Category Archives: Blogg
Pressures of the BIG Game
This post was written for Team Fierce (a women’s Alta tennis team, who faces their biggest opponent this weekend) Good Luck Ladies!
It’s not the Super Bowl…the World Series…or the U.S. Open but the pressure of winning a big match against your biggest competitor can cause some anxiety, nervous tension and leave you a little out of sorts.
I could go into a long discussion about where pressure comes from and why, but what’s really important (in this moment) is how to overcome it and play your game. So with that in mind, here are three tips to keep the anxiety down, transform the nervous tension into controlled excitement and leave you with the ability to play your game.
1. Keep your focus on the court
Which means: nothing else exists outside of the court (teammates, family, coaches, etc). If you find yourself thinking about ANYTHING other than, ‘what is my next move,’ then bring yourself back by having key words that steer you back [“back on the court,” or “court focus…”]. Find the phrase that works for you.
2. Let go of expectation and outcome
Which means take the focus off whether you win, get the point for the team, or make a mistake. All of these just add unnecessary (self-imposed) pressure. Instead, put the focus on execution and the process (not getting mechanical and technical) but by setting small goals- ‘Watch the ball’… ‘Small short steps to get to the ball’… ‘Move with my partner’.
3. Refocus by using the 3 R’s
This is one of the most important steps. First Recognize when you are distracted…Regroup by letting the last point go…have STM (Short Term Memory) and then Refocus by bringing yourself back to the court or bringing yourself back to what’s important in the moment (serving… returning the serve… moving with your partner).
One last tip that has proven to be effective: If you win or lose the first set, wipe the slate clean, put that set behind you, and act as if it’s the first set. The logic here is that if you start over when you’re winning, it keeps you from getting over confident, playing down, and losing focus. If you start over when you have lost the first set, it keeps you up and confident that you can still win; it keeps you from tensing up (“oh, I’ve got to win this set or it’s over”) and it allows you to play offensively as oppose to always being on the defense.
Now keep in mind Mental Training is just like physical training, it takes practice. It’s not magic…it works ifyou work it…and then it becomes MAGIC! Start practicing how to Focus and Refocus at practice and in your daily lives. Also try Visualizing…seeing yourself hit the perfect serve, the perfect shot or moving as if you are connected to your partner.
Here’s to a good match Sunday ladies!
Be CONFIDENT…FOCUSED…and FIERCE!!!
WE GOT THIS!!!
Coach Valarie
LIKE on Facebook www.Facebook.com/ReadySetFOCUS
Follow on Twitter www.Twitter.com/ReadySetFOCUS
PRACTICE WITH A PURPOSE
This weeks blog is about the importance of “Practicing with a Purpose” and how it can make the difference in your season.
Every athlete dreams of having the perfect season: being number one; undefeated;
performing on a different level. For many, this remains a dream because most will
not do what it takes to have “the perfect season.” What could that be? Learning to
Practice with a Purpose!
What does it mean to Practice with a Purpose? Basically, it is having a reason for
practicing – and that reason should be to improve! Many times athletes practice
because that’s the only way they will get to play or stay on the team, or for the
opportunity to socialize with teammates.
Practice is the most important part of an athlete’s success. Perfecting the small skills
daily in practice turns an ordinary athlete into an extraordinary one. The little things
like keeping your shoulders squared, shuffling down, adjusting your toss and staying
low, are the small things that allow you to: put the ball in the basket as a post player;
cover the running play as a linebacker; ace your opponent, and make a tackle for a
loss. It is during practice when you condition your body to develop good body
memory so that during competition the action is automatic.
It is highly unlikely that a skill that you do not perfect in practice will come close to
perfection during competition. An athlete must remember: how you perform in
practice is an indication of how your game day performance will be.
Want to learn how to develop purposeful practice skills? Follow these steps:
• Always be on time for practice
• Set practice goals daily (what do you want to accomplish during this practice session)
• Give 100% the entire practice (generally practice is between 2-3 hours per session-give it your all during each drill)
• Journal after practice (keep track of whether you’re meeting your goals, how you’re feeling and what changes you might need to make)
The practice (process) goals that are set and accomplished daily are the tools that
make you a better athlete and allows for a successful season. If you turn practicing
with a purpose into a habit, a part of how you train, it not only leads to a perfect
season, but it develops good work ethics.
Work ethics is another mandatory skill when evolving into a complete athlete. Our next focus will be on developing good work ethics because it is the stepping stone to a championship/winning season!
Coach Valarie
THE MENTAL GAME OF TENNIS
Athletes compete for different reasons and regardless of the level or the sport, all are in competition to perform well and win. When competing athletes often put pressure on themselves and unknowingly cause anxiety, tension, self-doubt and a reduction in their overall performance level. Skills that have been mastered become impossible to perform or at best unstable and inconsistent; which results in a lack of confidence and trust in learned skills. This is the result of over thinking ones actions which undoubtedly leads to a reduction in skills. What happens next is a vicious cycle of
Analytical thought (where you are telling yourself what to do),
Performing the task (many times unsuccessfully), then on to another
Analytical thought (what did I do wrong) and back to what I need to do next.
Keep in mind that the analytical mind (when you are trying to figure something out, or learn it) is used for practice not “game time”. Competition is when your subconscious mind takes over; little thought is needed and responses and reactions are a result of your training. Match time is no time for instruction! This time is saved for performance and in order to do this, your play should be more of a trained reaction and intuitive response.
In the book, The Inner Game of Tennis, author Tim Gallwey further explains that mastering the inner game of tennis is overcoming the self-doubt, nervousness, anxiety and lapses of concentration that keep you from performing at your best. The best way to defeat this type of behavior is by learning to focus.
First, one must realize that during competition within you are two people; one that’s telling you what to do (don’t hit it so hard, step into the ball, racquet up) and the other that just performs the action (the muscle memory). The key is to quiet the part of you that’s giving instruction and just do it. Yeah, I know its Nike’s slogan but it’s the key…”just do it”! Don’t remind yourself how it’s done, don’t picture it in your mind, don’t think about what happens if you miss it….just do it! How do you learn to do this… by learning to focus. Focus is simply paying attention to what’s important in that moment. For a tennis player it’s generally the ball and your position to the ball. There are many strategies and techniques for learning to focus, which will be covered later but for now let’s just keep the following tips in mind:
1) when competing remember it’s time to perform; limit the lessons in your head, save that for practice
2) when you make a mistake, have short term memory…FORGET IT and MOVE ON and
3) remember to PRACTICE with a PURPOSE (be a good student and always learn something at practice)
More on “practicing with a purpose” later because it’s a valuable lesson!
Here’s to a GREAT week of practice and an even better week of PEAK PERFORMANCE!!!
Coach Valarie
