Whenever we talk about paddle and especially competitive paddle, in our retina are the great plays, impossible recoveries, majestic shots, unreachable balls that end up being defined by the door with a skill, which for the rest of the mortals is unimaginable and endless anecdotes and situations during the matches, which have made paddle a great show.

But behind all this, there is another much less known and less brilliant story.

This is the story to which I am going to refer in this article, what we call the Invisible training or as a friend of mine says, “The Trash training” that very few do but it is very important, and that in the end will make the differences.

It really does! I can tell you this because I have lived it, I have been lucky enough to coach players with a lot of talent and champion players and it is not the same. Talent is one thing, but being a champion is something else.

During my sporting career I have had the privilege of coaching true champions and, curiously, very similar patterns are repeated, here I am going to refer to the current ones, although I could very well go back to past times.

For me the cases of the Sanchez Alayeto twins, Pablo Lima or more recently Alex Galan are examples of this type of players.

Among these common elements I would highlight the following
Great determination
Ability to work, sacrifice and demand
Confidence in their technical team and their sporting project.

Both Pablo Lima and Alex Galán are two players who start with the same training base. Pablo has been ranked number 2 in the world since he was 18 years old and Alex Galan has been ranked number 3 in the Wpt since he was 15 and is the player who has managed to reach the Masters in the same year since he started playing.

The Twins have been working with us for 9 years, starting from couple 5 to get the No. 1 Wpt and everything that can be won.

They all have this ability to make the training invisible.
They arrive first, leave last.
They take care of their recovery, stretching, physiotherapy, rest.
They take care of their nutrition, there is no room for excess.
They are demanding in their training and if they have to stay longer until that hit comes out, they stay.
They take care of the mental aspects to improve performance.
Commitment to their team and solidarity with their training partners, always adding and always contributing to the group.

Because invisible training, in addition to a series of objective elements, has to do with a way of living and thinking, where values are an important part of it all.

They say that discipline makes us free, I think so, the discipline of these athletes has made them achieve sporting success and a way of life that allows them to choose.

Of course they are an example to follow for the younger ones, sometimes impatient to get an immediate reward they stay on the surface of training, and a privilege for those who contributing our knowledge and dedication we have enjoyed this way.

So the next time you see these players compete, make wonderful points, remember that behind them there is a lot of work, the kind that is not seen.

Jorge Martinez