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Tuesday, 16 March 2010

How to Keep Your Head in the Game

Tennis is a lonely sport. Though there are two people on the court at a time, there is absolutely no communication allowed between the players or anyone else, including coaches. When you are playing a match, all the thoughts in your head speak more loudly than usual, heightening the great wins but worsening the defeats of each point and every game. Especially in a sport like tennis, it is easy to lose your focus. When your thoughts move to the idea of a "match" as opposed to the moment in which you are playing, you make careless errors and often cost yourself the game.

Whether through self-talk, deep breathing, or zen "in the moment" thinking, it is integral to live and play in the moment. You can't think about who won the last game or how many sets ahead or behind you are. Instead, focus on looking at the corner to which you're serving, the object or line that you're spotting, or how hard you'll hit your backhand return.

Don't let "failure" get you down; everyone makes mistakes. It is important to let go of your errors so you can look at each serve, each set with a fresh face. If you linger on things you've done wrong in the past, you will continue to flounder. If you focus on the moment you are in without looking forward or backwards, you will achieve the clarity needed to succeed in such a fast-paced sport.

There are two main sentiments that get in the way of on-court success: over-confidence and fear; both lead to sloppy game play.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Geoff_James

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