How to Choose the Right Partner
Please note this is for tournament and league players...
Complementary Styles: One of the critical elements in forming a successful team is the ability to complement each other's playing styles. For instance, while I excel at setting up my partners, I may not be as proficient at poaching. In such cases, I prefer to let my partners handle poaching while I focus on executing third shots. This allows my partner to disconnect early and get involved with poaching.
Objective Evaluation: This might rub some people the wrong way but liking someone does not always mean you will play well with them. While personal affinity is important, it shouldn't be the sole basis for choosing a partner. Encouraging positivity and fostering friendship with your partner is beneficial, but it's crucial to assess on-court compatibility. As a coach, I've witnessed instances where partnerships continued solely due to personal relationships, despite being detrimental to on-court performance.
Understanding Your Playing Identity: Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses as a player is essential. If you excel in consistency and setting up opportunities but lack power, you might seek a partner with strong offensive capabilities. Similarly, if you prefer dominating the left side of the court, you'd benefit from teaming up with a right-side specialist.
Embrace the Process: Give Your Partnership Time to Flourish
Patience is key in cultivating successful partnerships. I've witnessed remarkable teams evolve simply because they allowed ample time to understand each other's playing styles. In the face of a single setback, players often rush to abandon their partners. While there may be occasions where this is warranted, there's immense potential in allowing a partnership to develop over time.
By investing time into your partnership, you unlock opportunities to discern the dynamics that define your team. Through trial and error, you discover what synergizes effectively and what doesn't. It's no coincidence that many professional teams commit to extended periods of playing together, whether it's a full season or half a year, especially when forming new partnerships. This time allows for crucial adjustments and the exploration of winning combinations. In essence, by affording your partnership the gift of time, you lay the groundwork for sustained success and the realization of your shared goals on the court.
5. Just pay Ben Johns an absurd amount of money to be your partner. :)
