Scottish tennis is still searching for the optimal way forward at the start of the post-Andy Murray era and Brogan, who is part of the Scottish player development centre based at the University of Stirling, believes the best way to do that is by focusing on performance, something the youngsters she is developing also seem to appreciate.
“I think I’ve got an intensity about me on the court and I’m a serious character as well,” she admits. “So, I like to be focused, do a good job and do it right and properly.
“There’s obviously a balance to be had with young kids where it’s keeping it light and fun and engaging and whatnot. But, on the whole, the enjoyment comes from getting better – and players want to be challenged in that way. So, I think you can do that in a way that’s fun and enjoyable. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be telling jokes every minute or trying to be the player’s best friend.”
Brogan is adjusting to her new routine on a permanent back shift, her working day usually starting in the afternoon when the first cohort of players have finished school and then continuing late into the evening.
Working with head coach Jonny O’Mara, the former doubles specialist, Brogan has been charged with developing both boys and girls primarily in the 11 to 14 age range. But, a month or so into her new role, there is already an appreciation that she is a part of something much bigger.
“There have been really a lot of great conversations with the team” she adds. “I’ve really enjoyed listening to people who are looking at the whole of Scottish tennis, not just the programme that we’re running. We’re looking at a bigger picture, a longer-term vision of how we can try and run things up here in the best interests of Scotland.”
Brogan attended a recent event in Perth where an additional £1 million investment was announced to “supercharge” the national schools programme, something she feels is vital.
“It’s brilliant just giving kids at a young age the opportunity to pick up a tennis racket and give it a go. It’s not the most common sport you find in PE curriculums. It’s usually hockey, rugby and football. But it’s often at school that kids have had a first go at something. So, hopefully it just encourages more to pick up a racket.”
Brogan has made the switch to Stirling from the rather balmier climes of La Nucia in Spain where she cut her coaching teeth at the David Ferrer Tennis Academy.
It was a fully immersive experience, the Scot spending day after day, hour after hour, on the court and learning from Andrew Richardson, the coach who helped guide Emma Radacanu to her shock 2021 US Open triumph.
“Andrew gave me a great opportunity to go and learn from him and coach a real mix of different ages and levels, adult beginners to kids from all over the place,” she explains. “He’s a great leader, a proper hands-on coach. Every morning at half seven, he’s bringing huge energy to these young kids and challenging them in a demanding but very positive and encouraging way.
“Nowadays you can’t say anything for fear of hurting or offending somebody. And a lot of coaches are probably not sure sometimes of how hard you can go and how much to push somebody. But it was really good to see how he helped to encourage them through having really high standards but in a very supportive way. And the kids responded really positively.
“For me, I just wanted to experience going somewhere abroad on my own, being in a different environment and just challenging myself to be on court eight hours a day with all different types of levels. It wasn’t glamorous, a quiet little town, so it was just doing the work, day in, day out.
“I just wanted to see how I could improve and expand my knowledge which is something we talk about here, too. So many coaches just talk it and don’t actually do it themselves. I want to be a coach that actually walks the talk and isn’t afraid to be uncomfortable with myself.
“And it’s the same in this role. It’s new, it’s challenging. I’m in new situations on the court, off the court, sitting in meetings. But there’s no escaping the learning process.”
To that end, the former Scotland No.1 has called time on her own playing career that included falling just one qualifying round short of making the main singles draw at Wimbledon two years ago.
“I had a good run at it and I’m satisfied with what I was able to achieve as a player. But I’m an all or nothing person so I won’t be dabbling again with playing. Once it’s finished, it’s finished.
“It’s definitely, in a way, a little bit of a relief, to be honest, because when it’s all about me, it can get a bit heavy sometimes. As an individual sport, it’s easy to become quite self-absorbed. And it’s nice, it’s freeing, to just think of others and not to be about me anymore.”