WHAT SEPARATES GOOD PLAYERS FROM GREAT ONES
After years on court with juniors in Europe, Asia, and now in Boca Raton - South Florida, I’ve realized something parents don’t always expect:
Good players are everywhere.
Great players are rare, and the difference has very little to do with strokes.
At 10, 12, or 14 years old, many players can hit a heavy ball, move well, and win matches. From the outside, everything looks the same. But underneath the forehands and results, there is a gap unfolding, one that becomes obvious only as the pressure rises and the pathway gets more demanding.
If you listen to ATP and WTA players talk about their development, the pattern is unmistakable:
Greatness is not a talent problem. It is a mindset problem.
A decision-making problem.
A consistency-of-identity problem.
The separation begins quietly… and then becomes impossible to ignore.
**1. GOOD PLAYERS LIVE IN RESULTS.
GREAT PLAYERS LIVE IN TRAJECTORY.**
Good players measure their progress by last weekend’s score.
If they win, everything feels right.
If they lose, something must be wrong; the coach, the strategy, the racquet, the confidence.
Great players think differently.
They ask:
Is my level more stable than it was a month ago?
Can I repeat my game on a bad day?
Am I making clearer decisions under pressure?
Am I becoming a tougher competitor?
Great players zoom out.
They see their development as a timeline, not a weekend report.
2. THE REAL DIFFERENCE, A SHARP CONTRAST
Here is the truth families rarely hear:
GOOD PLAYERS
– depend on confidence
– try to “feel good” before they compete
– train strokes
– react emotionally
– search for intensity
– want perfect conditions
– play well on good days
GREAT PLAYERS
– depend on clarity
– compete even when they don’t “feel good”
– train decisions
– regulate emotion
– search for structure
– problem-solve through adversity
– play well especially on bad days
Great players aren’t necessarily more talented; they are more stable.
More intentional.
More rooted in who they are when the match becomes uncomfortable.
3. A STORY FROM THE TOUR: THE PLAYER WHO WAS “ALMOST THERE”
I once coached a junior who reached semifinals almost every week.
Strong strokes.
Good movement.
Sharp intensity.
But something always broke in the final moments.
Parents saw a pattern that didn’t make sense:
“All the effort, all the training… why does the trophy stop here?”
From the outside, it was frustrating.
From the inside, the picture was different.
Week after week, I saw:
cleaner footwork
sharper timing
better decision-making
calmer reactions
deeper understanding of patterns
He wasn’t stuck…he was building a foundation.
Eventually, the semifinals became finals.
Then a final became a first title.
Nothing magical happened that week.
The base simply became strong enough to support the level that was already there.
That is what greatness looks like.
A delayed explosion, not a sudden miracle.
4. HOW GREAT PLAYERS TRAIN (WHERE GOOD PLAYERS GET STUCK)
Good players love training hard.
They enjoy sweat, speed, and the feeling of power.
But intensity without intention produces chaos:
unpredictable spacing
inconsistent contact points
unnecessary risk-taking
emotional instability
panic when the score tightens
Great players also work hard, but their intensity is organized.
They ask:
Why am I choosing this pattern?
How do I want to start the point?
What is my identity here: attacker, counter-puncher, builder?
What decision do I trust under pressure?
Great players don’t just hit balls.
They build a way of playing.
A way of competing.
A way of responding.
Their training is not random repetition, it is identity rehearsal.
5. GREAT PLAYERS HANDLE MESSY SEASONS DIFFERENTLY
Every junior goes through phases where development becomes complicated:
injuries
school stress
confidence drops
growth spurts
emotional turbulence
tough tournament periods
Good players (and anxious parents) often treat these phases as crisis.
They abandon structure, switch coaches, or chase new methods.
Great players (and great families) understand:
Messy seasons are not signs of failure.
They are the doorway to the next level.
The players who keep their identity intact during these phases gain a maturity others never reach. They develop resilience that stays with them for life.
**6. GOOD PLAYERS TOUCH FUNDAMENTALS.
GREAT PLAYERS LIVE INSIDE THEM.**
Many good juniors think being “advanced” means moving away from basics.
They want new drills, more complexity, more excitement.
Great players don’t get bored with fundamentals, they get better at them.
At the highest levels of the sport, development is still:
spacing
footwork structure
clean contact
serve + first ball clarity
return position
breathing and reset routines
emotional neutrality
This is why great players improve year after year:
they never graduate from the basics, they master them.
7. IMAGE VS. IDENTITY | THE LINE THAT EXPOSES EVERY PLAYER
In the modern tennis world, image is easy.
A good player can post a powerful rally and look impressive.
Parents can feel confident when their child wins a few matches.
But image is fragile.
It collapses the moment results dip.
Great players build something deeper:
Identity.
Identity is:
how you behave when you are behind
how you compete on a bad day
how you reset after frustration
how you choose patterns under pressure
how you speak to yourself internally
how you carry yourself in adversity
Identity travels with you everywhere.
Image only lasts as long as the winning streak.
8. THE REAL SEPARATION
What separates good players from great ones is not talent, luck, or perfect days.
It is:
the relationship they have with time,
the clarity in their decisions,
the depth of their fundamentals,
and the identity they bring to pressure.
Good players give you great moments.
Great players give you a standard, again, and again, and again!
This difference is not reserved for a chosen few.
It is built, choice by choice, season by season, inside environments that value clarity, structure, and competitive maturity.
At JSTA, this is the work we do every day:
not just creating good players, but guiding those who are ready to cross the line and grow into something greater.
