What is the Spanish Method?

What is the Spanish Method?

There is no one Spanish Method. It is a bit tiresome to see coaches claiming the one and only Spanish Way. Different top coaches such as Luis Bruguera and William Pato Alvarez have different emphases and different priorities and foci.

At a recent coaches workshop that I attended, a top coach stated that he did not like the Spanish Method. I wanted to raise my hand and ask him which Spanish Method was he referring to–the Bruguera method, the method of Pancho Alvarino, or the method of Toni Nadal or Pato Alvarez?

It’s silly to conflate all Spanish systems into one method. It’s like insisting that there is one American system, like Rick Macci teaches the same as Nick Bollettieri. It’s ignorant,misleading, and offensive to the coaches themselves who are individuals with there own unique theories and ideas.

People should be more careful when using the blanket term Spanish Method. It’s a useful term to describe some of the similarities in teaching across the country, but Luis Bruguera and Pato Alvarez, for example, have different ideas about how to develop players and their ideas should stand on their own merits for study and evaluation.

Additionally, the system of Spanish training is changing–it’s not static–just as all teaching systems evolve (or should–shouldn’t they?). Jose Higueras talks frequently about how player development systems evolve and compete with each other–they are dynamic organisms. Currently in Spain you can see a clear dichotomy between more classical Spanish training and more modern and progressive Spanish training.

So what is the real Spanish Method? My point is it’s not so black and white. There are different systems across the country depending on the region and coach and the Method itself is evolving, as all systems do to remain competitive.

Since the diaspora of Spanish training systems and coaches to other countries, competition has become even more fierce as other countries and coaches adopt and adapt classical Spanish…

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