The Inner Game of Tennis: A Must Read

I'm currently enjoying a book my brother recommended to me called The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey.

This is a great read regardless of what sport you are participating in and I highly recommend it. If you are interested in taking your game to the next level or have someone who wants to learn about the sport, I recommend reading this first. You will learn a lot about yourself and a lot about coaching.

How we've been coached to learn in sports

I find a lot in similarities having played both tennis, when I was younger, and table tennis. Both being racquet sports, you will find no shortage of fundamentals and techniques to perform even the most basic of strokes. Ask any fellow table tennis enthusiast or club member what encompasses a simple forehand loop and you will hear things of the sort.

• Be sure you are low with your feet at least shoulder width apart
• Knees bent
• Wrist down (if you're a shakehander)
• Weight transfer from back leg to front
• Brush the ball vs direct flat contact

Those are just a few of the fundamentals you might hear. I could go on. That's a lot to remember for an action you will perform in about a second. How can one remember all this? When someone is playing at their best, is it because they're following all these steps?

What makes this book great

Tim, as a tennis coach, noticed players often having conversations with themself. "Stupid!", "That's a lazy stroke." "horrible backhand." He began to ask himself, who are these people talking? How would you categorize this relationship if it were between two people vs one person talking to themself? Abusive right? Demeaning? Obviously not a healthy relationship.

Tim asserts there are two selves. Self 1, which is the conscious mind, is demeaning self 2, the unconscious mind. Self 1, with all it's logic and knowledge of fundamentals seems to think self 2 is some type of moron incapable of performing the most simple of tasks. "Why can't you get your racquet back in time!"

The book's premise is to let your body do what it already knows how to do. 

Let it happen.

Ask yourself about the last time you played great. I mean you were really on. You were in the zone. What were you thinking about? (take a minute to ponder that question).... Nothing right? That's exactly the point. Your muscle movements were not rigid trying to follow the 15 steps in your conscious mind performing the perfect loop. Rather, your mind was clear and your body was free flowing to perform.

Tim gives several examples in the book that helps prove his point so I will not give away the spoilers. However I did have a simple experience during my weekly club night where I immediately thought of this book.

I was practicing with a newer player I invited to club. We were having a good time just hitting. During this practice he saw a higher ball he liked and really wanted to smoke it. The right idea but the execution was off as he mishit it and the ball came flying right at me with the speed of a smash. Before I knew what happened my hand had reached up and caught the ball instinctively before I even had a chance to flinch.

How did I do this? I couldn't repeat that feat again with 100 more attempts had I tried. That's the key point to remember though. Your body, self 2, has the ability to do multiple complex things far beyond your understanding. All you have to do is train your conscious mind, self 1, to trust self 2 more. The book goes into how to do that.