My Circle of Power

by Ken DeHart
(San Jose, CA)

I recently attended the USPTA National Conference in La Quinta, CA where I participated in the National Championships and a week of continuing educational courses for tennis teaching professionals.

One of the courses was a 4 hour specialty course that involved the use of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programing. This is a method of learning to communicate with your mind and to anchor in positive experience - this is a brief description and not complete.

I had to leave the course to play my doubles match and when I returned the instructor was providing us with a closing skill for playing our best at anytime. She had us recall our most positive match experiences, the best compliments from friends or family and moments when you felt totally empowered.

Now imagine you are standing in a yellow circle of light, much like a circle of gold with the light beaming from the ground up through you. It would be somewhat like the power transmitters used in Star Wars.

The energy from this circle of power is all the positive experiences in your life. When you entered your "circle of power" your posture would change, your thoughts would change and you would be empowered to perform at your highest. She suggested that anytime we were needing to perform at our best we could enter our circle of power.

Since returning from the Nationals I have use this several times with incredible results. I become powerful, confident and focused. The result similar to having a positive coach remind you of why you deserve to win and how strongly they believe in you.

As I step up to serve or return I step into my bright yellow "circle of power" and enjoy a very high level of performance. Some players have such positive self images that they do this automatically and without thought.

If you wish to experience your most confident level of performance, you can do so by first:

1. Recalling all your positive experiences and adding them to your own circle of power.

2. Stepping into your circle of power to experience a higher level of performance

Ken DeHart
PTR/USPTA Master Professional
USA High Performance Coach