Developing the Person Behind the Athlete
Meet Our Guest: Matias Marin
From winning an NCAA team tennis national championship at Baylor to developing hundreds of junior and college athletes, Matias Marin has spent his career learning what helps athletes grow.
Originally from Argentina, Matias competed internationally as a junior before playing at Baylor, where his team won the national championship during his senior year. His coaching career has since taken him from junior development and professional tennis to the college game, including two seasons with the University of Tennessee women’s tennis program.
Today, Matias is helping lead player development at Farm and Forge near Nashville, where his approach centers on having a plan for each athlete, focusing on the process, and developing the person behind the player.
About the Episode
One of Matias’s biggest lessons is that development goes far beyond wins, rankings, and results.
Throughout the conversation, he shares what he’s learned from working with athletes at nearly every level of the game — and why the best development isn’t simply about producing better players.
It’s about understanding the individual athlete, creating a clear developmental plan, teaching athletes to focus on what they can control, and helping young people grow through the inevitable ups and downs of sport.
As Matias put it:
“At the end of the day, you’re developing tennis players, but also human beings.”
That idea reaches well beyond tennis.
Whether you’re coaching tennis, basketball, soccer, baseball, volleyball, or another sport, the challenge is much the same: How do we help athletes improve today while also preparing them for everything that comes next?
5 Lessons for Coaches
1. Give Every Athlete a Plan
Matias believes development should be intentional.
At Farm and Forge, players have individual development plans that are reviewed every two months. Those plans look at technical development, tactical decision-making, mental routines, strength and conditioning, and competition schedules.
Even within a group practice, athletes may be working on completely different things.
The lesson for coaches is simple: know what each athlete is working on — and why.
2. Put Process Goals Before Outcome Goals
Rankings and results matter. Matias doesn’t ignore them.
But he doesn’t start there.
“We put the process goal first. What are your process goals? What are you working on?”
His belief is that when athletes consistently focus on the things they can work on every day, the outcomes have a much better chance of following.
Instead of allowing a ranking, score, or result to become the entire definition of progress, help athletes recognize improvement in the areas they can influence.
3. Teach Athletes to Focus on What They Can Control
Athletes can’t completely control rankings or results.
They can control how they train. Their passion. Their desire. Their routines. Their sleep. Their nutrition. Their preparation.
Matias challenges athletes with a simple question:
“Are you doing everything that you can to be the best possible player?”
It’s a question that works in almost any sport.
4. Develop the Person — Not Just the Player
Sometimes the best thing a coach can do has nothing to do with practice.
Matias talked about recognizing when something may be happening in an athlete’s life and understanding that, on that particular day, hitting another ball might not be what the athlete needs.
Maybe they need someone to listen. Maybe they need a conversation.
Because eventually every playing career ends.
“You’re a human being that plays tennis.”
Sport is something athletes do. It isn’t everything they are.
5. Set High Expectations — and Provide High Support
Matias believes athletes should be challenged.
He also believes that challenge needs to be accompanied by support.
His philosophy can be summed up in five words:
“High expectations with high support.”
Expect athletes to work. Challenge them to improve. Allow them to experience adversity. But make sure they know someone is there helping them through the process.
The Mindset Shift
From “What did you achieve?” to “What are you working on?”
It’s easy for athletes, parents — and even coaches — to immediately look at the scoreboard.
Did we win?
What was the ranking?
Did the number go up?
Matias encourages coaches to bring the conversation back to the process.
What are you working on? What are you trying to improve? Are you consistently doing the things that give you the best chance to succeed?
The scoreboard tells us what happened.
The process helps determine what happens next.
Coach’s Corner
3 Questions to Ask Your Athletes This Week
Matias repeatedly comes back to questions that help athletes think about their own development. Three from the conversation are especially worth bringing into your next practice:
1. “What are your process goals? What are you working on?”
Does the athlete actually know what they’re trying to improve — beyond winning?
2. “Are you doing everything that you can to be the best possible player?”
A simple question that brings the conversation back to the things an athlete can control.
3. “What’s the purpose of it?”
Matias used this question when talking about practice and training. Coaches should know why they’re asking athletes to do something — and athletes should understand what they’re trying to improve.
Going Deeper
Are We Coaching the Drill — or the Athlete?
One of the more practical parts of Matias’s approach is individualization.
He described practices where several players might all be working on the same general skill — a forehand, for example — but each athlete is working on a different part of that skill based on his or her needs.
His question about generic practice was straightforward:
“What’s the purpose of it?”
It’s a useful question for any coach.
Why are we doing this drill?
What is this athlete supposed to learn from it?
What does this particular athlete need right now?
Great development isn’t simply filling practice time. There should be a purpose behind the work.
One More Lesson: Consistency Matters
Development doesn’t happen in ten great days of practice followed by ten days of going through the motions.
Matias continually emphasized the importance of the process, the plan, and sticking with it — especially during the inevitable ups and downs that come with developing young athletes.
If there is a good plan, a good environment, a strong team around the athlete, and trust in the process, his advice is not to panic when progress isn’t immediate.
Stick with it.
For Coaches
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from Matias’s conversation isn’t complicated.
Have a plan.
Know the athlete in front of you.
Focus on the process.
Challenge them.
Support them.
And remember that the person you’re developing matters even more than the player.
Because long after the final match, game, race, or season is over, the person remains.
