Mind
Training for Tennis Tip 5
Practicing
Great - But Not Winning In Tournaments?
http://www.tennispsychology.com
It
is a common scenario that some players practice brilliantly
yet seem to never show the same form on the court in tournaments.
Often
strokes which were incredibly smooth and powerful in practice, become
much weaker and lacking in rhythm out there in a tournament match.
It's
important to know first of all that this common problem has absolutely nothing
to do with the 'physical or technique' side of tennis. It's purely the mind's
reaction to the pressure of the match or tournament (or both), and it comes out
in the strokes.
So
by simply making some mental changes, your results can change too - but of course,
it does take some discipline to make these mental changes.
The
answer to stopping this situation occuring (or getting out of this situation if
you are already in it) lies in your attitude and mental approach - and so here
is your 5-Part Action Plan.
Firstly,
look at tournaments and matches in their 'true' perspective from now on. For
instance, how many millions of people will know about the results of this match?
(Often) none! Will the results be broadcast all over the country or around the
world? No. Is this match life or death? No. Will you continue to live after this
tournament is over? Yes.
OK,
so we've just discovered that this match is not as important as
we first thought! In fact, compared to many other things going on
in the world right now, it could pretty safely be considered UN-important!
So
really there's no need to stress out about it at all. There'll be
plenty more matches after this one, so you might as well just relax,
enjoy yourself and go for it. The more fun you have, the better
you'll perform, anyway.
Secondly,
look at the match from your competitor's viewpoint - look what THEY have to deal
with - YOU!
You
certainly wouldn't want to be in their shoes, would you?! They might even be the
favorite to win, which means ALL the pressure is on them and not you. Even worse,
they see this great player down the other end (you), trying to de-rail their dreams!
So always remember, THEY may be scared of YOU!
Next,
it's very important to build yourself up mentally. Reinforce the
positives about yourself - going over all of your own positive attributes.
Literally
ask yourself "what's great about me?" and begin to
think of (and write down) all the things you've done in the past
which made you feel great about yourself. (If you cannot think of
anything, it simply means you are not thinking hard enough - because
EVERYONE has positive attributes. And so the answer "nothing"
is not only banned from this list, but worthy of a firm kick in
the butt!).
List
down anything that makes you feel good about your game
- your great service action, your whippy topsin forehand, your consistency,
your mental strength, your fitness, your coach, the win you had
over so-and-so, the tournament you won last year, what someone told
you about how good your game was, etc etc.
Go
over this list at least once before each and every match, and let
each point sink in a little before you move on to the next.
Last
of all, two more important things. It's important to regularly visualize yourself
winning the matches and playing great shots, imagining a great tournament where
you show them all who's the best!
Absolutely
essential is to make your tennis mind just as strong as
your groundstrokes, which can only be done the same way - through
regular daily practice of your mental training, even just
for a few minutes each day.
A
powerful way to do this is to mentally visualize your game going
absolutely perfectly in your mind for around 10 minutes each day,
with every single major shot included in the mental scenario, playing
points in your mind and seeing yourself coming out on top every
time.
This
can be done to upbeat motivational music, or if you are
serious about it, you might want to check out my daily
Mind
Training for Tennis visualization program on mp3 or CD,
which takes you through the whole process.
The
other thing is to talk positively to yourself, using positive affirmations
and upbeat thoughts (no, not aloud - in your mind!) - become
your own inner 'cheer squad' who constantly tells yourself how great
you are. This can transform your results more than you could ever
possibly imagine.
So
to overcome the 'great practice / bad tournament' blues - here's the action plan:
Put the tournament in its true perspective, then look at the match from your competitor's
viewpoint. Build yourself up mentally, and then visualize and affirm to yourself
just how great the whole experience is going to be.
So
if you find yourself stuck in a negative pattern, change it. You can create your
life into anything you WANT it to be. You've got the action plan, now the rest
is up to you!
