Motivating Kids in Tennis OK, my daughter – age 10 – and I were practicing this week to prepare for a local USTA tournament. I got frustrated one day with her lack of motivation and inability to focus during practice. My philosophy: Do it right or don’t do it
When doing sports psychology coaching for tennis juniors, I work closely with my students’ parents. Why? I want my tennis students’ parents to understand the mental game of tennis and how they can help tennis juniors’ confidence, not take it away. Tennis parents need to understand sports psychology too!
High expectations can sink young tennis players’ confidence. Let’s start with some definitions. Expectations are kids’ judgments about their performance, usually based on end-results or statistics. Confidence is athletes’ belief in their ability. Confident tennis players with a strong mental game of tennis do not place judgments on
In my last article, I discussed the top five mental game of tennis confidence busters for tennis juniors. Why are these so important? It’s simple. Tennis juniors cannot achieve their potential without feeling self-confident. The top five confidence killers I touched on are: high expectations, perfectionism, self-doubt, negative feedback
The mental game of tennis is critical to succeeding in tennis. A good mental game in tennis builds 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
Often, parents have the best of intentions when they give their kids pep talks. They might say something like, “You’ve beaten this opponent before!” Or, “I want you to win this match in two sets.” Or, they might say, “Remember how to use your footwork, right? Make sure