Wednesday, 08 April 2020 / Published in Strategy Courses

Getting Tight Preview: Anger & Frustration

G’day,

Hands up if you find yourself getting too emotional in matches? In particular, hands up if the emotions that you feel are frustration and anger?

All over the world, at all levels of our sport, this is a universal predicament. It is quite possibly the most common way we express our emotions negatively on the court, and it is also the most common way we tap out of matches and quit. We become our own worst enemy and defeat ourselves. Once the anger kicks in you can’t even see straight, let alone see your opponent on the other side of the net and formulate a winning game plan against them.

The following video is a small snapshot of what Getting Tight is all about. Watch the three-minute video and you will get a good feel for how Craig and Jeff coach this global problem.

Getting Tight Excerpt: Anger & Frustration.

Nine Mini-Lessons

Jeff and I expand on the key focus points in the video to provide more depth and understanding of what we talked about.

Decide that you aren’t going to let your emotions or thoughts “run the show.”
Accept the fact that errors will happen, that you will get frustrated and then widen your focus.
I often found that looking up at the sky or finding a tree helped to take my mind off the last mistake for a moment.
Coach yourself to think about how fortunate you are to be playing tennis.
Gratitude is a great remedy for negative emotions.

Research shows that the best performers in the world have the ability to narrow their focus under pressure when they are in the phase of execution.
For example, immediately before returning serve elite players are completely focused on the ball toss of the server with no thoughts.
However, when you are emotional, you need to do the opposite. Instead of letting the emotions control you, take your eyes off the court, expand your field of vision, and disconnect from the moment. Find a tree, look to the sky, and disconnect from the error.
This widening of your focus will activate what is called the parasympathetic response, which is the fire extinguisher that will help you regain your composure.

Gratitude is a very powerful mindset and it can shift your negativity into something positive in seconds.
It is key to feel this genuinely and put this match into perspective.
This is not a feeling that will come naturally. You must reflect on the fact that you will play many matches in your life and it is the learning that is most important so you can reach your highest potential.
Your mind will be consumed by your desire to win and not lose, but you must take control of your emotional state and choose to appreciate the challenge you’re facing at the moment.
If some missed forehands are your greatest problem, you have already won the game of life!

Sometimes you will need a bit of a longer “reset” so give yourself the time to adjust your emotional “state.”
Sometimes your focus will get too narrow which will fatigue your brain and take energy away from strategy.
Give yourself time to go to your towel, recall a favorite place that creates positive memories (Jeff often use the beach in very difficult moments).
Imagine yourself in a positive, loose state having fun (quick image in your mind). This proactive action will help you keep your emotions in check so you don’t go down the emotional “rabbit hole.”

The more you focus on yourself, the tighter and more frustrated you will become.
The judgment and self-criticism will contribute to your anger.
When you get your attention off yourself and stop trying to be perfect you will feel freer and not so controlled by your expectations.
To practice this, turn your attention to your strategy and combination of shots that you have trained and focus on the task at hand.
Additionally, focusing on external “cues” such as the ball, the ground and the strings. This will help you get out of “yourself” and into the game.

We tend to judge everything that happens.
This was hardwired into our brains to avoid danger.
The tendency to criticize and obsess over mistakes is universal.
It is certainly okay and sometimes helpful to give yourself a quick reminder with a cue like “forward”, “stay down” or, better yet, picture it in your mind.
Recognize your tendency to judge each shot and diminish this self-defeating part of your game.
You are probably doing it more than you think.
It is also okay to just move on and not judge every shot you hit.

Mistakes feel horrible for young players. They have not yet figured out good errors lead to good shots.
Nobody likes to miss, especially on balls you know you can make.
The frustration, anger, and fear are instantaneous.
Without taming the lion within you, these emotions can run rampant. To change this habitual response, it is best to replace these moments with something practical and constructive—like breathing.
Build the following breath into your game: 1 deep breath in through your nose for a count of 6, hold for one second and exhale out through your mouth for a count of 6 seconds.
Practice this at home so it becomes natural and truly does relax you.
You can shorten this breath after mistakes if you like as long as you are breathing properly as you have practiced.
Commit to using this breath after mistakes to help you stop the fire from spreading.

Remember that you are fighting over just about 10% of the points in any match.
You do not need to win every point. Accepting errors and “turning the page” after the point is very important.
The reality is that you are going to miss a certain amount of serves, returns, groundstrokes, and volleys.
Some will be shots that you consider are “easy” and “makable” balls you “shouldn’t” miss, which create the most frustration, but these errors will happen, too.
Errors happen at all levels of the game. It doesn’t mean you are going to lose the match or that you even need to change your tactic.
Stay calm and assess your mental and physical state and tactical patterns, which you can do on the changeover when necessary.

I don’t necessarily say that I’m going to miss a certain number of shots before the match, but I have complete awareness and acceptance that I will miss many shots in the course of a match.
Feel like you have got an acceptable “quota” of mistakes that you are giving yourself. Something that is based on reality, and still enables you to win the set or match.
Give yourself a quota and see if that reduces the fire that is brewing behind the door.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak-peek under the hood of Getting Tight. The course launches Monday, April 13.

All the best,

Craig

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The practice court is clearly broken. Here’s the proof.

Points are "front loaded". By far the majority of the action, and the winning, takes place in THE FIRST 4 SHOTS. The practice court is full of long rallies. Matches are dominated by short rallies. There is a massive disconnect occurring.

We spend too much time grinding, banging balls up and down the middle of the court – that have no real benefit to winning tennis matches.

There are 3 specific rally lengths in tennis. Here is their percentage breakdown of total points.

0-4 Shots = 70%
5-8 Shots = 20%
9+ Shots = 10%

The First 4 Shots is specifically the serve, return, Serve +1 groundstroke and Return +1 groundstroke. Those are normally the shots that get practiced the least, but matter the most to winning tennis matches.

The net is an extremely high percentage place to be!

If you love playing tennis for fun, spend as much time at the baseline as you like. But if you compete – if the score matters – then you must turn your attention to the net to maximize your potential.

The “herd mentality” in tennis thinks it’s too tough to approach the net in today’s game. The conversation starts with improved string technology, more powerful rackets, and finishes with stronger, faster athletes. The herd think approaching is a relic of the past. The herd is WRONG!

AVERAGE WIN %
Baseline = 46%
Net = 66%

Data from ALL Grand Slams provides the facts about approach and volley, and the data is crystal clear – it’s immensely better than staying back at the baseline, grinding for a living.

The baseline is a tough place to create separation. Here's how to do it.

At the 2012 US Open, only 7 men and 14 women had a winning percentage from the baseline. At Wimbledon 2016, Andy Murray won the title only winning 52% of his baseline points - and he is one of the very best at it in the world!

Num3ers deeply explores the data that rules points, especially from the back of the court. Take a "deep dive" into all three rally lengths (0-4, 5-8, 9+), and winner and errors totals from the elite level of our game. The numbers will shock you!

All 4 Grand Slams

Forcing Errors = 41% Men / 37% Women
Winners = 32% Men / 29% Women
Unforced Errors = 27% Men / 34% Women

Num3ers is very much like putting a jigsaw puzzle together. It's about bringing together different data sets together to create the big picture.

Every recorded match from the 2015 Australian Open - Rd2 to the final.

There is a lot happening on a doubles court. Situations and strategies are constantly being adjusted to create mis-matches with court position. It's hard to keep track of - until now. Dou8les Num3ers is the most comprehensive analysis of doubles data in our sport. The focus is on how a point ends, and it's broken down eight ways to Sunday. Specifically, you find critical information on:

Winners rise to the #1 way a point ends (over forced & unforced errors)

- The last shot of the rally is overwhelmingly struck at the net.
- Center Window: the most important part of a doubles court to control.
- Stephen Huss: an in-depth interview on Wimbledon's Centre Court with the 2005 Wimbledon Doubles Champion.

Dou8les Num3ers leaves no stone unturned. Percentage breakdowns of how often the server or receiver hits the last shot highlight the dramatic influence of the serve. The last shot of the rally is significant, and is broken down into the following categories: volleys, overheads, passing shots, lobs and groundstrokes.

When you play a match, you actually play two matches.

When you walk out onto a tennis court, there are two matches that you are about to play. The first is during the point - a part of the match that you have spent a lot of time preparing for on the practice court. But there is a second match, that takes place in the 20 seconds between the points. This is where the mental and emotional aspects of our sport kick in.

Let's face it, there will be adversity in almost every tennis match that you play. The storm clouds are coming. How bug they are, and how long they last for, are up to you.

Between the points is very tennis specific. It provides a roadmap for the 20 seconds between the points, teaching how to handle the adversity that will surely come, and how to build on the successes that will also be present. Your mind is your biggest asset in a match, and Between the Points takes your hand off the self destruct button and stops you beating yourself.

You don't have to be good at everything, but you have got to be good at something.

You can break tennis down into four key elements - serving, returning, rallying and approaching. Each part has specific patterns of play that consistently deliver higher winning percentages than the others. No more guessing. No more opinions. All facets of our sport are covered in this exceptional product, clearly outlining what patterns to gravitate to, and how to best construct the practice court. Data comes primarily from the 2015 Australian Open.

Building Blocks

MEN = 70% errors / 30% winners
WOMEN = 74% errors / 26% winners

Forcing errors is the best way to construct a point.
You can simply break tennis down into primary and secondary patterns of play - and they are all covered here. Primary patterns include serve and return direction, forehands v backhands, and the best way to approach the net. Secondary patterns include drop shots, serve & volley and 1st volley options. If you play tournaments, this product will greatly help you simplify the singles court.

The conversation starts & ends with the Center Window.

The doubles court is like an hourglass. There are two big ends, but a small neck in the middle where all the action happens. Once you learn the power of the Center Window, where you stand to start the point will take on a lot more significance.

Doubles is a lot more about situations, with four people on the court all "dancing" with one another. Learn all the best doubles patterns, broken down for the server, returner, server's partner and the returner's partner.

Doubles Situations

The "J" - the most ideal movement for the returner's partner to attack the net.

The "V" - a better way of understanding where the server's partner should move to.

Volley Targets - there are four main areas to attack. Know which ones are higher percentage. Beach Volleyball - the idea of a "setter" and "spiker" is ideal for the doubles court.

There are certain parts of the court that the ball travels to a lot, and other low percentage areas that you really don't want to cover at all - like the alley! In general, the serving team wants to keep the ball in the middle of the court as much as possible (to help the server's partner), while the returning team benefits from hitting wider and creating more chaos in the point.

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Getting Tight Preview: Anger & Frustration

G’day,

Getting Tight Excerpt: Anger & Frustration.

Nine Mini-Lessons