The Super Mental Training Book (8 page)

Come the second round, my opponent and I were assigned the center court. A large crowd gathered to watch us play. Many of the spectators were potential opponents of mine in the tournament; they had come to size me up. This should not have bothered me—nothing should

Tennis

27

(Kent Pagel photo)

Already a self-hypnosis master at age 21, as pictured here, Dr. Stevenson programmed himself with confidence-building and concentration-enhancing autosuggestions before important tennis matches. This led to intense, though not tense, play on his part—and plenty of victories. He is operating under the influence of autosuggestions in this photo of him. awaiting the serve of a tough collegiate opponent.

have bothered me! But, for some reason I proceeded to play about the worst tennis of my life.

During the whole match a gripping feeling enveloped my throat; I was literally "choking." I could not swing through a forehand or backhand if you paid me $1000. My potential opponents, of course, were delighted to see me play so poorly. Their laughter only added to my tightness. Fortunately, my opponent was mediocre enough for me to still defeat him, even though all I could do was dink the ball. The match took forever, however, and I was in a complete shambles as I walked off the court.

It was at this point that I resolved to use self-hypnosis for the balance of the tournament. I adopted a simple procedure. Before leaving the house for the match, I would enter the hypnotic state and give myself these suggestions: 1) "You will concentrate on every point," 2) "You will hit every shot with total confidence," 3) "Not only will you win, but you will win big!" and 4) "Absolutely nothing will disturb you." Although it would not have been any problem, I did not give myself any reinforcing suggestions during my ensuing matches. Why? Because I did not have to. I wiped out everyone in straight sets, and claimed the trophy! The hypnotic suggestions could not have worked any better. [14]

When you use self-hypnosis for tennis, you really do not have to get fancy. You can give yourself reinforcing suggestions during a match if you want. But, it is quite sufficient to simply give yourself suggestions before the match. Here's why: 99% of your opponents do not engage in self-hypnosis or any other mental training strategy. But, because you do, it is almost like winning by default. Because you have given yourself some hypnotic suggestions beforehand, you are probably going to be much tougher mentally than your opponent across the net. The apt saying for this situation bears repeating: You don't have to be very good to be best at something if you're the only one who's trying it at all!

My successes using self-hypnosis prompted me to encourage many of my athlete friends and acquaintances to investigate the technique. They followed the same self-hypnosis procedure spelled out in the Introduction, and learned self-hypnosis with no difficulty; in fact, most attained the hypnotic state in a matter of minutes. Having accomplished this, the next step was to apply self-hypnosis to their own sport. Needless to say, those who were tennis players started playing substantially better, and chalked up surprising victories.

There is not space here to relate all the success stories (see Appendix 2 for other interesting accounts). Let me tell you about Paul Shaver, though. His testimonial illustrates well how junior tennis players can use self-hypnosis to tremendous advantage:

I learned self-hypnosis in December, 1976, and was 17 years old then. The first occasion I used self-hypnosis was during the Fountain Valley Tennis Club "A" Singles Tournament. I wanted to win this tournament really bad because it was my first "A" tournament in singles, and because winning it would be a big confidence builder.

Before my first match I sat on the bench at the side of the court and put myself under self-hypnosis. I then gave myself these suggestions: 1) to "go all out on every point," 2) to "never let up," and 3) I told myself, "You're better than him. You gotta win!"

This match went easy, especially since my opponent wasn't that tough. My opponent in the second round, though, tried to psych me out beforehand by boasting about some of his past victories and tournaments he had won. After we finished warming up, I put myself under self-hypnosis for a minute on the bench at courtside. This time I told myself, "You gotta win! This guy's a turkey." So, I just proceeded to beat him quite easily: 6-2, 6-1. He told me afterwards, "You never let me in the match!" Then the guy informed me that the man I'd have to play the next round would give me a cardiac arrest (he gave me the impression that I'd get my butt kicked).

The next round was the semi-finals (the next day at 8 in the morning), and my opponent turned out to be the second seed. He was a friendly man and a good player. For this match it was basically the same thing: I took my warm-ups and gave myself my regular suggestions. In the first set I had some bad breaks, and lost it, 6-4. After that first set I sat down on the bench and gave myself the suggestion to "Kill!" And that's what I did. I dominated my opponent totally, and took the second set, 6-1. The third set was a continuation of the momentum of the second set, and I won it, 6-3. I played really well, but my opponent always kept trying and was never psychologically out of the match.

The finals at 12 pitted me against the first seed, Bob Kisner, a middle-aged veteran of the courts. The crowd was for "the Kid" because Kisner would swear and throw tantrums on the court. I gave myself the usual suggestions before the warm-ups, the main one being, "You know you can beat him." During the warm-ups and start of play Kisner didn't say one word; instead, he gave me cold looks. In the first set we both played really tough. I was playing good, but just barely lost it, 7-5. The second set I

came out the same way, same attitude. Kisner also started this set playing well, but his game slowly deteriorated. I beat him, 6-3. At the end of this set my opponent blew up with combinations of swear words and racket throwing. In the third set I came out to win—I had to win! I started playing out of my mind. In fact, I played the best I had during the entire tournament. Meanwhile, Kisner was gone, as evidenced by the time he creamed the ball over the fence. I steamed through, 6-2. I was astounded by my victory, and the crowd was ecstatic!

Shaver, now an engineer, continued to use self-hypnosis, not only for tennis, but also in studying for tests while in college. His tournament story, though, is important because it exemplifies perfectly the value of self-hypnosis for junior tennis players. Shaver, then age 17, played tough tennis throughout, especially in his three-set matches. This is significant because juniors frequently "crack up" during the third set. Their relative immaturity makes them less able to handle pressure situations. As a result, they get upset quite easily, which seriously affects their play. But, as Shaver pointed out, it was the middle-aged opponent in the finals who blew his cool. By contrast, if you go to any juniors tournament, you will note that the youngster who keeps his head is generally the one who wins the match. The first racket thrown into the fence is a sure tip-off as to which player will not advance to the next round. As with Paul Shaver, proper hypnotic suggestions can provide you a mental toughness that is no strain to sustain. As you maintain your composure during the match, it becomes more likely that your opponent will ultimately degenerate into your typical "temperamental tennis player" (a plus for you).

Along these same lines, it can be said with justification that strategy books on winning tennis are not usually helpful. Those tips that make great reading go out the window as soon as you get emotionally carried away by your opponent's quirks, or by the excitement of the moment. Remember Shaver noting his opponent's silence and cold looks in the finals; to many players such actions would prove disconcerting, mind-blowing. It is the type of thing that causes one to completely forget his game plan. Paul Shaver, however, was able to shrug off this incident. He maintained his composure primarily because his mind was already preoccupied with the hypnotic suggestions he had given himself. His mind, in short, was totally focused in on winning, and no antics originating from his opponent could disrupt Shaver's self-programming. There is a lesson to this: simple hypnotic suggestions will do more for your game than a study of the most fashionable tennis strategy books.

Shaver informed me that he enters the hypnotic state "by concentrating on my breathing, getting a slow rhythm. Then, I visualize that my muscles are relaxed, starting from my toes moving on up to my head. By this time my breathing is very shallow and infrequent, and I start giving myself suggestions." This is Shaver's at-home self-hypnosis procedure, and it takes him about two minutes to attain this extremely relaxed state. During a match, if he needs to, Shaver will give himself reinforcing suggestions between change of sides. The rules allow you a minute's rest at this time. Says Shaver, "During that minute I sit down on the bench, and am able to go under." I wondered what happened if he lost the match. "I never give up on a match," Shaver claims. "If I do lose, the guy just beat me. But, mentally I was always in there."

Shaver, while attending the University of California, Santa Barbara, successfully used self-hypnosis to get through difficult engineering courses. What he did is something every student might want to try: "In studying, I basically give myself suggestions to read the material, figure out the meaning of it, and perceive the whole perspective." Shaver adds that "the high concentration level self-hypnosis provides helps me remember the material longer."

We have looked at several easy-to-learn and easy-to-use meditation, self-hypnosis, and visualization procedures in this chapter. The tennis players who use them have walked away with more than their share of the trophies. Unless you are satisfied being a "choke artist" and

"perennial first-round loser," perhaps you ought to try one of these mental training strategies. If you make this decision, you just might soon find yourself giving your opponents nightmares as you notch one victory after another.

FOOTNOTES

1. Bob Gillen, "The Power and the Passion," Tennis USA, August, 1975, pp. 10-74.

2. "Wimbledon: Ashe Authors a Thinking Man's Guide to Victory," World Tennis, September, 1975, p. 30.

3. Rick Reilly, "Annacone Really Has Krick Upset," Los Angeles Times, July 3, 1984, Part III, p. 1.

4. "Navratilova Records 7th Victory in Slims of Dallas," Orange County Register, March 17, 1986, p. E3.

5. "Hana Mandlikova: The Most Misunderstood Pro," Tennis, May, 1986, pp. 43-47.

6. "Think Success," World Tennis, August, 1986, pp. 37-38.

7. "De-Stress for Success," World Tennis, November, 1985, p. 80.

8. John Weyler, "'Stress Tape': Music to Calm Yourself Before the Big Match," Los Angeles Times, August 30, 1979, Part III, p. 8.

9. "Music Wins Wider Acceptance as a Therapeutic Aid," German Tribune, April 13, 1980, p. 12.

10. There is no question that this is so. Reporter Daniel Goleman of the New York Times described a study conducted by Dr. Dean Ornish, director of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California. The study, presented at the 1989 annual meeting of the American Heart Association, demonstrated, said Goleman, that "strict changes in diet and lifestyle not only can prevent heart attacks, but actually can reverse the clogging of the arteries... The study showed that a vegetarian diet, moderate exercise and an hour a day of yoga and meditation could produce a reversal of atherosclerosis, blockage of the arteries that can lead to heart attacks, in men and women who were strict in following the daily regimen." Dr. Ornish offered an interesting insight, commenting, "We feel the lifestyle changes, like meditation and yoga, are as important as the dietary ones. The stress-control component is often ignored, but several studies show stress plays a major role in the development of atherosclerosis" (see "Study Finds Diet, Lifestyle Can Unclog Arteries," Orange County Register, November 14, 1989, p. Al).

11. Scott Moore, "Meditation Seen as Improvement," Los Angeles Times, December 17, 1978, Part XI, pp. 6-7.

12. In another article Weisberg provided additional details about the first part of the hypnosis session the David Park tennis players participated in (see "Can a Hypnotist Help Your Game?" Miami Herald, January 9, 1979). Informed Weisberg, "I had them lie around in a dark room. We did progressive relaxation exercises, starting with the big muscle groups. Once you get the body pretty relaxed, you can almost bet that the mind is pretty relaxed. When you get to that point, we try to build a channel of communication between the subconscious mind and the physical movement of the body." At this point Weisberg introduced her visualization message and hypnotic suggestions to the players.

13. Barry Tarshis, "Is Inner Tennis Dead?" Tennis, January, 1979.

14. I decided while writing this book that it would behoove me to once more practice what I preach. So, I put self-hypnosis to the test again. In January, 1986 I entered the same tournament I had won 10 years previous. The two main suggestions I gave myself this time were "You will hit every shot with complete confidence" and "You will concentrate on every point"—suggestions virtually unchanged from the 1976 victory. Also unchanged was the bottom line: I won the tournament, though this time I had to overcome extreme physical fatigue to win a grueling 3-set final over a substantially younger and fitter opponent (Pete Stokke, my doubles partner). Psychologically, I dealt with the fatigue by giving myself reinforcing autosuggestions during the match, and they provided me just enough mental toughness to prevail.