Performance anxiety

A game or match can be won or loss before the competition even begins. The positive and negative thoughts that one says to themselves leading up to the game or match can either help or make things worse. Winning the mental battle doesn't happen overnight. We are not born confident. Confidence is a learned behavior that one must practice over and over on a daily basis so it can be used when needed most in the heat of the battle. Like I said before, nerves are natural, but you must reframe those nerves by channeling them in a different way. Don't focus on being nervous because if you do it will get the best of you. No one likes to feel like a deer in front of head lights. The tension that comes over you when you just freeze up and you can't move or react fast enough. The flip side of that is when one acts out of character and tries to do too much and ends up playing too fast rather than playing within themselves. When you are talking to yourself before you compete, keep your thoughts pure and positive. Visualize and breathe positive energy. Show up early so you are not rushing before it's time to play. This will allow you to get your mind right so you can physically perform to the best of your abilities. By showing up early you can stretch, warm up, hydrate, use the bathroom, listen to music, talk with your friends or family to help deflect your nerves as you get closer to the start of your match. When I use to compete, listening to music 10-15 minutes before competition worked best for me. I was able to clear my head and get myself mentally ready to do battle. When I played my best matches, I didn't focus on the outcome of those matches. I stayed in the moment focusing on the task at hand. While I was talking to myself throughout those matches, I kept saying positive things to myself. Not being over confident, but reminding myself to continue doing what was working while staying aware of what was transpiring in the match. Keeping mental notes of what was working and what was not working. Reading my opponents body language and paying attention to their negative outbursts. Using their negative behavior as motivation while reminding myself not to let up and allow my opponent to get back into the match. I think it is very important that you find time to prepare mentally before a match. You must go into each match with a game plan. Visualize yourself having success. Don't focus on what you are not good at, focus on what you are good at. Having negative thoughts enter into your head during competition never ends well. You have to realize that you are going to make mistakes. Not all of your mistakes will be unforced errors. Some of your mistakes will be forced errors which are caused by your opponent hitting good shots and/or making good plays. I can remember back when I was 10 years old playing a practice match at Sportsmen's Tennis club against an older girl. She challenged me because she felt that she was better than me at the time. Back in the day boys were mentally bred to think that we should never lose to a girl who was close to us in age. So I went into the match feeling myself, over confident and saying to myself, "she can't beat me, I'm going crush her." It was just the two of us and our coach, Jim smith out on the court. The match started, I was taking my opponent for granted because she was a girl, so I wasn't mentally ready to bring my "A" game right from the start of the practice set. She was a good player, but I didn't feel as if she was on my level. Needless to say, I found myself down 1-4 losing my mind, screaming in absolute disbelief, saying all types of negative things to myself. The girl was on fire, so determined to beat me that day because she had never beaten me before. I couldn't think straight because I was so focused on the fact that I was losing to a girl. I was thinking about what all of the coaches, parents and what all of our peers would say once they heard that I had lost to a girl. If Jim Smith wasn't there, I would have definitely lost that practice set. Jim pulled me to the side and calmed me down. He told me to calm down and take some deep breathes. He told me to focus on playing my game and not playing her game. He said I was playing too fast and rushing my shots. "Take your time, breathe, relax and play the way I know you know how to play. Don't worry about who's on the other side of the net, play the ball." Not only did Jim give me the confidence I needed at that moment. In that moment he was calming me down and breaking her momentum, I was taking those deep breathes, regaining my composure and remembering her weaknesses and what I use to do to her to beat her in the past. Once we resumed play, I won the next 5 games to win the set 6-4. My opponent definitely earned my respect that day and I made it a point to never underestimate her again. Getting caught up in yourself and what you are doing wrong can be detrimental to you and your game. It clouds your judgement and causes one not to think clearly. One can get so wrapped up in themselves that the match can be over before they even know it. Coaches have always told me that you need to have a short term memory after mistakes are made. Take your mind off of you and move on to the next point or the next play. In tennis, you have to move on to the next shot as long as the point is still being played. Your opportunity or opportunities in a single point played come and go at the blink of an eye. You have to be focused and ready to take advantage of that opportunity whenever it arrives. That is why your mental preparation is so important before and during the match because it is not often a physical difference. You will be amazed what you can achieve when you practice saying positive things to yourself. Stop getting down on yourself and try to remember why you are competing. Whether it is for the love of the game or whether you are playing to improve and compete at a higher level. Have fun and play to the best of your abilities because at the end of the day, tomorrow is a new day.

Always believe,

Shaun.