Magicians and Mechanics

Annacone: the spectrum is from magician to mechanic.

There are different types of learning styles and personalities that shape players' technical development. Paul Annacone, esteemed professional coach and author, has described a spectrum thar runs from magician to mechanic.

Magicians are players who are creative and intuitive in their approach to learning technique while technicians are analytical and rational. For players who are trying to get better, it's important to figure out what type of learner you are on the spectrum.

Coaches and parents should also try to uncover how their kids or students learn best. Understanding that different personalities can benefit from a range of approaches can dramatically improve technical teaching effectiveness when building a Winning Pretty game.

A player's personality and learning style will have a big impact on the way they learn and should be taught. Players should strive to create the optimal learning environment based on their learning type.

Any efforts to learn or build world-class, pretty technique could be thwarted if the learning type of the player is not identified. Coaches and parent-coaches need to know how their students learn best to teach them in the most efficient way possible. Therefore, it's imperative to determine if the player is more of a magician or mechanic in the Winning Pretty process of building technique.

I first heard Paul Annacone expound on the distinction between mechanics and magicians in a coaching seminar decades ago, and I've been exploring the implications of this fundamental insight ever since. As Paul has described, players at all levels fall somewhere on the spectrum from the pure magician, who prefers to learn by feel and play, to the pure mechanic, who prefers to learn through drilling and repetition.

But Paul also believes many players share characteristics of both. I call these players balanced, though balanced players are still usually more toward one end of the spectrum or the other. These distinctions can explain why some athletes fail to learn a new skill while others succeed, and can lead to changes in how a player or coach approaches learning and/or teaching that correspond with the reality of learning style differences.

Mechanics are process oriented, analytical players who want to drill, fix, and reinforce their games. They are tinkerers and sometimes chronically worry about their strokes. Some simply want to hit huge numbers of balls; others can obsess on detailed technical issues. David Ferrer was a modern example of a mechanical player.

Other examples of tour players who were or are Mechanics include: Bjorn Borg, Michael Chang, David Wheaton (an obsessive tinkerer), Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Jimmy Connors.

Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Dominic Thiem are examples of current generation mechanics. The great Argentine champion Guillermo Vilas may have been the purest mechanic of all time with his legendary grueling four hour on-court workouts.

Magicians are big picture, creative types, who tend to learn the game by feel. They are often tremendous mimics and gifted motor learners. Examples of well-known magicians include: John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Fabrice Santoro, Marcelo Rios, and from the current game, Grigor Dmitrov, and Nick Kyrgios.

When a magician "feels" the way he wants to hit a shot, he often doesn't require multiple repetitions to reinforce what he is doing. In fact, he may find repetition counterproductive. This is why magicians resist drilling and technical analysis--sometimes quite aggressively.

John Yandell once told me the story of how hard it was to get John McEnroe to demonstrate basic strokes and shot patterns when they made their famous 1984 instructional video with Ivan Lendl. Mac's words at the time: "You're making me think about where my arms are! I never do this. I'm a no brain player!" That's the typical way magicians learn, train, and play.

Balanced players have some of the qualities of both magicians and mechanics, and require a balanced approach with drilling, analysis, and live ball play, although the exact percentages can and will vary. Players can be naturally inclined to be in the middle of the spectrum or can become more balanced through work and training.

In my view, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, and Rafa Nadal are all versions of the balanced player.

During a recent training session at my academy, I asked a few questions of three of my players who I had previously identified on the magician-mechanic spectrum. All were 13 year old tournament players:

Amy Mechanic:

"Yes - because I like to make my swings perfect. The ball comes slower and under more control and I can perfect my swing easier. I don't like the unpredictability of hitting with someone else when I'm working on a stroke."

Tim Magician:

"No! Boring! I'd much rather play points or do something more realistic. I don't drill nearly as well as I play. I always play points better and make shots that I miss when I drill. Baskets give players a false sense of security because they are not real."

Robert Balanced:

"Yes and No. I like basket drills if I'm working on something specific. But other than that I prefer game and live point situations."

Federer created his famous sideways head position himself.

Amy Mechanic:

"Confident. When I repeat a shot over and over in a drill, I can make it in a match. That feeds my confidence. Repetition is the key."

Tim Magician:

"Drills make me crazy! I just need to get out there and play points to find my confidence. I would improve faster if my coaches stopped making me drill and let me play more!"

Robert Balanced:

"I do drills if I need to. They need to be specific to my game. But if they aren't, they don't help."

If you are a coach or parent, maybe the words of one of these players reminds you of a son or daughter, or of a player you currently teach. Or if you are a player, they may remind you of how you felt in a certain lesson with a certain pro.

Nadal: practices like a mechanic, but the finish of a magician.

Roger Federer is on record as saying he developed his famous, sideways head position on his groundstrokes on his own without coaching input of any kind. That's pure magician.

Annacone was Roger Federer's coach on the pro tour for many years and observed that Roger enjoyed hitting lots of balls, a characteristic of the mechanic. Still, when Roger practices, he tends to do so with the flair of a magician, hitting drop shots, insane angles, and even two-handed backhands, especially in front of crowds on the tour practice courts.

Nadal's practice in comparison is far more intense and structured, more mechanic-like, and similar to his actual match play. Yet Rafa also has a magician's flair. No one trained him to hit reverse over the head finishes on his forehand, something that, ironically, has been widely studied and copied by mechanics at all levels.

As for Agassi, Andre famously transformed himself into more of a balanced player late in his career, stemming from his relationship with Brad Gilbert. Gilbert, a classic mechanic himself, was able to help Agassi, a classic magician, learn to be more analytical and disciplined in his approach to training and his on court tactical patterns. The results, obviously, were spectacular.

Vilas: the ultimate mechanic in tennis history?

Annacone has spoken about the potential for coaches to move players away from one extreme toward a more balanced orientation. One of my mentors, the famed New York coach Gilad Bloom, agrees that the coach can impact players in this fashion.

Here is Gilad's description of the process: "I adjust the sessions to the specific character of the player. But at the same time I try to take both types out of their comfort zone from time to time to make them more balanced.

Says Bloom, "I have managed to turn magicians into more balanced players knowing when to push the kid and when to let him get what he wants. I usually do it with the carrot and the stick approach.

"If you'll do such and such with good intensity for some set duration, you will play points with no drills until the end of the lesson. Bloom continues, "When you work with the mechanical type you need to take them away from the obsessiveness of hitting every shot perfectly and make them more natural so they can rely on their hands and improvisational skills when things go wrong. But I will still give them what they want in terms of drills and repetition."

So where do you or your players fit on the continuum? Do you arrive at your lessons with a list of technical questions, willing to hit hundreds of balls to sort out a stroke? Or are you more likely to ask the pro to play points? Here are some more detailed descriptions that can help players and coaches determine who is a magician, mechanic, or balanced.

Mechanics tend to be reserved and quiet and they are often very judgmental of their own progress. Magicians are often extroverted and voluble. Magicians are generally less self-critical and can be blase about their mistakes.

Magicians are generally quite lazy by typical standards, and don't like to practice hard. Magicians undertrain and risk getting out of shape physically.

They also risk injury because they often do not diligently practice stretching and other prehabilitation exercises. Mechanics are often a paragon of hard work and professionalism. Mechanics overtrain frequently and risk burnout or injury from working too hard. Do you remember Jim Courier reading a book during a changeover during his burnout period? Mechanics tend to be more perfectionist than Magicians. Mechanics can become so obsessed with their technique and its flaws that they can develop anxiety about their games.

Magicians are often happy-go-lucky types, but they can develop anxiety, not because they worry about their technique, but rather because of their uneven tournament results. Their results can vary widely due to their lack of planning and preparation for upcoming matches or tournaments. They then may question their ability and get frustrated when they are not able to overcome match situations with their talent and improvising skills alone.

Magicians also tend to be visual learners. Talented magicians can often learn a skill simply by observing a coach demonstration, or even by watching a video clip of a demonstration or seeing another player swing.

Mechanics tend to be kinesthetic learners and often need to feel what corrections they need to improve their technique. Mechanics usually will not be able to add a skill by observing a demonstration, and may require a great many repetitions.

Influenced by a mechanic coach, Andre became balanced.

Magicians tend to be defiant and don't want to follow directions or hear detailed analysis. This makes drilling magicians who have a defiant streak next to impossible. Mechanics tend to be more submissive and are comfortable submitting themselves to the authority of the coach when drilling. Mechanics want a lot of information and will listen to analysis and feedback.

Curiously, in my coaching experience, magicians often dress with flare and panache, with bright colors. Mechanics tend to be the collared shirt kids, or the kids with plain shirts and more conservative, muted colors.

Tactically, magicians often think a game plan is a waste of time. They prefer to improvise in the moment. Mechanics are obsessed with strategy, planning, and scouting, and generally want to be prepared for every possible tactical situation to the point of anxiety.

They have trouble improvising a strategy if it wasn't an option in the game plan. Some mechanics are self-aware of their own performance, grade themselves based on critical internal judgments, and put a lot of pressure on themselves to play the match "right," win or lose. Magicians usually care less about their technical form than about winning and the battle. If they get the win, what was the big deal?

Magicians sometimes lose focus and play points with sloppy form. But they don't care, because, when they are fully energized and focused, their form comes back to them. They tend to be very resilient in this regard.

Mechanics don't like to play points unless they believe their technical skills are in order. They believe that playing points with bad form will make them worse. Mechanics tend to constantly develop little bad habits in their technique that they need to iron out--or think they do.

Mechanics prefer drills that are not random or that do not require decision making, in which they know the exact sequence of shots and what is expected of them. They are able to achieve an almost trancelike focus state over long periods of time.

Structured drilling makes a Magician feel bored and straight-jacketed--especially if the drills do not allow for decision making and creativity. Magicians like random drills and shorter duration drills.

Magicians, because of their creative drive, will deviate from the prescribed drill pattern and try a wild or different shot than instructed, to the chagrin and frustration of the uninformed coach. Mechanics follow the drill pattern exactly as prescribed, and any deviation from the pattern from the coach will cause them anxiety.

When playing points, magicians tend to be less patient and more creative shot makers. They often try "stupid" high risk shots, especially when a point is boring them. Magicians live for creating shots on the court in spontaneous fashion - they feed off those great moments like a drug. They are like jazz musicians who play tennis.

McEnroe: a no brain player who hated drills.

Mechanics like to stick to proven patterns that they have trained before. Mechanics play tennis more like disciplined concert pianists, playing a piece they have practiced thousands of times before.

In practice, magicians can be major time wasters and often spray balls and have trouble maintaining consistency. Mechanics are usually very focused and steady in practice, and they hate to waste time because they are striving for perfection by more repetition.

Mechanics are the best ball picker-uppers. Magicians hate to pick up balls, and get yelled at by their coaches for wasting time. Connors and Agassi (in his later years on tour) were famous for their efficient and grueling practices, where they didn't waste a single minute or ball - typical mechanic tendencies.

Sampras was known for his lazy and sloppy practices where he would spray balls and make tons of mistakes. McEnroe, like a modern day Kyrgios, often refused to practice at all, and would play doubles to keep his "feel."

In order to build or rebuild technique the Winning Pretty way, it's essential to account for learning style. Major conflicts between coaches, parents and players can be explained through the lens of the magician versus the mechanic.

Jimmy Connors: never wasted a grueling minute.

When a stubborn coach or parent-coach is in charge of a player who is on the opposite end of the spectrum, there are bound to be major conflicts, failures, and sometimes permanent psychological damage. Coaches often become frustrated when players, who may not match up well to their teaching style, lose interest and plateau in their progress.

The same frustrations can build up in the players themselves. A magician player and a mechanic coach will have major conflicts on the court unless the coach adapts his training methods to the player. A mechanic player and a magician coach will struggle to achieve rapport and results if the coach cannot be flexible in his teaching style.

I can honestly say that my teaching has become much more successful in the past years by recognizing whether my students are magicians or mechanics, or balanced, and adjusting my training methods accordingly. I feel confident this same insight can make a difference for all coaches.

For players, knowing the best way they learn is equally important and helpful when adjusting or building a technical skill. Remember that—with discipline and effort—it's possible to move along the magician-mechanic spectrum and become a more balanced learner!

Magicians and Mechanics

By Chris Lewit