"When it rains, ..."

I had another first this week. A player in our program was in a private lesson with me in the hour preceding an HP training. He asked if I thought it was going to rain that afternoon, to which I replied, "no, I think we'll be ok." To my surprise, he expressed minor disappointment with my forecast. Was he tired? Did he not want the additional work oncourt? Neither. It turns out, he felt he really needed the one hour of mental toughness training that we always run whenever the courts are wet during HP. Wow, what a revelation. Not only did this indicate a responsible player who "gets it" and knows what he needs to get better, but an attitude and perspective that is so important - that he highly values the offcourt training, particularly the mental skills work that we maintain as an integral part of our program.

You see, whenever there is inclement weather we have a curriculum that focuses on a period of increased duration, ( and intensity) of offcourt physical training - specific to tennis needs. This is followed by about 20 minutes of tactical and strategic work. Then we spend about an hour on a mental skill development topic. Most of the kids get it. They are into it. They know how much it affects their oncourt performance. We have the players work in their journals during theses sessions and have found the results solid and apparent. The sessions are all interactive and group engaged, and even the new kids get right in there and contribute, discover, and learn. The parents? I'm not so sure about. Among some, there is still an ill-informed old school mindset that "if you aren't hitting balls it can't be valuable." I would challenge these parents to sit in on one of our rainy day chalk talks. Or even just ask your kid how they value the sessions.

The topics may range from : staying in the moment, improved focus and concentration, breathing and believing, managing disappointment, handling anger and frustration, goal setting skills, proper pre and post match analysis with parents and coaches, staying emotionally strong, or any number of similar or related issues that make a player more mentally prepared to handle the trials of competition. I spent a big chunk of time training how to help junior players with these issues, and am thrilled they appreciate it. To those who have been around competition, it is obvious that the player who handles emotions and pressure best enjoys the better results.

Since time is always under pressure, and some players always have upcoming competition, it is difficult to get this work done on dry days. We address these topics in our daily chalk talks and during some oncourt work, but seldom have the time to examine it as thoroughly as needed. This has become such a vital element of our program that I occasionally, like my private student that day, wonder if we've had enough wet days recently to cover this enough!

So if you are an HP student , and it rains, continue to look forward to the important work you are doing that day, Maintain that mindset that "I'm just trying to get better, and the work I do on ALL days contributes to that goal." If you aren't an HP player, consider spending some time on the tactical and mental training for competition when the weather keeps you off the court. It is sure to help you weather the storms of competition, and improve your ability to compete effectively.

Additionally, you will discover some critical things about yourself that will doubtlessly help you in the tennis portion, and other areas of your life.