The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.
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Encourage Smiling, Laughing, and Having Fun
“Adding ranking pressure is sure to add the exact performance anxieties, great coaches
work hard to avoid.”
Parents, if you make the junior ranking race too important, you’ll quickly see your athlete’s performance diminish. When rankings are seen as more important than fun, athletes suffer. Preparing for pressure involves creating a culture of gratitude and enjoyment. Athletes who perform at their peak level in competition are first and foremost having fun. Enjoyment is the secret ingredient that assists the athlete when they need it the most.
De-stressing the athlete comes from promoting growth and weekly progress over the outcomes of events. After events, routinely discuss 3 successful aspects of your athlete’s performance and 3 improvement goals. Win or lose, celebrate the performance goals hit, and then get to work on the development of the athlete. According to brain function analysis in sports, performing calm when it matters the most is a creative, right-brain dominant affair. Athletes pulled into their editing left-brain typically suffer due to overthinking under pressure.
Parents, coaches, or athletes who make a match too important witness the athlete’s ability disappear. When the outcome overshadows the enjoyment,
catastrophe strikes.
