The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book, The Soft Science of Tennis.
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How to Strengthen Self Coaching Solution#1:
Video Analysis
One method of combating the athlete’s negative self-dialog begins with videotaping tournament matches and providing non-hitting match play video analysis. This process accesses the specific stressful environment that needs to be studied.
As the high IQ coach quantifies the match data alongside the athlete, I recommend identifying how the athlete’s inner dialog helped or hurt their performance. Were they able to self-coach successfully? When providing match play analysis, remember to apply the five optimistic comments for every one pessimistic statement. Following are video analysis topics the athlete and coach would be wise to discuss.
Match Play Video Analysis
- Strokes & Movement Efficiencies & Deficiencies
- Anticipatory Efficiencies & Deficiencies
- Staying on Script. (Top 7 Patterns)
- Opponent Profiling
- Between Point & Change-Over Rituals & Routines
- Emotional Control
- Focus Control
- Cause of Errors
- Court Positioning Cause & Effect
- Score Management
Athletes who are trained to monitor their emotions and inner dialog via post-match video analysis are much more likely to become aware of the software complexities of competition.
How to Strengthen Self Coaching Solution #2:
Judgments through Comparisons
Judgmental thoughts typically stem from past or future thought comparisons. Typical thoughts of comparison in the heat of battle include, “Jason beat this dude. I can’t lose, I’ve got to prove I’m better than Jason,” “Kristin is ranked below me, and if I lose today, she’ll take my spot on the team,” “What are my parents and coaches going to say if I lose?” “Here I go…Choking again!”
Judgmental thoughts play havoc in the minds of our competitive athletes every day. Athletes in competition, with judgmental comparison thoughts, contaminate the match play process, which results in fighting two opponents, simultaneously- their negative thoughts and the real opponent.
Advanced athletes seeking better results often don’t have to learn more technical skills; they have to shift their attention to developing better self-communication skills. Keep in mind that the athlete’s inner voice will be with them long after they stop competing on the tennis court. Isn’t it worth the time to assist them in developing their lifelong self-coaching tools? Winning is much more likely when our athletes understand the art of self-coaching.
