There is no easy way to coach a champion, because being a champion isn’t easy. 

Celtic FC didn’t win the SPL title on talent alone – it took hard work, motivation and commitment.  The same applies to Roger Federer.  He doesn’t dominate world tennis by sitting on his bum between tournaments.  He is constantly driving, striving to be better than the rest.  To quote a cliché, it takes blood, sweat and tears.

Tennis is a particularly relevant sport to highlight this fact.  Sampras, Nadal, Hingis and Williams – they are winners because they have the fire, the fury, the killer instinct.  Talent is necessary but it isn’t enough.  Allen Belobrajdic knows this.  He has been at the top end of the tennis world, and has put in the work to get there. 

The name may not be familiar, but before a career ending injury, Belobrajdic was closing in on being one of the world’s best.  Competing on a junior circuit containing the likes of Mark Philippoussis and Lleyton Hewitt, he became Australian National Champion six times, and was number one in the world at under-14.  He turned pro and made the senior tour, but a chronic shoulder condition forced him to retire from tennis in his early twenties.

That was a decade ago, and tennis has changed a lot since then, certainly in Scotland.  With Andy Murray leading a bandwagon of gifted, gritty Scots, the world is starting to take note.  But, despite the recent glut of talent coming through our system, there is still much work to be done, according to Belobrajdic, who is now enjoying his role as one of Tennis Scotland’s Head Performance Coaches.

In The Winning Zone wanted to hear Allen’s opinions about what he could bring to the courts of Scotland using his experiences from back home in Australia.  So, sitting down with him at his base in Scotstoun Leisure Centre, Glasgow, he let us know his thoughts.  And he didn’t hold back

“There is a serious lack of fitness, and a concerning lack of self-belief.  There is no real killer instinct that I can see.  That was something I had a lot of, and I know how important it is.  But everything that I comment on is based on international standards, because that is where I spent most of my career.”

He continued: “I think that there is a big emphasis here on technique, which is fine, you do need that, you do need to know how to hit the ball, but I think the psychological and physical aspects are neglected – up to the point where the players may fall behind when they reach the international scene.”

Criticising local youngsters against the standard of an international athlete may seem harsh, but this is the reason why Belobrajdic was brought to Scotland: To bring young players up to scratch, and make them capable of competing at the highest level.  These aren’t regular club players Allen is talking about – these are the potential stars of the future.  He has a right to be concerned that they aren’t on a par with what he sees as the benchmark. 

Motioning with his hand where he expects ‘elite’ players to be, he said: “I thought to myself ‘If these kids have a burning desire to be here, but they are way down here, they have a long way to go.’  They are already in their teens, so there is not a lot of time for them to get up there quickly, so I have been given no choice but to accelerate their development.”

His techniques aren’t exactly foreign or unheard of, but they are different.  Allen believes that one of the most important steps towards becoming a true competitor is core fitness, because with that comes the mental edge over your opponent.  So he works his students hard.  Not too hard, he insists, but certainly to their limits.

“One of the biggest psychological boosts they can plant in their conscience is knowing that they are fitter than their opponents. If they know they have done more than the players in England, Ireland, Wales and abroad, they are going to be feeling confident.  And I know that because I knew I had to be super fit as a player. I remember my opponents always used to joke that they had brought an extra pair of shoes with them, as they knew I was going to work their butt off all over the court.”

Fitness is an obvious benefit.  Everyone nowadays knows that a healthy body means a healthy mind, which is the crux of Allen’s ideology.  It makes sense.  He knows it, and, he says, so do the players, their parents and their coaches.  Unfortunately all it takes is one individual to disagree with the elevated benchmark for everything to fall to pieces.

“The vast majority of parents and kids say that I have helped them significantly.  They really appreciate what I have been doing.  However if there’s one person who can’t handle it, whether it be a player, a coach, or a parent, an issue is raised with senior officials, and, owing to fear of a lawsuit, the benchmark is lowered once again.”

So, obviously, Allen is frustrated.  But let’s put it to the test.  You be the judge.  What is he doing, and why?

“As an example, a few weeks ago I said I wanted to work on physical and mental endurance.  So I got them to hit a lot of tennis balls. Hitting 1000 balls one after the other.  The next session was 1200, then 1400 and so on.  I got to 1600 and I was told I couldn’t do it anymore because they [the coaches] could not see the value in it.” 

So what is the benefit of such a programme that they couldn’t see?  “I did it myself at the age of eight [and these guys are at least 12].  I was practicing on a wall for two hours at a time.  The ball is coming back at me twice as hard, and the wall never misses.  Not only did it make my forearm stronger, but it helped my mind when I came onto the court.  I knew that I could just keep going without making a mistake, and people absolutely hated playing me, because the only way they could win against me was for them to hit a winner.  And how often could you do that against someone who is super fit, super fast, and who doesn’t miss?”

Again, Allen did receive genuinely positive feedback.  Most of the players saw the logic and agreed that they were improving their game.  “They were disappointed they couldn’t get to 2000 balls (the final goal after 3 weeks), because they knew they would have achieved something.  It was very tough, but they knew they were getting something out of it.”

And, he explained, that was only the beginning.  By working on their base fitness and perfecting their technique (through the on-site mentoring of other performance coaches), they could then move on to more advanced training later on in the season, safe in the knowledge that they had a solid platform upon which they could build their game.

“After that you progress on to your weapons.  You need weapons to win matches and that was my goal for the second half of the term.  You’ve got that base, that psychological stronghold, so you can sit back and say ‘I am not going to miss, now to win the point I am going to use my weapons, and I am still not going to miss.’ 

“Tennis is about winning.” He continued.  “I do not care what anyone says - there are two people that go head to head on the court, and that court is a battlefield.  There is one winner and one loser.  No-one in there right mind wants to be a loser.”

Let’s listen to that again: “No-one in their right mind wants to be a loser.”  In that sentence alone it is blindingly apparent what Allen is trying to do.  He is trying to produce winners.  Not one single player on the ATP tour, male or female, has made it to where they are without putting in the effort.  That means training to near exhaustion.  It means hitting balls against a wall thousands and thousands of times.  It means listening to your coach and getting on with it. 

Allen Belobrajdic knows this.  He has done it.  His students, (well, most of them) know this too.  To get to the top you have to climb.    “That is what I am trying to instil in them, and they have acknowledged it.” He says.  Unfortunately, legislation has limited the impact he can have in his role. 

Andy Murray recently became one of the top ten tennis players in the world.  And he has made massive leaps since taking on Brad Gilbert as his coach.  “I’m not going to say I am the same quality as Brad Gilbert,” admits Allen.  “But I think we have a similar approach in some areas.  I instil mental fortitude to those who want it, and to those who don’t.  At least I have given them the option.  You don’t get many chances in a match, so everything I do on and off court, I try to incorporate into a match situation, and I think that’s one of the many things that Brad would be trying to do as well.”

If Gilbert’s altogether similar techniques can get Andy Murray into the world’s top ten, wouldn’t it be worth loosening the reins a little and allowing Allen to have a little more influence on his players?  The formula works.  The template is there.  Maybe it should be allowed to develop.

RO

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