Thank you for your free videos during this stay at home time. I really love your teaching and have been taking notes, and look forward to clinics with you in the near future:) Best to your family!
Like the green/yellow/red drill.
Split, bounce, hit drill reminded me of the set/go drill a coach showed me.
You say “set” aloud when your opponent contacts the ball, and “go” aloud when you do.
Are you familiar with that drill and what do you think of it?
I was just amazed that I never heard the in between point seconds suggestions! I am definitely going to apply that important aspect to my tennis play.
Thank you Jorge!
I was just amazed that I never heard the in between point seconds suggestions! I am definitely going to apply that important aspect to my tennis play.
Thank you Jorge!
Peg
Jorge, thank you for sharing these incredible videos. I have just taken up the game of tennis, moving from being an avid golfer. I am excited for this new journey into tennis and your training videos are an amazing help in providing me the important tools to the mental part of the game along with the actual court time.
I have truly enjoyed each video.. thank you
Mary
What you will say if I tell you that in my game I already implemented 90% of these explained things without any practice and without reading any tennis books. I don’t know what to think. Maybe all these things you are explaining here is actually native things for talented people for tennis. Yes ofc I get frustrated sometimes when I missed the shot but after 2 seconds I am ready for the next point and my mind is totally cleared from negative thoughts. Hmm.
Pedja, I would say that you are lucky and that is awesome. The vast majority of players struggled with this kind of stuff but if it comes naturally to you I think that is a blessing.
Two very interesting exercises: the split, bounce hit and the colour coding that leads to where to hit. When playing social doubles at a club evening , which one is the best to use?
I took lessons recently and my coach kept on telling me that Tennis is Life! After really dedicating myself to getting better, and some how finding these videos I am starting to see the truth to that statement.
You are a great coach Jorge! Thank you!!
I really use these videos on my tenis and it makes a big difference on my game
So thanks a lot for these types of videos and I wish it could be more than 4
I am not sure what to say. The first 2/3 of the video seemed too basic, but are really meaningful to some people. The little chalk talk about the second performance felt incomplete. Maybe one could have a quick mental review of the point (3-5 seconds) and 5 -7 seconds mental rehearsal onto the next point?
It could be that for key matches that one has a complete mental rehearsal for the match.
Jorge…great video. This really hit home about talking to yourself. My coach says I’m guilty of negative self-talk during a match and between points. Sort of being my own worst enemy. I never thought to visualize someone walking around saying to me the things I’ve been saying to myself. How awful that would be. Now, I will start visualizing that “person” walking around me making positive, encouraging comments. It’s not the big things that make the difference in your game, it’s the small things like this.
Seems to me that the WTA #1 spends a LOT of energy reacting to all the points she plays: Up if she wins a point, down if she loses a point. Looks like she’s on a roller-coaster.
So, maybe Jorge and Carly could teach Serena to learn how to be a poker face, stay cool, etc, and therefore, improve her results?
Great video! When I closed my eyes and I thought of receiving an engineering award at work by peer nomination, I was relaxed and warm inside. When I closed my eyes and thought of another player that said I could jump as much as I wanted to, but she was not going to serve until I stopped moving… I got tight and mad! The eyes are the key to focusing. I am going to work on becoming the best actress in the 25 seconds that the player has to serve the ball! Thanks Jorge for all your tips on your website and at Tennis Congress. You ROCK!
Thank you
I teach high school girls and boys.
The video’s will be excellent because my players have not formed their habits just yet.
The girls are just trying to get the ball over the net and the boys are hitting the ball into next week. Now they’ll have purpose.
I know it’s only video #3, but this one is my favorite so far! Watched it 1x, then rewatched just before Monday night match play. Very helpful. Kept my mind misty in a good place, and when I wavered I could recover. I did not spiral out of control. Thank you.
Thanks Jorge, for some great strategies to help with match nerves. I love playing tennis and enjoy social games, but always feel that I let myself down somewhat when under pressure during league matches. Even when I win those matches, I find them hugely stressful which takes away a lot of the enjoyment.
Can’t wait to try out these ideas, and share them with the rest of my team. I’ll definitely benefit by the ‘shot colours’ and ‘split, bounce, hit’ as this should give my overactive inner voice something else to say!
I started playing tennis when I was 5 years old and have found that the mental part of tennis is 90+% of the battle. (Do you have any stats on that?) I have been searching since high school for many of the answers that you are providing in these FREE videos. I currently play in several leagues, teach lessons and assistant coach a high school team. I see several of the student athletes struggle with the same challenges that I do. Thank you for some new tactics and strategies to try for myself and to recommend to the students. Great to meet you at the MN Tennis Coaching Clinic! Thank you!
Hey Jorge, good stuff, thank you! But: Green, yellow, red & split, bounce, hit ? Usefull when practicing ok ,but during the match, should I not concentrate on thinking what is going to happen next, tacticalvise…
My regards to your Ladies, too ( dont you be too macho with them at home, man!)
Yes, but some players cannot get their mind off the scoreboard during the points, so for them I have found that it may help to do this during the points so they did not freak themselves out.
Hi Jorge!
Thumbs up on the video lessons. I’ve a question, not sure if already answered. I play this guy at my club who keeps talking after every point, complimenting me. I am a better player than him but i couldn’t put on my game face against him as he is being nice. How do i deal with this type of player? Is he doing this on purpose?
I have seen this many times. Chances are he is just nice, in some cases it is a form of gamesmanship. I would try ignoring him by keeping your eyes on your strings between points. If you look him in the face and then ignore him, it will seem weird and rude. In some cases, I have instructed my players to polite ask the opponent to not talk, because they are working on their in between point skills.
For me the rhythm of Split/Bounce/Hit… Will be a tool that I look forward to implementing..Also the importance of staying Positive in self talk ..
Thanks!
Love these videos. Really helpfully. I love the tip of Split, bounce, hit…Keeps your mind pre-occupied and I found I was more focused in hitting the ball.
Hi Jorge terrific stuff here and you’re quite a good coach! I took a similar course here on LI this past summer and there are many similarities in your instruction. However I don’t see anywhere where you talk about deep breathing techniques between points to calm down nervous / tense players. You may want to incorporate breathing techniques into your instruction. Keep up the great work!
Hi Jorge,
Im really happy I found these video training in mental toughness. I find em very easy to understand and very useful and Im hoping to use em with my students soon. really thankful for your job.
Best regards!!!
Pablo
Really helpful video, with excellent methodology: explanation followed by practical application on the court. Years ago I came across Galway’s book, “The Inner game of Tennis”, and Jorge’s reference to it was a reminder that there are some valuable ways of preparing mentally for any game, life included.
Jorge, one problem I have observed is that many club level women doubles players (myself included) apologize every time they miss a shot. Could you comment on that tendency? Thanks, Kathryn
Yes, Katryn. It is a common thing. I think it stems from insecurity and feelings that we are letting our partner down or they may be getting mad with us. My own daughter does this and the problem is that her partner feels the need to reassure her that things are OK. In the eed, it should be avoided, because it makes players look needy and distracts from the valuable between point time to talk strategy.
Hello Jorge
my son says he is a future thinker. “The video helped me better understand myself”. I’m 11 years old and I have a Jr. Tourney this weekend in Aptos CA. I hope to use what I learned.
Thank you
Armando
Great course!! I have read The Inner Game when it was first published in the 70’s and have read some of Dr. Loehr’s work. This has reminded me of some bad habits I have fallen into and need to correct.
I have been a USPTA since 1975 so an old dog can re-learn new tricks.I plan to use much of this with my juniors and type A adults. Again thank you so much for what you do.
I found in 13 years of coaching that my best and most successful players were the players that utilized their “inner voice” in the best manner. Great video!
I like how you presented the whole course. For wheelchair, we just do “bounce hit” – for obvious reasons-.
I would have liked to learn ways to deal with the negative players, especially those who feel that they play better when they get mad.Please feel free to send some tips my way on that one.
Jorge – I have been doing this training with many players for the last five or six years – it’s great to see that I am on the right track – seeing you as a master professional presenting the same as I – has added credibility to my coaching abilities.
I am now more confident in my presentations to all my students and I immediately include all of these in my programs and have passed these videos to my assistants – but more importantly to my top players and parents…..
Another winning video! The SELF ONE usually WINS:( Darn it!!! Thank you for this INNER video! I love that part when you said “if someone is watching a player – they shouldn’t know if they are winning or losing” I totally got a visual! In between points are very crucial and I will elaborate this training with my students.
Thank you again for making these worthwhile videos!!!!
I have read the Inner Game several times many years ago. The Self 1 Judgmental side is what my players
get stuck on instead of the doing part. The on court portion getting the mind to focus on split/bounce/hit
is a good concept to help the students switch off winning and losing.
This entire series is wonderful. Thanks for doing it! I think the “split/bounce/hit” and “green/yellow/red” tools are very helpful. Do you have anything similar you can recommend for the serve? That’s when my inner voice is the most active, e.g., “Don’t miss, don’t double fault.” Any ideas?
Great series: I have linked this course to my teams!
The 2nd performance section is VITAL. Working with my players…I’m always working on how to be the “Inner Coach” Too many athletes spend that between point time as the time to beat themselves up.
THAT is the time to do the small fixes and to give yourself the reassurance that 1) I can do this! 2) I have a game-plan that will work 3) Let’s go!
Staying in this positive coaching place keeps their energies going the correct way and is the way to coach themselves into their best “zone”.
great job again Jorge…I agree with the mindset book and I thought the present exercises split/bounce/hit and color coding were great to keep player in the present .loved the story of reinforcing what the player is saying to themselves counterintuitive to what a coach would usually say instead .
Jorge, I appreciate the on court exercises geared toward improving mental strength. I also liked the concept “good idea-bad execution” which lets the player know they chose the right shot and that it was the execution of the shot that was the problem. Regarding poor execution, I have players look at it, learn from it and let it go which gives them the best chance of making the shot the next time they get the opportunity.
Jorge,
Thanks for the practical “how to” rather than the usual “relax” without saying how. I like the several alternatives in the verbal yellow red green, spit bounce hit, and stay go back.
In my limited experience I have seen too many players who do not admit they have the negative self talk that hurts their game. Then for some reason they don’t practice the advice you have given.
if players just buy into and practice the “growth” portion it would help so much.
Thanks,
Ray
Thanks Jorge, for video #3 on inner voice. This will surely skyrocket my performance.
Awesome
Hi Jorge,
Thank you for your free videos during this stay at home time. I really love your teaching and have been taking notes, and look forward to clinics with you in the near future:) Best to your family!
Michele
Thanks Michele
Like the green/yellow/red drill.
Split, bounce, hit drill reminded me of the set/go drill a coach showed me.
You say “set” aloud when your opponent contacts the ball, and “go” aloud when you do.
Are you familiar with that drill and what do you think of it?
It works really with for my students
Inner voice is a subject that I had trouble finding a way to explained it . The example were perfect.Thank you so much !!
I was just amazed that I never heard the in between point seconds suggestions! I am definitely going to apply that important aspect to my tennis play.
Thank you Jorge!
I was just amazed that I never heard the in between point seconds suggestions! I am definitely going to apply that important aspect to my tennis play.
Thank you Jorge!
Peg
It works great!
Jorge, thank you for sharing these incredible videos. I have just taken up the game of tennis, moving from being an avid golfer. I am excited for this new journey into tennis and your training videos are an amazing help in providing me the important tools to the mental part of the game along with the actual court time.
I have truly enjoyed each video.. thank you
Mary
Thanks Mary… you’re welcome
What you will say if I tell you that in my game I already implemented 90% of these explained things without any practice and without reading any tennis books. I don’t know what to think. Maybe all these things you are explaining here is actually native things for talented people for tennis. Yes ofc I get frustrated sometimes when I missed the shot but after 2 seconds I am ready for the next point and my mind is totally cleared from negative thoughts. Hmm.
BTW great video
Pedja, I would say that you are lucky and that is awesome. The vast majority of players struggled with this kind of stuff but if it comes naturally to you I think that is a blessing.
Two very interesting exercises: the split, bounce hit and the colour coding that leads to where to hit. When playing social doubles at a club evening , which one is the best to use?
I think split, bounce, hit
I took lessons recently and my coach kept on telling me that Tennis is Life! After really dedicating myself to getting better, and some how finding these videos I am starting to see the truth to that statement.
You are a great coach Jorge! Thank you!!
Thanks Bob… good luck on your tennis journey!
I am enjoying and learning for the series a lot so far. Thanks so much Jorge
Thanks Paula.
I really use these videos on my tenis and it makes a big difference on my game
So thanks a lot for these types of videos and I wish it could be more than 4
Thanks
Ronald
I am not sure what to say. The first 2/3 of the video seemed too basic, but are really meaningful to some people. The little chalk talk about the second performance felt incomplete. Maybe one could have a quick mental review of the point (3-5 seconds) and 5 -7 seconds mental rehearsal onto the next point?
It could be that for key matches that one has a complete mental rehearsal for the match.
Thanks for the honest feedback
very helpful to me and for my kids. thank you so much!
Thanks very much, loved it.
Great Tips! Thx
Between points. I use Cathy Toons Game Face Routine, which is really a helpful guide as well!
Great Video It is all very helpful I can use this Thanks Rob
Hey Jorge:
First of all, thank you for sharing this mental toughness videos. Very well presented, simple and very effective drill technics.
Coach Rey
Jorge…great video. This really hit home about talking to yourself. My coach says I’m guilty of negative self-talk during a match and between points. Sort of being my own worst enemy. I never thought to visualize someone walking around saying to me the things I’ve been saying to myself. How awful that would be. Now, I will start visualizing that “person” walking around me making positive, encouraging comments. It’s not the big things that make the difference in your game, it’s the small things like this.
Thanks…Mike
Wonderful video!
I specially found interesting the past thinker vs future thinker. Stay in the moment.
Love this series Jorge. Thanks so much!
Vanessa
Inner voice
self 1 vs self 2
fix mindset vs growth mindset
fear wolf vs courage wolf
I got it.
Thanks you Jorge
Maitree
Great stuff!
Seems to me that the WTA #1 spends a LOT of energy reacting to all the points she plays: Up if she wins a point, down if she loses a point. Looks like she’s on a roller-coaster.
So, maybe Jorge and Carly could teach Serena to learn how to be a poker face, stay cool, etc, and therefore, improve her results?
Great video! When I closed my eyes and I thought of receiving an engineering award at work by peer nomination, I was relaxed and warm inside. When I closed my eyes and thought of another player that said I could jump as much as I wanted to, but she was not going to serve until I stopped moving… I got tight and mad! The eyes are the key to focusing. I am going to work on becoming the best actress in the 25 seconds that the player has to serve the ball! Thanks Jorge for all your tips on your website and at Tennis Congress. You ROCK!
Thakns Juliana, Nice seeing you in Tucson!
Thank you
I teach high school girls and boys.
The video’s will be excellent because my players have not formed their habits just yet.
The girls are just trying to get the ball over the net and the boys are hitting the ball into next week. Now they’ll have purpose.
I know it’s only video #3, but this one is my favorite so far! Watched it 1x, then rewatched just before Monday night match play. Very helpful. Kept my mind misty in a good place, and when I wavered I could recover. I did not spiral out of control. Thank you.
Thanks Jimmy… Perhaps the most important thing we can master on the court is control over our inner voice. Glad you enjoyed it.
Ay Jorge, this was so much helpful!!!! I am a psychologist myself, but seemed that in the court my credentials vanish!
I read the Inner Game of Tennis, loved it, and this video complemented it perfectly, especially to see the principles in action…
Muchas gracias!!! Hopefully I could get more clients now that they see me playing so confident, hehe!
Thanks Maggie
Thanks Jorge, for some great strategies to help with match nerves. I love playing tennis and enjoy social games, but always feel that I let myself down somewhat when under pressure during league matches. Even when I win those matches, I find them hugely stressful which takes away a lot of the enjoyment.
Can’t wait to try out these ideas, and share them with the rest of my team. I’ll definitely benefit by the ‘shot colours’ and ‘split, bounce, hit’ as this should give my overactive inner voice something else to say!
Thanks for all your fantastic coaching tips,
Gill
Good luck on the court Gill
I started playing tennis when I was 5 years old and have found that the mental part of tennis is 90+% of the battle. (Do you have any stats on that?) I have been searching since high school for many of the answers that you are providing in these FREE videos. I currently play in several leagues, teach lessons and assistant coach a high school team. I see several of the student athletes struggle with the same challenges that I do. Thank you for some new tactics and strategies to try for myself and to recommend to the students. Great to meet you at the MN Tennis Coaching Clinic! Thank you!
thank you for this great video now I know how to conquer my nerves on the court
Hey Jorge, good stuff, thank you! But: Green, yellow, red & split, bounce, hit ? Usefull when practicing ok ,but during the match, should I not concentrate on thinking what is going to happen next, tacticalvise…
My regards to your Ladies, too ( dont you be too macho with them at home, man!)
Yes, but some players cannot get their mind off the scoreboard during the points, so for them I have found that it may help to do this during the points so they did not freak themselves out.
Hi Jorge!
Thumbs up on the video lessons. I’ve a question, not sure if already answered. I play this guy at my club who keeps talking after every point, complimenting me. I am a better player than him but i couldn’t put on my game face against him as he is being nice. How do i deal with this type of player? Is he doing this on purpose?
I have seen this many times. Chances are he is just nice, in some cases it is a form of gamesmanship. I would try ignoring him by keeping your eyes on your strings between points. If you look him in the face and then ignore him, it will seem weird and rude. In some cases, I have instructed my players to polite ask the opponent to not talk, because they are working on their in between point skills.
For me the rhythm of Split/Bounce/Hit… Will be a tool that I look forward to implementing..Also the importance of staying Positive in self talk ..
Thanks!
That really works well. Good luck
Love these videos. Really helpfully. I love the tip of Split, bounce, hit…Keeps your mind pre-occupied and I found I was more focused in hitting the ball.
Hi Jorge terrific stuff here and you’re quite a good coach! I took a similar course here on LI this past summer and there are many similarities in your instruction. However I don’t see anywhere where you talk about deep breathing techniques between points to calm down nervous / tense players. You may want to incorporate breathing techniques into your instruction. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Tim
I am from Brasil and your job for tennis is the best I could see.
Thanks a lot.
Ueskey
Wow, I’m gonna try these right away!
Hi Jorge,
Im really happy I found these video training in mental toughness. I find em very easy to understand and very useful and Im hoping to use em with my students soon. really thankful for your job.
Best regards!!!
Pablo
Great Stuff!
Really helpful video, with excellent methodology: explanation followed by practical application on the court. Years ago I came across Galway’s book, “The Inner game of Tennis”, and Jorge’s reference to it was a reminder that there are some valuable ways of preparing mentally for any game, life included.
Jorge, one problem I have observed is that many club level women doubles players (myself included) apologize every time they miss a shot. Could you comment on that tendency? Thanks, Kathryn
Yes, Katryn. It is a common thing. I think it stems from insecurity and feelings that we are letting our partner down or they may be getting mad with us. My own daughter does this and the problem is that her partner feels the need to reassure her that things are OK. In the eed, it should be avoided, because it makes players look needy and distracts from the valuable between point time to talk strategy.
really enjoyed the inner voice video. Enjoyed the references to Inner game of tennis and Dr. Jim Loehr.
Hello Jorge
my son says he is a future thinker. “The video helped me better understand myself”. I’m 11 years old and I have a Jr. Tourney this weekend in Aptos CA. I hope to use what I learned.
Thank you
Armando
Sweet… Good Luck
Another great video, I definitely need to work on nurturing my inner coach!
Loving these videos!! The inner voice exercises are really good. Thanks so much for doing these!!
Great course!! I have read The Inner Game when it was first published in the 70’s and have read some of Dr. Loehr’s work. This has reminded me of some bad habits I have fallen into and need to correct.
I have been a USPTA since 1975 so an old dog can re-learn new tricks.I plan to use much of this with my juniors and type A adults. Again thank you so much for what you do.
Thanks Ron
I loved the story about the coach saying the same words– that the player was saying. I wonder if recording them and playing them back would work?
Jorge,
I found in 13 years of coaching that my best and most successful players were the players that utilized their “inner voice” in the best manner. Great video!
—D. Sabedra
I liked the Close-eyes exercise & the inner coach/assassin very much. Thank you, Jorge!
I like how you presented the whole course. For wheelchair, we just do “bounce hit” – for obvious reasons-.
I would have liked to learn ways to deal with the negative players, especially those who feel that they play better when they get mad.Please feel free to send some tips my way on that one.
Excellent video for tennis and life. Definitely going to share this one w my kids. Thank you : )
Jorge – I have been doing this training with many players for the last five or six years – it’s great to see that I am on the right track – seeing you as a master professional presenting the same as I – has added credibility to my coaching abilities.
I am now more confident in my presentations to all my students and I immediately include all of these in my programs and have passed these videos to my assistants – but more importantly to my top players and parents…..
Thank YOU
Another winning video! The SELF ONE usually WINS:( Darn it!!! Thank you for this INNER video! I love that part when you said “if someone is watching a player – they shouldn’t know if they are winning or losing” I totally got a visual! In between points are very crucial and I will elaborate this training with my students.
Thank you again for making these worthwhile videos!!!!
I like the split bounce hit saying. It seems to really help on focusing and concentration. Thanks for the input. Great video on the inner voice.
Thanks Kathleen. That one has really helped my players as well.
Hi Jorge,
A great series that I will use on my players.
Thanks,
Dan
Thanks Jorge;
Excellent presentation.
Learned a lot of really good tips here! Great video series!
Thanks Gary
Jorge-
I have read the Inner Game several times many years ago. The Self 1 Judgmental side is what my players
get stuck on instead of the doing part. The on court portion getting the mind to focus on split/bounce/hit
is a good concept to help the students switch off winning and losing.
Thanks
Rick Willett
This entire series is wonderful. Thanks for doing it! I think the “split/bounce/hit” and “green/yellow/red” tools are very helpful. Do you have anything similar you can recommend for the serve? That’s when my inner voice is the most active, e.g., “Don’t miss, don’t double fault.” Any ideas?
Great series: I have linked this course to my teams!
The 2nd performance section is VITAL. Working with my players…I’m always working on how to be the “Inner Coach” Too many athletes spend that between point time as the time to beat themselves up.
THAT is the time to do the small fixes and to give yourself the reassurance that 1) I can do this! 2) I have a game-plan that will work 3) Let’s go!
Staying in this positive coaching place keeps their energies going the correct way and is the way to coach themselves into their best “zone”.
Thanks Jorge!
Thanks Bob… I hope it really helps your team out a lot.
great job again Jorge…I agree with the mindset book and I thought the present exercises split/bounce/hit and color coding were great to keep player in the present .loved the story of reinforcing what the player is saying to themselves counterintuitive to what a coach would usually say instead .
Thanks Larry
Great video as a player and a coach. Timeless information.
Jorge, I appreciate the on court exercises geared toward improving mental strength. I also liked the concept “good idea-bad execution” which lets the player know they chose the right shot and that it was the execution of the shot that was the problem. Regarding poor execution, I have players look at it, learn from it and let it go which gives them the best chance of making the shot the next time they get the opportunity.
Thanks Wendy, that concept of bad execution vs. bad strategy has really helped a lot of my players.
Jorge,
Thanks for the practical “how to” rather than the usual “relax” without saying how. I like the several alternatives in the verbal yellow red green, spit bounce hit, and stay go back.
In my limited experience I have seen too many players who do not admit they have the negative self talk that hurts their game. Then for some reason they don’t practice the advice you have given.
if players just buy into and practice the “growth” portion it would help so much.
Thanks,
Ray