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The Psychology of Tennis Parenting
The following post is an excerpt from The Psychology of Tennis Parenting.
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Executing Momentum
In high-performance tennis, understanding psychological momentum plays a key role in closing out matches. Momentum is a bi-directional concept affecting either the probability of winning or losing. Gaining then keeping positive momentum (where almost everything seems to go right) and stopping then reversing negative momentum (where nearly everything seems to go wrong) are skills worth educating. Maintaining psychological momentum keeps your athlete’s confidence high and helps them play at their peak performance level longer.
Unfortunately, manipulating the momentum is difficult to do. Often your athlete experiences a momentary lack of focus or a setback due to the opponent’s intelligent tactical changes. After momentum is lost, teaching them how to recapture it is part of the software package and will most likely have to be the parent’s job.
Following, you’ll discover steps to finding momentum when it’s lost.
Solution: Educate your athlete that recapturing the elusive skill when lost starts with a time-out. Typically, your athlete’s positive momentum is nowhere to be found when they lose three games in a row. This lack of focus signals it is time to take a legal bathroom break or trainer break. Hitting the pause button extinguishes the opponent’s fire and changes the game’s flow as their winning rhythms are interrupted. Teach your athlete to utilize legal time-outs to control the momentum of their matches.
So, what influencers stop your athletes from building momentum and giving that precious commodity over to their opponents?
- Negative Body Language and the State of Mind
- Being Judgmental About Mistakes
- Wandering Mind Which Causes Unforced Errors
- Choosing to be Combative
- Match Awareness Mistakes
What should your athletes do to hold on to the hot commodity called momentum?
- Apply Bold Body Language
- Focus On Their Script of Top Plays
- Maintain Intensity
- Physical (Heart Rate Management)
- Verbal Self Encouragement
Building positive momentum should be of utmost importance in match play. Unfortunately, match play momentum fluctuates throughout the match. Your athlete’s job is to keep that energy flowing in the right direction for as long as possible.
