Could you start by giving us a short introduction about yourself?
I’m Robin van der Heiden and I’m a professional Padel coach.
I’m half-German, half Dutch and I currently live in Amsterdam with my wife and son. 33 years of age and passionate about sports since I was a kid.

‍

What was the first introduction you’ve got to Padel?
My first introduction to Padel was during a vacation in Italy, where my wife asked her aunt and uncle to play a match with the four of us. At first, I must admit, I thought Padel was kind of a weird sport, coming from Tennis the rackets looked very strange to me and playing in a cage even more. However, the first time I hit the ball, I fell in love with the sport and that love has brought me to where I am today.

‍

What motivated you to start teaching padel, and how would you describe your style of coaching?
I would say that a combination of the love for the sport and the joy of seeing people improve is what motivates me. I believe there is not a bigger compliment to get, than to actively help somebody to be better at something. So for me seeing my players improve with my help is the biggest joy I can get. My style of coaching depends heavily on the person I have in front of me, it is utmost important to me to understand what it is that the person drives to take lessons. As soon as I know that, I can adjust my style accordingly to really get to the core of each player and make the most out of their time in a lesson. But in general, I observe players a lot and then pinpoint areas of attention in order to improve.
My coaching style is very direct, I will tell you what I see, but I will also tell you which steps might be needed to improve certain things. This I try to package in a way that it does not feel as a direct order, but I want my players to focus on the outcome of what they are doing. Mostly, as soon as I get them to focus on certain shots, the technical part of the shots follows by itself. In a way, it is my own version of “Natural Learning”, where you allow players to experience situations on the court, without interfering with orders.

‍

How do you structure your training routine to improve both your physical endurance and technical skills?
That remains a challenge, as I teach full-time and became a dad this year, it is sometimes difficult to allocate the necessary time to stay in shape myself. Nonetheless, my physical trainings consist of plyometrics, agility and speed training, in order to move as efficient and quick as possible on the court. I also go for a run regularly, in order to be able to teach as many hours as I do without suffering fatigue or injuries.
For my technical skills, I often hop on court with other coaches and work on specific areas together and if the time allows it, I also play matches in order to keep working on my competitive skills.

‍

How do you approach coaching children who are interested in start playing padel?
Coaching children is very special to me. My own childhood coaches left me with wonderful memories and I want to pass that on to kids learning the sport I love. Without my coaches, I wouldn’t have enjoyed racket sports as much as I have throughout my life. Teaching children requires care, as they often have short attention spans or varying coordination levels. My first focus is improving their coordination and helping them feel what happens when a racket hits the ball. I gamify lessons to keep them engaged, allowing them to learn through fun and enjoyment without even realizing it.

‍

What do you consider the most important aspect of a lesson for your clients?
In every lesson I want to give my clients something they can take with them into their next match. So for example, if we worked on the Bandeja, I want them to be able to replicate the feeling they had while hitting that shot in the lesson also in a match. That’s where the process of improving becomes tangible and visible.

‍

Can you tell us a little more about you as a professional padel player?
My journey as a player is something that fuels my career as a coach. I’m competing on the highest levels possible to my abilities in order to understand what players go through in those moments. As my ambition is to become one of the best non-Spanish speaking coaches, I believe I need to experience those situations in order to coach professional players in the future as I understand what these players are going through in those moments. So for next year, it is my goal to collect points for the ranking of the world federation (FIP) and advance in the players ranking.

‍

Since when did you start competing (and why)?
I started actively competing in Padel roughly about two years ago, basically because I enjoy competition and have been participating in competitions in all my teenage years. It is the thrill of being on court and trying to get the best out of yourself that makes competing so fascinating to me. Additionally, as we discussed in the previous question, I believe that competing makes me a better coach in the long-term.

‍

What do you eat and drink to maintain your fitness and overall health as a padel player?
That is a very good question, a question I could not answer myself for quite some time, so I started to work with a nutritionist and I’m very happy I took that step. We discovered that I’m not eating enough, which caused a lot of fatigue during the day. The solution was eating roughly six times a day, with the focus on the right amount of protein, but also carbohydrates, in order to have enough energy for the day. To be specific, I eat a lot of fruit and pasta/rice in order to fill my nutritional needs. As you can imagine, teaching 6 to 8 hours a day and training myself, I burn a lot of calories, but if I do not fuel my body properly, I can’t put in the same energy in each lesson or training session, which I obviously want to.

‍

How do you mentally and physically prepare yourself before a padel match?
My go-to is to listen to music during my warm-up. It allows me to zoom out and forget about what is about to happen and clear my head before entering the court. A good warm-up is key for me, as it gives me the confidence that I prepared my body to get the most out itself for the upcoming match.

‍

How do you stay focused and motivated when you’re down in a match, or when things aren’t going your way?
That is a challenge that has been with me all my life to be honest. It is really important to communicate with your partner about your feelings and emotions. Your partner is your partner for a reason and mostly will help you in “tough” times, but giving you a pep-talk or talking about strategies to come back into the game. You are stronger together and it is important to never start believing that you can actually beat your opponents, as soon as that doubt kicks in, you cannot perform at the highest level as you are just occupying your mind with thoughts about how you are losing the match. I always try to focus on the strategy that my partner and me lay out before and during the match. Another part that helps me to keep my emotions in check is to not focus on winning or losing, but to focus on my improvement on court.

‍

Closing question

What is the best tip or advice would you give to your client who is:

- a beginner player? Have fun, play matches and get some coaching right from the start. You will be surprised how fast your improve, if you combine playing matches with actual coaching sessions.

- an intermediate player? Focus on reducing unforced errors and not on scoring winners. Padel is a sport of patience and strategy, where errors occur more often than winners. So focus on reducing errors and you will win more matches.

- an advanced player and who is also thinking about competing?
Make sure you also work on Padel in the gym. I see many players only focusing on improving their Padel shots, but forget to put in the additional work in the gym to really be ready for competition.

‍