What type of player padel are you?

The team of Twenty by Ten has just announced 3 exclusive internships in France and Spain by the end of the year. For the 1^st times there will be an intervention of a mental coach included in the training package. The perfect opportunity to come back to the different player profiles that we can meet on a field of padel, and try to analyze them.

Know thyself !

This wisdom-filled message from Socrates has spanned the ages and guess what ... it can be applied perfectly to padel ! Because on a land of padel just like in life: if you want to become better, you have to start by knowing yourself.

You may never have wondered what type of gamer you are. So take a few minutes for a little introspection to ask yourself the following questions: what motivates you in a field, what are your strengths and weaknesses? What are your reactions to adversity, to failure, to yourself but also to your partner. Because let's not forget that the padel is played by two ...

So many questions that will allow you to better understand how you operate in a field, and to find areas of work to improve yourself.

What type of player are you?

Each camp is very enriching for us too, because it is the opportunity to work with players with very different personalities and to discover new ones each time. We have tried to categorize them into 4 player profiles that most often emerge (a little caricatured, we admit) with their own characteristics.

Take the time to think about which profile you belong to (there may be more than one) and how you can improve.

The mega-competitor:

He is the one who hates losing above all else. Also called "double-sided" because of its bipolar side: often as gentle as a lamb in life, it tends to turn into Gremlin's as soon as it enters a field. He then becomes unrecognizable and can potentially break everything and insult everyone if he is put in a situation of failure!

Their strength: competition can be a great stimulus if you manage to manage it in a healthy way.

Path for improvement: Working on your relationship to failure is OK to lose when you take pleasure and give the best of yourself.

The talented:

This is probably the most frustrating, the one who doesn't look good but has an above average eye and touchdown. He is the apparently nonchalant player who trains once a month but against whom we cannot win. To top it all off, he often has a “big mouth” and doesn't stop chambering his opponents, especially after retro cushioning or a lucky grid.

Their strength: they learn very quickly, and can surprise by making unexpected blows.

Avenues for improvement: These are often people who have trouble "getting into the hard", especially physically, and also may have concentration jumps. Rigor and training will make them exceptional players!

The needy:

It's a bit the opposite of talented, but it's often a coach's favorite! He has a higher capacity for work than others and needs to spend a lot of time in the field to feel good, repeating strokes many times to master them. Often very competitive, they are real fighters who do not drop a point even at 6/2 5/2 40/0, and who end up with bloody knees from running around!

Their strength: never stingy with work to achieve their goals!

Area for improvement: move towards the “cerebral” to combine the capacity for work with the capacity for analysis

The cerebral:

He is the one who analyzes absolutely everything, from the balance of his racket to the thickness of the carpet, including of course all the technical moves (he masters all the Spanish lexicon of padel). These “rational people” often lack self-confidence and need to reassure themselves by accumulating a great deal of information and evidence, and above all they absolutely want to “understand” things.

Their strength: they are fine tacticians who can win a match with a technical level below their opponents!

Possible improvement: “over-thinking” can paralyze and create physical blockages. Work more on the present moment and "let go" with meditation for example.

The bonus profile: El Profesor!

It is potentially the most annoying, the one who is constantly giving us advice, most of the time in a rather unconstructive way. Not always very clear on what is happening on the field, he quite easily puts the blame on his partner, and strangely, it is often he who looks for people with whom to play tournaments!

Their strength: it can be interesting to have a more experienced partner who gives advice and seeks solutions, as long as it is constructive!

Area for improvement: go from "I know everything" to "I know nothing", show humility and question yourself! A match of padel is won as a team and it is essential to manage to pull up your partner, and not bury him.

So have you identified with certain profiles, a little, a lot? Or have you perhaps recognized some playing partners?

Indeed once this work is done, if you play all the time with the same partner it is worth discussing it with him to find out how he himself works and try to combine your forces to make a better team!

During our internships, the fact of working on workshops in small groups allows our coaches to quickly identify what type of profiles they are dealing with, and to adapt their advice and communication accordingly. The idea is to help the trainee to better understand to which profile (s) he corresponds in order to make him aware of his strengths and to orient his work in this direction.

And if you are interested in digging deeper into this fascinating subject that is too little covered, come and learn with a specialist: Jean-Michel Pequery, mental trainer for high-level athletes (among others Johan Bergeron, Jérémy Scatena, Léa Godallier, etc.) will give a intervention during our next internship at Beausoleil from 23 September 26 2021 to.

Intership Padel Experience by Twenty by Ten in Beausoleil: Padel Intensive + P100 tournament with continuous coaching. Register now on twentybyten.com and benefit from the “EARLY BIRD” rate for any registration before August 31st. For more info: info@twentybyten.com / 06 19 44 26 04

Alexis Dutour

Alexis Dutour is passionate about padel. With his training in communication and marketing, he puts his skills at the service of padel to offer us articles that are always very interesting.