Many millions of kids participate formally in sports each year. A minority of these children receive the benefits of sport psychology training along with their regular physical training. Teaching kids psychological skills in tennis is smart, since tennis is so mentally demanding. But many overlook the valuable lessons learned for life outside the tennis court! Let's look at how regular mental skills training benefits kids both on and off the courts. We'll examine Confidence, Attention Control and Imagery.

Confidence

Having confidence in tennis can help enhance a child's self image, since physical skills are so highly valued, especially among male children. Self-worth is often tied directly to their perceptions of sports competence. That's why it's so important to emphasize the values of performance and achievement, rather than just winning at all costs. There will always be a player who doesn't win the match, but that doesn't have to mean "a loser" who loses self-esteem too. Ideally, kids should internalize the view that losing a tennis match means that they were tested to their capacity and placed in a challenging situation where real learning was possible! With this perspective, competition is the springboard to improved performance. Although they should strive to win, the outcome is not a "make or break" proposition.

By reinforcing the values of self-belief, self-control, positive thinking, and confident body language, children learn to be poised in many other performance situations. There is no question that self-belief in sport transfers to other areas of life. Understanding that confidence can be controlled is often a major step that leads kids to higher academic achievements and greater social poise too.

Attention Control

How important is concentration for kids in other areas of life? I know I'm preaching to the choir. It's obvious that learning takes place to the extent that information is effectively acquired and processed. The tools gained by improving focus in tennis definitely spill over and help children eliminate useless distractions in the classroom, at home, and on the playground. Learning to be serious about a task, yet relaxed and comfortable, helps encourage self-discipline and autonomy in thinking and acting. So if you want your kids to stay focused longer on their math, lessons about attention control on the tennis court provide an excellent introduction.

Imagery

By engaging a child's creative imagination on the court, they develop a more organized mental plan that can be adapted to non-sport situations. For example, if they have a series of tasks to complete at school, it helps when they can visualize themselves completing each task successfully. In social situations, it helps to silently rehearse to themselves what they will say before blurting it out. Many academic endeavors are simplified by imagining the beginning, middle and end. Imagery trains kids to tackle a variety of complex problems and anticipate consequences more effectively.

It's obvious that enhanced mental equipment leads to improved athletic performance among kids. I hope you've also seen that these tools transfer far beyond the white lines. Find a good sport psychologist in your area to help your children grow both on and off the courts!

The Most Creative Tennis Players in History

(2) Jimmy Connors, (3) Ilie Nastase, (4) Bobby Riggs, (5) Martina Navratilova, (6) Arthur Ashe, (7) Rod Laver, (8) Martina Hingis, (9) Michael Chang, (10) Andre Agassi, (11) Monsour Bahrami, (12) Brad Gilbert, (13) Gabriella Sabatini, (14) The Jensen Brothers, (15) Stefan Edberg, (16) Johan Kriek, (17) Bill Tildon, (18) Henri Leconte, (19) Boris Becker, (20) Yannick Noah.

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