Tennis is an individual sport, regardless if the competition is in a tournament or dual match, ultimately it still comes down to player vs. player on the court.  In a team tennis setting getting a group of individual players to commit to a common goal and ask “what can I give?” instead of “what can I get?” is arguably the most difficult thing for a coach to accomplish.  I use the scene below in the movie 2004 Disney movie Miracle to make my point.

Throughout the beginning of the movie all the amateur hockey players constantly refer to themselves as playing for a college or university.  They say something like, “My name is Mike Eruzione. I play for Boston University.”  After one game Coach Herb Brooks skates them for hours on end well beyond the point of exhaustion.  One player finally realizes the message Coach Brooks has be trying to convey to them for a long time and says, “Mike Eruzione, I play for the United States of America!”

If you have any great ideas for bonding your team together to sacrifice and work together for a common goal leave a comment below.