Juan Carlos Ferrero (Former Number one player in the world and French Open champion) coached Alexander Zverev for seven months in 20217. During the time that they spent together, Zverev maintained a top ten in the world ranking and a future champion status. However, early in 2018, Ferrero decided to leave the team saying that he had a lot of respect for Zverev’s talent, but that he had created too many distractions, and that he simply did not work as hard as someone who is aiming to win Grand Slam titles. Fast forward a year or two, and Ferrero starts coaching an up an comer sixteen-year-old Spaniard who in Ferrero’s eyes wanted to reach the top of the game with all his might, and while he did not have the tactical and strategical discipline to string important wins together at the time, he had the athleticism, talent and the hunger to work and listen to anything that Ferrero would say to him at the time. The rest is history!! Alcaraz has put his name on that list that includes players who have won Slams and been number one in the rankings. The best parts are that he is putting the work to go after more, and the teary moments that are shared between him and the coaching box at the trophy presentations of the tournaments because he always tells the crowd how grateful he is for the patience and resiliency from his coaches on this difficult process.
Some months ago, the word OUTWORK started showing up on things that I would read or listen, and I have to admit that I have nearly fall in love with it because it gave a true explanation on the way that I have managed to make progress throughout life (in a lot of cases throughout the progress of players who have worked with me). Sometimes the progress has seemed miraculous because it has come in big leaps, but I do know that at the end of the day, it has always been the result of many small and constant efforts that have taken place. Outwork is our model. When a player or coach joins our sessions, the message is clear, we are out there to work harder than the field with effort, engagement, purpose and focus.
As we prepare to enter these last few months of 2023, I challenge every one of our warriors to purposely embrace a focus on working harder each and every time that their feet step on the court. I am curious to see what the future will bring to those who can commit to this goal.
See you on the courts!!
Image by Tatiana from Moscow | CC License (Wikipedia)
