How to Turn Around a Bad Season
Have you ever had a bad year? I mean a year that nothing seemed to go right?
Getting wrapped up in ‘having a bad year’ can drain your confidence. The perception of ‘‘having a bad year’ will create a snowball effect where things seem to go from bad to worse.
One such example is the season experienced by Monica L…
Monica is a 15 year-old who made a huge jump in her level of play during the previous season.
Monica had great hopes for the upcoming season but, after a few mishaps early in the season, her play on the court declined rapidly.
Monica’s strength was her serve but not this season.
Monica couldn’t find the box on her serve and would find herself frequently trailing early in matches.
Not only did Monica lose her confidence, but she would also lose her composure during matches.
As Monica played, the signs of frustration were obvious.
Monica lost her will to compete as well as her love for tennis.
Monica felt trapped in an endless negative loop and felt there was nothing she could do to get out of the ‘bad season’ cycle…
When you feel stuck in a bad season, feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, frustration, anger and sadness will dominate your emotions. But these negative emotions are a consequence of how you think.
If you think you are having a bad season, negative emotions will follow.
If you think you are having a bad season and believe there is nothing you can do about it, your practice habits will be negatively affected and you will not fully prepare for each match.
If you think you are having a bad season, you will approach a match with a negative mindset and give less than 100% effort…
Your confidence will wane… You will be distracted… You will not be motivated or determined… And, after a few early mistakes, you will have that “here-we-go-again” feeling.
If you want to talk about a bad year, look no further than Bernard Tomic’s 2017 season.
Tomic had 13 first-round losses in 2017 and is in danger of not qualifying for the Australian Open. In fact, the former world number 17 has plummeted down the rankings to 144th.
Tomic has appeared listless, disinterested during matches and resigned to lose at times. On occasion, he has served up more double faults than aces.
During many post-match interviews, Tomic expressed frustration, seemed angry and has lashed out in negative rants against fans.
TOMIC: “Throughout my career I’ve given 100%, I’ve also given 30%. But if you balance it out, I think all my career has been around 50% and I haven’t really tried, and still achieved all of this.”
Tomic’s bad season has affected his emotions, attitude, effort and performance.
What’s the solution? How can you turn things around when nothing seems to go right?
STOP THINKING YOU’RE HAVING A BAD SEASON!
This may be easier said than done but you need to approach each match as a brand new match and an opportunity to turn things around.
You cannot carry the weight of yesterday. If you change your self-talk, you can change your level of preparation, attitude towards each match and level of play on the court.
It all starts with your self-talk.
Turning around a Bad Season:
Instead of thinking about what you failed to do during the season, extract some small personal victories from the season.
When you focus on the positive aspects of your game, you can separate missed chances and focus of new opportunities.
If you focus learning, growing, and improving after every match–win or lose–then success will follow improvement.
Start by learning how to control your focus with, “Tennis Confidence:”
Learn Proven Mental Game Strategies To Perform Your Best On The Court!
Are you (or your players) performing up to your ability in competition?
Do you bring your best and most confident game to matches?
I often hear players complain about the following problems when they play in matches…
- “I get so tight or tense before matches that I can’t think straight or have any rhythm in my game.”
- “My confidence seems to disappear when I go from practice to matches and I don’t know why.”
- “I get so frustrated with hitting bad shots or with errors and it snowballs.”
- “I expect so much when I play that I unravel and lose confidence when the match does not go as planned.”
Successful tennis players have learned how to perform with ultimate confidence in tournaments.
If you are ready to improve your mental toughness and perform with ultimate self-confidence in matches, Tennis Confidence: Mental Toughness For Tournament Players can help you do this!
- Players: Learn how to take control of your confidence, focus your best, and win more close matches.
- Parents: Help boost your junior tennis player’s confidence for tournaments. Just load the program on your player’s IPod!
- Coaches: Boost your team’s confidence using simple, proven mental strategies.
- Instructors: Learn how to give your students the mental game advantage.
Use Tennis Confidence to help boost your mental toughness in tennis and discover powerful and proven mental game strategies that have helped professional athletes win!
Tennis Confidence: Mental Toughness For Tournament Players
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“Dr. Cohn, one of my goals is to become a world-class-coach. There are a few coaches from the US who inspired me the most–John Wooden, Don Shula, and Pat Riley. After working with you, I now also list your name among the most influential coaches in my field!”
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~Wing Yu, Tennis Player
“Since you last worked with AJ in early September, his National ranking has improved from 349 to 148. His tournament record at one point, since talking with you was 17-4, with 3 of the 4 being in third sets or tiebreakers and 2 of those matches being the same player, whom he has since beaten (you may recall he was on an 0-9 losing streak when we contacted you). His tie-breaker record is at least 90% through last weekend when he won the 18s District tournament with a semi and final match tiebreak win. Your help has definitely improved AJ’s results and his on-court demeanor has substantially improved.”
~Dawn Woodman, A.J.’s Mother
“On behalf of all of our coaches who attended the 2004 ITA Coaches Convention, I would like to thank you for serving as a featured clinician. I know that the coaches felt it was both enjoyable and informative. We greatly appreciate your taking the time to prepare and present such an outstanding clinic for the benefit of our coaches.”
~Nancy Breo, ITA Convention
Boost Your Self-Confidence in Tennis With Expert Mental Game Coaching!
Master mental game coach, Dr. Patrick Cohn, can help you overcome your mental game issues with personal mental game coaching.
You can work with Dr. Patrick Cohn himself in Orlando, Florida or via Skype, FaceTime, or telephone.
Call us toll free at 888-742-7225 (local: 407-909-1700) or contact us for more information about the different coaching programs we offer!
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What are our mental coaching students saying?
“Maggie had such a great weekend. As always, after she works with you she just seems more grounded and focused. She’s less likely to look around and get distracted during her match. She’s more focused on one point at a time. Also, as a parent, I’ve learned to encourage her process goals and not outcomes. Consequently, she played well and won her first doubles match, upsetting a seeded team in a really really close match!”
~Katherine Johnson Cannata, Maggie’s mother
“Dr. Cohn did a great job working with my son Joe on his mental skills for tennis. He taught him the mental skills and discipline necessary to move to the next level. Thanks Doc!”
~Mike Withers, Joe Withers Father
“Thank you for all the knowledge, tools, material, and guidance you have given me throughout the MGCP course. It was truly a great experience. I am looking forward to integrating your mental training system to students at the club, as well as to athletes that truly are committed, and strive towards reaching their peak performance.”
~Tim Whitehead, Tennis Coach
“She did really well with controlling her emotions during the matches today. We were very proud of her for not showing her frustrations during the match; I think that was a big accomplishment. She really looked in control of her emotions even when she double faulted or made mistakes. The changes we saw in her behavior in less than 24 hours were AWESOME! Thank you for your guidance!”
~Jennifer, Tennis Parent
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