Do You "Fold" Under Pressure in Tennis

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Do you have some highly skilled tennis players in your family? But these players tend to fold when under pressure? Hi, I'm Dr. Patrick Cohn and in today's session I answer a question from a grandparent named Devin who has two young junior players that have issues when they get into competition with a lack of determination and agility when the pressure goes up. Here's the question I received from Devin. I have two grandchildren, 10 and 11 years old who are potentially very good tennis players but easily fold when the pressure goes up and lose their determination. They have less agility and movement around the court, lack of urgency, etc. Do you have any books or videos that will build on the very good free publication that that you have provided@sportspsychologytennis.com.

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Devon the hard part of answering this particular question about your grandchildren is what source of pressure are they feeling? That's the first place to look at. I understand there's two components for you. One is when the pressure increases, they tend to fold, or as we call it, they tend to choke in some way. And then the second part of that is what actually happens to them after the pressure goes up when they have that lack of movement or agility around the court and they don't lack that, or they have a lack of urgency. So the first part is, I think you have to investigate where is that pressure coming from that they feel. Remember, pressure isn't all about on the outside of what kids are feeling and what goes on around them. Pressure is something that's very internal to them. It's very specific to each player. Typically, the pressure is all about expectations that they feel from others and from themselves. For example, they may feel like that they can't lose to a lesser player or their parents are going to be upset. That's a very common expectation that I think tennis juniors have along this particular line. They may feel pressure that they have to win every match. They may feel pressure that they can't make any mistakes. So pressure is very specific to the individual and certainly how they cope with that pressure as well. So what I would want to do is ask them when they get in that big match or that tight match or those pressure points, what is it that they're most concerned about? Are they concerned about disappointing a coach? Are they concerned about disappointing a parent? For example, are they worried about what's going to happen if they lose? They feel like embarrassed, for example, if they lose to a player they're supposed to beat. As for the second part, that's a little bit more specific. You mentioned that they lose this determination and lose this agility under pressure. And I have to wonder whether there's a slight tanking response there when. When they feel under pressure, they feel like they're outmatched, that they're not willing to give full effort because in their minds they're thinking, I'm going to lose anyways. I mean, that's one explanation that you have to address. Because tennis players tank when they feel like that they can't control the outcome, essentially that the outcome is already a done deal. And so they end up protecting their ego by saying, well, I'm not going to try anyways. So if they don't try, then they feel like, well, that's why they lost the match. So it's really like a protection mechanism for them. But the other part of that may be they may feel frustrated or they may feel helpless in some way, and then that's affecting their determination and their agility. So really, this is one of those scenarios where you need more information and you have to find out what's the source of pressure that your kids are feeling, what are those pressure moments or situations. Right. And then what's ultimately leading to their lack of agility or determination when under pressure? Because I see that in various situations in tennis, from tanking to frustration to giving up to feeling helpless. Thanks for the question, and good luck with your granddaughter's games.

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