Wozniacki Gets Aggressive

Caroline Wozniacki has fired her coach, Ricardo Sanchez, after two months. Sanchez responded by saying, "Wozniacki … she must be more aggressive." He continued by adding, "Wozniacki should be a racehorse, not a pack horse." Perhaps if Coach Sanchez called his student a "pack horse" sooner, Wozniacki would have displayed her aggressiveness on the court, not off.

This relationship seems to be lacking clear communication. This seems to be why Sanchez said he was "deceived from the start."

The larger question here is what defines a productive and successful coach-player relationship?

It starts with a coach who understands the goals and values of the student and who reinforces these in a method that is most suitable for that individual. It flourishes with a coach who is a leader and a team player who puts the needs of the student first. It evolves and grows with a coach who understands the ends, but focuses on the means to achievement. We can ask the question, "How many coaches does a player need," but to do so trivializes an important qualitative issue in to a self-serving quantitative discussion.

In professional sports, the coach often takes the fall for disappointed athletes. In this case, however, this coaching relationship was doomed from the start.