The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
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TEN ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF THE MENTALLY TOUGH COMPETITOR
Because the mental-emotional components are so often misdiagnosed, let’s begin by describing the difference between the mental and emotional components. Mental toughness is the knowledge of the analytical functions of competition- the X’s and O’s of strategy and tactics. Emotional toughness is the ability to control feelings and emotions during competition- courage through confrontation, focus for the duration, controlling nerves, fear and self-doubt, which are categorized as performance anxieties. Keep in mind that the mental-emotional components are often intertwined. Ask your child’s coaches to meet regarding these important elements. My bet is that they’ll have terrific insight to assist your athlete in their quest for mental toughness.
Ten Essential Components of the Mental/Emotional Tough Competitor:
1) Dedicate physically, mentally and emotionally to the process of becoming mentally tough.
Without full commitment, it is unlikely mental toughness will be achieved. Mental/emotional toughness can only be mastered by someone who is ready to dig deeper into the strategic, stubborn protocols of winning and the psychology of defeating their own demons. (Known as performance anxieties.)
2) Acknowledge that being mentally/emotionally tough isn’t reserved for the gifted few.
Mental/emotional toughness as well as mental/emotional weakness is a learned-earned behavior.
People around the world from the passive Buddhist monks to the aggressive Navy Seals spend each day developing their mental/emotional toughness skills. Some juniors have unknowingly invented their own negative mental/emotional weakness protocols because they are not versed in the process of pre-set protocols. So they return to their negative behaviors under stress. Such as racquet cracking, language outburst, etc.
3) Decide to stay the course and confront hardship instead of bailing out at the first sign of confrontation.
Psychologists call it the fight or flight syndrome. Choosing to persevere through difficult circumstances leads to improved confidence. Getting in superb physical shape is a great place to start. Begin the journey by fighting through exhaustion, pain and discomfort.
4) On a daily basis, multi-task and build the mental/emotional muscles along with stroke production.
Closing out every single drill develops mental/emotional toughness. Apply negative scoring during each physical drill on court to rehearse overcoming hardships. (Drill to 10 – subtracting 1 for each error.)
5) Commit to a deliberate customized training regimen. Confidence, belief and self-trust are learned and earned.
Choosing to do what the moment demands within a millisecond requires preset protocol training. This is deliberate, customized repetition that incorporates how, when and why pre-set solutions are applied.
