John Newcombe, former world tennis No 1 and former Australian Davis Cup captain, once said that the top Australian players of his era believed that it was their destiny to become tennis champions.
Two weeks before achieving his first Wimbledon title (in 1985 when seventeen years old), Boris Becker told his friend that he felt as if it were predetermined.
As a seventeen year old, Ivan Lendl, who, prior to Pete Sampras, held the No 1 spot longer than any other player in history, was convinced that he would turn himself into the best player in the world. He would even tell you so.
When asked by the media about his chances of winning his first US Open title (in 1975), Jimmy Connors' response was: "There are 127 losers in the draw -- and me!"
Jimmy won.
What these former greats had in common was an unshakable certainty that they would win. It is a trait that is shared by all top sports people.
But a question that has always fascinated me is: Are such champions born, or are they made?
Were Newccombe, Becker, Lendl and Connors born to rule the tennis world? Or did they become champions because of the choices they made? Was their success predetermined, as suggested by Newcombe and Becker? Or was it a result of a single-minded dedication to making themselves the very best, as implied by Lendl and Connors?
Are champions a product of nature? Or of nurture?
To be a true champion at tennis or any other sport requires very special qualities. These qualities or attributes can be divided into two categories -- the physical and the mental. It is my contention that physical attributes are predominantly a product of chance. They are determined genetically.
For instance, some people are born with a body structure conducive to speed, others to strength, and so on. In this sense, a very large proportion of the population are excluded, from birth, from ever winning an Olympic gold medal as a sprinter or a weightlifter.
It is the same with tennis. The physical attributes that are required to become a champion player are such things as good hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes, and leg-speed. Without question, these attributes can be developed to their fullest potential with hard work and effective training methods.
But most people are excluded from becoming the best tennis player in the world, no matter how much time they spend attempting to reach their physical ceiling of potential.
Does this mean, then, that champions are born? Were Newcombe, Becker, Lendl and Connors so physically superior to everyone else that becoming the best was just a mere formality?
Certainly not. All four were exceptionally gifted physically, but in my view, there were other players of the same eras who were more gifted than they were.
What separated them from everyone else were their mental attributes: their will to win, their determination, their perseverance, their ability to remain calm under presuure, their ability to bounce back from disappointments, and the belief that they deserved to win -- all attributes that not one of us is born with, but that each one of us has the power to develop. The only choice is whether we want to or not.
It is in this sense that, given the necessary or essential physical attributes as a starting point, all champions are not only made -- they are self-made.
Welcome To My World
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
How To Play Tennis - The Mental Game
Learning how to play tennis can be either a wonderful or a very frustrating experience. It depends on whether your approach and expectations to the game are realistic and whether your coach and his way of teaching the game of tennis are the best for your starting level of play.
When you start learning how to play tennis you probably don't know much about it. You've seen how good players play and they seem so effortless and the game seems easy. You decide that you want to try it too and enroll in one of the lessons at your local club.
There are 2 main areas when you are still learning how to play tennis:
- Technique (footwork, body, arm action)
- Tactics
And here are the main mental points for these two areas of your beginning lessons:
1. Be aware – when you learn how to play tennis you are soon overwhelmed with lots of information. This can cause you to lose focus on most important things – depending on your coach's instructions. Listen to your coach and do as he/she tells you to. Sometimes it's your arm movement, sometimes focusing on the feel of the racquet, sometimes on your movement. Be aware of what is happening so that you may correct that.
We coaches often come to the situation when the player wants to hit the ball in court while our main concern is correct form. And sometimes we don't care about form and just want the player to develop feel and put the ball in court but the beginner is still focused on the correct form. So stay with your coach's instructions and be aware of the outcome.
2. Don't take the game too seriously and don't try too hard – it's only a game. You are already too tense at the start since you don't feel which muscles you need and which you don't. So you use too many of them. If you add to this a too serious approach and you try too hard to hit the ball in or to please your coach, you will slow down your improvement and lose all the joy and fun when learning how to play tennis.
3. Accept mistakes as a part of this game. There will be probably quite some mistakes at the beginning. Don't let that discourage you, it's only feedback. You learn from them. You need mistakes, without them you can't explore your limits. And remember your tennis abilities have nothing to do with you – your inner self. There is no connection unless you make one.
4. Be patient and willing to wait before results come. Your brain and body need many repetitions before they adapt. Wait and be patient. You'll soon know how to play tennis. :)
5. Here are some mental qualities that lead you to success, regardless of your skill level or area of your involvement:
a) Focus on what you want instead of what you don't want
- playing better instead of not playing bad
- serving in the court instead of not making a double fault
- hitting an »easy« ball in rather than hoping that you won't miss again
b) Be decisive – when you decide what you want to do (hitting down the line or crosscourt, hitting close to lines or more in the middle, playing more attacking shots, playing more volleys, …) do it. Stay with you decision. Decide quickly – remember: he who hesitates is lost.
Even if your decision turns out to be wrong, you'll get some feedback. When you are indecisive and don't decide what to do, you don't know when will such a situation present itself again.
c) Be courageous – there are many situations in the game where you'll feel the fear: of missing, of making a fool of yourself, of winning, of not improving … There is only one way of beating the fear – courage. Doing the right thing regardless of your emotional tendencies. Just do it. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
Learning how to play tennis can be a very fun, exciting and rewarding experience. Follow these mental steps when learning and playing and you are on your way to becoming a mental master of this beautiful game.
When you start learning how to play tennis you probably don't know much about it. You've seen how good players play and they seem so effortless and the game seems easy. You decide that you want to try it too and enroll in one of the lessons at your local club.
There are 2 main areas when you are still learning how to play tennis:
- Technique (footwork, body, arm action)
- Tactics
And here are the main mental points for these two areas of your beginning lessons:
1. Be aware – when you learn how to play tennis you are soon overwhelmed with lots of information. This can cause you to lose focus on most important things – depending on your coach's instructions. Listen to your coach and do as he/she tells you to. Sometimes it's your arm movement, sometimes focusing on the feel of the racquet, sometimes on your movement. Be aware of what is happening so that you may correct that.
We coaches often come to the situation when the player wants to hit the ball in court while our main concern is correct form. And sometimes we don't care about form and just want the player to develop feel and put the ball in court but the beginner is still focused on the correct form. So stay with your coach's instructions and be aware of the outcome.
2. Don't take the game too seriously and don't try too hard – it's only a game. You are already too tense at the start since you don't feel which muscles you need and which you don't. So you use too many of them. If you add to this a too serious approach and you try too hard to hit the ball in or to please your coach, you will slow down your improvement and lose all the joy and fun when learning how to play tennis.
3. Accept mistakes as a part of this game. There will be probably quite some mistakes at the beginning. Don't let that discourage you, it's only feedback. You learn from them. You need mistakes, without them you can't explore your limits. And remember your tennis abilities have nothing to do with you – your inner self. There is no connection unless you make one.
4. Be patient and willing to wait before results come. Your brain and body need many repetitions before they adapt. Wait and be patient. You'll soon know how to play tennis. :)
5. Here are some mental qualities that lead you to success, regardless of your skill level or area of your involvement:
a) Focus on what you want instead of what you don't want
- playing better instead of not playing bad
- serving in the court instead of not making a double fault
- hitting an »easy« ball in rather than hoping that you won't miss again
b) Be decisive – when you decide what you want to do (hitting down the line or crosscourt, hitting close to lines or more in the middle, playing more attacking shots, playing more volleys, …) do it. Stay with you decision. Decide quickly – remember: he who hesitates is lost.
Even if your decision turns out to be wrong, you'll get some feedback. When you are indecisive and don't decide what to do, you don't know when will such a situation present itself again.
c) Be courageous – there are many situations in the game where you'll feel the fear: of missing, of making a fool of yourself, of winning, of not improving … There is only one way of beating the fear – courage. Doing the right thing regardless of your emotional tendencies. Just do it. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
Learning how to play tennis can be a very fun, exciting and rewarding experience. Follow these mental steps when learning and playing and you are on your way to becoming a mental master of this beautiful game.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Learning To Play Tennis
Most people begin to learn how to play tennis by watching tennis matches on television. They will learn about the scoring system used in the tennis matches and learn how to differentiate between one tennis racquet brand and another. Over time, they will also know the different playing styles of every tennis player on the circuit and some they will be able to identify on sight with their full name. They might concentrate very intently on each ball service because each player seems to have a different serving style.
It is common to see children playing alone outside with a racquet and a ball. They are learning to play tennis by practicing their serve on a concrete wall. They might realize that tennis requires them to run more quickly than they initially thought, and by the end of the day they are ready to go to bed early because they are extremely tired. The next day that they practice tennis in this manner, they might be more willing to pace themselves in their tennis training.
The local library has many sources of information that people can use to gain knowledge about the game of tennis. There are sports magazines and internet sites with plenty of information to read, hear and visualize, as well as an unlimited number of videos that people can rent to view when they have some free time during the day. All of these news sources will be verified and children find this information resource invaluable when they join a tennis team at school.
A tennis player can learn all about the world of tennis by studying how to become a professional in the sport and by following the career trail of players who have played professionally for many years. They might even learn where the tennis courts are in their hometown so they can practice volleying the ball over an actual net.
Many neighborhood apartment complexes install tennis courts to lure in the right crowd. Any tenant that has the energy to play tennis will generally have a proactive lifestyle. Neighbors can spend many hours on the tennis court getting exercise just to keep fit. While they are busying themselves by learning tennis, they will generally stay out of trouble and spread good cheer among other residents who live there.
Some parents might be willing to sign a child up for a lessons at a local tennis center. Learning the game from someone that has perfected their craft is generally the best way to learn it. The tennis centers will have regulation courts where people can learn to serve the tennis ball with precision and returning the ball several times after that will be what their formal training in tennis will perfect.
People get inspired to learn tennis by buying tennis outfits and equipment. The salesmen at a sports equipment outlet will be a good guide to make sure they have everything they need. When learning to play tennis, only the basic equipment needs to be purchased. Players can move on to more expensive styles in racquets after their tennis training has been completed.
It is common to see children playing alone outside with a racquet and a ball. They are learning to play tennis by practicing their serve on a concrete wall. They might realize that tennis requires them to run more quickly than they initially thought, and by the end of the day they are ready to go to bed early because they are extremely tired. The next day that they practice tennis in this manner, they might be more willing to pace themselves in their tennis training.
The local library has many sources of information that people can use to gain knowledge about the game of tennis. There are sports magazines and internet sites with plenty of information to read, hear and visualize, as well as an unlimited number of videos that people can rent to view when they have some free time during the day. All of these news sources will be verified and children find this information resource invaluable when they join a tennis team at school.
A tennis player can learn all about the world of tennis by studying how to become a professional in the sport and by following the career trail of players who have played professionally for many years. They might even learn where the tennis courts are in their hometown so they can practice volleying the ball over an actual net.
Many neighborhood apartment complexes install tennis courts to lure in the right crowd. Any tenant that has the energy to play tennis will generally have a proactive lifestyle. Neighbors can spend many hours on the tennis court getting exercise just to keep fit. While they are busying themselves by learning tennis, they will generally stay out of trouble and spread good cheer among other residents who live there.
Some parents might be willing to sign a child up for a lessons at a local tennis center. Learning the game from someone that has perfected their craft is generally the best way to learn it. The tennis centers will have regulation courts where people can learn to serve the tennis ball with precision and returning the ball several times after that will be what their formal training in tennis will perfect.
People get inspired to learn tennis by buying tennis outfits and equipment. The salesmen at a sports equipment outlet will be a good guide to make sure they have everything they need. When learning to play tennis, only the basic equipment needs to be purchased. Players can move on to more expensive styles in racquets after their tennis training has been completed.
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