| Anyone who knows me knows I love tennis. It really is | | | | manifest during a match, where the pressure of |
| a beautiful sport. It is the perfect marriage of the body | | | | competition exposes our fears, egos, and inner |
| and the brain, physical and mental. | | | | conflicts. |
| I guess that is where I have missed the boat. I would | | | | Is this a Zen-like approach to tennis? Well, sort of. It's |
| work endlessly on my chops, out on the practice court | | | | not about hokey chants or good karma. It's about |
| hitting serves or forehands off the wall and nausea. I | | | | discipline and temperament. |
| work out regularly and stay in shape so I can outlast | | | | So perhaps I should give this Tennis Mind Game thing |
| my opponent on those brutal August afternoons. | | | | a try. There was a book called "The Inner Game of |
| So when I see programs like Tennis Mind Game I am | | | | Tennis" by Tim Gallwey written a couple decades |
| intrigued. Can Tennis Mind Game be that coach in my | | | | earlier. Gallwey choked on an easy shot that cost him |
| head? | | | | a junior championship. He was determined to find out |
| You remember how Boris Becker said that in a five | | | | why. His assertion is that there are two "selves": the |
| set match, the fifth set is not about tennis, it's about | | | | ego and the subconscious. |
| heart (i.e. head)? | | | | The subconscious know how to play tennis from |
| But we cannot fathom just how complex our brain | | | | experience and how to effortlessly hit strokes, but our |
| works, and when we interfere in the process is when | | | | ego gets in the way. We try to hit highlight film winners, |
| we induce errors. | | | | try to crush the ball, or get down on ourselves for |
| The mind is clearly the most important part of our | | | | making mistakes. |
| game. And if we have issues in our head, they usually | | | | |