The Mindset of a Winner!

As a player this is something that you would love to have as a coach something that you would love to be able to teach.

For many it is tough to be able to win when only a few games away from the certain victory. Sure you  may have been playing well up until the score of perhaps 4-2 serving but we have no idea how the rest of the match will pan out. Perhaps you have the mindset that having worked so hard that you can sit back and take it easy as you should now go on to win this encounter! Maybe you think it is time to change tactics and try and finish your opponent off or worse still try and protect your lead with different variables in your tactical play?

How about coming back from behind to take the match literally from behind?

Tennis has many momentum swings, many rides on the roundabout of scoreline, things can change in an instance, your thoughts could get in the way of your play – literally! Points arent linked together, one is a friend to another, they now nothing of the previous or the future point. Except our mind may make it so!

How can we even begin to understand this? When does these switches occur and how can we prevent them? Why do they happen, are they on a conscious or non-conscious level?

For all players its about evaluating your beliefs and expectations when in a specific situations during the match. What do you believe you will accomplish when having worked your way to a comfortable lead in the penultimate set? What is your expectation when on the brink of losing the match?

The key is to check out your belief system when in key situations, tough matches, easy matches, tie breaks, write down your beliefs, your expectations, your thoughts and let them go! That’s right forget about them all they are of no use to you at anytime in your sport if you are to achieve peak performance.

Let your thoughts enter and be gone just as quick with out any personal or emotional attachment to them. Easier said than done but alas nothing that cannot be trained!

Psychology isn’t for players when there are difficulties, the best utilise these strategies in their game throughout their careers, from an early age!

In your following matches write down the problem areas and check to see if you have any attachments to these. Any beliefs surrounding these situations and learn to just let them go so that you can play in purely the present and the now!

The life of a tennis coach week 46-2010

Coaching Hours - 38
Sets played - 8

Training undertaken - 8 hours

Books read - 5 chapters

Rained off sessions - 1 (not bad!)

What a great week and my most productive since starting work at the club. Certainly my busiest yet!

Cold, wet, worn out but most busy and most enjoyable. I have set a goal to play at least 6 sets per week to get in match mode for next year and the vets tour. Any more is a bonus.

This blog in the midst of reading now reaches out to 24 Countries around the world, i hope you enjoy the articles, chats and extra bits i put in. Comment when you want and lets start some more interesting threads about coaching or playing.

I have managed to nail down another £900s funding for the club and working in schools which all helps to spread the word to the masses! Christmas tennis camp all set and sorted along with the kids club christmas party with my good self partaking in a half hour magic show slot. A sideline from my childhood days now spanning nearly 35 years lol, must join the magic circle at some stage!

I have started work on a Tennis Mind concept that will see fruition early 2011 based on psychology work for players, coaches and parents of players! I will bring you more news on this as soon as i can and it looks as though the start of a new lecturing career is due to start next year outside of what i used to do! Exciting times and as i said in an earlier addition the Winter is for taking stock and getting ready to reap in the Spring!

A great two weeks of around christmas planned of family time and then to hit 2011 with a bang! Seems a bit early but cant wait for the break to recharge the body and batteries!

One more week and my Mental Coaching Course i have been attending will have finished and that's another string to my bow! Amazing that at the age of 39 my learning has never stopped, i will be happy once i get my head around the Russian language again and get to speaking this again!

Will be back with more articles later

Enjoy

Andy

You got to love this......

The Psychological make up of Elite Athletes

Have you ever wondered what is the difference between a top class athlete and one that just doesn't manage to break through that final barrier?

Elite Athletes have....
More Confidence
Great Arousal Self-Regulation
Better Communication Abilities
More Positive Thoughts
More Determination or Commitment

They find the following concepts most useful in making their way to the top.
In no particular order...
Great Arousal Regulation
Use the abilities of Visualisation
Understand Confidence Building Mechanisms
Know how to Increase Motivation
Have a great knowlegde of Attention or Concentration exercises
Can control Self Talk to great benefit
and
They understand the importance of Mental Plans to full effect

My twelve week course covers alot of the above for on and off court scenarios and i am currently in the midst of producing a more advanced version.

I have many players of all abilities apply for mental skills training, if you want or need a consultation then feel free to contact me. enquiries@andytennis.co.uk

Andy

I Quote....

It wasn't till i got my mental skills together could i use my physical skills
Roger Federer

The Secret to Becoming a Great Player - Silvija Talaja

I'll be honest. There is no magic formula to tell you about how to become great player. But if you want try to become a pro, be ready for some seriuos hard work on your body and mind. If your goal is to get in top 100 in world, like this is the case with many girls that i am curently coaching then this should be the way of life.
Every part of your day should be adjusted and focused to be and feel better on practices and matches. Here is typical day during preparation sessions for these girls:

8:00 breakfeast
9:00 streching, warming up, jumping roap, thera bend(for arms)
10-12 tennis
13:00 lunch
15:30 streching, warming up
16-18 tennis
18-19 stretching, excercises for core (stomach/back) or we do running excercises for 1 hour as sprints, changing directions, reaction drills, medicine ball. We do this 1 hour, no breaks. Just short, intensive workout.
20:00 dinner

This is one of the days in preparation phase.
Of course tennis practices are changing with time. On begining we do lots of work on timing, foot work, depth, aiming for wide parts of court. But with time they do lots more games, points, matches with different hitting partners. Every excercises that we do or game we try to make them with pressure. So girls are counting points, challenging each other and pushing eachother to become better. And those who lose usually do some push ups (the girls actually like this and this makes them work harder). This makes hard work fun and they commite more to excercises.
I told girls they should be ready that they will feel tired, sore, not motivated, heavy feet, in pain sometimes. But that is the time they should be strong and give their maximum, whatever that maximum is on that day. Coz on pro tour it will be plenty of days feeling like this. Every week on the tour players change citys, lands, climates, balls, courts, different conditions. So players shall be ready for all kind of circumstances.
And they feel lots of times tired and heavy on they feet. But its what you give from your mind and body on that day it will count on the end.
I always say; "its easier to win when you play your best and feeling good, but to win a match playing poor and feeling bad, that is the art and the possessor of a great mind.

The Art of Self-Talk

Following on with our 'Art of...' blogs i am adding this to the library....

It is said that the average person has about between 12,000 to the deepest thinkers that excel in the region of 60,000 thoughts per day! With the figure of 80% of these being negative being bounded around!

As people we have two types of personal dialogue happening, inner and outer whereby some of our inner thoughts sometimes in the heat of competition make it to the outside! Whether we keep our thoughts in and bottle them up or burst them out into the open during times of duress or pressure, fact is fact negative self-talk affects our performance in a detrimental way whereas positive self-talk helps our performance in a more excelling way.

Bearing in mind that the body mind and emotions are all encompassing (or as athletes we need to make them so), all 3 need to be congruent for a superior performance. After all it is no good feeding our minds with positive self talk if our bodies or even emotions do not concur!

If we are not feeling it that day with our performance no amount of positive self-talk will help. What we need to do is dig deep in our well and figure out what it is that is hindering our thoughts and mind. From a tired body to lack of nutrition or hydration, the reasons can be varied and many. Our jobs as coaches and athletes is to work through this and realise what we need to do, think and be in order to perform to the higher echelons of our game.
Ultimately our body actually can perform very well without our mind giving it instructions, we can play the game of tennis through our hours, days and years of pounding the courts without the constant verbal chatter of our inner voice.
I will set you a task – Go play a set of tennis without thinking except for that which you are required to through your set plays and routines. Do not get down on yourself when you miss but utilise the end of shot routines, do not get excited when you play well, just let the whole thought process pass like clouds in the sky. Become aware or your thoughts and let them go! See how this affects your play! I have termed this exercise ‘No Think Tennis’.
The Zone State
If we were to try and access the Zone in any way or form, then we need to place ourselves as far away from any discerning or negative or even positive thoughts as possible. Any type of thinking takes us away from the present moment. All inner dialogue is thoughts from the past or for the future, we can learn from the past and plan for the future but ultimately it’s the now that is of the utmost importance in a game.
The body performs to its best when not being told what to do, imagine if your mind told you how to walk every step of the way! To be able to be at one with body, mind and emotions is not easy but for peak athletic performance to happen then we need to train for this. Or as the saying goes we need to play out of our mind or out of our skin! The mind is however an all powerful being that hates to let go or lose control this is why activating a zone state is not easy or within everyone’s reach at beck and call. But at the same time it is not impossible!
The real question is how can we get the mind to trust the body enough to let us be and do?
Any exercise that helps us to quieten the mind will help from meditation to even just immersing ourselves in a book or film! However the problem here is we need to relax the mind whilst exercising!
Try some of the exercises below
• Concentrate only on an inanimate object like a tennis ball and see how long it takes for the mind to waver
• Run on the treadmill and think of only one scene in your mind like a beach, forest etc…. without changing your scenery
• Sit and breathe and think only of one object, rally and concentrate on only your breathing
• Rally with a partner and think of only one area of your game for instance footwork
• Become aware of your negative thinking, play a set against someone tougher than you and fill your pockets with paper clips, move these from one to the other on change arounds place these by your racket bag and count up at the end of the match, you will see how this simple awareness exercise helps you over time.
• Have a partner chart how many points you lose after a negative outburst or look!

There are many more but that will keep you going for now. Good luck and Happy thinking or not as the case maybe!

Serena and Venus aged 7 and 8

9 Year old Kim Clijsters

7 Year old Novak Djokovic

A Tournament Mindset

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary!

Practices are physical, Tournaments are mental!

Try to understand the above phrase. A tournament mindset is totally different from that of a practice one, it's a very serious, highly focused frame of mind. Being serious comes from attitude not anger! Its about being completely in the moment not lost in self-doubt and emotional anxiety!

Keys to a greater tournament mindset
1. The ability to have a greater sense of concentration during specific moments and then being able to chill the rest of the time
2. Having the ability to flick the switch to a laser beam focus and then off the next
3. Being able to control intense emotions that come with the competitive lifestyle rather than emotionally crashing all the time.

I will blog about these 3 areas later in the month however, but remember a tournament mindset is more than just wanting to win, its about doing what is needed to win!

Look out for TennisMind.co.uk coming soon for players and coaches!

Andy

Product of the Week!

Tone Trainer Tennis Monitor

for Stroke Improvement
RRP £29.00.......My Price £19.99

The TONE TRAINER offers a great opportunity to receive instant feedback on your racket grip. The TONE TRAINER can help improve your game by that extra few percent which may be enough to give you the edge over your future opponents.

The TONE TRAINER electronic wedge fits into the throat of your racket. The ultra-thin pressure sensing membrane attaches to your grip. Weighing less than two ounces, this advanced system monitors every stroke, including serves.

TONE TRAINER teaches you to shift between relaxed readiness and maximum power as you progress from preparation to contact, follow-through and recovery.

TONE TRAINER'S audible tone helps teach a feather-like grip during racket preparation and just enough firmness at contact to acieve racket head control. 

Post and Packaging £3.00

Email me for details - enquiries@andytennis.co.uk

The life of a tennis coach week 45-2010

Who ordered this weather for the week?
Not much coaching going on, courts super frozen on Wednesday night but the squad ploughed through and we will all the better for it!
The good thing is the indoor hall for the kids, good job i can think on my feet a little while still trying to stick to our work schedule!

Albeit this, i had an amazing week for ideas and getting these ideas set in stone. From my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/andy.dowsett1 you will see my new Tennis Mind Logo. This is the start of a psychology website for coaches, clubs, players and juniors to educate and advise!

I am hoping to have the template complete by the end of the week and start building the content in the coming weeks. My Russian language is coming along stronger each day i practice and can now hold conversations!
This will open up the ability to coach any Russian players who wish to train at the academy next year! Anyone interested in talking to me in Russian over facebook this will be a great help as well!  I need to learn some tennis terminologies!

Busy weekend coming up and the UK weather looks good for it all! Sun all the way.
For those that are interested i have finished the paperwork for my two day Christmas Camp, ask and you can have copies to use yourself and adjust accordingly. Two days one day of coaching, one day of games and tournaments ending in a Christmas Party with myself running a little magic show for the kids as well.
Funny how hobbies can become part of what you do! Run alongside this is the perfect time to have an awards ceremony for the kids in your programme! Ensure everyone walks away with something though!

Now where is that Santa outfit?

From the FB status of Silvija Talaja

If u don't miss, u will win. If u don't miss, and u can place the ball where u want, I will come and watch u play. If u dont miss, can place the ball where u want and hit hard, I will buy a ticket to watch u play......Hazel Wightman

Contact....

Many of you have asked how you can contact me!
Simple:-
email: enquiries@andytennis.co.uk
skype: andrew.dowsett1
phone 00447850237342

I can work with any of you at my centre, via my programmes or by email and skype.
Let me know
I look forward to hearing from you!

Andy

The Art of Acting

Why in your vast range of never ending skills would you need to learn to act throughout your performances?

A fine question here’s a great answer, forgive me for going back so many years but lets take the Borg mentality of the late 70’s/80’s. What a great role model 0-6 down and you couldn’t tell, 6-0 up the following set still couldn’t tell. Turn the guy upside down and his pulse rate would stay the same low level. What a master of emotional control!

Now ask yourself was it always like that, no of course not, it was learned. Read books on what he was like as a youngster. I call it an umpire mentality, the umpire only sees the situation, un-judgemental the ball goes in or out either way he just calls it as he sees. Is it going to ruin his day, not likely.

Part of the Tennis Psyche System is to be able to act. A massive rule is not to give your opponent anything, let me say that again, do not give your opponent anything. Body language is a major thing in sports, let your opponent know you are down and he will kick your further, show them a ‘warrior like state’ then they may even doubt themselves and their abilities. Either way you will learn to love the battle, that is after all what it is all about!! To battle, push each other and become the best we can.

Part of your tennis armour is to learn to act, to learn to show that your opponent that they cannot harm you, on that point however, it’s okay to shout to clear your energies, clear your mind, let out frustration but then its back to work. To step up to the baseline ready for the next point with a clear perspective of what is at hand, the Tennis Psyche System will teach you to step up the baseline physically attuned, emotionally positive and mentally focused on your next objective.

Andy

Comments....

Comments have now been enabled on all posts. Thanks for suggesting i didnt realise they were off!
Took some time to work out how to do it but we are there to discuss about comments and articles.

Look forward to hearing from you

Andy

The life of a tennis coach week 44-2010

Albeit a day late but here it is.....
A regular week with a regular batch load of work.

A new school attached with opportunity for after school work next year a few times a week.
I am always continuing my education and this week i have decided to relearn the languge of Russian. Why? I dont know but felt the need almost like a calling! Having been able to speak this quite well as a youngster i dont think it will take that long to get back, i may need help from all you Russian readers for the translation of tennis words!

Saturday saw my first masterclass at the club on Video Analysis. 8 spaces available 8 attendees and after 3 hours all left with a darn site more knowledge about their game of tennis!

This week was okay not much to say, time flies when you are having fun!

Dont forget to keep an eye out on all the articles that are put on here from myself and from others!

Lecturing, Presenting and Mentoring

Over the last 11 Years I have been involved in the writing, planning and running of education courses within the PTR. These courses have been varied and below you can find a list of all that i have run.....

Advanced Coaching Essentials
Bollettieri Biomechanics
The advanced serve and return
Effective Biomechanics
The Art of Volleying
Progressive Techniques for Tennis
Footwork and Movement Basics
Etcheberry Fitness Drills
Moving your player to the next level
Power Goalsetting for Performance
Munchkin Tennis
Training Juniors
The Kids Tennis Programme
Working with Teenagers
The complete junior player
Montessori Tennis
Effective Squad Coaching
Basic and Advanced Singles Tactics
Successful Singles
Understanding Patterns of Play
Effective Tactical Teaching
Understanding and Developing your Game
Top Class Club Tactics
Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Doubles Tactics
Tennis Psychology made Easy
Tennis Psychology 101
Teaching your players tennis mentality
Champions Mentality
The art of confidence
Psychology Tennis Drills
How to Win Matches the easy way
Understanding the Psychology of Match Play
Programming and Running successful Groups at your club
Club Programming and Business Sense
Match Charting
Learning from Tour Players
Running a Successful Tournament
Teaching Tennis Technique the easy way
50 Drills in a Day
Doubles Drills
Successful Doubles
Situational Games and Practices
Play Action Drills
Dead Ball and Live Ball Drills
Core Drills for Tennis
Cardio Tennis
Pressure Tennis
Fun Games for Groups
Ultimate Error Detection and Correction
The Art of Volleying
Rainy Day Tennis
How to stand up and talk to the masses
The Schools Tennis Programme

If you would like me to lecture at your club or venue for a day or for a symposium then please email me - enquiries@andytennis.co.uk
text/phone 00447850237342
skype - andrew.dowsett1

The Inner Realms of Ray Brown - UNFORCED ERRORS, THE HIDDED CURSE.

Unforced errors often come in strings of as many as three. One error leads to another because the player who makes the error feels the need to make up for it by doing something extra. The next error comes because the player’s mind is not focused on the business at hand, but rather on making up for the last error. If you don’t forget about the 1st error, you will have a lot more errors to think about after the match is over.



Andy's Comment
This is why you need to train to work in gaining cluster of points. The player who wins matches gains the most cluster of points (3 in a row) more than their opponent.
Try playing points in your squads and you only gain 1 point when you have won three points in a row!
Not easy but great for focus and concentration!

Book of the Week

I Quote...

Winning does not make you strong, struggle develops your strength.

I would just like to say...

A big welcome to Guadeloupe, the Netherlands and Poland to the blog. You have joined another 13 countries that look and read. If you feel you can contribute to this blog just let me know! After all its not a one man show but a sharing of ideas from coaches and players world wide.

Also welcome Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Serbia, Ireland and Germany!

Thankyou for looking in!

Pics from the past

Working with some top class players!

Pre match Anxiousness

I coach a number of club players who play well in practice or in lessons but when it comes to matches they become toast. Why is it that we are successful on Saturday yet suck on Sunday?

Remember it is a normal response to the upcoming match to feel nerves. This is just your mind and body getting ready for the effort. Before i carry on with some tips let me take you to a story......
Two players about to step out to the court in for an important match one turns to his coach and says i have butterflies in my stomach, i feel sick as he rubs his clammy hands together. The other turns to his coach and states i feel nervous, what a great feeling. Coach i am ready!

1. If you are nervous, deep slow breathing helps lower your arousal level or listen to your favourite music that is suited to your situation. Never underestimate the use of music!

2. If you are without anxiousness be wary that you are too relaxed and may start the match too passively. Raise your arousal level!

3. Review your main strategy and revisit your confidence cv.

Good luck

I Quote...

If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?

Gameplans...

When on a forum about gameplans i have to share this post stated from a good friend of mine Duey Evans

First, last and always figure out the riddle of the match. Some places you can start are:
1. Figure out if he/she can beat you? If not, be patient
2. If you allow him to, will he/she beat themselves? Is so, allow them to
3. Find a way to match up what you do best to make the thing he believes is his biggest weapon fail. If he feels his strength (not necessarily a shot but very well could be) is less than your strength you have an advantage.

Remember to keep asking yourself if the riddle has a new twist?

Enjoy the battles!


Thanks Duey!

The Art of Confidence

Confidence is a delicate form, it can take time to build but only a second to lose!!

If you are with Confidence then you have a strong belief in that area, with a strong belief in that area comes a great amount of energy with it. There are generally two types within this area for athletes, general confidence of own skills and specific confidence of particular skills. For instance Ali had one of the best general self-confidence abilities in the world by consistently stating ‘I AM THE GREATEST’.

Exercise…state a truth about your strengths in your game, and live it. Start with I AM…

Simple enough and if you give energy and act as if it is true and you will begin to believe this too.

Specific confidence is the ability to stand up and hit a particular serve to a certain place without fail. You are confident it will work.

Answer this question.....If I was playing against me how would I beat me??

Take your shots you utilise in match play and compare them with the following statements. For instance with your first serve in match play do you hope or know it will work?

I. I hope I can hit this shot (or perhaps you can pray for divine intervention instead)

II. I think I can hit this shot (this is just Stinkin’ Thinkin’ and it will not hold up)

III. I believe I can hit this shot (A great starting place but still requires work)

IV. I Know I can hit this shot (A great aspect but there is better to come, seek and you shall find!)

V. I will hit this shot (The mark of World Class Athletes)

Use the Tennis Tech List (click blue to access this) and fill this out to help yourself.

Use the scoring system below to help:-

I-1/2    II-3/4    III-5/6    IV-7/8    V-9/10

Coach Andy Dowsett

Welcome the following contributors....

Silvija Talaja  is a former Croatian professional tennis player.

Her most successful year was 2000, when she won two WTA tournaments and received career-high ranking of number 18 (on 29 May). She also won one WTA title in doubles, and won a gold medal in 1993 Mediterranean Games in doubles.
She will bring to the blog her experiences and expertise on the world of tennis from her view!



Jason Lampione
http://www.findatenniscoach.com/
http://www.jasonlampione.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonlampione
http://www.tennisopolis.com/
http://10nis4all.wordpress.com/
http://www.twitter.com/jlampione
http://www.sportingmentors.com/

His websites, insights and knowledge speak for themselves!

Welcome guys!

Tennis Psychology course latest

The 12-Week Tennis Psychology programme is going well. Don't forget the start of every month is when i accept a new intake. We have now over 50 students in the programme, try it out yourself!

You can also visit the site www.tennismentality.co.uk for more info!

The course takes the form of the following information.....

Week 1 - Knowing your game

Week 2 - Power goalsetting for performance

Week 3 - The Art of Confidence in your game

Week 4 - The ultimate pre training confidence exercise

Week 5 - The importance of crossing the line for a winning mindset

Week 6 - Personalised Serve Routines

Week 7 - Personalised Return of Serve Routines

Week 8 - End of point play and scenarios to keep you on track

Week 9 - Staying activated and towards the zone

Week 10 - Pre match planning and game plans

Week 11 - After match evaluation and never ending improvement

Week 12 - Free Question and Email Session

If you would like to take part in this programme that will ultimately improve your game then email enquiries@andytennis.co.uk. Cost is a mere £30.00!

or click the title above!