I remember it like it was a lightning bolt, my then mentor said to me: “Your opponent is your partner, not an enemy!” I thought that statement was blasphemous! My entire competitive life, I viewed the opponent as my enemy, someone whom I must defeat. The entire goal was decimation! My mentor, Jena Marcovicci,…
This story first appeared in the November/December 2018 issue of New York Tennis Magazine. Click Here to see the full issue. The local tennis community has some of the sport’s finest facilities and some of the top coaches in the world. With this wealth of talent available, New York Tennis Magazine took the opportunity to pick the…
To become a champion, you must have talent, fitness, good coaching, money, supportive parents, access to courts, discipline and patience. The sport psychologist is usually called upon when a player is having trouble with anxiety, anger, confidence, focus or pain tolerance. Any coach and athlete will admit that the ability to stay focused, confident…
In my first book, Tennis Inside the Zone: Mental Training Workouts for Champions, I wrote a chapter entitled, “OMG, I’m Nervous …What Do I Do?” At the time I wrote that chapter, that was the top question tennis players brought to me. But there is another question tennis players experience and grapple with that is…
Tennis stars … the cold months are upon us and it is time to make sure our tennis skills don’t go into a deep freeze. I always found cold conditions to be an advantage for me when I walked onto the court. I grew up in a small town in Michigan. With no indoor…
It is undeniable that there is a major “mental” component to competitive tennis, but what does that really mean? And better yet, how can you improve the “mental” game? It is widely accepted to break down sports into four distinct areas (Physical, Technical, Tactical, and Mental) to help organize goals and develop strategic training…
I remember it like it was yesterday, coaching the Zonals for the 16 & Under age group. The competition was fierce with top kids from the country. Inevitably, various issues came up before matches. For example, I received a late-night text from my number two player saying her friend, our number three player, was…
One of a player’s greatest tools is confidence, yet very few know how to develop this state of mind. Most tennis matches are won or lost before the first serve is struck based upon who holds the most confidence. It’s true that practice, excellent ground strokes, a powerful serve, good coaching, proper rest, natural…
Choking is one of the biggest fears of many athletes in competitive sports, and it is caused by thinking about the outcome, rather than the process. This causes the explicit (controlled) learning system to dictate the player’s actions. When the player first learns to hit a ball, they usually think about the skill in…
There is ample proof that tennis players often have difficulty controlling their emotions. This even holds true for players who have obtained greatness. Roger Federer was prone to anger and temper tantrums until he reached the age of 20 and well into his professional career. McEnroe was famous for screaming, “You cannot be serious,”…