"Losing is no tragedy. You accept it and you need to train more"
Coach of a Roland Garros champion Toni Nadal to discuss effort and self-improvement at Menorca Forum
David BARET, 14/07/2013
The coach. Always with the Roland Garros champion.
Numerous biographies published about the figure that is Toni Nadal say that he had given his nephew a racquet when he was three so that he could start with tennis but it seemed that Rafa preferred football. He might have become a professional, but when he was 12, his uncle told him straight out that he would achieve greater success if he continued with tennis. That was when he became his coach, his mentor, his support, his strategist and his emotional anchor. Talking about Toni Nadal means to talk, inevitably, about Rafa's career. From his launch in 2004, to his global triumph a year later, as the fourth youngest player in history to get his first Roland Garros in Paris. From that moment on, the rest is an epic of a world number one with a coach who knows a lot about effort, discipline, perseverance, self-improvement. The man from Manacor holds the James II of Aragon Award and the Royal Order of Sports Merit but in the eyes of the entire planet, his great recognition bears his blood and his name. Next Wednesday, on July 17th he will be in the Theatre Principal from 9 pm as a speaker at the second edition of the Menorca Forum.
I guess the first question should be inquiring about Rafa's knee ...
His knee is fine, thanks ....
What is the key to develop a great athlete: effort, humility, talent, environment?
Without hesitation I would tell you it’s talent. We have great athletes who have not put in too much effort and things are going fine. There are also great athletes who are not humble but have made a great career. To me, a common point is talent. Another different thing , when developing a person humility is really necessary, but in sport what prevails is talent.
And what has to be the greatest virtue of an athlete: technique, physical strength or mental strength?
It depends on the sport you are playing. If you dedicate yourself to tennis, mental strength is fundamental because it’s closely linked to errors. On the other hand, if you dedicate yourself to football it’s not necessary because your mission is to achieve a goal and you can afford to fail in eight consecutive pieces of play, but if the ninth one is good, you have the honor of being a great player. In tennis we don’t function this way. Each sport has its own requirements, you cannot generalize.
What is the greatest virtue of Rafa?
I think he’s more or less a complete player. His greatest virtue or what people point out about him is his mental strength, but I think if that hadn’t been accompanied by a good physique and a good technical quality, it wouldn’t have been enough. Interestingly, in the tennis world, those who are mentally stronger are technically stronger as well.
You work on his mental strength personally or you rely on a specialist?
I don’t rely on anyone. I’ve never sought aid from a sports psychologist to help hitting the ball, if that's what you mean. I understand it’s a sport, a game and to go quickly into search of an outside help, I think that’s one of the faults with this society. We go too easily into collaborations of little value. In the end, we play tennis and when we lose, it's no tragedy. We aim to accept a defeat and practise a bit more.
Winning is everything in the life of an athlete?
No, but it’s key. It would be very nice to say that personal satisfaction of an effort is already worthwhile, but unfortunately we know Rafael Nadal, Djokovic or Messi because they win, not for anything else. And on top of that, when you win you have good time, make money and feel better. By this I mean that winning is very important, no doubt about it.
To be a champion, you need to carry it in your genes?
I don’t know. I think it's a bit of what I’ve commented before. You need to have talent, but as Picasso said, when inspiration arrives, it should catch you working. If you carry in your genes or your blood a lot of talent but you don’t work, it’s no good either.
What match is the most difficult one? How do you prepare for it?
Unfortunately, in tennis, it's each one. And we have to go through difficult matches every day. As regards the preparation, we always do the same preparation, the challenge is constant.
How can we recover from defeats?
With dedication and hard work but also by recognizing that to accept a defeat is a part of sport and a part of life. I don’t know anyone for whom everything has been going well, whatever job, sport or path he has taken. Even the best suffer defeats. Just ask Messi, Cristiano, Federer, Djokovic, Murray... all have been defeated. You need to accept it, knowing that in life you don’t always win and from that moment on, reconsider and find out what you can do to lose less and start over.
Is that what you told Rafa when he lost a match?
It depends on each defeat. There are defeats that affect more and defeats that affect less. You’re more demanding or less demanding with Rafael because every situation is different. Generally, Rafael does everything he can to win and therefore he’s not required to do more.
And when he wins what do you tell him?
I'm not a very expressive person faced with a victory but it’s clear that satisfaction is essentially different. As in life, there are matches more important than others, there are mountains higher than others and consequently, the joy is different.
Could you have developed a player of his stature assuming he’s not a family member?
Yes, of course. The thing is, being a family member has some advantages for me that perhaps can be inconvenient for him. In general, a vested interest of a family member in things going well is higher than that of someone who is not. Anyway, I will say that before coaching Rafael I coached players who were not from my family and among them there was someone who was the best in Spain. Everybody has a vested interest, to be honest.
How do you communicate on court when Rafa is playing?
By talking. I know it’s not really allowed but I think that at my age I don’t need to hide it either. I have no system of making signs. I say what I can say. I go a little further than allowed but I try to talk to him whenever I need to.
The ritual before serving and receiving serve, is it your suggestion or a superstition?
It’s not my suggestion and I’m not superstitious at all. Rafael has acquired some habits to keep his concentration more easily and from that moment on, there are details that endured over time.
Do you know in which city of the world Rafael would like to live when he decides to retire?
I don’t think he’ll go to a city but to Manacor and specifically Porto Cristo, where we are living now.
How does the Rafael Nadal Foundation function?
I'm sorry but I don’t know that fully. I know they have been working, trying to raise funds to help various groups but I know nothing more.
http://www.menorca.info/menorca/472207/perder/ninguna/tragedia/asume/entrenar
Coach of a Roland Garros champion Toni Nadal to discuss effort and self-improvement at Menorca Forum
David BARET, 14/07/2013
The coach. Always with the Roland Garros champion.
Numerous biographies published about the figure that is Toni Nadal say that he had given his nephew a racquet when he was three so that he could start with tennis but it seemed that Rafa preferred football. He might have become a professional, but when he was 12, his uncle told him straight out that he would achieve greater success if he continued with tennis. That was when he became his coach, his mentor, his support, his strategist and his emotional anchor. Talking about Toni Nadal means to talk, inevitably, about Rafa's career. From his launch in 2004, to his global triumph a year later, as the fourth youngest player in history to get his first Roland Garros in Paris. From that moment on, the rest is an epic of a world number one with a coach who knows a lot about effort, discipline, perseverance, self-improvement. The man from Manacor holds the James II of Aragon Award and the Royal Order of Sports Merit but in the eyes of the entire planet, his great recognition bears his blood and his name. Next Wednesday, on July 17th he will be in the Theatre Principal from 9 pm as a speaker at the second edition of the Menorca Forum.
I guess the first question should be inquiring about Rafa's knee ...
His knee is fine, thanks ....
What is the key to develop a great athlete: effort, humility, talent, environment?
Without hesitation I would tell you it’s talent. We have great athletes who have not put in too much effort and things are going fine. There are also great athletes who are not humble but have made a great career. To me, a common point is talent. Another different thing , when developing a person humility is really necessary, but in sport what prevails is talent.
And what has to be the greatest virtue of an athlete: technique, physical strength or mental strength?
It depends on the sport you are playing. If you dedicate yourself to tennis, mental strength is fundamental because it’s closely linked to errors. On the other hand, if you dedicate yourself to football it’s not necessary because your mission is to achieve a goal and you can afford to fail in eight consecutive pieces of play, but if the ninth one is good, you have the honor of being a great player. In tennis we don’t function this way. Each sport has its own requirements, you cannot generalize.
What is the greatest virtue of Rafa?
I think he’s more or less a complete player. His greatest virtue or what people point out about him is his mental strength, but I think if that hadn’t been accompanied by a good physique and a good technical quality, it wouldn’t have been enough. Interestingly, in the tennis world, those who are mentally stronger are technically stronger as well.
You work on his mental strength personally or you rely on a specialist?
I don’t rely on anyone. I’ve never sought aid from a sports psychologist to help hitting the ball, if that's what you mean. I understand it’s a sport, a game and to go quickly into search of an outside help, I think that’s one of the faults with this society. We go too easily into collaborations of little value. In the end, we play tennis and when we lose, it's no tragedy. We aim to accept a defeat and practise a bit more.
Winning is everything in the life of an athlete?
No, but it’s key. It would be very nice to say that personal satisfaction of an effort is already worthwhile, but unfortunately we know Rafael Nadal, Djokovic or Messi because they win, not for anything else. And on top of that, when you win you have good time, make money and feel better. By this I mean that winning is very important, no doubt about it.
To be a champion, you need to carry it in your genes?
I don’t know. I think it's a bit of what I’ve commented before. You need to have talent, but as Picasso said, when inspiration arrives, it should catch you working. If you carry in your genes or your blood a lot of talent but you don’t work, it’s no good either.
What match is the most difficult one? How do you prepare for it?
Unfortunately, in tennis, it's each one. And we have to go through difficult matches every day. As regards the preparation, we always do the same preparation, the challenge is constant.
How can we recover from defeats?
With dedication and hard work but also by recognizing that to accept a defeat is a part of sport and a part of life. I don’t know anyone for whom everything has been going well, whatever job, sport or path he has taken. Even the best suffer defeats. Just ask Messi, Cristiano, Federer, Djokovic, Murray... all have been defeated. You need to accept it, knowing that in life you don’t always win and from that moment on, reconsider and find out what you can do to lose less and start over.
Is that what you told Rafa when he lost a match?
It depends on each defeat. There are defeats that affect more and defeats that affect less. You’re more demanding or less demanding with Rafael because every situation is different. Generally, Rafael does everything he can to win and therefore he’s not required to do more.
And when he wins what do you tell him?
I'm not a very expressive person faced with a victory but it’s clear that satisfaction is essentially different. As in life, there are matches more important than others, there are mountains higher than others and consequently, the joy is different.
Could you have developed a player of his stature assuming he’s not a family member?
Yes, of course. The thing is, being a family member has some advantages for me that perhaps can be inconvenient for him. In general, a vested interest of a family member in things going well is higher than that of someone who is not. Anyway, I will say that before coaching Rafael I coached players who were not from my family and among them there was someone who was the best in Spain. Everybody has a vested interest, to be honest.
How do you communicate on court when Rafa is playing?
By talking. I know it’s not really allowed but I think that at my age I don’t need to hide it either. I have no system of making signs. I say what I can say. I go a little further than allowed but I try to talk to him whenever I need to.
The ritual before serving and receiving serve, is it your suggestion or a superstition?
It’s not my suggestion and I’m not superstitious at all. Rafael has acquired some habits to keep his concentration more easily and from that moment on, there are details that endured over time.
Do you know in which city of the world Rafael would like to live when he decides to retire?
I don’t think he’ll go to a city but to Manacor and specifically Porto Cristo, where we are living now.
How does the Rafael Nadal Foundation function?
I'm sorry but I don’t know that fully. I know they have been working, trying to raise funds to help various groups but I know nothing more.
http://www.menorca.info/menorca/472207/perder/ninguna/tragedia/asume/entrenar
http://t.co/KxD8pi81ZA
www.menorca.info
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