Fear of being seen hitting poorly

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Fear of being seen hitting poorly

by Katinka Holland
(Washington)

I work much harder and play much better in the match than in practice. Although even in practice I don't want to give up any points so I resort back to bad habits.

This way I don't learn and in practice I don't feel the competitiveness I feel in a match.

How do I keep the competitive edge with the ball machine or a partner while trying new strokes?

I'm afraid someone will see me practice new strokes while missing tons of balls in the process.

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Fear of being seen hitting poorly

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Katinka, you won't hit the ball right if your attention is on the ones watching!! ;-)
by: Julian

Hello Katinka,

Your question has 3 or more interconnected parts. But I think that -overall- what would be best for you is to make it a habit to practice with specific goals and/or purposes in mind. You must train yourself to approach your practice with a similar attitude as the one you seem to have when playing a match. It sounds like your problem stems from your attention wandering to the wrong place...

Therefore, your practice agenda should look something like this... 1. When hitting ground strokes for example: No balls out (long), no balls on the net, no balls wide (sidelines), no balls short (your target should be between the service and base lines unless otherwise intended).

This may sound like a lot but if you think about it this is exactly what we're trying to accomplish EVERYTIME we want to produce a successful shot right? You might want to concentrate on one or two of these aspects at a time and go from there. But take responsibility and be accountable for the outcome of your shots as much as you feel you are during a match. A great way for you to do this would be by keeping score just like you do in a match. Subtract points (-1) when your goals are not met and add points (+1) when they are... and see "who won" at the end of your practices! That'll bring into play your good competitive side.

Hopefully what will happen is that by approaching your practice with a specific agenda you will redirect your focus and attention towards what's important (like implementing sound technique, footwork, racket management, quality of movement, etc) and away from caring so much about being seen hitting poorly... which is a -MAJOR SOURCE- of why you probably are hitting poorly in the first place!!

You get rid of the "fear of being seen hitting poorly" when you forget about it by shifting the focus of your attention to what's important for your tennis.

Practice is to Improve
by: Patrick Cohn

Katrina:

Understand that sometimes you have to take one step back to take two steps forward. Some of your practice time should be devoted to improving your strokes - that's partly the purpose of practice.

In a practice mindset, it's OK to mis-hit shots because you are learning new stuff. Practice is when you want to make your mistakes, not in competition.

But you have to be patient with changes to take hold. Learning is not an overnight process and takes weeks and months or many repetitions.

You can't be concerned with what others think of your performance in practice - it just doesn't matter what others might think. You should focus on your strokes and what your instructor wants you to do instead.

Patrick Cohn
Sports Psychology for Tennis Players

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Fear of being seen hitting poorly

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Fear of being seen hitting poorly