Want to perform your best?
However…
Training Intensity 7/10
Training Attitude 5/10
Nutrition 3/10
Hydration 8/10
Physical Prep 5/10
Sport Specific Prep 9/10
Mental Preparation 2/10
Recovery 4/10
Education / Learning 6/10
Use of Support Team 7/10
= 56% of your best
If you want to be exceptional at:
🏌️Golf - you must play golf
🏊♀️ Swimming - you must swim
🎾 Tennis - you must play tennis
🏃♀️ Running - you must run
Long distance running will not improve your tennis which is multi-directional movement and a different energy system.
A few reasons why children drop out of sport...
- No ownership of the experience
- Afraid to make a mistake
- Pressure to perform
- It is no longer fun
- Lack of skills
- Boredom
- Burnout
- Parents
Preparation: Build base strength and work capacity (conditioning). Work on technical aspects of the game.
Pre-competition: Build max strength and anaerobic capacity. Work on tactical elements of the game.
Competitive: Build explosive strength and speed/agility. Match practice.
Do you warm up properly to perform your best?
Use RAMP to ensure you have thoroughly warmed up before competing or training.
R - Raise
A - Activate
M - Mobilise
P - Potentiate
Who’s given yoga a go before?
As a coach or athlete flexibility and mobility is often an area not enough time is put into.
With lockdowns and limitations on sport around the world yoga is something you can do at home for free!
...it’s harder than it looks!
Positive Self Talk
- I’m so bad
- I can’t play tennis
- I won’t be very good today as I’ve had 2 weeks off playing
- I can’t serve
...saying these things to yourself or out loud do not inspire confidence or belief in yourself.
Try to use positive self talk instead.
Shoulder prehab exercises you could add into a warm up or start doing for your shoulder health:
☑️ Wall Angels
☑️ T, Y, W
☑️ Scalular Press Up
☑️ Band Pull Aparts
☑️ External Rotation (Dumbbell / Band)
☑️ Plate Truck Drivers
☑️ T3 Raise
☑️ Powell Raise
When in a tennis match do you see players feeding the ball in underarm?
... never!
So why feed the ball in underarm in training?
I like to use an overarm feed. This does not have to go in the service box. This will develop serve and return which are essential to the game.
Things you can do to help with your recovery after a match or training:
- Foam rolling
- Stretching
- Sleep
- Rehydrate (water)
- Remodel (protein)
- Refuel (carbohydrate)
Believe in yourself.
If you believe you are good at maths, science and English at school you will achieve more than those who put a cap on what they believe they can achieve.
This is the same with your sport. If you believe in yourself you will perform better.
Winning a tennis match means putting the ball in the court one more time than your opponent.
Hitting flashy shots, trying to be too clever and hitting the ball too hard on every shot will not win you a tennis match.
Simplicity and balls in play wins more often.
Use ‘except if’ rules when working on decision making in practice.
Example..
Must go cross court except if:
- you can step into the shot / court
As the coach give the game situation and let players come up with the ‘except if’ rule. This creates problems for players to solve.
If you want to be the number 1 tennis player in the world you will need to win 55% of all the points you play throughout the year.
That means you need to be OK with losing 45% of all the points you play.
If you lose a point don’t be so hard on yourself...its one of the 45%.
What do you bring to:
- the tennis court?
- your gym session?
- your workplace?
Intensity? Effort? Enthusiasm? Energy? Ideas? Good attitude? Hard work? Leadership? Positivity?
What does an effective gym training session look like?
☑️ Increased strength & power
☑️ Improved movement
☑️ Improved conditioning
☑️ Improved mobility
✖️Loads & loads of exercises
✖️Hours & hours in the gym
✖️Lots of muscle soreness
✖️Speed and volume over technique