The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!
PERFORMANCE ANXIETY SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES
Performance anxieties appear in a broad spectrum. Some athletes seem to fear nothing…some fear everything. Most have their personal anxiety triggers that should be discovered and examined. If you suspect that your child is experiencing excessive performance anxiety, it’s time to look at the common signs. If your athlete’s lack of personal belief is over-riding their actual ability then they’re battling performance anxiety which is part of the emotional development of the game.
“Emotional Development is just as important as stroke development.”
Below, I’ve listed four categories of common performance anxiety symptoms. If you suspect that your child’s fear of competition, confrontation or adversity is affecting their performance, it may be time to gather the coaches for an emotional training session. Ask your child to check any below symptoms that they feel describes them on match day. Design a new action plan to overcome each issue.
Match Day Symptoms
Physical Symptoms:
- Shallow, fast breathing
- Increased muscle tension throughout the body
- Increased perspiration
- Feeling dizzy and weak in the knees
- Feeling that your body is on the court but your mind is somewhere else
Mental Symptoms:
- Inability to focus one point at a time
- Over thinking (choking)
- Under thinking (panicking)
- Reoccurring thoughts of failure
- Worrying about others opinions of their performance
- Obsessing about others rankings & successes
Emotional Symptoms:
- Self-doubt in strokes as seen in “pushing”
- Self-doubt in stamina & strength as seen in reckless shot selection (to end points prematurely)
- Nervousness, hesitation & fearful performance
- Stressing about uncontrollable variables
- Not taking the time to enjoy the moment
Behavioral Symptoms:
- Not performing match day routines & rituals
- Hurrying & fast pace walking
- Having mini tantrums, racket cracking or mindless fast walking/play
- Forgetting the basic ball striking functions
- Allowing the opponent or situation to control your playing speeds
Solutions and Cures
Individual personalities come with unique frustration tolerance levels. So it’s safe to say that symptoms and cures are often remarkably different. Listed below are the anxiety reducing strategies that I teach my students to handle pressure. Set aside time to discuss the below 6 performance anxiety b
