HOW DO WE IMITATE RAFA NADAL?

WAYS TO BE INFLUENCED BY A CHAMPION.

I wrote this article back in 2014 but after Rafa lifted the French Open trophy for an unprecedented 10th time I thought it could be interesting to have a look at it once again.

-Rafael Nadal is an outstanding player who is going to be remember throughout the ages for his success and multiple records. When you are contemporary with someone like him it is impossible not to copy certain things for both admiration and identification.                   

But, what do we imitate from Nadal?

I have seen many players of all ages wearing headbands, sleeveless shirts, capri shorts (fortunately Rafa stopped wearing them!), finishing forehands above their heads, playing with his same racket model or even lying down on the court after celebrating not a Grand Slam title but a good point at training. Just like Nadal.

So would that be it? Is that all we are going to learn from him after he retires? 

I think it would be much more important if we learn from the small details behind his titles and success, his big victories and impossible points. We should be influenced by the way he faces every training session, giving his best effort one point after another, considering adversity as a wonderful challenge instead of an unsolvable obstacle.

-Never a bad gesture, a smashed racket or a disrespectful comment towards an opponent.

When a kid needs to correct his serving grip and says: ¨This new one doesn´t feel comfortable¨ we have to tell him/her that years ago in order to win Wimbledon Rafa changed his forehand grip. And won the tournament twice!

When there is a strong will, everything is possible.

Never a bad gesture, a smashed racket or a disrespectful comment towards an opponent. Never giving up even when the score is down and always showing the desire to overcome any kind of difficulties are Nadal´s strongest legacies.

Sacrifice and effort are the best ways to get the best out of ourselves. As coaches (with the cooperation of parents) we have to teach our players to understand those principles. It is not an easy task but let´s face it, if we look for inspiration, we still have Rafa.