In Match Stress Reduction Techniques

It is often true that our toughest competitor in tennis is one's self.  Battling one's emotions will not only distract you from the task at hand, but it has the capability to unravel your entire game plan.  Below are a few suggestions of how to reduce your stress during a match, so that you focus will come back online.

Physical

• Shake your arms and let them dangle from your shoulders, letting all the tension go out of your arms and making them feel sloppy and loose.
• Let your jaw dangle and release from clenching your teeth.
• Bounce on your toes between points, staying centered and light on your feet.
• Do some stretching between points.
• Sit down on the changeovers whether you are tired or not.
• Swing the racquet loosely between your fingers in between points or place it in your non-dominant hand to avoid the "death" grip.

Mental

• Be your own best friend and talk positively to yourself (examples).
• Eliminate negative thoughts or pictures.
• If you are feeling too much pressure, let your mind wander between points.  Too much intensity can be tiring.
• Learn to put things in a humorous light.
• Put things in perspective overall.  Enjoy the battle.
• Clear your mind between points.  You cannot change the past only the future.  Don't dwell on your mistakes, learn from them.
• Keep analyzing and planning to a minimum, using picture images rather than words.
• Picture yourself at your best, performing at your highest level.

Breathing

• Take some deep breaths between points.  Focus on your breathing and make sure they are not too shallow.  Listen and feel it.
• Breathe from the diaphragm between points to avoid hyperventilation.
• Breathe in conjunction with opponent's shots and breathe out on impact with your shots.
• Count backward from 10 slowly to calm yourself and bring about a more relaxed state.

Behavorial

• Take more time in preparing for serve and return of service.  Touching the back fence in between each point will make you become more deliberate.
• Act confidently and you will feel that way.  Shoulders and chin up, do not show your frustration to your opponent.
• Keep the racquet in your hand.  Throwing the racquet may feel like a release, but it is the beginning of the downward spiral.
• Smile between points once in a while.
• Move more deliberately in picking up balls in between points.
• Spin the racquet in your hands and straighten your strings between points.

I hope these simple suggestions will help you stay on top of your stress in your next big match. Gandhi said it best when he stated:

Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words.

Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior.

Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits.

Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.

Please comment and let me know if you have other techniques that work well for you.  See you on the court.

Basic Tips for Club Tennis Professionals

Guest Post by Fred Burdick, USPTA Master Professional

During my years as a USPTA Professional, I have learned so much from other professionals, and I thought I should pass along some of those basic tips. These will help you avoid pitfalls and give you a long career at your club. So not in any order, here are a few:

1. You are not a member of your club, never think you are. When you start thinking that you are not an employee, you run into trouble.

2. Have a contract. If your general manager has one then you can point to his or her contract to justify yours. The USPTA can help provide you with a sample that can serve as a guideline.

3. Don't always take an increase in your base salary as compensation. If your salary after years of service to the club gets too high, some will start to question it. There may be other ways to increase your compensation.

4. Only make the same 10 percent of club members mad at you each year. On average, approximately 10 percent of every club membership is going to be unsatisfied, no matter what you do. Just make sure it is always the same 10 percent or at the end of five years, you’ll have 50 percent of the membership mad at you and you’ll be looking for a new job. Peter Howell, a long-time Atlanta professional, told me this early in my career.

5. Don't drive an expensive car. Sound silly? Think about it. It is smarter to keep a low profile than to drive up in a new BMW or ­Mercedes. Otherwise, your membership will think you are making too much ­money.

6. Don't play golf at your club. Face it, golf rules the club. You don't need to be holding up the club board member and his/her foursome. More importantly, you don’t want your members to think that you have so much time on your hands that you can be away from your tennis operations.

7. You provide a service. You are not a servant. Rarely, but it happens that members of the club think of you as something you are not.

8. Learn their names and use them often. Members belong to a club for a lot of reasons, but one is to be treated in a special manner they don't get at public facilities. Knowing their names is special.

There are many more, but I hope these are as helpful to you as they have been for me.

How to Beat 5 Troublesome Opponents

Have you ever had opponents that you had trouble outsmarting? I have been there a few times and although I may not won the match, I did learn something about them and tried to apply it the next time. Here's a few tips on these troublesome opponents.

• The Cheater- Don’t come out hating cheaters, thinking you always lose to them. This will give you negative emotion, causing you to lose control of your feelings and your game plan. The common response is to try and get even with your own bad calls or try to blow her off the court. You hit the ball at her and get upset and scream. This only lets the cheater know that she is winning. The best response is to play steadier tennis, making few if any mistakes. Don’t act surprised by anything that the cheater does, don’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that she is getting away with anything. If necessary and available, have someone call the lines for your court.

• The Player You’ve Never Beaten- The first mistake you make is walking onto the court believing you have no chance to win. That no matter what you do, you’re going to lose, so why even try. The feeling of intimidation may have you trying to raise your game to a level that you cannot maintain for very long. Realize that your opponent does have weaknesses and is not invincible. The best response is to tell yourself, “I do have a chance to win.” Develop a game plan tailored around your strengths and follow it. Seek to exploit your opponents weaknesses, this will raise your own confidence in winning. Understand your opponent is supposed to win all the pressure is really on them.

• The Player You Always Beat- Don’t take the victory for granted. If your game is off and your opponent is playing well, you may not be able to get serious enough to pull out the win. Fight the temptation to lower your intensity, no matter how easy the match appears. If you start to run away with the match, look at it as a great way to get match experience and iron out some kinks in your game.

• The Player You Have Never Played Before- Resist thinking “I don’t need to know anything about my opponent, so I’ll just go out there and play my own game.” Another mistake is to draw conclusions too quickly and overrate her skills after two or three good shots. If it is impossible to ask others about your opponent’s game or watch her play beforehand, use the warm-up to profile her strengths and weaknesses. Remember not to be overwhelmed by a few spectacular shots. Search for flaws because she will have some.

• The Player Whose Game Drives You Nuts- This opponent is usually a pusher, dinker, lobber or junk-ball artist. You have already decided that there is no way you can play well against this style. The feeling is to punish this player for all the pain she has caused you. Playing this opponent is both a physical and emotional battle. Vow that this player will never beat you by taking you apart emotionally. Picture how you want to play before the match begins. If past strategies have not worked, come up with a new one. You know she drives you crazy; now decide to deal with it once and for all. Get excited about the challenge. Tell yourself, “If I can handle this opponent, I can handle anyone. This time I won’t let her throw my game off course.” Always keep your cool to get through this match.

Last but certainly not least, remember you cannot have a positive and negative thought in your head at the same time. Err on the positive side and learn from each match to become a better player. Good luck in your next match and hopefully this tips will guide you to a win. See you on court.

Changing the Purpose, Changes the Focus

In September 2012, I traveled to California and was fortunate to attend the USPTA World Conference on Tennis.  There were 850 tennis professionals there and many hours of great on and off court presentations.  I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Jim Loehr speak on “The Only Way to Win”, a topic in which he has written a book of the same title.  I would like to share a few thoughts from his presentation and my own interpretations.  We all know that tennis is a great sport for a lifetime, but what if we use it to help build character in our children.  We should make our goal to win or lose with respect and look at each match or practice as a journey and not a destination.  Tennis is the #1 sport for building character in our children and it gives them strengths for a lifetime of success.  Think about the factors facing our kids when we put them in a tennis match.

• They are all alone
• There are no timeouts
• There is a scoring system
• There is a ranking system
• There is no coaching
• Its one-on-one
• In tournaments, there are multiple competitions in the same day
• Opportunities to influence outcome by cheating
• No off season
• Both fine and gross motor skills required
• Variable climate

With these factors in front of them, think about the opportunities for children to grow in self-reliance and physical/mental stability.  When removing the Win/Loss as the sign of success or failure, children develop much faster and appreciate the growth as they improve.  What if we have a paradigm shift in thinking about junior tennis from:

Current

Purpose:   To Win

Scorecard:  Win/Loss Record – Ranking

Behavior:  Do whatever it takes to win/improve ranking

Future

Purpose:  To use tennis to build character = Win with Character

Scorecard:  Integrity, honesty, respect for others, focus, patience, positivity PLUS Win/Loss Record

Behavior:  Acting with integrity, honesty, humility, etc. as one attempts to win

I feel that putting character first will give our kids (my 7 & 9 year old's included) the great strengths we should all strive to achieve.  Because of this shift in purpose, imagine if other parents and children refer to your children’s moral character as kind, caring, generous, grateful, humble, truthful, dependable, loyal, authentic, trustworthy and possessing integrity.    Because of the shift in focus, we can help our children mentally with self-control, creativity, wisdom, critical thinking, decision-making, punctuality, organization and to become a challenge seeker.  We should all be so fortunate.  Do I feel tennis is the only thing needed, absolutely not?  Do I feel it is an integral part of character development?  It certainly was for me and my parents.  Can you implement these items that Dr. Loehr presents in his book over the next 6-12 months to help build a better junior tennis program? Please comment on successes you have had in the comments. Thanks and see you on court.

Self-Talk Affirmations

When on the tennis court (or any sport) you must make sure that you maintain a positive attitude and project confidence. The mind cannot have a positive and negative thought at the same time. Choose to be positive.

These are statements that you can repeat to yourself to achieve your peak performance. By repeating these during your games, you can help defeat the negative thoughts that can and will arise during play.

• I maintain a strong on-court image regardless of the situation.
• I allow myself to make mistakes, rebounding quickly and completely.
• I always give 100%, regardless of the score or outcome of the match.
• I am a relentless fighter.
• I work hard to be in the best physical condition and I work hard to maintain that edge.
• I am a mentally tough competitor.
• I have a positive mental attitude, I always look for the good.
• The tougher the situation, the more challenged I become.
• I am quick and alert and ready to move to any ball on the court.
• I have absolute and total concentration and focus during a match.
• I enjoy playing before a crowd and appreciate their support.
• I love the craziness of competition.
• I am intensely motivated to be the best player I can be.
• I am confident of my ability to win.
• I feel challenged in pressure situations and remain relaxed and focused, following my rituals at all times.
• I visualize my serves and return of serves in detail before I hit the ball.
• I quickly release the frustration of a poor shot, remaining positive and focused.
• I am in complete control of my thoughts and emotions.
• I learn something about my game and myself with each match I play.
• When a negative thought enters my mind, I take a moment and replace that thought with something positive.
• I feel calm and relaxed, loose and energized when I play.

Find 3-4 that work best for you. It should elicit the best response during the match that puts you in the correct fighter's frame of mind. As good as these self affirmations can be for sports, they work equally as well in everyday life. Having a strong, positive mental attitude is key to becoming the best you can be.

10 Things to Notice About Your Tennis Opponents

It is very important that we learn to read our opponents and understand their strengths and weaknesses on the tennis court, especially during the warm-up. All players have tendencies and patterns that they repeat throughout the match and the sooner you uncovered these, the quicker you will be able to take advantage. Ask your partner what he/she noticed about the player they were hitting against and compare notes.  Not to oversimplify, but below are 10 things to notice about your opponent and expose during a match.

• Who has the weaker overhead? Lob this person, especially on the backhand side.
• Is one opponent weak in returning serves? Poach more against this person.
• Does either have a weak second serve? Stand in and take advantage of it. Take it on the rise and "steal time" from your opponent.
• Which opponent is the weaker volleyer? Play this person at the net. Shots at the body will test them and likely produce good results for your team.
• Is one person slower? Play this person out wide or work your drop shots.
• Which are their favorite strokes? Play all others, not these. Also pay attention to where in the court they like to hit their favorite strokes, everybody has patterns.
• What are their favorite positions on court? Make them play other positions. Baseliners are weaker around the net and vice-versa.
• What is the weakest stroke they possess? Play this one, time and time again until they prove you wrong.
• At what height do they prefer to take shots? Give them all other heights based on the limitations or their swing and grip. If a player has an extreme grip (semi-western/western) then shots played at the feet will become more difficult.
• What pace do they prefer? The difference between each playing level is the ability to control pace and depth. Vary your speed and spin to keep them off balance and make yourself less predictable. Need more doubles strategy?

Most importantly play within yourself. Play your game. Just because your opponents have a big serve or big forehand, don’t try and show them how hard you can hit it unless that is your weapon. Being the bigger hitter doesn't matter, the final score does. Don’t let your ego get in the way of you winning the match. Your ability to identify their strengths and weaknesses either in singles or in doubles will determine the outcome of the match. On the changeovers, make sure to reevaluate your initial analysis to make any necessary strategy changes. Be aware, make a strategy and you will play better tennis and more importantly win more matches. Good luck and have fun.

11 Simple Tips for Better Doubles

• The better server serves first- Gets you off to a good start and allows the stronger server to serve more times.

• Get your first serve in- It helps keep the pressure on your opponents and does not allow them to get a swing at your second serve. It also allows the server’s partner to not “false start” when poaching.
• Serve down the middle (or into the body)- This should be done frequently but not exclusively. This limits the receivers’ angle by forcing them to keep the return in the center of the court. This also allows your partner the opportunity to poach.
• Hold serve- If you don’t lose your serve, it's hard to lose the match. If you lose focus, get back to your rhythm. Set your eyes on the spot where you want to serve, take a deep breath, relax and make a smooth toss and swing. The server's partner also plays an active role in influencing returns, poaching and supporting the server as well.
• Consistent returns- Get your returns back into play, most often crosscourt. Don’t give away points with your return errors. Every missed return is the same thing as a double fault to your team.
• Take over the net- Use the position at the net to your team’s advantage by hitting angles and decreasing your chance of hitting the ball into the net. When hitting deep, keep the ball low with underspin to make your opponents hit up.
• Talk to your partner- You and your partner must communicate to win. Period. Meet at the T frequently to set strategy, high five and stay on the same page.
• Support your partner- The Golden Rule applies. If you find yourself being critical of your partner, STOP. Your job is to help raise the level of your partner, not decrease it. Share in your successes and help build up a partner when they are having a bad day. We have all been there, so treat your partner as you would like to be treated.
• The ball is always coming to you- By remembering this, you will rarely be surprised and you will remain intense and ready to play.
• Angle your body- Make sure to face the player who it hitting the ball. This will allow you to address the ball, have full vision of your opportunities and get your feet moving the right direction.
• Have FUN- Sounds simple but we often forget it. We all started this sport to have fun with our friends. Don’t let that be lost when concern about wins and losses comes first.

Remember these 11 simple tips when playing doubles and your success and enjoyment of the game will soon follow.

Understand Your Role

In our chosen career as tennis professionals, we are often asked to wear various hats. Besides an instructor of tennis we are meteorologists, psychiatrists, fitness trainers, maintenance workers, bartenders, politicians, accountants, fashion consultants, physical therapists and much more. With all this in mind, our most important role is the one of motivator, encourager and role model.

Understanding your complete responsibility as your facility’s and students’ tennis professional is something few fully grasp. But the ones that do are successful beyond measure. I’m not talking about monetary success, although that will surely come with a job well done. True success comes in the form of respect, admiration and loyalty from your students and their families. The impact on someone’s life, in which you have been cast as an authority figure, is enormous. Once you have built that bridge of trust, they respect your opinion and thoughts and seek your approval. Fill that student with your knowledge of the game you love, but also with positive thoughts and words about their unlimited potential. Tell them honestly that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to and work hard to help them achieve their goals and dreams. They are expecting your best and they deserve all you have to give.

We, as tennis pros, have been thrust into a position of authority over so many lives. It is so important, especially with juniors, that they have your enthusiasm, encouragement and approval. You may not give much credence to this thought, that maybe your knowledge of the game and God-given skills will overcome negative words or actions on your part. There is one thing that is important to remember here, your students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. We all know fellow tennis professionals who like to tell us and their students how good they are or how great they used to be. Encourage them to stop telling their students about their own achievements or competence and start telling them how great they can be. Your students’ future is bright and limitless and it might just start with you. You have no idea what your students are hearing at home or school and it might be that one word of encouragement that thrusts them to the next level.

As an influential figure in your students’ lives, many items are under your control. With your positive encouragement, heartfelt concern and expert knowledge you release good things into their lives. You release self-confidence, success, sportsmanship, self-reliance, happiness, healthiness and much more. You are responsible for helping them become the best that they can be and shaping their future. If you are unwilling or unable to perform this role, don’t be surprised if that position of authority is taken away from you. Students will not stick around for very long if your best quality as a professional is hitting a forehand better than them. Constantly look for ways to improve your teaching abilities and your encouraging qualities to make yourself an asset in their lives.

Never take for granted the position you are in and the influence you have over their lives. Show them with your actions the proper behavior to handle themselves on and off the court. Tell them with your words that nothing can impede their path to success. Famous distance runner Steve Prefontaine said it correctly when he stated, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift". Ensure that you and your students never waste the opportunity to be the very best that they can be.