I’ve listed some of the more common road blocks you and your child will be facing in the near future. Difficulties are opportunities to grow. Pressing on through or around these obstacles is critical! View road blocks as secret ways the game weeds out the weak! An old Japanese proverb is “fall down seven times…get up eight!
Believing that if they are a better athlete, then they will win.
Being a better physical athlete is only one third of the battle. If your child is weaker mentally or emotionally they will struggle. Another way to look at this issue is if an opponent looks physically superior to the rest of the field then there is something missing, something broken in their mental or emotional components. If they were superior in all three, they wouldn’t be in that draw.
Procrastination
Big time national titles are won by the champions because they accept the fact that the will be shedding serious blood, sweat and tears two months before the event begins. Procrastinators often do everything else except focus 100% on improving and fixing their problems. It is important to understand that fixing the problems and still losing passes judgment. As long as they do not actually give 100% on the practice court, they will have a built in excuse…”If I had the time to practice, I could of beat her…etc.”
Quantity of practices versus quality of practice
Rallying back and forth to a hitter or even worse, having balls fed right to their strike zones four hours a week does not in any way simulate tough playing conditions. Our battle cry is “Practice in the manner in which you are expected to perform”.
Thinking that practicing hard for one set is enough
Top tournament play requires that your child often must compete in two, best of three sets; single matches daily. Since doubles results count for their overall ranking, throw in a doubles matches as well.
Under training off court
If your child thinks that they are mostly in shape…they are most likely not going to get past the third day of a big event. Remember, solid fundamentals will get them in the draw. Being crazy fit keeps them in the draw!
Cramming last minute for an event
Peak performance requires that your child applies periodization. Cramming days before a national event will lead to your child’s “Batteries” being half full. Also, their millisecond decision making skills won’t be sharp! They will hesitate with their judgments and often over think under stress. Lastly, last minute crammers usually end up playing sore or injured.
Mistake management
It is essential that your child understands the difference between a “Good” mistake and a “Bad” mistake. Also, did the mistake stem from technical form, inappropriate “Shot Selections” or poor movement? Mentally make the appropriate corrections without emotional condemnation is important.
Anger management
Developing solutions, plans and patterns months before an event is the goal. During the event, proper between point rituals and change over rituals is the key ingredient to managing anger. It also allows your child to save their precious physical, mental and emotional batteries needed later in the finals!
Blame management
To beat a terrific retriever, your child must develop a script (How to beat retrievers), rehearse the patterns and plays in that script, play a dozen practice sets (dress rehearsals) before ever expecting to perform well in the real show! Blaming and changing string tension, racquets, coaches, and or academies may not be the solution. Changing the method in which your child trains is!
Lack of pre-match routines and rituals
Equipment preparation, nutrition and hydration at the right times, warming up their primary and secondary strokes, applying visualization sessions, going for a short run before going on the court are all essential tools used by professionals and often over looked by juniors. Here’s an example: Not eating leads to low blood sugar. Low blood sugar leads to severe physical and mental break downs. Those break downs lead to entire emotional melt downs! Emotional melt downs lead to early losses!
