There are three main “parts” you have to coach: physical, mental, and
emotional. The emotional part is the toughest to deal with. However, there
are really only two villainous emotions: Fear and anger. And they are both
self-directed.
Macky Carden, Elon football coach, told me, “When they get that old
sinking feeling, you’ve got to change their minds.”
That “old sinking feeling” exists in a lot of places; one is on the tennis
court. “Frozen elbows” cause practice to be worthless. Few people can play
when angry at themselves. Maybe McEnroe was “actually nervous” whenhe created those incidences. Angry, maybe, was better than scared for
Mac. Only he knows.
One freshman player’s father accompanied him to my office on reporting
to Elon. He brought a bag that contained thirteen broken racquets. The
father wanted to know if I would appeal to Wilson Sporting Goods to
replace the “faulty” $100 racquets. The fault wasn’t the racquet, it was the
anger with which they were being thrown or banged. I attempted to fix
the real flaw, the self-directed anger that ruled the boy’s game.
No one would practice harder, but to no avail. Within moments this
young man would go into a tantrum, chastising himself in a hopelessly
damaging tirade. He didn’t get angry much with others. It was self-directed
and killer. It took a long time to change this attitude, but without
changing, I wouldn’t allow him to represent us. It took a lot of patience
for him to learn to quit “beating yourself up.”
Here are several comments about the emotional part of coaching:
• Some players don’t have the “nervous system” of a tennis player.
Sorry.
• The only players who do well as team players are those who can
handle pressure. It’s in college tennis. Either you can handle it or lose.
You can learn to handle it.
• Blood flow, more specifically “venous return,” causes “butterflies.”
Proper warm-up can help get rid of the “jitters.” For many they go
away once you exercise.
• There is a psychological “proper level of arousal” for athletes. Not too
“torqued up” but you do need your game face. Different strokes for
different folks.
• Psychologically tough people make the best college tennis players.
• What pressure does to the “one-piston” player is amazing. I saw a
lot of number one seeds lose in the national tournament due to early
round “nerves.”
• If you “hang in there,” it is truly amazing what can happen. Some call
it “momentum” but “pressure” is a more influencing variable. Tennis is
truly unique in that “one point can turn the match around.” This is a
“core” belief.