Sports Psychology and Tennis

A big serve is a huge weapon in tennis. A powerful and accurate serve can allow you to control play, keep your opponent on the defensive and win a lot of short points.

In order to serve well, you need to have reliable mechanics, an effective pre-serve routine and a range of different serves. In addition, top servers know how to disguise their serve, so their opponent can not determine what kind of serve is coming their way. Furthermore, you need to understand the psychology behind serving well. In my view, there are two kinds of psychology related to serving. The internal psychology and the external psychology.

The External Psychology

Serving in tennis is a lot like pitching in baseball. In order to be effective as a pitcher, you need to master a variety of pitches and a variety of pitching locations.A baseball pitcher needs to keep a batter guessing as to the location of the pitch, the movement of the pitch and the location of the ball. These same concepts hold true in tennis when the server needs to keep his or her adversary off balance, confused and, when possible, guessing wrong. In short, if your adversary does not know where and how the ball will bounce, it is very hard to react to it properly.

A great server can move the ball around the serving box with different speeds, different spins and with great disguise. Being able to serve down the middle, out wide and into your opponents body makes you a tougher player. In addition,if you can disguise your serve, you can create a lot pressure for your adversary.Coming in behind your serve and attacking the net periodically, will also help to keep you opponent guessing as to what you will do next and keep him or her off balance.

Adjusting Your Serve To Attack Your Opponent's Body Type

In general, taller players have difficulty handling a serve into their body. Tall athletes like to extend their arms on the ball, so a serve out wide or a serve down the middle may be easier for them to return effectively, than is s a serve which jams them. Taller players also often find it hard to manage a serve which skids or slides and stays close to the ground.

Conversely, shorter players tend to handle balls that are served into their body better than do taller players. Obviously, because of their shorter reach, balls which require shorter players to extend for are usually more difficult for them to return. Similarly, balls which kick up high can be tough for diminutive players.

Realize that these are general rules and there are always exceptions to them. However, you will find it useful to observe your opponents closely and see if these strategies seem to apply to their strengths and weaknesses. If you have access to video of your opponents' previous matches, these would be useful patterns to note.

Adjust Your Serve For Different Surfaces

Realize that the tennis ball behaves differently on different surfaces. Clay,for example will slow down the pace of a big serve. On the other hand, a hard, flat serve can be a powerful and effective weapon on grass or on a hard court.

Adjusting Your Serve To The Score In The Match

Smart players consider the score when they step to the line to serve. If you are ahead forty-love, this is the time to be aggressive on your first and second serves. If you are behind in the game or the match, you may need to consider a more conservative serving strategy.

The Internal Psychology

The internal psychology refers to the players ability to develop the right mental state for serving effectively. Most tennis players who I coach want to "serve in the zone." In order to do this, they need develop a state of mind in which they are relaxed, focused and confident. I teach tennis pros how to place themselves in a hypnotic trance prior to serving and how to develop the right blend of relaxation, focus and confidence.

Once players learn how to integrate tools like relaxation training, visualization, self-hypnosis and positive self-talk into their serving routine, they tend to serve quite effectively. These skills are not complicated, but they take a little time and a little practice. Mastering the mental part of serving is a lot like learning serving mechanics. I generally teach relaxation techniques first and then teach people visualization and then self-hypnosis.

Different players require different kinds of mental training and psychological tools. One tennis player needed a hypnotic trance which helped him to feel more confident. Another needed to breathe deeply five times before every serve in order to relax. A female player used hypnosis to eliminate distractions.

Many of these top players use our stay in the zone cd program prior to learn how to get into a mental state which has the right balance of the three elements mentioned above. This program has a total of more than twenty trances for serious athletes.

Once you master the internal and the external psychologies of serving your game will probably move up a few notches and you will start to win more matches.

Exercise & Motivation

DEALING WITH OBSTACLES
When you encounter an obstacle, take a little time out to reconnect with your main goal and your reasons for wanting to achieve it. Remember why you're exercising in the first place. How could you still achieve your goal, and find ways around this new obstacle? Your journal can be your friend here - use it to reflect back over why something may have ended up being more difficult than expected, and to brainstorm ideas for different ways to move forward. You can also use it to proactively motivate yourself before obstacles appear - to track your progress in whatever area you'd like to see yourself improving.

GET OTHERS INVOLVED
If you haven't already, create an exercise routine that gets friends or family involved. Studies have shown that people whose friends or family support their goals are far more likely to achieve them, and it's hard not to feel supported when people you care about are working out alongside you. Not only that, but if you've agreed to meet your 'workout buddy' for an exercise session, you make it that much harder to let them down by deciding at the last minute you just can't be bothered today.

MAKE DEALS WITH YOURSELF
If you're having trouble summoning the motivation to get out the door, promise yourself you don't have to finish your workout if you don't want to. Decide that you only have to complete the first ten minutes, and then, if you really don't feel like keeping at it, give yourself permission to pack up and go home again. Most of the time, just getting out the door and starting will be enough.

For a short term motivational quick-fix, don't underestimate the power of bribery! Identify three or four different little things that bring you pleasure, and promise yourself you'll take time out and indulge in at least one of them if you complete your workout as scheduled.

GET HELP!
Finally, if you're noticing increasing difficulty motivating yourself despite trying all of the above suggestions, consider talking to a personal trainer near you. A big part of qualifying as a trainer involves not just learning specific exercises, but learning how to keep clients motivated. If cost is an issue for you, think seriously about hiring an online trainer.

Generally, online training is far more reasonably priced than face-to-face training - and if all you're wanting is someone to keep you enthusiastic and accountable, it means you're not paying for services you don't need.

Importance of Sports Psychology

The importance of sport psychology in football or soccer is becoming increasingly well recognised with many professional clubs employing psychologists. Sport psychology is sometimes called mental preparation or training, mind games, or mind over matter. The aim is for the team to play football at peak performance in every match.

Mental training or sport psychology is no substitute for skills, and it is vital to emphasise the importance of skills, particularly when coaching youth football. Since the main aim of psychological training is to attain peak performance, it will not help much if your peak performance is poor!

The first step is to decide what you want to achieve. Do you have a dream that you wish to make a reality? It's important to discover what motivates you, and to write down a mission statement or creed to provide motivation.

Goals should be set for the long term, short term, and daily. A simple example of a goal is to obtain a regular place in the school team, or the town or county team. A daily goal might be to run an extra quarter mile, or to learn a new skill. A short term goal might be to run an extra five miles, score a certain number of goals, or master a set of new skills. It is important to set realistic goals. Becoming a professional footballer is a wish of many young footballers, but few are successful. It is better to set challenging, but achievable short-term goals.

Achieve peak performance

Peak performance in football and other sports completes or pages on sport psychology and mental training. Peak performance means playing at the very best of ones ability, being "on a roll" or "in the groove". Think back to your greatest achievement on the sports field or even in life as a whole. What was it that caused you to play so well? Unfortunately, most of us will have trouble answering that question, and such events are rare. The idea of peak performance is to turn these rare events into regular events. Peak performance started as a concept in athletics, but now it is well recognised in football or soccer and other sports as well as in the business world.

What characteristics does a state of peak performance have?

* Feeling relaxed. It is a common mistake that we should be "psyched up" to play at our best, but research shows that this is not true. The best state of arousal is slightly above normal, that is relaxed, but with a feeling of energy.

* Confident. There is a feeling of expecting to succeed, not hoping or wishing for success, but expecting it. There is no fear, and a trust in instincts and intuition.

* Complete focus. There is a feeling of being in the present, of being totally absorbed in the moment, with no sense of time.

* A feeling of that everything is effortless. Movements are smooth, even graceful, with the mind and body in perfect harmony. The game feels as if it requires little or no effort.

* Automatic actions. In other words, there is a feeling of being on autopilot with no interference from thoughts or emotions. Athletes perform better when apparently no conscious thoughts are involved. A footballer needs to be able to think about tactics, and who is around him, but the idea of not being distracted by emotions applies.

* Being in control. You feel in control, so that what you think will happen does happen.

* Fun. A sense of enjoyment. Peak performance is not obtained when we are bored. This is one reason why it's important for coaches to make training as interesting as possible.