Mental Toughness, a phrased coined by internationally renowned peak performance guru Dr. Jim Loehr, has it roots in tennis, where Loehr first came to prominence. Applied to tennis, Mental Toughness training specifically targets physical rituals before and after points to help create focus and calm during a tennis competition. Practicing Mental Toughness techniques prior to your matches will help you handle more stress during your matches.
History
Sport psychologist, Dr. Jim Loehr, came to the attention of famed tennis guru Dennis Van der Meer during the 1980s. Van der Meer invited Loehr to teach a sports psychology course for tennis coaches which became the second course offered in Van der Meer's TennisUniversity curriculum.
Evolution
In his research, Loehr noticed that top champions followed similar behavior patterns between points. For example, as soon as a point ended, whether the player won or lost the point, he would change the racket to his non-dominant hand to release tension in his playing arm. At the same moment, the player would turn away from the net and begin his walk to the baseline. Top players looked only at their strings, the ground or their opponents between points. They did not look into the crowd, at their coach, passing airplanes, ballboys or umpires.
Loehr created a ritual for players to use to improve their mental toughness, starting with the racquet switch, turnaround, walk past the baseline to the far end of the court while looking at the racket strings, then returning to the baseline to serve or return serve. Loehr called this pattern the 16-Second Cure.
Expansion
As the concept of Mental Toughness grew in popularity, other sport psychologists began to develop their own variations of the concept. A devotee of Loehr, Dr. Bryce Young, developed his Play, Recover, Prepare system for mental training, which is similar to Loehr's 16-Second Cure. Like Loehr's four-step cure, Young's three-step PRP system requires players to follow a set routine between points. Young also promotes self-confidence, breathing, imagery and pre-serve and pre-return rituals.
Rituals
Jimmy Connors blew on his fingers before he served. John Newcombe pointed his racquet in the direction he was about to serve. Boris Becker licked his lips. Whether it's bouncing the ball the same number of times before each serve, twirling your racquet before you receive serve or fixing your strings before each point, rituals can help trigger previously practiced motor skills during a match. The key to using rituals effectively is to incorporate them into your practices. If you bounce the ball three times before you serve during a tennis match, bounce the ball three times when you are practicing your serve.
Self-Talk
"You idiot!," "You can't play tennis!," and other negative self-talk not only brings you down emotionally, it can improve your opponent's attitude as she sees that you are not as confident as she thought. Regulating self-talk is a key component of Mental Toughness training for tennis. Remaining outwardly and verbally positive is important enough that some coaches recommended complimenting an opponent on a winning shot immediately after they hit it, to take away any notion in them that they have beaten you mentally.
Member Comments