Fram: You very rarely get on Tour to follow your players…

Rob: I have eight or nine players at home, and I’ve never wanted to be the coach sitting in the front row watching one or two high-profile players while all the others are working back home. I want to improve those players and help them reach that level, so I’ve usually felt more useful at home.

But how much impact can I have when I’m on site?

That week I spent at the Palm Hills Worlds showed that it can be significant. Nele played much better with me at the Worlds. She wouldn’t have played that way against Olivia if I hadn’t been there. I pushed her to express herself, to play more shots. A good coach can undoubtedly have an impact in the moment.

At the same time, I’m mindful that I’ve got eight players at home who need daily work. I am lucky I’ve got SJ [Perry] helping them that week, just to give them something different.

I also have another excellent coach working with me and helping my players called Harvey McIntyre. No one will have heard of him but he will be a top coach in the future.

I arranged for Paul to work with Rodney Martin, as I thought it would be good for both Rodney and Paul; at the time, I thought it was a great solution because I couldn’t travel with Paul.

It didn’t work out as well as we all hoped and that was my mistake, and I probably wouldn’t make it again.

I’m not blaming Rodney; it simply didn’t work. Having two coaches proved problematic and it wasn’t the vision I had at all.

Other Coaches Input

I’ve always been open to sending my players to other people: Rodney, Peter Marshall. Adrian Davies, Ian Thomas and many more are all people whose advice and help I have welcomed.

Not all coaches are happy with that idea. Obviously, it’s natural to be concerned about losing players but I’ve embraced it.

One of a coach’s strengths is taking on other people’s ideas and letting their players hear different voices. They get sick of my voice all the time!

I can communicate pretty well, but sometimes the same message, phrased slightly differently by somebody else, is very useful.

I only send players to people I respect and who I believe will tell them the right things. It doesn’t always work, as the Rodney example shows. Coaches make mistakes, just like referees. You get something wrong and you learn from it: that’s one of the skills of coaching and learning.

Listen and Learn

I will talk to anybody. I like meeting different people; I’m interested in people. Here, the tour can feel very businesslike.

I think some coaches encourage the ‘team’ bubble because they want to keep players close and fear losing them. I couldn’t care less if Paul wants to go and talk to another coach or player – he might learn something.

Perhaps some coaches keep players close to their chest because it’s natural to be scared they’ll leave.