It’s the end of the season and crunch time. You’re either fighting for that conference or state tournament spot or already in your final playoffs.
The last thing you need is for one of your players to melt down during a crucial match.
One area of mental toughness you can address as a coach is self-talk.
“You idiot!” “You stink!” “You serve like a wimp!”
You’ve probably heard it all, and from the same player or players.
One of the keys to helping your players eliminate negative self-talk is to work on this problem before matches by using rehearsal.
If your players have one or more positive phrases or other physical techniques they can call on between points, they can stay focused about what they need to do, rather than what they just did.
Here are a few tips to help you eliminate negative self-talk in matches:
Tip #1 Have your players write down negative phrases they have used or heard used during matches. Have the players volunteer some of these phrases for the group.
Go over a wide variety and have your players discuss the effects the phrases might have on their mental attitude during a game.
Discuss how an opponent might feel if he sees your player swearing and throwing his paddle (“My opponent’s rattled? I can now be more at ease and confident, since he’s melting down.”)
Tip #2 Ask your players to write down specific, positive alternatives to some of the negative phrases discussed. For example, during a key point, your player hits her serve into the net. Before the second serve, your player tells herself, “Don’t hit this into the net!”
Specific, positive alternatives might be, “Toss the ball high,” or “Keep your head up through contact.”
Tip #3 Go over the techniques in the article, Managing the Time Between Points, to make sure your players have a routine between each point and during changeovers.
Tip #4 Have your players take notes on changeovers during practice matches to record any negative or positive phrases or actions (such as throwing the paddle after a lost point or pumping the fist and saying, “Yes!” after a good shot) to record any personal patterns they may have.
#5 Have each player come up with one or more positive phrases which address their personal needs during a match, and relate them to pre-serve, pre-return and post-point.
For example, if you have a player who double faults into the net, have them repeat the phrases suggested above. If they have a great slice serve wide, have them develop a rhyme to say each time before they use this serve to trigger the brain to send the right message to the muscles.
If you have a player who returns balls short, have them repeat a technical instruction before each return, such as, “Keep the return high over the net.” After each point, use phrases during the routines suggested in our article on between-point management.
#6 Have your players stay focused by not looking at the stands, coach or other matches. To keep them focused, have them repeat positive phrases they have rehearsed that will keep their focus during their service and return games, such as “Keep moving your serve around,” or “Keep returns down the line and deep,” if that is what the player has been working on.
#7 Have phrases that address negative situations. If your player has just been cheated on a bad call, have her say, “It’s OK. At least I did everything right and won the point with my strokes and strategy. It looks like I’m in control of my game so far.”
If your player is nervous before a big serve, have him remind himself to take something off the first serve so he can get it in and avoid facing a second serve.
The key to eliminating anger and negative self-talk is to address it and rehearse and practice specific alternatives before matches.