|
|
12th August:
Rounding up Malcolm Willstrop week
with a look at how Malcolm motivates his players, and Malcolm as you've
not seen him before ... |
 |
Malcolm WILLSTROP
THE ECCENTRIC GENIUS
|
 |
MENTAL SUPPORT
What do you say, or would you say to your players before a match?
I tell you what, what I find helpful when I’m not there is text messages.
By nature, they are concise, to the point.
Let’s take the example of Lee
in Bermuda. For some reason, Lee has got problems with [Joe] Kneipp. So I
remember I gave him specific advice on how to play like, break his rhythm,
as bit of tactics, and also I told him “you will definitely beat him”
because Lee probably needed confidence boosting as well (I knew that the
previous matches had been tight), things like “you’ve got a good draw,
don’t waste the opportunity”.
Lee doesn’t respond to my texts, he is not a
responder, but he likes getting them. For the final, Dave [Palmer] had had a hard
five setter the night before, so my message was “seize the moment, it’s
your chance for another big title, make him run, no mistakes, and think
positive”. Quite heavy but positive stuff.
And for James?
With James, I’ll text James about matches, but he will nearly always ring
me, because he is much more of a communicator, so he will actually ring me
before a match when I’m away. We’ll talk briefly, and he’ll ask the
tactical advice but he knows how to play most of the main players in the
tactical sense because we discuss it.
For instance, in Kuwait, when he
beat John [White], I’d said to him, for several months, that I fell that the first
of the big players he could beat was John. He knew I believed that, I
think he believed it himself. I always felt that John was vulnerable to
James, John plays a slightly open game, and if you open a game, I believe
that James is probably one of the best in the world, no disrespect to
John.
When a player is not playing at his best,
what do you advise him to do?
I always tell a player “you are not going to play brilliantly for five
games, or even three games, it doesn’t happen, because there is somebody
stopping you, preventing you from producing the complete performance in
terms of sustained brilliance.
There is no reason why he should be
brilliant all the game, and if he starts badly or whatever, things can
turn and change, as long as you don’t start shaking heads, and giving the
wrong signals. Just play through it, do the right things and from a bad
spell will emerge a good spell. And when they are practicing I do the
same.
So if they have a series of practices where they are not getting tight, or
straight, whatever they are working on, I say “that can happen in a game,
now you’ve got to rectify that, and get it on course, on line.”
So they do it in practice, and they transfer that into the game, same
mental process. And you don’t give up on it just because you started
badly. You often see games where somebody loses the first game 9/0 or
whatever, and comes back, if they have a right mental approach.
|
|
DAVID CAMPION
As you are aware, Malcolm is very strict
with his pupils, high standards of behaviour and discipline on and off court are right at the very
top of his list.
Over the years I have seen Malcolm bollock all of his players, but I have
yet to see him as angry as he was with me on this particular late night
/early hours episode ...
MALCOLM AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE
|
|
The Willtrops at
Wimbledon
As a general rule, I don’t like exhibition matches.
But I must say, the Willstrops know how to entertain.
|
|
|
|
THE LAST WORDS ...
Anything I missed?
I wouldn’t like anybody to think I don’t coach average players. In my
club, I coach everybody. I just hope that in all things surely, the
whole conversation we just had shows that I love the game.
Still
passionate about the game then, Malcolm?
Oh yes, I love squash, I love the game.
|
 |
|
 |
Photo of the Day:
Party Time at Pontefract
2000
Also see:
The Gallery
|
|
BERNARD PIVOT
QUESTIONNAIRE |
|
What is your
favourite word?
What is your
least favourite word?
What turns you on, creatively,
spiritually or emotionally?
What turns you off?
What is your
favourite curse word?
What sound or noise
do you love?
What sound or noise
do you hate?
What profession other than yours
would you have liked to attempt?
What profession would
you not like to do?
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at
the Pearly Gates? |
Hey
Scenario
Music
Lack of consideration
Bollocks
Violins
Burping
Writer or Musician
Accountant
Lesley is here |
| |
|
|
from August 2004 |
|
