Performance Insights

Performance Corner

Importance of Mental Strength Development
By Empower Aces

A junior tennis player stays quiet as his opponent interrupts for the 10th time his service motion to tie his shoe laces. Another opponent makes a blatant incorrect line call on set point during the semi- final of a provincial circuit tournament and there is no one to over rule it. A 12-year-old screams out “I’m so bad” as the ball lands in the net.

These are common scenarios across the junior competitive circuit. Most parents are either too busy, ill-equipped, disillusioned or frustrated to handle this weekly drama. Parents and coaches watch as junior athletes lose focus due to either inner fears, or inexperience in handling such situations.

As these athletes grow, it soon becomes apparent, that not all athletes are made equal. They may receive the same physical and technical training, but at the end, it’s the athletes who have focussed on their mental strength training, who are mentally tougher and emotionally stronger that rule the day. This is obvious when they are playing U14 Nationals and it is equally obvious when they are playing the finals of a Grand Slam at the Pro level.

Just as there are many nuances to the technical game, there are many nuances to the mental game. Similarly, just as thousands of hours are spent on developing and perfecting their physical fitness and game, thousands of hours need to be spent developing the mental muscle to make them tough.

Many dreams are lost and wasted because parents spend a great amount of time and resources on developing the physical game and very little on the mental. The two are complementary and equally important. Developing the mental side helps develop and enhance the technical and physical side even more.

So, if you would like your junior athlete to help reach his or her optimum performance by helping develop their mental skills, reach out to Empower Aces, the performance optimization platform for professional and junior athletes.

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