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Mental game skills are critical to succeeding in tennis. They build self-confidence, the top tennis players rely on their self-confidence to push through adversity, take risks and continue to work on their game. Self-confidence can also make young athletes feel successful in tennis by helping them overcome doubts. Its important to understand what destroys a young tennis athletes confidence. Here are some quotes from kids and teens about what undermines their confidence or their belief in their abilities:.
I take on my teams errors, says Kevin, age 13, a baseball, hockey and tennis player. If someone steals home base, I assume its my fault. Im really hard on myself. I get real down on myself. The major problem is my parents, says Lauren, a 12-year-old who plays soccer, Lacrosse, basketball and tennis. Dads cheering embarrasses me. Just before I shoot in soccer, he yells, Pull the trigger! Its so awful. Im naturally not good at sports, says Robbie, age 12, who fences. I dont have the right body. Im weak, have no muscles and can barely lift 10 pounds. I wonder if I am going to shoot a good round of golf before I start. I doubt I can stack up to the competition and if I am good enough, says Erica, age 15. Generally, young tennis players say they feel more confident when they:
Tennis kids confidence is linked in large part to the kind of input they give themselves or receive from coaches, parents, or teammates. Its also affected by their past performances. Here are tennis kids top five confidence killers: 1). Holding high expectations Tennis kids with high expectations generally experience all or nothing thinking. They may tell themselves, I should not double fault, an expectation that even pro athletes wouldnt impose on themselves! When athletes have extremely high expectations, they set themselves up for feeling like they failed. 2). Being a perfectionist Perfectionists cripple their confidence by expecting to have a perfect match, experience a mistake-free performance or win the match 6-0, 6-0. Such accomplishments are rare in tennis, but perfectionists aim for them. Perfectionists are hard on themselves and criticize their slightest mistakes. They analyze each point in minute detail, focusing on their bad racquet preparation, terrible footwork and horrible shots. They have a hard time enjoying tennis because theyre so determined to perform without making mistakes. 3). Harboring self-doubt Young tennis athletes who doubt their abilities are often nervous, anxious or fearful. Thats not to say that even top athletes experience doubt at times. Young tennis athletes whose self-doubt hurts their confidence may feel inadequate, unable to perform when others are watching--such as a coach, parent or official- inferior to the competition, or may become hesitant when faced with adversity or opposition. For example they may become nervous when they must win a third set or tiebreak to win the match. 4). Holding on to negative feedback Some athletes are particularly sensitive to negative feedback from parents or instructors. They hold onto it and it turns into their own negative voice inside their head. They might tell themselves, Everyone thinks I stink, so I must stink. They may do this after a coach focuses only on their mistakes, when parents point out only the down side of their performance, or when opponents criticize them. 5). Failing to believe in self When young tennis players dont believe in themselves, they question their ability to perform. They ask themselves, Did I practice hard enough this week? or other questions. Self-doubt is the most damaging to an athletes confidence. For example, some young athletes doubt their ability to execute a backhand down the line but still manage to hit the shot they had intended. Athletes who dont believe in themselves often have defeatist attitudes and use negative labels to describe themselves such as I cant finish off my tennis matches. They wonder why tennis is worth the effort, since the outcome will likely be failure. In our next article, Ill talk about Confidence Busters 6-10.
Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is a mental game coach to nationally-ranked junior tennis players and many professional athletes. Please visit
Sports Psychology for Tennis for more tips and articles on tennis psychology. We need your help. Dr. Cohn at peaksports.com and I would like you to tell us about the top mental game of tennis challenges you (or your players) face and how we can better serve you. The tennis survey should take only two minutes of your time (of course, the survey is anonymous) By answering 10 questions, well have the input we need to bring you the most relevant and practical mental game articles tools to build confidence and success in tennis. Please do it today... Please click here. Many thanks, Chris
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