The Psychology of Tennis Parenting
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Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety affects every competitive athlete at one time or another. Without proper understanding, it crushes enjoyment, causes devastating losses, and destroys self-confidence. Your athlete’s anxiety symptoms may include a racing heart rate, rapid but shallow breathing, dry mouth, trembling hands, nausea, and blurred vision.
Reduce your athlete’s anxiety by helping them practice in the manner they’re expected to perform. Prepare them properly for long tournament days of pressure by reminding them to focus on what could go right. As your athlete confronts their fears and learns ways to handle the below common stressors, they’ll develop resistance. Resiliency comes from facing fears. As I’ve mentioned, they need exposure, not avoidance.
Solution: Discuss how managing common performance anxieties pays off. These common performance anxieties include:
- Fear
- Nervousness
- Choking
- Panicking
- Tanking
- Overcoming Lapses and Concentration
- Self-Doubt
- Self-Condemnation.
Start by asking your athlete to describe their description of these topics. Then ask them to Google any topic that relates to them. Next, ask them to YouTube those topics to better understand how common they are in sports and life. Lastly, ask them to write a brief paragraph describing the issue and their very own plan to conquer the anxiety.
