U13 2012

A couple of days ago David Ferrer lost the U.S. Open Semi-final to Novak Djokovic.

Wikipedia says this about him "Once, as a teenager, when Ferrer did not practice hard enough, his coach, Javier Piles, locked him in a completely dark 2m x 2m ball closet for several hours, giving him only a piece of bread and a bit of water. After this incident he was fed up with tennis and went to work at a construction site, but after a week he returned to Piles and asked if he could remain at the club and play tennis. As of 2012, he is still coached by Piles and has said he considers him a second father".

While I'd never lock a player up, I'd certainly ask them to leave for not working hard enough (and have, in fact, done so). It's the best for the player.

Coaches have to make very tough decisions and have to deal with a large number of many complex problems. The Ferrer story is an example.

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