and any competition to be won.
You need to get your head in the game if you want to win; so make sure you have the coach and team behind you to make it happen. Let’s hope Murray’s recent coaching changes allow him to do just that.