Ever wonder why you excel in practice but crumble under the pressure of a real match? Do you feel confident on the court?
We are replaying a few of our most popular episodes and this was one of them!
We were thrilled to have Christine from The Tennis Mind here to give us a few tips on the mental game! Christine coaches players on the mental game and is a 4.0 rated player. With advice drawn from her experiences, she encourages us to take responsibility for our own game.
If would like to contact Christine please email cwatson908@gmail.com.
Use our referral linkto get a FREE Swing Stick ($100 value) with your first year of SwingVision Pro. Hurry this is a limited time offer that you won't want to miss!
We are excited to team up with Michelle from Tennis Warehouse and her "Talk Tennis" podcast to bring you a "TW Tip of the Week!" Use the code SECONDSERVE to get $20 off clearance apparel when you spend $100 or more.
If you would like to see pictures of our guests or listen to any of our previous episodes, please visit our websitehttps://secondservepodcast.com. You can search for any topic that you're interested in and find an episode about it. We also have information about ratings, rules, tennis gear and more on our "Resources" page. Thanks so much for listening!
Ever wonder why you excel in practice but crumble under the pressure of a real match? Do you feel confident on the court?
We are replaying a few of our most popular episodes and this was one of them!
We were thrilled to have Christine from The Tennis Mind here to give us a few tips on the mental game! Christine coaches players on the mental game and is a 4.0 rated player. With advice drawn from her experiences, she encourages us to take responsibility for our own game.
If would like to contact Christine please email cwatson908@gmail.com.
Use our referral linkto get a FREE Swing Stick ($100 value) with your first year of SwingVision Pro. Hurry this is a limited time offer that you won't want to miss!
We are excited to team up with Michelle from Tennis Warehouse and her "Talk Tennis" podcast to bring you a "TW Tip of the Week!" Use the code SECONDSERVE to get $20 off clearance apparel when you spend $100 or more.
If you would like to see pictures of our guests or listen to any of our previous episodes, please visit our websitehttps://secondservepodcast.com. You can search for any topic that you're interested in and find an episode about it. We also have information about ratings, rules, tennis gear and more on our "Resources" page. Thanks so much for listening!
Hi, this is Carolyn, and I'm here with Erin, and we are so excited to have Christine from the Tennis Mind here with us. She coaches players on the mental game. She is a local league coordinator and a 4-0 tennis player, so she knows what it's like to be out in the trenches on adult recreational court. So, christine, thank you so much for being here. Can you tell us a little bit about your background and why you started coaching tennis players on the mental game?
Speaker 3:
Well, thanks for having me. First of all, I'm super excited to be here. You guys have been amazing, and Erin actually was my very first opponent when I moved here to North Carolina in December, so it was super fun.
Speaker 1:
I didn't know that was your first match yeah, my very first match. And she beat me terribly. No, that is not true, and she's very good.
Speaker 3:
But I got into life coaching leadership coaching, oh gosh probably about 20 years ago and got certified it's George Washington University in DC when I lived there and I learned a lot of theory but I never really did anything with it. I became a teacher and a principal and did all sorts of other things, so I was able to integrate some of these skills but never really had any specific tools. And so a few years ago I decided I want to pursue life coaching again. So I found a place I wanted to recertify and kind of brush up on my skills, and this place that I got certified was amazing because they actually provided me with tools that I could use and teach others, and so I've been able to not only coach others in anything, because I don't need to be the expert, I just need to know the questions to ask to actually get people noticing what thoughts that they have, and that's really what it's all about. So I coached myself.
Speaker 3:
It has been absolutely life changing for me in all areas of my life and I've really noticed it in tennis and I've actually had a lot of people when I was doing coaching with other people saying you should coach tennis players. I'm like, oh, I don't know. That seems weird, but suddenly I started doing it because I love it, because I relate to them and I have struggled with the mental game and all different sports throughout my whole life and so, being in the trenches with those people, I get it. I struggle every day, just like everyone else, because I have a human brain, and so now I'm just decided to put my focus on coaching tennis players and I am loving it. I'm loving every minute of it.
Speaker 1:
And it's so funny because I'm sure there's a million books written on the subject and studies done but I think what's known is that a lot of us have the same skills, but the differences in our tennis games often are mental.
Speaker 3:
Right, absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1:
And so we could be exactly the same skill set. But if you think differently than I think, or like you and I did, I know this is jumping ahead, but we all did a little session with you. Carolyn and I each did a little session with you, and one of the things I think I told you was in singles, for some reason I walk out on the court and I'm like, oh, I might have a good match. I'm not sure if I'll win or lose. I'm going to try my best sort of thing. And I think your question to me was like why don't you feel like you belong there, like you are the same level as everybody? And so from then on, most of my singles matches I still have to remind myself, most of my singles matches, I literally say to myself in my brain I am supposed to be here, this is my level, I deserve to be here, I know I can win, and before it was just like I'm not really sure. You know it's just kind of unsure stepping on the court.
Speaker 3:
So that's awesome and that is such a huge shift.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, it's a big shift that one little it's, but it's tiny, but it's, but it makes a huge difference.
Speaker 3:
So your little shift in your thought can change everything about your tennis, and that's really what I try and teach people is. It's not about having this amazing you know oh, I've got to think all these perfect thoughts, but it's just a lot of recognition and just being coming aware of what you're thinking and then decide is that really true or not? You know, I'm a 4-0. I belong here, or whatever. Whatever, your thoughts are Good job.
Speaker 1:
Thank you, good job to you. So are there? Have you heard common issues from adult rec players, like, are there, you know? Does it seem like a lot of people have the same issues, or are they all over the board?
Speaker 3:
Well, it's funny because, you know, a lot of times people come to me with specific issues. But what I notice more is when I'm out among everyone and I'm playing and I see a very a couple of really common threats that I see. One of them a lot of times is oh, I practice well and I do drills well and I do everything right when I'm with my teaching pro, but then I get into a match and it all just goes away and I get tight and I start to choke and then I can't perform and they're so frustrated because they think what's the difference? You know why? Why can I do so well in practice or at drills? But then I get into a match where it matters and suddenly I can't perform and really, if you really break it down and look at it, you're literally hitting a tennis ball over a net back and forth in practice or in a match.
Speaker 3:
It doesn't matter where you're performing that, but it's the exact same circumstance in either way. The only difference is what our thoughts are about it. So let's say we get into a match. Maybe it's a playoff, you know, to go to the championships, or you're getting ready to go to states or sectionals or just a regular local league match and suddenly the thoughts kind of seep in of, well, I don't want to let anyone down, or I don't want to disappoint anyone, I don't want to let my partner down that's a very common one in doubles or I don't want to let my team down.
Speaker 3:
It's we're two and two and I wear the deciding line. All of a sudden all this stuff comes into our head or other things like I don't want to lose and feel stupid, or I don't want to feel embarrassed, you know. All of those things come in and suddenly we feel pressure. So it's not that it's the circumstance of playing in a playoff match. That is pressure, it's our thoughts. And so when you're practicing, there's no pressure ever really, I mean unless your coach, your captain or your coaches are watching you and judging you or whatever.
Speaker 1:
But that's typically not happening. It's a tryout and you don't know it.
Speaker 3:
Exactly, you're right, carolyn. Yes, and I heard that that happens. Yes, so it's about really recognizing what your thoughts are. Because you're creating your pressure, people will come off and say, oh well, I just felt so much pressure. That's on you, that's because of your thoughts. So I help people recognize what they're thinking in practice, in drills, in matches. Then they get to decide if they want to keep those thoughts or if they want to create better thoughts for themselves. So that's one thing that I see that's very common is the practice versus the real game mentality, and it just shows that you're doing the same thing. It's just your thoughts shift. So that's one big thing.
Speaker 3:
The other one I see a lot of is when you're struggling in a match or you're not playing your best, we all want to blame something, and so it's easy to want to go outside ourselves and say, well, you know, doubles players, all of my partner would pick it up and play whether you know, then we can win A big one. I hear a lot is is if only my opponent would give me the right ball so that I can hit it. How often here they didn't have any pace on the ball, therefore I couldn't play my game. Well, what opponent wants to give you a ball that you want to hit? Or they talk about the weather, you know, oh, it was so windy. I, you know, I couldn't hit my ball because it's windy, or the sun's in my eyes, or there's a bug. And actually the bug is my thing, because when I was in Texas I had no idea. I had a total phobia of crickets, and in the fall, there's about six weeks when the weather just starts to turn that the crickets at night they swarm the lights and they dive bomb on the court and it's crazy, there'll be hundreds of crickets on the court. Well, I'm out there playing with my husband and we're in a, we're in a match playing mixed. All of a sudden, all these bugs start coming and I freak out. I mean I'm like I can't, I mean I was having a panic attack, I couldn't handle it, and so it's been a longstanding joke, because that was like 15 years ago, right, still, all there's a cricket, christine, and I'm out. I'm even if it's one. So that's one thing I still need to work on is getting over my mentality of the bugs.
Speaker 3:
But whatever it is, when you're looking outside yourself, you're handing over your control, you become powerless because you can't control anything outside yourself. So it's best to take full responsibility for how you're playing, no matter how your opponent's hitting, no matter how your partner's hitting. And it doesn't mean you're taking full responsibility of your win or your loss, but you're taking responsibility of yourself. And so then you don't have to feel so frustrated, because when you're frustrated then you're going to want to over hit, you're going to give up, or you're going to get angry and maybe say something that you regret or create tension, and those things don't help you win a match.
Speaker 3:
So it's keeping that responsibility within yourself and saying what can I do? My partner is struggling right now, so how can I help my partner? Or how can I show up in my best way and be supportive? Or my opponent is a is a total pusher and I wish that she would just hit the ball harder so I can play better. No, what can I do to create the pace that I want for my game? You know it's taking that responsibility back. It gives you so much more control, you feel more empowered and then you tend to play better. So it's hard to do in the moment. I mean, I get frustrated just like everybody else, but it's a good reminder. So those are two common things that I see quite a bit when I'm on the court, when I'm competing, and then when I'm also talking to clients as well.
Speaker 1:
Do you have a few? I know there's a lot and this is a short conversation for a very large topic, but do you have a few tips for the mental game?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I would say we all have human brains, like I mentioned before, and our higher brain is our prefrontal cortex and it's really full of ideas, it's creative, it's I wonder you know full of possibility. It's the one that thinks I can do this, I'm up for the challenge, I want to play. And that's the fun part. You know, we get excited, we get up for stuff, we want to challenge ourselves. And then we've got our lower brain, who it's kind of from the old days of, you know, protecting you from being eaten by an animal. You know it senses danger, and so then it's going to be chirping in your ear. And so you've got these two brains kind of battling each other. And so when you got into the tennis court, you have your higher brain who's like yeah, I'm up for the challenge, I could do this, it's going to be great. And then your lower brain is saying but what if you lose? Well, what if you feel embarrassed? What if you look stupid? You know, what if you let your partner down and yourself down and your team down? And those doubts start to creep in. And so there's two brains kind of fighting against each other, and they're both always going to be there.
Speaker 3:
That's the thing is, I still battle those little, that lower brain, all the time as well.
Speaker 3:
But I get to decide because I have that recognition now, so I can decide which brain do I want to listen to today, you know.
Speaker 3:
Do I want to fall into the trap of, oh, you're not good enough, you can't do it, or do I want to step up and say I'm going to give it my, I'm going to give it the best that I've got? That's one thing I teach my clients how to do is to recognize who's talking to them and then helping them make a decision on which brain they want to listen to, because they're both going to be there. And sometimes, when those doubts creep in and that lower brain is talking to you, it's easy to think, oh no, see, I can't do it. I can't do it because you want to believe them, because they've been there the whole, your whole life trying to protect you. And so thank you, thank you, little low brain, for trying to protect me, but I don't need you, I'm going to be just fine, you know. So that's that's one thing is recognizing the higher and lower brain activity and making a conscious decision to go with the higher brain when you can.
Speaker 3:
You know, but it's not always easy and sometimes you just jump off the cliff and you're just going to have a bad match and a bad day and it's okay. So another thing that and I think this is so critical is we all say, oh, if I could just get a couple of wins under my belt, then I'll feel confident. You know how many times have you heard that in your life? And really the result doesn't ever create confidence Never. Confidence creates the result. And so it's all about going in with confidence before the match. And then the other thing is people think that confidence is oh, I can win and I'm the best and I'm going to. You know I'll never lose and whatever. That's not it at all.
Speaker 3:
Self confidence is just knowing you can handle anything that comes your way. So if you go into any match you play whether you're playing up or you're playing your level or you're playing down or whatever going into that match and saying I know I'm going to be okay, no matter what. I can face anything, because I've already done it all. I felt embarrassed before. I felt ashamed, I felt stupid. We've all survived that. Does it feel good? No, but we will survive that. So I decide ahead of time I'm going to go in with confidence that I'm going to be okay. So if I lose 6-0, 6-0, I'll be disappointed, but I'm still going to be just fine. And it helps you to relax and know that I don't have to win. Now, of course, you're fighting to win and you want to win and you're going to give it your all. But how many times do we show up with our A-game? You know we don't get to have our A-game all the time. So sometimes you've got to win ugly. You're going to lose ugly. That's usually the worst option, but it's just what happens Sometimes. It's just going to happen. I had one of those a few weeks ago and I come off and I'm like darn the difference between me now and what I used to be, because I used to put so much emphasis on my self-worth and my self-confidence of you know, if I'm winning, then I'm worthy or whatever. You know Now I don't make winning or losing mean anything. It's nothing about me, it's just how I showed up and how I played that match. It's who my opponent was.
Speaker 3:
I lost a match recently, one and oh, in a singles match. I was playing up and it was a great singles match. I really didn't even feel like I played that badly, but she just was doing everything a little bit better and I just wasn't able to get in the match and win the points. And I had lots of break points, I had lots of doos games. I couldn't win the points to get the games and so the score looked terrible and I got off the court.
Speaker 3:
I'm just like, how did that happen? I'm not sure, and I'm sure if we played again, we might have a better score I could win. Maybe she'll beat me again, but it's coming off the court no matter what happens, and saying, hey, this doesn't change anything about me, it's literally just a tennis match. And then continuing to go on. And because what will happen is, when you go in with that self confidence, you're going to win a lot more matches. It's insane how that shifts. Instead of depending on the wins in order to feel confident so you can win more, just decide that you're going to be confident. And that's something else I help my clients with, because they think, well, I don't know how to feel confident. I don't think I can do that. Everybody can do it and I can teach you how.
Speaker 2:
Thanks very much to Christine for being on the podcast. We have another episode with Christine where she will give more mental tips, including what to do with bad line calls. If you'd like to get more information or reach out to Christine, you can go to wwwthetennismindcom and, as a listener of SecondServe, you can get $50 off any package when you plug in the discount code SecondServePodcast. Thanks so much for listening and hope to see you on the courts soon.