Photo credit: David Gray-AFP-Getty
Coaching is teaching—it’s also an educational experience for the coach.
Reflecting on his brief stint coaching Novak Djokovic, former No. 1 Andy Murray said he learned a valuable lesson about himself.
In a new interview with The Tennis Mentor, Murray said he learned Grand Slam king Djokovic was “looking for a lot of technical feedback.”
The two-time Olympic gold-medal champion said he realized, he wasn’t comfortable coaching technique—an area he believes “most ex-players are sort of weak at.”
“I think, first of all, you learn a lot about your weaknesses. It's very different being a player and a coach, which I expected,” Murray told The Tennis Mentor. "Obviously when you're working with someone at that level, it probably shows your strengths but also your weaknesses as a coach.
“And something I'd say most ex-players are sort of weak at is the technical side of the game. And at times, you know, Novak was looking for a lot of technical feedback, and it was something I didn't really feel comfortable with. “
To strengthen his ability to coach technique, Murray said he’s reached out to respected coaching technician Louis Cayer, who coached both Andy Murray and Jamie Murray, to potentially coach his coaching.
“Like, one in terms of how to teach somebody technique, I think that coaches that work with younger players are are used to doing that are actually stronger than a lot of the coaches that work on Tour,” Murray said. “Because once a player is sort of 20, 22 years old, you’re not trying to overhaul their game and technique. It’s like little changes here and there. So that was something I definitely—if I was going to coach again in the future—I’d want to work on and learn from someone who’s very good at that.
“Louis Cayer is one of the coaches who I worked with during my career on the technical side and he’s fantastic. He’s someone who I’ve reached out to since my time with Novak to potentially get some coaching for my coaching on that side of things.”
Asked if he will coach again, Murray said he believes he will when the right situation presents itself.
“I think I would if it was the right sort of project. I would enjoy working with a younger and player and sort of trying to influence them from a younger age,” Murray said. “I’d obviously try to help any of the British players if they want and if it worked. I think I would coach again in the future.
“I’m just not sure if that would be in the immediate future. I was not planning on going back on the road when Novak called. I was not missing tennis and desperate to get back on the road, but it was a pretty unique opportunity. I think at some stage I would like to do it again.”
Known as one of the sharpest tactical minds on Tour during his playing days, Murray attributes his tactical acumen to two primary factors: His mom and math.
“At school, I really enjoyed doing math. It was the one subject I was really engaged in at school,” Murray told The Tennis Mentor. “When it comes to tennis, my mom [Judy Murray] was always more sort of encouraging like learning to play the game like finding different ways to win points and using different skills.
“She wasn’t so much focused on technique, which you know all coaches are a bit different. But she was always encouraging us to play the game and learn how to find ways to win, basically.
“And I remember when I went to Spain when I was 15. Because I was quite good as a junior I ended up training with a lot of the senior professionals. And at that stage I wasn’t able to physically keep up with them. So I had to find different ways of winning, which wasn’t just based on power and strength. And that was where I think I kind of took that to the next level.”