The Mind of a Tennis Player: A Guide to the Mental Side of the Game

By Steve Brady

Bestseller author Steve Brady's masterpiece on becoming a pro tennis player is a keeper!

Has your mind sabotaged your tennis game on more than one occasion? Have you struggled to maintain inner peace when engaged in competitive play? Has unnecessary fear and worry robbed you of the pleasure you once experienced playing the grea

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amazon Pro Hub
• Release date: Sep 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781959172529

Book preview

The Mind of a Tennis Player

A Guide To The Mental Side Of The Game

An Updated Version

By

Steve Brady (MS Ed.)

Copyright © 2022 Steven Brady

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

About The Author

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: What Tennis Is All About?

Chapter 3: Change Your Perspective on Losing

Chapter 4: No Worries

Chapter 5: Identify And Remove The Tension Indicators

Chapter 6: When Faced With Adversity

Chapter 7: Have An Emotional Breakthrough

Chapter 8: Develop A Plan And Adhere To It

Chapter 9: Implementing Five Simple Concentration Keys

Chapter 10: Confidence: Get Off The Roller Coaster Ride

Chapter 11: The Mind In Relationship To The Body

Chapter 12: Be Open To Productive Change

Chapter 13: Don’t Stagnate: It Is Time for Goal Setting

Chapter 14: It’s Match Day: Prepare To Excel

Chapter 15: It’s Match Time: Be an Intelligent Competitor

Chapter 16: Be A Gracious Loser And Winner

Chapter 17: Cherish The Battle

Chapter 18: The Competitive Junior Tennis Player

Chapter 19: Parenting the Competitive Junior Player

Chapter 20: The Ageing Tennis Player

Chapter 21: Never Abandon Your Tennis Ship

Chapter 22: Developing A Mentally Tough Doubles Team

Chapter 23: Selecting A Teaching Professional

Chapter 24: A Lifelong Lesson

Chapter 25: The Fortunate Ones

Chapter 26: My Final Thoughts

Notes

About The Author

Steve has been actively involved in the game of tennis for the last 45 years. His extensive background has prepared him to successfully coach players of all ages on the mental side of the game. He attended college at Alfred University in Alfred, New York. There, he obtained a B.A. degree in Psychology and an M.S. degree in Counseling. He is a certified physical education teacher in the states of New York and South Carolina. Steve is rated as an Elite Professional by the United States Professional Tennis Association.

He was the Head Tennis Professional at Palmetto Dunes Tennis Center in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and the Head Tennis Professional at Wild Dunes Tennis Center in the Isle of Palms, South Carolina. At both of these facilities, he supervised up to 15 teaching professionals and taught clinics to all age groups. He currently resides in Tampa, Florida, where he manages his own tennis teaching business.

His recent playing accomplishments include being ranked #1 in the 50s division in 2008 and 2010 by the Southern Section of the United States Tennis Association. In 2013, he was ranked #1 in the 55s division by the Florida Section of the United States Tennis Association. In 2014, he received the United States Tennis Professional Association’s Player of the Year award for the 50s division. Steve was the captain of the West Coast 55s Florida Cup team for the 2014 and 2015 competitions.

In 2018, Steve was ranked #1 in the 60s division in the Florida section.

He can be contacted by email at: [e-mail].

Preface

I would like to thank all of my family members for allowing me to take the time to write this book. My inspiration came from my wife, who has encouraged me over the years to write about my many experiences pertaining to the mental side of the game. I have participated in an incredible journey, and I am thankful that I found the time to put my thoughts into words.

Over the past four decades, I have been actively competing in several leagues and tournaments. I have experienced many emotions and been confronted with a number of mental struggles. I wrote this book to share these experiences with you, to provide you with some valuable information on how to conquer the tennis demons we all encounter.

If you experience concentration issues, irrational fears, on-court anxiety, and tension problems, this book can be of great assistance to you. If worrying has kidnapped you from the joy you have experienced in playing this great game, this book is for you. If you are a parent of a competitive junior player, in this book, I delve into the importance of supporting your child throughout his tennis journey. I attempt to accomplish this by discussing personal interactions that I have engaged in with my own son, who competed in high school tennis and junior tournaments.

Being a teaching professional, I have also been immersed in the mental battles of many of my students. I have learned to implement a variety of strategies to combat the anxiety and stress competition creates. In this book, I provide you with a number of personal examples where I failed the mental test. Upon these failures, a learning experience was soon to follow. Over time, these experiences allowed me to become a tougher competitor mentally.

I discuss the importance of selecting the right teaching professional for you. This is so important if you want your game to progress consistently. Lastly, I am looking forward to sharing with you some key points to help you develop a strong mental game.

I sincerely hope this book enables you to make your tennis experiences more enjoyable.

I would like to dedicate this book to my wife, Mary.Her love and support transcend all boundaries.

Chapter 1: Introduction

I grew up in a small city 60 miles south of Rochester, N.Y. In Hornell, it always seemed like we had an extremely long winter, accompanied by a very short spring, summer, and fall. As a young boy, my heart was set on being a professional basketball player. I used to sleep with my basketball and dream about playing against some of my favorite professional players.

Hornell’s Maple City Park had a basketball court, tennis courts, a baseball and soccer field, a pool, and a playground. I spent countless hours on the basketball court, anticipating a great future in the game.

Then one day, something interesting happened. I was shooting baskets at the park, and an older gentleman came up to me and asked me if I would like to hit some tennis balls with him. He informed me that he had an extra racket, so I agreed, and we took the short walk to the tennis court. His name was Jim Oyer, and at that point in time, I had no idea that this man was going to have such a positive impact on my life.

Soon we began to hit, and it became very obvious that he was a seasoned tennis player. Fortunately, I had some athletic ability, so I was able to hit some balls back to him. He then asked me if I would like to play a couple of sets. I told him that I would, but he may have to help me with some of the rules and scoring procedures. He agreed, and the match began. It didn’t take very long for the first set to have an uneventful end to it. In the second set, I began to find a little bit of rhythm (even though I had