Why,Can,Play,the,Way,Practice, sports Why Can't I Play the Way I Practice?

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"Why can't I play the way I practice?""Why can't hit my best shots when I need them most?""I don't understand what happened, I wasplaying so well all week. Then when I played the tournament I played so muchworse."Is there a player who hasn't asked thesequestions? Is there a coach who hasn't heard them from his players? Is there any way to bridge this gap betweenpractice and competition? The answer is yes, absolutely. I know because I havehelped players make this leap many times.The performance gap between the ability to hitshots in practice versus matches is a fundamental barrier every competitiveplayer must overcome to realize his or her potential. Unfortunately manyplayers never do.In this article, we'll take a look at the fourbarriers that keep players from playing the way that you are really capable.Then I'll introduce clear, step by step solutions to help you overcome them andunlock your ability to hit your best shots when it counts most.The 4 BarriersInsufficientSelf Awareness                                                        Short-Term FocusIrrelevantStimuli                                                                       Sub-OptimalCommunicationThere are four primary barriers that impede thequality of a player's performance in tournaments. These are: (1) Insufficientself-awareness. (2) Excess focus on short-term results. (3) Preoccupation with"irrelevant" stimuli. And, (4) sub-optimal communication betweenplayers and their coaches and parents.Insufficient Self AwarenessThe first barrier is insufficient self-awareness.Self-awareness is a prerequisite for realizing your potential in competition.This is because it is the foundation of learning and development, not only intennis, but in all areas.Sounds simple, but my experience shows it's amajor problem for competitive tennis players. Time and time again I see playersmiss out on important learning opportunities because they are unaware of whatis actually happening in their matches.For example, a player will miss the same ballover and over, but make absolutely no effort to adjust what he or she is doingtechnically or tactically.Why? The answer is that emotions get in the wayof awareness. Players are either too upset to notice the need to change, orthey are unclear about exactly what to change, or they are too distracted toactually execute what their brain tells them to change.Learning to become more self-aware is a skill andcan be trained. But self-awareness requires a different focus. The emphasis hasto shift totally into the present, to what is actually happeningmoment-to-moment.Too many players are living and dying with theoutcome of every point, or sometimes every ball, and what that may mean interms of whether they will win or lose. How wil this affect my past ranking?How will this affect my future ranking? This mind set makes it literallyimpossible to focus on anything else.Andre Agassi put it this way: "There is atime to enjoy the good shots and a time to get upset about what happened, butit's not when you're out there."Rather than obsessing about the outcome, playershave to develop the ability to sense what is actually happening in theirbodies. To do this you have to begin paying more attention to how your body feelsand what it is really doing when you hit the right shots and when you makeerrors.Players often speak in very general terms aboutwhat happened when they play well, "I just had a better rhythm," or"I felt more confident today." These comments are not specific enoughto be really helpful.Instead players must learn to cultivate"kinesthetic" awareness. This is a physical or tactile memory of howyour body actually feels when you strike the ball well. Being familiar with and"owning" this feeling is the key to the repeated execution of yourbest strokes, especially under pressure.For example, when you hit a forehand deep in thecourt notice how your hand feels on the racquet, what kind of follow throughyou have, notice the arc of the ball, or whatever strong impressions come intoyour mind. Initially, this is a conscious process, but eventually this physicalawareness becomes automatic. This will help you make critical minor adjustmentswith ease.Ask yourself, do you really know what it feelslike when you are hitting your forehand or your backhand well? Can you imagineclearly what your body feels like head to toe when you hit your serve at thehighest level? What about when you make a great volley? Can you imagine thesefeelings and recreate this kinesthetic experience in practice?Developing kinesthetic feelings shouldencompasses every area of your game. For example, by shifting the attentioninto your body you will also be able to correct your footwork and yourpositioning to the ball because you will know exactly what feels"off." A second important technique is learning to"scan" your body for excess tension. Typically, the shoulders andarms are where more tension is stored. If you are able to discipline yourselfto feel the difference in your body when this is happening, compared to whenyou are swinging freely, you can then consciously relax these areas. This isanother process that will become instinctive over time.There is a final benefit to learning to play inthis intuitive fashion. Your anticipation will improve because you will be morepresent. Your mind will be more alert and you will become aware of youropponent's patterns. This is hugely important for competitive success. For moreon how this works, I highly recommend Jay Berger's two articles onAnticipation. Excessive Focus on Short TermResultsPerhaps one of the biggest challenges indeveloping your game is acquiring a long-term perspective to deal withshort-term setbacks. Players obsess about rankings--that is just afact. But being impatient with your ranking and tying your success too closelyto rankings can be a major barrier to the learning process.The fear of losing and the emphasis on short-termresults prevent players from trying new things and getting out of their comfortzone long enough to see what is really possible. This fear prevents them fromfeeling what is happening and using the kinesthetic memories that couldactually lead to the level of play they are so desperately seeking.The question is this: Is it more important foryou to win today, whatever the cost, or play tennis in a way that helps youaccess your potential and win in the long- run?"There is a wasteland of talent incompetitive tennis," says a top national coach on the ATP Tour. "Manyplayers are simply chasing rankings and not building their games." Breaking through this short-term orientationrequires you to take risks, to go for your shots, even when you feel tight, andremain focused on the kind of game that will benefit you in the long run."Players get too caught up in the pureresults of the tournament," says Tom Gullikson, former Davis Cup Captainand top-ranked doubles player on the ATP Tour in the 80's. "Players mustbe more honest with themselves, assess their strengths, be aware of how theyare reacting to pressure, and understand why their play is breaking down at keytimes." "Pete Sampras would do this consistentlyfrom year-to-year, even in his sixth straight year as the number one player inthe world." Easier said than done, I know. However committingto the small changes and improvements you have made in practice require thislong-term vision. When you find yourself falling back into your old tentativepatterns you need to be aware that this is happening and recommit to a morecourageous style of play. Committing to the plan that you and your pro orcoach have developed together and executing it is the key. You have to take thechance of shifting gears, putting worry aside, and letting your feel for thegame emerge.Think about every match as a stepping stone toyour best tennis in the future. Make that vision the most important thing. Youhave to really believe that the way you play the game is more important thanthe immediate result.Performance GoalsThe best way to take steps in this direction isby committing to specific performance goals, goals that can be measured in thesame way as ranking, but with far more positive effect. Write these goalsdown--65% first serve percentage, attacking net 5 times per set win or lose,staying composed on break points, focusing on your kinesthetic keys,recognizing what you can and cannot control--whatever goals seem appropriatefor where you really are.Again Pete Sampras is a great example. Developingthe skills he needed to play serve and volley tennis took time that cost himresults. When Pete was 16 he was ranked #60 in the national juniors. Threeyears later, he won the U.S. Open at age 19.Once you are thinking more productively aboutyour game and focus less on the immediate outcome, you will feel morepermission to go for your shots. This process takes time, honesty and continualevaluation. But gradually your tournament performance will start to reflect theskills you demonstrate on the practice court. Irrelevant StimuliIf you raise your self-awareness on the court andhave a longer term perspective of your game, there is another benefit. Yourlearning curve will rise dramatically as you focus more on what is actually"relevant" during matches. Focusing on the wrong stimuli duringmatches is a major hindrance to developing as rapidly as possible.Research shows that a majority of successful proshave learned to accelerate their learning curves in this way. Damian Farrow, ascientist at the Australian Institute of Sport, who works with Olympians andother elite athletes, has recently found some important clues in identifyingthe differences between amateur and expert tennis players regarding theirlearning process.One of the most obvious differences between thesetwo groups is the ability for pro players to spend more time on "relevantstimuli" in matches because minds are not distracted by the irrelevantfactors discussed above.To give just one example, Farrow found that proplayers were able to track the direction of the serve earlier than amateurs.This gave them a huge edge in reacting to the speed and placement of theiropponents' shots. According to Farrow, "Great tennis playerscan tell from the angle of a server's arm where the ball will go. Novicesgenerally don't have that skill. But they can learn. Top tennis players canpredict the direction and speed of the ball before it leaves the racket."By predicting the path of the ball from the swingthey know a split second earlier where to move. "This fraction of time isgame changing," says Farrow. "A serve going 120 miles per hour takesapproximately a third of a second to travel the 60 feet from baseline toservice line."This means that an expert, who doesn't haveto wait until the server makes contact to read the shot, has twice as long tomove, plant his feet, and swing." Many players are blocking their ability to reactto the ball because they are handcuffed by anxiety related to the possibleoutcome. When you stay present, stay composed, and stay engaged, a new set oflearning opportunities will automatically open.Sub-Optimal CommunicationThe ability to stay focused on what is relevantin competition and accelerate your learning process also requires a positivecollaborative relationship between player and coach.For the past two years I have been teaching USTAcoaching workshops on how to improve communication with players, manageplayers' ambivalence about the change process, and helping coaches teachplayers to apply their skills in competition.Listening to reports from both players andcoaches has convinced me that there is a wide spread communication gap injunior tennis that is affecting the learning process.Here are some of the things I have heard fromcoaches. "My players are so caught up in the rankings and who's rankedhigher that they play in fear.""My players just won't commit to changes andactually executing them in tournaments.""A lot of my players melt down as soon asthey have their back against the wall.""My players call me right before theirmatches asking me what they should do--and have no idea themselves." On the other side of the fence I have heard thisfrom players:"My coach is always pushing me to try stuffthat doesn't work in matches.""My coach bombards me to change too manythings, and then gets mad when I'm not able to pull them off.""My coach never asks me how I want to play.All he does is tell stories from his experiences or talk about theories thatdon't really make sense to me."The underlying problem here is that too oftenthere is not an open line of communication between player and coach. The coachblames the player for not doing what the he says, and the player blames thecoach for judging him and not believing in his abilities.Players and coaches have to both feel they canhonestly discuss what is and isn't working. The truth is coaches can bedefensive when players challenge their authority or expertise.But players have to have the freedom to voicetheir reservations about particular swing or strategic changes in lessons andto discuss the potential consequences in tournaments. And coaches have to havethe patience to listen and understand the fears of players, even when theydisagree or have another perspective.On the flip side, players have to be truly opento change and have to work to recognize and admit what is really holding themback. The commitment to changes must be a team effort. But once there isagreement on a path of development, players need the courage to embrace thechallenge and make the changes their own.Both sides have to be able to talk about thisprocess, especially when it gets derailed or there are set backs. Players willinevitably revert to their old patterns on occasion, and both sides need todiscuss this with a supportive attitude and without recrimination.Case Study #1One former college player, now at the 5.0 level,began working with me about three months ago to help him play looser intournaments and get out of a two-year "slump." After just the thirdsession he was more relaxed and playing better than he had in a long time.However, that week he decided to take a lessonwith a new pro. In our next session he reported that he had felt awful on thecourt all week--overthinking, making unforced errors, and feeling totallyindecisive. As I inquired about the lesson and what the prohad asked him to do, my client reported that "He wanted me to get my rightleg through on the forehand, stay lower to the ball, drop my racquet head loweron the forehand, hit higher over the net and wait on the ball longer ratherthan catching it on the rise."This was just the instruction for one stroke.There was a similar litany about the rest of his game, all imparted in thecourse of one hour. From my vantage point, the amount of information my clientreceived was totally overwhelming.This was particularly true since his biggestissue was overthinking his shots and not trusting himself. I asked him to put atemporary moratorium on lessons and he agreed to put all those technical ideason hold until he developed a more trusting, positive approach to the game. Inthree months he began to flourish.I use this example, because it highlights thefrequent absence of effective, collaborative communication in traditionallessons. Of course technical information plays a critical role in properdevelopment. But it can only be effective when communicated in a way that takesthe personality, learning style, and psychological challenges faced by theplayer into account.The problem was that this particular pro did notidentify any of these in my client. Likewise, my client hesitated to speak upand indicate that he felt overwhelmed, and didn't give the pro a chance toadjust his agenda. Without proper intervention, this dynamic could havepersisted for months, even years, with both the player and the coach sufferingunnecessarily.Case Study #2During one of the USTA High Performance workshopsI facilitated last year, I was approached by a top-national coach strugglingwith a very talented, nationally ranked player. He reported to me that on anygiven day this player could beat any player in the top fifty in the world.However, he also explained that on an"off" day he could lose to numerous players ranked below him.Essentially, the coach was pulling his hair out because of the gap between hisplayer's talent and his actual execution in tournaments. He asked that I workwith him to see if I could help bridge this gap.I learned that the coach's main objectives, werefirst, to reduce his player's emotional volatility, and second to help him finda better balance during rallies. He wanted his player to construct points withmore patience and flexibility. He wanted the player to add more variety, totake some pace off from time to time and use the court a bit more.What he wanted did not seem too much to ask inthe coach's mind, and he had been pressing his player to do this for quite sometime.When I talked to the player, however,I found thathe simply could not see the value of playing the way his coach insisted. He wasa winner and a shot maker. This attitude had been deeply instilled in him byhis family. Period. From his perspective, hitting every ball as hardas he could, from all angles of the court, was working--he was a top nationallyranked player. He had numerous wins over players ranked above him. He waspraised for this type of play.I began to understand the dynamics in play, butmy goal was not to adjudicate the issues about playing style. I considered thata judgment call to be worked out between player and coach.My concern was that there was very little directcollaborative discussion going on. Obviously, the player was not responsive tothe coach. But on the coach's part, there was little recognition of theplayer's concerns about the development of his own game. The player'sambivalence was not being adequately addressed and everyone suffered as aresult.Gradually, through open conversation among allparties, the player began to feel that I understood his position, and that hiscoach did as well. The coach became more understanding and softened hisapproach. This in turn caused the player to become more receptive.Eventually, this player did start playing withsome more variety and developed a more "controlled aggressive" approachto rallies. The coach had him hit three different kinds of balls in practice ona regular basis, mixing different paces and spins with his ripping winners.His training now became less of an either/orconfrontation about opposite styles of play. Instead all the options had avalue and a place. As a result, he became more comfortable with varying histactics, and his ambivalence was resolved. The point is that the coach is critical inhelping the player improve, but it is equally or more important that the playerbe allowed make his own observations, and follow his intuition and sense ofcuriosity about the learning process. The ability to communicate what you notice aboutyour game and the ambivalence you may feel about certain changes are critical todeveloping a sense of ownership over your game.When something doesn't feel right in your game,you have to speak up. Tapping your ability as a player is dependent on it. Youcannot be passive in the learning process. I know there is more ability in you than youprobably even imagine. If you have the nagging feeling that you can be betteror aren't learning at the rate you thought you should, you are probably right.You can learn to play the way you practice--or possibly even better. Tune intohow you feel on the court when you hit the ball well, focus on short-termperformance goals, pay attention to what is really happening, tell your coachwhat you notice, and watch as your game blossoms.