Why Isn't Tennis Instituting A Self-Talk Coaching Program?

Tennis Rockers

Self-talk is pervasive in our sport, yet it is not something we learn to deal with in a tennis lesson or is talked through with coaches or other players. Self talk is part of the emotional journey of tennis yet it gets marginalized and trivialized in "blooper" style Youtube videos and talked about in hushed commentator tones. We know this needs to change.

It seems to us that there are at least five types of self-talks that people put themselves through at any one point in a game, lesson, or practice and these include:

The analyzer
The blamer
The criticizer
The outburstor
The reflector

Once we know them, what do we do about them? Do we just ignore them and keep on going or could there be a more "coachable approach"? We think this is an opportunity to organize around and start scheming up some solutions.

For starters, any club could bring in a sports psychologist to train tennis coaches or even conduct co-pro/student classes to discuss the cycle of emotional and mental self-talk to help people identify and work through their own styles of self talk. This could take place a couple of times a year and the costs could be defrayed by hosting a mandatory separate class that all students have to go through once a year in order to practice and play at the club.

But that's just the beginning. Studying self talk can build interest and personal meaning for our sport - a bit of gratitude for a sport that helps us deal with our own "attitudes".

Thanks for joining us on our journey!
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