The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Neglecting the Between Point and Change Over Rituals
“Professionals think about a hand full of thoughts a hundred times in a single match. Juniors think about a hundred different thoughts in a single match!”
Guess when the critical mental toughness issues take place? When the ball is going back and forth or between points? Between points.
Does your child have a problem with any of these? Time management, mistake management, anger management, implementing patterns, dissecting opponents, controlling their heart rate, controlling their emotions, distraction control, quieting their mind, avoiding lapses in concentration, controlling self-condemnation, self-charting and/or controlling nervousness.
If you said “yes” to any of these, your child can benefit from rituals. Most juniors copy the pros as they apply external rituals such as toweling off and looking at their strings. While these are important relaxation techniques, the real benefits of rituals lie in the internal side.
Here are two internal habits that will greatly benefit your child’s mental game:
- The first exercise is to focus on the exact internal rituals the pros use in between points. Internal rituals include: emotionally getting over the last point, strategically planning the next point’s pattern, and applying relaxation ritual.
- The second exercise is to challenge your youngster to rehearse their change over rituals. This internal focus is a two-step process. First, only think about the last 2 games. Did they win or lose? Why or why not? Step two is to pre-plan any changes as they visualize the upcoming next two games.
FUN FACT: Youngsters have to rehearse these skills in practice sets before they become comfortable enough to apply them correctly in actual tournament play.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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