Each athlete, coach, parent typically say things to themselves or believe certain things about what might happen about a sporting event. The thoughts may promote worry, anxiety, or freethem from worry, tension, anxiety. Thoughts, behaviors are the foundation of confidence or the decay of confidence. What sets up emotional reaction Read more
Participation in competitive sport is an important opportunity to grasp the nuances of how the sport is played and what works best against a variety of opponents style in games and matches. Crippling errors in developing junior athletic skills are: a) Either the coach, player or parent interprets mistakes, errors, Read more
Prior to competitive play many athletes have difficulty calming their nerves. To relieve symptoms of anxiety prior to or during sport activity try focusing on your breath. Following the flow of your breath for 20 seconds or more can aid in calming nerves. Your nerves calm down as your thinking Read more
I love parents. I love parents for giving their children the opportunity to recognize and develop their athletic talents. Parents frequently are the vehicle for the child athlete to be introduced to sport. Parents most often provide early stage emotional support, encouragement, help the athlete become exposed to teams, coaching, Read more
Imagery is accessing all the senses including visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile and kinesthetic to create or re-create an experience in the absence of the actual stimuli….for example an athlete can use his/her experience to recall from memory pieces of information to develop a specific sport skill without any environmental Read more
What’s right with the resources for developing junior tennis players in the U.S.? Alot. Thecoaches are more experienced either becauses they played collegiate or professional tennis at some level. They offer their own knowledge and experiences for developing players. The coaches understand the stresses involved and ways to handle those Read more
The discussion of coaching in professional tennis has been a discussion that is moving closer to action as the sport looks to engage a wider audience. Coaching currently happens at the high school level, collegiate, world team tennis….yes it should be allowed in professional tournaments.World class players are supposed to Read more
Every high school athletic program that includes mental performance as part of their athletictraining will produce better team consistancy and players. The mental piece is often a shout from a coach to “concentrate.” What actually does that mean to a player? Sometimes the player responds by grimacing his/her face as Read more
It has been said many times that the mental game is 90% of sport success. I disagree. Technical and strategic knowledge, physical conditioning, proper nutrition including hydration AND the mental tools need to be in balance for ongoing successful involvement in sport. One piece is no less important than another Read more