Sport Psychology: The Unfair Advantage for Every Serious Tennis Player
Jack N. Singer, Ph.D.
Certified and Consulting Sport Psychologist
You have a comfortable lead in your match and you’re already thinking about whom
you will be playing in your next match. And then it happens; you’ve lost your focus
and your opponent begins to win points and games. You become increasingly
nervous and frustrated and your opponent senses that she/he really has a chance to
win. In short order, you watch certain victory turn into ugly defeat.
You ask yourself what happened? Why did it happen? What could you have done
differently that would have prevented your melt down? What do you need to know to
prevent this from happening again? What about your confidence? How will you feel,
emotionally, going into your next match?
Or consider the following: Your child’s coach informs you that she/he plays much
better in practice than in tournaments. Moreover, the child seems to step up his/her
play against opponents they are not supposed to beat, but they lose to opponents who
are much lower in ranking or whom they have beaten before. Why do these things
happen?
These are common events and frequent questions that all tennis players, their coaches
and parents have faced…and the good news is that all of these questions have simple
answers and the problems are certainly “fixable!”
Every coach and every serious tennis player understands that technique, physical
conditioning and game strategy can only go so far in determining success in tennis.
The mental and emotional contributors to success are huge. Some players believe
that tennis is as much as 90% mental and 10% physical. It’s really hard to say; but
what we can say with certainty is that as athletes get older and closer to each other in
terms of their physical abilities, talent and technique, mental strength becomes the
key difference maker.
When contributions to excellence in any sport are calculated, usually the most
important…yet least trained…are the roles of mental and emotional processes in
performance. Coaches focus on “left brain” training, including technique, the
geometry of the court and game strategies. “Right brain” training is largely ignored.
The right brain deals with emotions, self-talk, mood, balance, visualizations and mind
pictures…all of which can have a tremendously positive impact on tennis success.
A USTA study of fifty-one American tennis champions found that they attributed
their successes primarily to emotional and mental toughness. Over the past 30 years
a new science, “Sport Psychology,” has emerged, with a strong research base of
skills sets aimed at giving the athlete every advantage available to supplement his/her
athletic preparation. These skill set objectives include training in the following:
mental toughness and intensity, self-confidence, regardless of the competition and
score, getting into and staying in “the zone,” overcoming worry and anxiety during
competition, preventing and overcoming injuries, perfecting pain management and
maintaining anger and emotional control at “crunch time.”
In my experience with athletes at all levels, the four keys to developing emotional and
mental toughness are: confidence building; controlling one’s internal dialogue;
managing stress, anger and other negative emotions before and during matches; and
developing supreme focus skills, including ignoring distractions.
Peak performance…performing your very best at any particular point in time…is
only attained when you have a combination of mental, emotional, and physical
qualities working in harmony. Consistently performing at peak levels is perhaps the
biggest challenge that serous juniors face, and again, mental and emotional training
for consistency is largely ignored by their coaches.
And now there is a relatively new, emerging strategy being provided for
athletes…self hypnosis! The power of self-hypnosis in many aspects of life is now
scientifically proven and its power for young tennis players is truly amazing…I call it
the ultimate unfair advantage! Teaching self-hypnosis to tennis players (even young
ones) so they can control their internal dialogue, manage stress and visualize success
has proven to be a huge difference maker. Most Sport Psychologists are not trained in
Sport Hypnosis, so you must find a Certified Sport Hypnosis expert in order to help
your youngster develop those powerful skills.
Like any tennis skills, Sport Psychology and hypnosis skills need to be practiced in
order to be perfected. Every serious player has the opportunity to develop these skills
and make them their “best friends” on the court. It’s really a no-brainer!
Dr. Jack Singer is a practicing Sport Psychologist, author, trainer and consultant. Jack
has a Diplomate in Behavioral Medicine and he has recently been recognized by the
National Institute of Sports as both a Certified Sport Psychologist and a Diplomate in
Sport Psychology. This recognition is only granted to ½ of one percent of all
psychologists who apply for it. In addition, Jack is recognized as a Certified Clinical and
Sport Hypnosis expert by the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis.
Jack has taught in the Psychology departments of seven universities, including four
years as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He is
heard on ESPN, FOX SPORTS, and on countless sports radio talk shows throughout the
U.S. Jack is also on the advisory board of “Championship Performance,” where his
articles appear regularly.
He is the author if 3 hypnotic CD series specifically for athletes and he consults with
athletes and teams across the U.S.,
“In more than 20 years of coaching competitive tennis players I have never had a
more effective tool for mentally preparing players for intense competition than
hypnotic CD series, Dr. Jack. Wish I had this tool when I was on the pro
circuit!!”
Harmann Pappas
Former ATP tour Player, Professional Tennis Coach
Jack can be reached at his office at (949) 481-5660 and on his cell number is (949) 5105660. He will be on the site at the National Tournament, here in Mobile, to answer your
questions and help your youngsters achieve peak performance! In addition, Jack will
have a limited supply of his hypnotic CD series available on site.
You certainly want your child to perform at his or her best, consistently. Dr. Jack is here
to show them how.