A Coach's Diary

  The most valuable lesson I’ve learned this week is the idea of It’s Only 1 Point by tennis great Roger Federer. In his 2024 commencement address at Dartmouth University, Federer said he won 80% of his matches but only won 54% of his points. This means the best tennis players in the world barely win more than half of their points, so they have to learn how to deal with an undesired result or failure almost half of the time. Federer said, “When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot.” You learn every shot — good and bad — is only one shot and one point. Federer said, “When you are playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you.” He said this mindset is important because it frees you to fully commit to the next point — the most important point — with intensity, clarity, and focus. Federer then said, “The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes you’re going to lose — a ...

“You want to become a master of overcoming hard moments. That is the sign of a champion.” - Roger Federer How do you respond to bad plays or bad days? Roger Federer is one of the best tennis players of all time. He won 80% of his matches, but lost 46% of his points.  He deals with an undesired result or failure 46% of the time, but he is able to win at such a high level in part because he has mastered his ability to manage the undesired results. One thing we all need to learn how to do is how to use the undesired results or failure as opportunities to practice bouncing back quickly instead of spiraling. In a commencement speech at Dartmouth, Federer said, “You want to become a master of overcoming hard moments. That is the sign of a champion … The best know they will lose again and again and have learned how to deal with it.” He also said, “The truth is, whatever game you play in life, sometimes you’re going to lose. A point, a match, a season, a job.” Learning how to accept...