Coaches' View: The Benefit of the Doubt

Right where I was aiming...!

  It's very interesting how two people can look at the same situation and perceive two totally different outcomes.    Oh so many thoughts come to mind right now.  I am trying to teach sportsmanship to a group of young people right now.

I have to say that tennis is a great sport to use as a vehicle to teach sportsmanship.  Recreational tennis is one of the few sports that is usually played with out an official present on court.  Players must call their own lines and are on their 'honor' to make fair line calls.

A good coach will prepare his or her players to face this situation.  Players are supposed call their own lines on their side of the court. And the rule is If you aren't certain if the ball was in or out, you are supposed to give your opponent the 'benefit of the doubt' and call the ball in.

Making fair line calls and handling the pressure of competition is difficult for an 8 or 9 year old.  Sometimes its difficult for a teen or adult, too...!   I tell my players to give their opponents the benefit of the doubt on the first 'close' line call.  It's not worth an argument or disagreement as to whether the ball was on the line or not.  But if you see a blatant line bad call of six inches or more I would politely question the call, and if I experienced what I consider a third bad call then I would just ask a tournament official or coach to come over.

Parents are not supposed to become involved in the matches.  But this can be an overwhelming situation for a young person.  Coaches should prepare their players (and parents) to face difficult circumstances like this and I believe tennis is one of the best sports for character building.

Tennis teaches so many life skills.  Playing with integrity, and giving someone the benefit of the doubt are just a couple of the life skills you can learn.  Don't BE a character.  PLAY with character.  You'll be gad you did.

I try to blend a healthy dose of character building as well as technique and strategy into my coaching sessions.  I want to prepare my athletes to be able to handle themselves well on the court and in life.

My main coaching location is the Columbia Lakes Tennis Center in West Columbia, but I have satellite coaching locations in Lake Jackson, Angleton, Alvin, and League City, too.

Please check out my website for more information:  http://chadwelltennis.com 

See you on the courts,

Coach Sam Chadwell, 713-818-9109