About 359
Why 359 exists
Because tennis lessons often revolve around the drill, while they should revolve around the player.
359 started from an observation on court: players differ in motivation, pace and goal, yet often receive the same lesson. We wanted a way of working in which development is the starting point and tennis is the vehicle.
Progress. Not Perfection.
This principle is worked out in the 359 Method — with Fit · Fun · Focus as the practical system.
359 exists to make development the starting point of sports instruction. Sport is the vehicle, development is the goal. At the NTC in Amstelveen we use tennis as a development environment: players work on movement, enjoyment and learning, each from their own drive. The 359 Method grew out of that practice; Fit · Fun · Focus is the practical system coaches work with.
Five reasons we work this way
What we observed in practice
In many tennis lessons the drill is central, not the player. Everyone does the same exercise, at the same pace, with the same intention. Players who learn quickly get bored; players who need more time drop out. On court we saw that this is not about talent — it is about how the lesson is designed.
Why development matters more than a quick result
A good result on Saturday says little about where a player will be in two years. Development is what lasts: moving, understanding, making choices, persevering. So we build lessons around visible progress rather than short-term performance.
Why tennis is a suitable development environment
Tennis asks for body, feeling and thinking in a single movement. You have to move, handle tension and choose within a second. Every ball gives immediate feedback. That makes tennis a fair, measurable environment to learn in — also if you never want to play competition.
Why motivation, preference and goals count
One player comes for movement and energy (Fit), another for enjoyment and contact (Fun), a third to learn and improve (Focus). Those drives shape how someone learns. We take them into account in how a lesson is built and coached — within the group a player trains in.
Why progress matters more than perfection
359 is deliberately not 360. The circle is never fully closed: there is always room for improvement. That is not a slogan but a working agreement — for players, for parents and for our coaches.
How this led to the 359 Method
This way of working was not designed in one go. It was built over 20++ years of practice: observing, adjusting, trying again. Step by step, fixed building blocks emerged for lesson design, coaching and discussing progress.
You can follow that chronology in the history of 359. The content itself is described on the 359 Method and in the origin story of the 359 Method. The personal starting point behind it is described by Roland Laurense, founder of 359.
Tennis is the vehicle. Progress is the goal.
Want to see what this looks like in practice? Explore the programmes or read how the 359 Method works.