The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s NEW Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.
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Pressure Reveals Character
“Be the alpha predator…not the prey.”
All predators can smell fear and uncertainty. They sense the timid and weak, and they prey on them. The predator could be a lion on the plains of Africa, the hoodlums on the subway in NYC or the experienced tennis competitor.
Alpha competitors can be physically, mentally, and/or emotionally imposing. Mark Twain once said, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight …it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
The key mental/emotional characteristics of tennis predators include:
- The ability to hit the shot the moment demands.
- The unwavering belief that they are the best.
- A strong demeanor, assertiveness, and dominance.
- Calmness and supreme confidence in the moment.
- Resiliency, perseverance, and grit at crunch time.
Learning to read fear and taking proper advantage of the situation is one of the hidden mental/emotional differences that separates the consistent winners from the pack. Walking into a clubhouse before the match, victors and victims may look similar but possess polar opposite mentalities.
Teach your athletes not to be afraid of the storm
but to be the storm.
