I think that makes 20 at Sharm for Mirrabelle since June, and 16 for Suzy. They've had one or two weeks off - slackers
I can understand it for Suzy....camping out at Sharm is a cost effective way of establishing a ranking.....but I'm not sure Mirabelle has really benefitted from staying out there so long. Can't imagine she has a coach with her and results-wise she certainly seems to have plateaued. Not saying this has happened to Mirabelle (cos clearly I don't know!) but it must be really easy to stagnate and lose motivation/focus or pick up bad habits playing in the same event week after week.
Edit: typos
-- Edited by The Optimist on Thursday 10th of November 2016 06:24:17 AM
I think that makes 20 at Sharm for Mirrabelle since June, and 16 for Suzy. They've had one or two weeks off - slackers
I can understand it for Suzy....camping out at Sharm is a cost effective way of establishing a ranking.....but I'm not sure Mirabelle has really benefitted from staying out there so long. Can't imagine she has a coach with her and results-wise she certainly seems to have plateaued. Not saying this has happened to Mirabelle (cos clearly I don't know!) but it must be really easy to stagnate and lose motivation/focus or pick up bad habits playing in the same event week after week.
Edit: typos
-- Edited by The Optimist on Thursday 10th of November 2016 06:24:17 AM
There is clearly a barrier at 550-650, where you need more than 2 pts to progess, that a lot of players have problems with. Mirabelle is far fom being alone in this group. Fran S, Laura D, Anna B (when she was playing - any news?), Maia, Manisha, Eden S (before injury) etc.
It must be very difficult to go to qualifiers at 25k if your not getting to semis at 10k. I don't think there's a "one size fits all" solution. This could be where the LTA comes in with some individually focussed coaching. Even if only one or two push on, it would be a better use of resources than some of the things they spend money on.
Yes I was thinking more that she maybe needed a decent training block rather than trying more difficult competitions. Certainly no point in moving up the levels if you can't regularly pick up more than 2 points in 10Ks. Current LTA thinking is that if a player is still stuck in 10Ks after a year of full time competition, they aren't likely to ever make a living and shouldn't be supported. Not sure I disagree with that but I like your idea of targeted support and training at key career moments and known road blocks along the route. As you say, might well be establish a few at the next level up and allow them to blossom.
