 Learn More Add This Feed to Your Homepage
|
 |
Tennis
|
| The 6 game situations in Tennis by Mark Luyk Hi, As promised I will talk a bit about the six different situations you can be in on a tennis court.Last week I told you it was important first and foremost to develop consistency in each one of them. The six game situations are:1.Serving................................. This is perhaps the most important game situation at least as far as playing matches is concerned. Why? Because every point starts with a serve. Unfortunately, more often than not it is the stroke least practiced.2.Returning the serve................. For obvious reasons this is a very important stroke as well. If you can't do anything else, make sure you keep the ball in play with your return. In that way you will give the opponent a chance to make a mistake...3.Baseline rallying...................... When beginners first are capable of hitting 5, 6, 7 times over the net with me, I tell them: "You see, it's not that hard! You're playing tennis now!" Usually this happens during the first lesson and their faces always lighten up when I tell them. I think this is because the basic idea of tennis (to hit the ball over the net in the opponent's court) is expressed so clearly in this situation.4.Approaching + playing volleys........... When you get to the net at the right moment (you get a shorter ball and your opponent is [slightly] out of position) and you can play a decent volley it makes the game of tennis much more fun. Play can get more exciting and unexpected when one or both players show up at the net from time to time. 5.Hitting passing shots + lobs..........Most people at first have a tendency to 'panic' when their opponent shows up at the net. (Some people never leave this stage... ;-) Once you realize you can go for the winner, or first play a subtle 'dinky' shot and then blast it by your opponent, or choose to play a lob, this situation can become a fun and challenging one. 6.Lob recovery.........................When your opponent hits a lob you cannot put away with a smash, you can often run after it and keep the ball in play, for example with a lob of your own. You'll see the craziest shots in this situation. People will apply the 'pancake method' and try to flip the ball over their shoulder holding the racket with both hands, or they will go for the 'Sabatweeny' (named after the Argentinean player Gabriela Sabatini who would on occasion hit the ball between her legs with her back to the net), some people will try to smash the ball either keeping their backs to the net or trying to turn while hitting. So the six game-situations are:1.Serving.2.Returning the serve.3.Playing a baseline rally.4.Approaching and hitting volleys5.Hitting passing shots and lobs6.Lob recoverySo what are you supposed to do in these situations? Let's talk some more about that in the next weekly tennis tip.That's all for now. Enjoy the game and see if you can recognize these 6 situations.If you want to know more, read about my eBooks on www.game-set-and-match.com About the Author Mark Luyk is a fully licensed tennis pro from The Netherlands with international coaching experience. |
| Sports View for January by Leigh Douglas Sports View for January Leigh Douglas As the NFL playoffs approach, we look back at our pre-season Super Bowl prediction. I think I’ll stick with Minnesota vs New England. I wouldn’t bet the farm on it, but it’s as good a bet as any other two teams. Now that Terell Owens has gone down, and the Eagles are apparently going to be overprotective of the rest of their starters; everyone is jumping off the Eagles bandwagon. Do not underestimate this team. Without Owens this is essentially the same offense that has gone to 3 straight NFC championships, and consider the competition in the NFC; does anyone really believe the Falcons are ready for prime time Do the Packers have one last push for Favre left in them Is Seattle ever going to stop underachieving Are the Rams really back Can the Vikings play any semblance of Defense what so ever If the Saints or Panthers back door into the playoffs, can they be taken seriously Is anyone else tired of Bill Parcels Can you not already tell that all he’s going to do is quit again on yet another team. Okay I official concede- Peyton Manning is the MVP of the NFL this season. Does anyone really believe that Illinois is going to be cutting down any nets come March Not only will USC beat Oklahoma for the national title, but you can also take the over, as the Trojans expose all the holes in the Sooners defence. Anyone miss the NHL yet If you do, get used to it, it’s going to be a while, a long while.
About The Author Leigh Douglas is the sports editor for T.E.N Magazine, a sports and social commentary webzine with balls! Check out more articles at http://www.tenwebzine.com editor@tenwebzine.com |
| Improve Your Tennis in One-Fifth of A Second! by Steve Smith Improve Your Tennis in One-Fifth of A Second! Steve Smith How would you like to start playing vastly better tennis ... today Theres a particular “magic” moment in tennis—one that lasts a mere fifth of a second. If you have or can develop the discipline to fully exploit that moment, you may astonish yourself and your opponents with your new-found scoring ability. The moment Im talking about is the last 1/5th of a second before your racquet strikes the ball. The discipline Im referring to is that of keeping your eye entirely on the ball for that super-critical moment. Weve all been told many times that we should keep our eye on the ball in tennis. But how many of us really know what that means How many of us really practice it Keeping your eye on the ball doesnt mean watching it until it is a split second from hitting your racket, and then glancing away to look at your opponent. It means watching it until it has hit your strings and begun its rebound. This is not a new secret. Bill Tilden, perhaps the greatest player who ever lived, wrote about it more than 80 years ago and tried to drive its importance into the heads of his readers. Early on in his classic book, "The Art of Lawn Tennis," he cited statistics “to show you how vital it is that the eye must be kept on the ball UNTIL THE MOMENT OF STRIKING IT” his emphasis. “About 85 per cent of points in tennis are errors, and the remainder earned points. As the standard of play rises the percentage of errors drops until, in the average high-class tournament match, 60 per cent are errors and 40 per cent aces. ... Fully 80 percent of all errors are caused by taking the eye from the ball in the last one-fifth of a second of its flight.” Wow. Sobering statistics, to be sure. But exciting ones, too, because what Tilden is telling us is that its within our power, right now, to eliminate the majority of our errors! And reducing the errors we make is the surest way to starve our opponent of points and extend his opportunity to give up points to us. Tilden was a great tennis observer as well as a player. He studied and wrote about all of the top players of his day, and observed and advised many a tennis beginner. We can trust him when he says that the greatest fault commited by novices and by many more experienced players is trying to watch too much besides the ball. Tilden compared the human eye to a camera, noting that neither is capable of clearly focusing on a moving object and its background at the same time. “Now the tennis ball is your moving object while the court, gallery, net, and your opponent constitute your background.” Therefore, ignore the background and rather “concentrate solely on focusing the eye firmly on the ball, and watching it until the moment of impact with your racquet face.” Shouldnt you at least take a peek at your opponent, maybe out of the corner of your eye No: “You are not trying to hit him. You strive to miss him. Therefore, since you must watch what you strive to hit and not follow what you only wish to miss, keep your eye on the ball, and let your opponent take care of himself.” Tilden provided a chart in "The Art of Lawn Tennis," a very simple one, but one that I hope you will commit to memory. It looked something like this: A—1—2—3—4—B Imagine a ball passing from point A to point B, with you as the receiving player at B. According to Tilden, it can be taken as a scientific fact that if you keep your eye on the ball throughout its flight, your chance of making a good return is five times as great as it would be if you took your eye off the ball at point 4 4/5ths of a second of its flight. Furthermore, your chance is ten times as great as it would be if your removed your eye from the ball at point 3 3/5ths of a second of its flight. Tilden wrote: “The average player follows the ball to 4, and then he takes a last look at his opponent to see where he is, and by so doing increases his chance of error five times. ... Remembering the 85 percent errors in tennis, I again ask you if it is worth while to take the risk” Keeping your eye on the ball is a good practice not just because you make fewer errors, but also because it strengthens the other parts of your game through developing the habit of concentration. As Tilden humorously explained, “It tends to hold [your] attention so outside occurrences will not distract. Movements in the gallery are not seen, and stray dogs, that seem to particularly enjoy sleeping in the middle of a tennis court during a hard match, are not seen on their way to their sleeping quarters.” So there you have it – one-fifth of a second that can make all the difference in your tennis game. It can truly be the magic moment for you, IF you cultivate the discipline to keep your eye on the ball not just occasionally or even most of the time, but during every single shot. P.S: Bill Tildens "The Art of Lawn Tennis" is in the public domain, which means you can find it and read it online for free. I highly recommend that you do so. Although his references to events and personalities are of course dated, his playing advice is timeless.
About The Author © Copyright 2004 by Steve Smith. Steve Smith is a writer who lives near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His Web site, Tops 4 Tennis http://www.tops4tennis.com, includes the complete text of "The Art of Lawn Tennis" by Bill Tilden, plus other articles and links for tennis players and fans. freedom1@mindspring.com |
| A little bit of tennis History any tennis beginners should know. by Gavin Dye For any future athlete that intends to start a new activity, knowing a little bit of history about the sport is always a good idea. Ball games can be traced back for hundreds and thousands of years. Usually played for entertainment or during religious ceremonies, ball games became highly popular in countless civilizations worldwide. European monks probably created the game of tennis. The players quickly found out that instead of hitting the ball off walls they had better control using their hand. A leather glove was soon created, and not long after, an adapted handle completed the first racquet. As the racquets evolved, so did the balls that were used. A bouncier type stuffed with bran material soon replaced the first primitive wooden balls. The game became highly popular amongst monasteries all around Europe during the 14th century. At one time, the church considered forbidding the game. In 1874, Major Walter C. Wingfield patented in London the equipment and rules for a game fairly similar to modern tennis. In the same year, the first courts appeared in the United States. By the following year, equipment sets had been sold for use in Russia, India, Canada, and China. Croquet was highly popular at this time, and the smooth croquet courts proved readily adaptable for tennis. Wingfield's original court had the shape of an hourglass, narrowest at the net, and it was shorter than the modern court. His rules were subjected to considerable criticism, and he revised them in 1875, but he soon left the further development of the game to others. In 1877, the All England Club held the first Wimbledon tournament, and its tournament committee came up with a rectangular court and a set of rules that are essentially the game we know today. The net was still five feet high at the sides, a carryover from the game's indoor ancestor, and the service boxes were 26 feet deep, but by 1882, the specifications had evolved to their current form. The growth of tennis continued and the 1927 Championship saw the first ever radio broadcast of a tennis event. This increased its popularity further and in the 1930s the game became highly fashionable, led by British stars such as Fred Perry and Don Budge and International Champions such as Henri Lacoste. You'll notice from the photographs that tennis fashions were somewhat different in those days! Long trousers were the order of the day for men, and for women it was long dresses and stockings. Fashion trends became a development in their own right and Bunny Austin from the USA shocked the crowds in 1933 when he became the first player to step out on to centre court wearing shorts! The 1930's became Wimbledon's boom time and in 1937, the championship was broadcast on the radio for the first time. This was a significant event, truly introducing tennis to the world. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s the game became dominated by the new legion of international players and crowds became captivated by the likes of Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, and John McEnroe. In the ladies game stars such as Sue Barker, Chris Evert Lloyd and Martina Navratilova filled the courts with fans. Britain's foremost ladies player was Virginia Wade, the last Brit to win the Championships in 1977. The prize money went up, as did the hemlines of players clothing! In 1986 the Championships adopted yellow tennis balls for the first time - partly to make the speeding balls more visible for television cameras About the author: Gavin Dye Webmaster & Author at http://www.tennis-supply.com |
| The Benefits of Sports Psychology for Athletes by Patrick J. Cohn The Benefits of Sports Psychology for Athletes Patrick J. Cohn Mental Game Coaching is that the segment of sports psychology that concentrates specifically on helping athletes break through the mental barriers that are keeping them from performing up to their peak potential. By focusing on the mental skills needed to be successful in any sporting competition, mental game coaching seeks to achieve the overall goal of performance improvement. Sports Psychology is about improving your attitude and mental game skills to help you perform your best by identifying limiting beliefs and embracing a healthier philosophy about your sport. Below is a list of the top ten ways that you can benefit from sports psychology: 1. Improve focus and deal with distractions. Many athletes have the ability to concentrate, but often their focus is displaced on the wrong areas such as when a batter thinks “I need to get a hit” while in the batter’s box, which is a result-oriented focus. Much of my instruction on focus deals with helping athlete to stay focused on the present moment and let go of results. 2. Grow confidence in athletes who have doubts. Doubt is the opposite of confidence. If you maintain many doubts prior to or during your performance, this indicates low self-confidence or at least you are sabotaging what confidence you had at the start of the competition. Confidence is what I call a core mental game skill because of its importance and relationship to other mental skills. 3. Develop coping skills to deal with setbacks and errors. Emotional control is a prerequisite to getting into the zone. Athletes with very high and strict expectations, have trouble dealing with minor errors that are a natural part of sports. It’s important to address these expectations and also help athletes stay composed under pressure and when they commit errors or become frustrated. 4. Find the right zone of intensity for your sport. I use intensity in a broad sense to identify the level of arousal or mental activation that is necessary for each person to perform his or her best. This will vary from person to person and from sport to sport. Feeling “up” and positively charged is critical, but not getting overly excited is also important. You have to tread a fine line between being excited to complete, but not getting over-excited. 5. Help teams develop communication skills and cohesion. A major part of sports psychology and mental training is helping teams improve cohesion and communication. The more a team works as a unit, the better the results for all involved. 6. To instill a healthy belief system and identify irrational thoughts. One of the areas I pride myself on is helping athlete identify ineffective beliefs and attitudes such as comfort zones and negative self-labels that hold them back from performing well. These core unhealthy beliefs must be identified and replaced with a new way of thinking. Unhealthy or irrational beliefs will keep you stuck no matter how much you practice or hard you try. 7. Improve or balance motivation for optimal performance. It’s important to look at your level of motivation and just why you are motivated to play your sport. Some motivators are better in the long-term than others. Athletes who are extrinsically motivated often play for the wrong reasons, such as the athlete who only participates in sports because of a parent. I work with athlete to help them adopt a healthy level of motivation and be motivated for the right reasons. 8. Develop confidence post-injury. Some athletes find themselves fully prepared physically to get back into competition and practice, but mentally some scars remain. Injury can hurt confidence, generate doubt during competition, and cause a lack of focus. I help athletes mentally heal from injuries and deal with the fear of re-injury. 9. To develop game-specific strategies and game plans. All great coaches employ game plans, race strategies, and course management skills to help athletes mentally prepare for competition. This is an area beyond developing basic mental skills in which a mental coach helps athletes and teams. This is very important in sports such as golf, racing, and many team sports. 10. To identify and enter the “zone” more often. This incorporates everything I do in the mental side of sports. The overall aim is to help athletes enter the zone by developing foundational mental skills that can help athletes enter the zone more frequently. It’s impossible to play in the zone everyday, but you can set the conditions for it to happen more often. I will add that sport psychology may not be appropriate for every athlete. Not every person who plays a sport wants to “improve performance.” Sport psychology is probably not for recreation athletes who participate for the social component of a sport or do not spend time working on technique or fitness to improve performance. Young athletes whose parents want them to see a sports psychologist are not good candidate either. It’s very important that the athlete desires to improve his or her mental game without having the motive to satisfy a parent. Similarly, an athlete who sees a mental game expert only to satisfy a coach is not going to fully benefit from mental training. Sports Psychology does apply to a wide variety of serious athletes. Most of my students junior, high school, college, and professional athletes are highly committed to excellence and seeing how far they can go in sports. They love competition and testing themselves against the best in their sport. They understand the importance of a positive attitude and mental toughness. These athletes want every possible advantage they can get including the mental edge over the competition.
About The Author Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is a sports psychology expert and master mental game coach who works with athletes of all levels including amateur and professionals. Visit Peaksports.com to gain access to over 500 exclusive mental game articles, audio programs, and interviews with athletes and coaches to enhance your athletic potential: www.peaksports.com/membership or call 888-742-7225. |
| Sports Psychology Guidelines for Sports Parents by Dr. Patrick J. Cohn Sports Psychology Guidelines for Sports Parents Dr. Patrick J. Cohn Sports parents have a big impact on their young superstars. A healthy and successful sports experience will depend on sports parents ability to instill confidence and self-esteem in athletes. Read sports psychology expert, Dr. Patrick Cohns view on how to make sports a successful and fun experience. Youth sports are huge in today’s society. Coaches and parents have a tremendous impact on how children will engage in sports. I get several emails a month from concerned sports parents asking me how they should help their child superstar win at and enjoy sports. When working with young athletes, I often work with the parents themselves so parents can reinforce the concepts I teach to athletes in our mental game coaching sessions. Below are eight simple guidelines for sports parents to adopt with youth athletes. 8 Simple Guidelines for Sports Parents: 1. Sports should be fun for kids. Treat sport as a game—It’s not a business for kids. With all the money in professional sports today, it is hard for parents to understand that it’s just good fun to young athletes. The primary goal should be to have fun and enjoy the healthy competition. 2. Your own agenda is not your child’s. Young athletes compete in sports for many reasons. They enjoy the competition, like the social aspect, engage with being part of a team, and enjoy the challenge of setting goals. You might have a different agenda than your child and you need to recognize that racing is your child’s sport, not yours. 3. Emphasize a mental focus on the process of execution instead of results or trophies. We live in a society that focuses on results and winning, but winning come from working the process and enjoying the ride. Teach your child to focus on the process of the challenge of playing one shot, stroke, or race at a time instead of the number of wins or trophies. 4. You are a role model for your child athlete. As such, you should model composure and poise on the sidelines. When you are at competition, your child mimics your behavior as well as other role models. You become a role model in how you react to a close race or the questionable behavior of a competitor. Stay calm, composed, and in control during games so your child superstar can mimic those positive behaviors. 5. Refrain from game-time coaching. During competition, it’s time to just let them play. All the practice should be set aside because this is the time that athletes need trust in the training and react on the court or field. “Just do it” as the saying goes. Too much coaching or over-coaching can lead to mistakes and cautious performance called paralysis by over analysis in my work. Save the coaching for practice and use encouragement at game time instead. 6. Help you athlete to detach self-esteem from achievement. Too many athletes I work with attach self-worth to the level of performance or outcomes. Help your child understand that they are a person FIRST who happens to be an athlete instead of an athlete who happens to be a person. Success or number of wins should not determine a person’s self-esteem. 7. Ask your child athlete the right questions. Asking the right questions after competition and games will tell your child what you think is important in sports. If you ask, “Did you win” your child will think winning is important. If you ask, “Did you have fun” he or she will assume having fun is important. 8. Pledge the: P.A.Y.S. Parent’s Code of Ethics. PAYS Parents Association for Youth Sports provides a parental handbook and code of ethics that adults must sign before each competitive season. This is a great tool to guide parents in their interaction with young athletes.
About The Author Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is a master mental game coach who works with athletes of all levels including amateur and professionals. Visit Peaksports.com to gain access to over 500 exclusive mental game articles, audio programs, and interviews with athletes and coaches to enhance your athletic potential: www.peaksports.com/membership or call 888-742-7225. |
| An Introduction to Tennis by Gavin Dye Is tennis good for you? Absolutely - tennis is a gentle way of exercising for beginners, and for more advanced players is a very thorough workout. Physical activity increases energy and also helps you to stay healthy, fending off germs and infections. Playing one set of tennis would give you thirty minutes moderate physical activity, not to mention plenty of fresh air! How old do I have to be to start? Obviously you have to be able to hold a tennis racket, but there are plenty of opportunities for youngsters. Mini Tennis is an excellent game for starting off young players under eight. Played with a scaled down racket, foam balls and a small court the game is a fun introduction to the full game. How much will it cost? Prices for coaching vary from club to club, but we always recommend keeping your lessons to half an hour or an hour, and to have group coaching. How can I develop my game? One way is to go for an intensive week of tennis, or a break where you can play tennis at your leisure, there are tennis holiday companies offering holidays both in the US and abroad. You can see a list of these in Clubs and Camps. Once you have found a court to play on and you start to play tennis with your friends, family or other players, you will naturally start to get a feel for the game. A way to develop your hand-eye co-ordination is to practice throwing and catching the ball either against a wall or with a partner. Your tennis coach will have many other games and exercises to help develop the correct movement, co-ordination and dexterity for tennis. If the full court seems too big at first, play a scaled-down version of the game in the four service boxes of the court. As you start to become more confident you will start to use tactics. Hitting a ball that comes near to you is easier than running to hit a ball - therefore you'll soon realise that one aim is to try to make your opponent move in order to hit the ball. You will be better placed to hit each ball if you maintain a good position on the court before and after each shot, and you'll begin to understand the importance of good positioning. Don't get caught out of position to one side of the court or stuck half way between the baseline and the net. Once you have mastered these basic principles, try to play to the weakness of your opponent. This might be their forehand, backhand, volley, smash, or perhaps running to the ball. Exploiting your opponent's weaknesses will help you to start controlling the game. Also, remember to use your own strengths as much as possible. You may enjoy serving, have a strong cross-court backhand, love to volley and play from the net - try to do more of what you enjoy! And keep at it! The world's best players spend many hours training and improving their game. Success may not come immediately, so don't get downhearted if you don't always play at your best. 'Tennis is a battle of minds, just as much as it is a battle of playing ability. Trying to expose your opponent's weaknesses is one of the most vital and fascinating facets of tennis' About the author: Gavin Dye Webmaster & Author for http://www.tennis-supply.com |
| A Short Blurb on Tennis by Larry Hall Tennis is many different things to many different people. It is sport, recreation and sometimes addiction. Tennis is an outlet for aspiration and an avenue for achievement. It is a great way to get exercise and an excuse to breathe clean air beneath blue skies. If you want to become a superior player, tennis can accommodate you. It asks that you bring ability, dedication and discipline. Passion and flexibility will help too. If you want to achieve excellence in tennis, you should know where your game is and where you want it to go. Playing tennis actually make you a better athlete. You can improve your reflexes and hand-eye coordination. A combination of practice and aerobic exercise w-i-l-l improve your overall quickness and agility. Tennis can become a training ground for self-awareness, and that can translate into many other pursuits. Heck, one day, you might even stop playing the game. Yet becoming a great player is not a requirement for playing and enjoying tennis. You set the tone. You decide what to make of your encounter with the yellow-ball game. You can switch modes between competition and recreation. Tennis can be the core of an overall fitness program centered on your game. Off-court training programs help your on-court play but provide all sorts of additional benefits, from improved attitude to cardiovascular wellness to new sources of energy. How you approach the game decides what you take from it. Find the approach that is right for you, then repeat it in other disciplines. You'll be rewarded. About the author: I am a freelance writer and amateur jock who dabbles in network marketing. BTW, I am writing a non-fiction book on tennis technique. |
| Sports Psychology and Performance Enhancement by Dr. Patrick J. Cohn Sports Psychology and Performance Enhancement Dr. Patrick J. Cohn Mental Game Coaching is that the segment of sports psychology that concentrates specifically on helping athletes break through the mental barriers that are keeping them from performing up to their peak potential. By focusing on the mental skills needed to be successful in any sporting competition, mental game coaching seeks to achieve the overall goal of performance improvement. Sports Psychology is about improving your attitude and mental game skills to help you perform your best by identifying limiting beliefs and embracing a healthier philosophy about your sport. Below is a list of the top ten ways that you can benefit from sports psychology: Improve focus and deal with distractions. Many athletes have the ability to concentrate, but often their focus is displaced on the wrong areas such as when a batter thinks “I need to get a hit” while in the batter’s box, which is a result-oriented focus. Much of my instruction on focus deals with helping athlete to stay focused on the present moment and let go of results. Grow confidence in athletes who have doubts. Doubt is the opposite of confidence. If you maintain many doubts prior to or during your performance, this indicates low self-confidence or at least you are sabotaging what confidence you had at the start of the competition. Confidence is what I call a core mental game skill because of its importance and relationship to other mental skills. Develop coping skills to deal with setbacks and errors. Emotional control is a prerequisite to getting into the zone. Athletes with very high and strict expectations, have trouble dealing with minor errors that are a natural part of sports. It’s important to address these expectations and also help athletes stay composed under pressure and when they commit errors or become frustrated. Find the right zone of intensity for your sport. I use intensity in a broad sense to identify the level of arousal or mental activation that is necessary for each person to perform his or her best. This will vary from person to person and from sport to sport. Feeling “up” and positively charged is critical, but not getting overly excited is also important. You have to tread a fine line between being excited to complete, but not getting over-excited. Help teams develop communication skills and cohesion. A major part of sports psychology and mental training is helping teams improve cohesion and communication. The more a team works as a unit, the better the results for all involved. To instill a healthy belief system and identify irrational thoughts. One of the areas I pride myself on is helping athlete identify ineffective beliefs and attitudes such as comfort zones and negative self-labels that hold them back from performing well. These core unhealthy beliefs must be identified and replaced with a new way of thinking. Unhealthy or irrational beliefs will keep you stuck no matter how much you practice or hard you try. Improve or balance motivation for optimal performance. It’s important to look at your level of motivation and just why you are motivated to play your sport. Some motivators are better in the long-term than others. Athletes who are extrinsically motivated often play for the wrong reasons, such as the athlete who only participates in sports because of a parent. I work with athlete to help them adopt a healthy level of motivation and be motivated for the right reasons. Develop confidence post-injury. Some athletes find themselves fully prepared physically to get back into competition and practice, but mentally some scars remain. Injury can hurt confidence, generate doubt during competition, and cause a lack of focus. I help athletes mentally heal from injuries and deal with the fear of re-injury. To develop game-specific strategies and game plans. All great coaches employ game plans, race strategies, and course management skills to help athletes mentally prepare for competition. This is an area beyond developing basic mental skills in which a mental coach helps athletes and teams. This is very important in sports such as golf, racing, and many team sports. To identify and enter the “zone” more often. This incorporates everything I do in the mental side of sports. The overall aim is to help athletes enter the zone by developing foundational mental skills that can help athletes enter the zone more frequently. It’s impossible to play in the zone everyday, but you can set the conditions for it to happen more often. I will add that sport psychology may not be appropriate for every athlete. Not every person who plays a sport wants to “improve performance.” Sport psychology is probably not for recreation athletes who participate for the social component of a sport or do not spend time working on technique or fitness to improve performance. Young athletes whose parents want them to see a sports psychologist are not good candidate either. It’s very important that the athlete desires to improve his or her mental game without having the motive to satisfy a parent. Similarly, an athlete who sees a mental game expert only to satisfy a coach is not going to fully benefit from mental training. Sports Psychology does apply to a wide variety of serious athletes. Most of my students junior, high school, college, and professional athletes are highly committed to excellence and seeing how far they can go in sports. They love competition and testing themselves against the best in their sport. They understand the importance of a positive attitude and mental toughness. These athletes want every possible advantage they can get including the mental edge over the competition.
About The Author Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is a master mental game coach who works with athletes of all levels including amateur and professionals. Visit Peaksports.com to gain access to over 500 exclusive mental game articles, audio programs, and interviews with athletes and coaches to enhance your athletic potential: www.peaksports.com/membership or call 1-888-742-7225. Please consider this article for publication in your newsletter or on your website. Permission is granted to reprint for free with bio and byline intact. Please send me a copy of your publication if you choose to include my article. patrickjcohn@peaksports.com |
| Protein and Endurance Sports by Protica Nutritional Research Protein and Endurance Sports Protica Nutritional Research Endurance Sports are like music concerts. They start at a low key, setting a steady rhythm and culminate into a crescendo that enthralls the spectator and the athlete. And not unlike an orchestra, endurance demands a flawless performance from every organ, testing the limits of their resilience. As each system, conducted by the human will, endures a pace bordering on fatigue, the athlete begins to hear music from the heart. What’s often neglected, and considered unnecessary, in endurance sports is a high-protein diet that can expand the aerobic capacity and power the performance. To sustain effort and delay fatigue, the body needs an adequate supply of oxygen and fuel without accumulating waste products, acids or heat. Greater the intensity of the workout, greater is the efficiency required. The capacity of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, the fuel stores in the muscle, the hepatic and renal support systems must all expand exponentially to perform in endurance sports. If any of these prerequisites are not met, the internal milieu becomes uncomfortable. Metabolism slows down, to allow excretion of wastes, acids and heat, as fatigue sets in. The aerobic stress of endurance sports provides the necessary stimulus for growth and development. The body is ready to build. All that is needed are the building blocks-the Proteins. Given an adequate and appropriate supply of proteins, the body remains in a state of positive nitrogen balance. Sufficient protein consumption, along with a high-energy diet also influences the carbohydrate and fat metabolism. In the well-fed state, with sufficient physical activity, dietary proteins stimulate the simultaneous release of the growth hormone and insulin. The combined hormonal influence redirects dietary carbohydrate and fat to the aerobic muscle fibers where they are stored as fuels for exhausting workouts. The consequent increase in muscle stores of glycogen and lipid allows sustained activity for a longer time. With enough proteins, the lean body mass, stamina and performance increase throughout the training program. Proteins and amino acids also directly supply between 1 to 6 % of the energy needs during a workout. The proportion of energy derived from proteins increases with the intensity of the exercise. Given their role in bodybuilding, proteins are too important to be used as fuel and attempts should be made to minimize this percentage. Studies by Bowtell and Tarnopolsky, report that a high-energy carbohydrate diet, when combined with an ample protein intake and hydration, has a protein sparing effect under aerobic conditions. However, when the protein intake is inadequate, the high-energy diet fails to protect proteins from being used up as fuel. Therefore, endurance athletes need to ensure high levels of protein intake not only to supply amino acids for growth, but also to make sure that the amino acids don’t get burnt up as fuel. Endurance athletes need proteins but do they need protein supplements The answer, till recently, was negative for recreational and modest athletes. Protein supplements were advised only for professional athletes and for sportspersons with a diet deficient in proteins. However, these recommendations, based on a parameter called ‘nitrogen balance’, have often been questioned. Young and Bier propose that there exists a subtle state of protein deficiency, called the ‘accommodative’ state, where an inadequate protein intake is masked by the breakdown of body proteins. Measurements based on nitrogen balance do not take the accommodative state into account and are therefore are not accurate enough to calculate protein requirements. Mark Tarnopolsky, in a recent review on Protein Requirements in Endurance Athletes, also raises similar questions. Epidemiological studies, by McKenzie and others, also suggest that the dietary protein intake of up to 20% of athletes may be below levels recommended for sedentary individuals. Then there is always the ambiguous quality and absorbability of a dietary protein. Just eating proteins in diet does not ensure that they will provide all the essential amino acids in adequate quantities. Given the vital role that proteins play in the metabolic and physiological response to aerobic stresses of endurance sports, and the uncertainties regarding dietary protein intake, a protein supplement like Profect®, can go a long way in improving performance. Adequate training and a Profect diet will take endurance to its limits, to levels where aerobic metabolism stimulates the release of enkephalins, the human equivalent of opium. These enkephalins produce the natural high that is often referred to as the ‘flow’. As long as metabolism remains aerobic, the mind is flooded with enkephalins and the systems function in harmony. In ‘flow’ capacity seems endless and fatigue non-existent. Profect, the perfect protein supplement can do that for you. References 1. Tarnopolsky M.:Protein Requirements for Endurance Athletes Nutrition 200420:662– 668. 2. McKenzie S, Phillips SM, Carter SL, Lowther S, Gibala MJ, Tarnopolsky MA:Endurance exercise training attenuates leucine oxidation and BCOAD activation during exercise in humans. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2000278:E580 3. Bowtell JL, Leese GP, Smith K, et al. Effect of oral glucose on leucine turnover in human subjects at rest and during exercise at two levels of dietary protein.J Physiol 2000525pt 1:271 4. Young VR, Bier DM, Pellett PL. A theoretical basis for increasing current estimates of the amino acid requirements in adult man, with experimental support. Am J Clin Nutr 198950:80
About The Author Copyright 2004 - Protica Research - www.protica.com Founded in 2001, Protica, Inc. is a nutritional research firm with offices in Lafayette Hill and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Protica manufactures capsulized foods, including Profect, a compact, hypoallergenic, ready-to-drink protein beverage containing zero carbohydrates and zero fat. Information on Protica is available at www.protica.com. You can also learn about Profect at www.profect.com. |
| Tennis Humor - The Gift Of Making People Laugh At The Game Of Tennis by glenn sheiner |
| Dealing with Tennis Elbow by Craig LePage, CSCS, NASM-CPT In addition to effecting tennis players, tennis elbow effect’s a great number of people who are involved in activities outside of the sport of tennis. Tennis elbow also known as lateral Epicondylitis is caused by damaging the tendon of the extensor muscles in the forearm. The tendon of these extensor muscles connects to the lateral epicondyle of the upper arm bone called the humerus. (See diagram) When the muscles are overused or exposed to a force they can not withstand the tendon will become damaged. The damaged tendon will then become inflamed and cause soreness and/or pain in the lateral elbow area.Common causes for Tennis Elbow when playing tennis: □ lack of forearm strength□ lack of flexibility □ poor backhand technique□ racquet is too heavy for the player□ racquet grip is too large for the player□ improper warm up and/or stretchingOther activities that have been linked to Tennis Elbow outside of the sport of tennis:□ sports that involve throwing□ repetitive use of scissors, pliers, shears□ Manuel occupations that involve lifting with the wrist such as metal workers, plumbers, painters, and mason workers. The effects of tennis elbow can come on abruptly from a sudden blow or slowly from chronic overuse. It is important to treat the area before the symptoms progress to a level of constant pain. The symptoms of tennis elbow include elbow pain sometimes with stiffness and or pulsing in the elbow. Tennis elbow can be treated a number of different ways depending on the severity on damage that has been done to the tendon. Treatment:Step 1: Rest the elbow joint and the forearm muscle attached to the damaged tendon whenever possible to allow the healing process to take place. Rest the arm in a straight position. Step 2: Find the muscle that is attached to the damaged tendon (extensor muscles). It is located on the outside of the forearm just above the bone and is seen in the diagram above. (NEVER PRESS or MASSAGE the INJURED TENDON) Step 3: Massage the extensor muscles (not the tendon) attached to the damaged tendon. Massaging the muscle will cause it to relax and release pressure off of the tendon.Step 4: Place an Ice Pack (bag of frozen peas, ziploc bag of ice with a little water added / double bag it) on the injured tendon area. Cut off an old shirt sleeve and slide it onto your elbow between the skin and ice pack to avoid frost damage. Elevating your elbow above the heart will help reduce inflammation. Keep the ice pack on the injured area for 15 to 20 minutes up to 3 times a day if possible. Even one time a day will help. Allow at least 2 hour between each icing. The goal is to relieve the pressure on the muscle and reduce the inflammation which will allow the healing process to run its course. Other options:□ Ibuprofen will also help reduce inflammation and reduce pain but it is not a good idea to take large consistent dosages. Use Ibuprofen only to aid other treatments.□ Your doctor may recommend ultra-sound therapy. Ultra-sound therapy uses painless high frequency sound waves applied to the skin to improve blood flow in the area and speed up the healing process.□ If the treatments above do not work you can ask your doctor about Cortisone shots. Cortisone is a more powerful anti-inflammatory. Three shots would be the maximum you would probably need if it came to this. That will give you a few months of relief to allow the healing process to run its course. □ Last resort is surgery. Surgery for this type of injury is usually not necessary. About 95% of people with Tennis Elbow recover without surgery.For additional information please contact (Craig LePage) craiglepage@yahoo.comOr log on to www.lakenormanfitness.comCraig LePage, CSCS, NASM-CPT About the Author Craig is a well-known Fitness Pro in the Charlotte, NC area with over 12 years experience. Craig has written for Charlotte, NC area Newspapers, authored his own fitness & nutrition program and is a frequent guest on a Charlotte area radio show that focus’ on health and wellness. He has co-authoring a golf specific exercise book (Play Better, Longer – Golf) and is working on his third book. |
| Shockwaves Serve Up Tennis Elbow Relief by ARA (ARA) - A new medical device is offering a means for Americans to keep the ball in their court when it comes to tennis elbow pain. Nine million Americans suffer from the condition, which results from on-the-job as well as sports injuries. Tennis elbow's hallmark symptoms include nagging pain, difficulty extending the arm and grasping objects. It is caused by stress of the tendon attached to the bone of the lateral or outer portion of the elbow. In the past, chronic sufferers used either passive therapy or aggressive surgical solutions that yielded somewhat unsatisfactory results. Passive means of addressing tennis elbow pain include the use of braces, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Advil, Motrin, aspirin, etc.), rest and physical therapy. More aggressive treatments have utilized anything from steroid injections to invasive surgery. The problem? These treatments offer varying degrees of success, many can be painful and almost all require more recovery time (and hence more money) than most patients anticipate. Earlier this year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval of the first high energy single application Extracorporeal Shock Wave system for treatment of tennis elbow. The device, called the OssaTron, has been providing a non-invasive surgical treatment for approved orthopedic conditions like heel pain. Now people who suffer from chronic tennis elbow have access to the same treatment relief. How does it work? The OssaTron procedure delivers electrohydraulic high-energy shock waves (similar to those used to treat kidney stones) to the damaged tissue. This increases blood flow, reduces inflammation and ultimately stimulates healing. FDA-sanctioned studies have indicated that electrohydraulic shock wave systems like the OssaTron are highly effective. In a recent study, 90 percent of patients received a benefit from the treatment and 64 percent had an excellent or good outcome with a single OssaTron treatment. "The burdens associated with elbow splints, arduous rehabilitation programs and long healing periods are lessened with noninvasive surgical procedures such as the OssaTron," said Dr. Evan Collins, Baylor orthopedic surgeon. "The procedure is efficient and offers patients quick relief without the potential complications associated with invasive surgery." Tennis elbow sufferers can learn more by calling (888) 969-4335, or by visiting www.healthtronics.com. Courtesy of ARA Content About the author: Courtesy of ARA Content
|
| Country Tennis, Anyone? by Ed Williams It really is true that you learn something new each day... I was in Juliette yesterday teaching my son Will how to drive. He turned fifteen recently and got his learner’s permit, so we now go driving most Sunday afternoons. We both like Juliette cause it’s the perfect place for him to practice - not much traffic and a whole lot of country roads for him to drive around on. It also has one additional thing going for it - if we practice driving in Juliette, we can ease over to Ed Jr.s’ house after we’re done and spend some time with him. That’s exactly what we did yesterday. We drove around Juliette for awhile, then rode over to Ed Jr.s’ house. We’d barely gotten out of my truck when he appeared at his front door, yelled hello, and told us both to come on in the house. And that’s exactly what we did. The three of us talked for a good half hour, and we had a blast. During our conversations we pretty much solved the Middle East crisis, decided which Georgia flag is best, and figured out whether Britney Spear’s chest is real or silicone. It was all great fun. After that we decided to go outside and stretch our legs. As we walked around Ed Jr.s’ front yard we happened to amble over to where his combination storage shed/garage is located. After serenading us with a couple of slightly off color jokes, Ed Jr. asked Will and I the following, “You boys ever played country tennis?” Will looked over at me like I’d know what his grandpa was talking about, but I didn’t have a clue. I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Can’t say that we have. What is it?” He replied, “I’ll show you.” And with that, he walked around the side of the shed and returned with a tennis racket. Will and I didn’t want to say anything, but I’m sure we both wondered just how you’d play tennis standing right outside a storage shed. I think Ed Jr. sensed this as well, so he handed the racket over to me and then pointed around a corner to where some bumble bees were flying around... “See those?” “Those bees?” “Yeah. Those are our tennis balls. Those and wasps and yellow jackets or anything else with wings that’s zippin’ around out here. In country tennis you get points for knocking down stuff that flies.” “You mean you want me to stand here and swing this racket at wasps or bees?” “Yep.” “Isn’t there a chance I could be stung if I swing at one of them and miss?” “Yeah, but anything worthwhile has some risk involved in it. Now, are you gonna play country tennis or do I need to buy you some pink drawers?” That was all it took. I grabbed the racket and broke down into a Kung-Fu like stance. A few bees buzzed by, and I swung at ‘em but came up empty. Finally, a big, quarter-sized bee flew directly at me. I eyed it, raised my racket, and BAMMM! A direct hit - ole’ Billy hit the ground, and I was sure I’d scored some major points! That hope lasted for only a few seconds. Ed Jr. glanced at the bee, then at me, and said, “One point.” I thought he was kidding, so I asked, “One point?” “Yep, just one. Son, that bee was huge. You have to earn points, what you just did would be like someone using a baseball bat to hit a basketball. Anybody can do that. Give me the racket and I‘ll show you how it‘s done.” I handed it over to him. The old man took it, got really still, and held it maybe waist high. No more than a minute passed when a medium sized bee flew right into his line of vision. Ed Jr. tensed up, flicked his wrist, and... POPPP!!! The bee dropped like it‘d been shot. I looked at it for a second, then looked over at Ed Jr, who promptly announced, “Game, set, and match.” And there you have it. My first country tennis match, a 2-1 loss to Ed Jr. Will and I left right after that, cause it was getting late and he still had some homework left to do. On our way back, Will looked over at me and said, “Guess you learn something new every day, huh dad?” That might be an understatement.... About the Author Ed’s latest book, “Rough As A Cob,“ can be ordered by calling River City Publishing toll-free at: 877-408-7078. He’s also a popular after dinner speaker, and his column runs in a number of Southeastern publications. You can contact him via email at: ed3@ed-williams.com, or through his web site address at: www.ed-williams.com. |
| How and where to hit the tennis ball by Gavin Dye How to hit it is described in tennis as 'technique'. Technique is learnt so you will be better in a match. The first thing you will need in a match is to get the ball over the net and into the court. The following basic advice will help you get the ball over and in when you are hitting forehands and backhands - otherwise known as ground strokes 1.Hold the racket in a way that is comfortable for you. On the forehand, a good way is to hold it with the palm behind the handle (imagine you were hitting the ball with your palm, then put the racket there). On the backhand, you can use two hands or one hand. If you use two hands, probably best to have your dominant hand at the bottom and your supporting hand just above it on the handle, though not overlapping. 2.Watch the flight of the ball. Move to where it will be after it has bounced and after it has stopped rising. Reading the flight path of the ball is vital to move to the right place. ...The right place involves the following... 3.Stance - for beginners on the forehand and backhand, sideways on is good enough.........tennis is a moving game so try to get your shoulders sideways to the ball, even if you can't get your feet sorted out! 4.Contact point - try to hit the ball ... a) comfortably at the side of your body, b) slightly in front of your body c) between waist and shoulder high 5. Swing the racket at the ball .........from low along to high...make sure the strings are pointing where you want the ball to go as you swing - it is a bat and ball game, so use the bat to direct the ball! To serve, the following advice is the basic stuff: - Stand sideways on to the net. - Throw the ball into the air so that it hangs nicely in the area where you want to contact the ball (see below for where that is!). The throw-up is also called the 'placement' coz that's what it should really be. - The action of hitting the ball should be very much like a throw. - Try to contact the ball in the middle of your throwing action at full stretch, slightly in front of you, and above your hitting shoulder. This sounds easy! Trouble is you can't do it if you've just thrown.... or even placed (!) the ball backwards and three feet away! If you get to the net, volleys are without hitting the ball, and the action should be a simple blocking action. Because you are at the net, you can use the power Where to hit it A 'tactic' is a plan to win the point. There are five basic tactics. First is to keep the ball in play - by getting the ball over the net into court. If your opponent can't do this and you can...you will win. If they can though... .... Try to make your opponent move in order to hit the ball. Try to get them off balance or at least hitting on the move and test their skill on the move. Whilst doing this...you will be better placed to hit each ball if you maintain a good position on the court before and after each shot. Be like a goalie defending the gaps - do not get caught out of position to one side of the court or stuck half way between the baseline and the net. Once you can do the above tactics successfully, try to play to the weakness of your opponent ...this might be their forehand, but is usually their backhand. Equally, use your own strength/s as much as possible. If you can use your strengths against their weaknesses... would be a fiendish plan to bring off. About the author: Gavin Dye Webmaster & Author at http://www.tennis-supply.com |
| Improve Your Tennis In One-Fifth of A Second! by Steve Smith How would you like to start playing vastly better tennis ... today?There's a particular “magic” moment in tennis—one that lasts a mere fifth of a second. If you have (or can develop) the discipline to fully exploit that moment, you may astonish yourself and your opponents with your new-found scoring ability.The moment I'm talking about is the last 1/5th of a second before your racquet strikes the ball. The discipline I'm referring to is that of keeping your eye entirely on the ball for that super-critical moment.We've all been told many times that we should keep our eye on the ball in tennis. But how many of us really know what that means? How many of us really practice it?Keeping your eye on the ball doesn't mean watching it until it is a split second from hitting your racket, and then glancing away to look at your opponent. It means watching it until it has hit your strings and begun its rebound.This is not a new secret. Bill Tilden, perhaps the greatest player who ever lived, wrote about it more than 80 years ago and tried to drive its importance into the heads of his readers. Early on in his classic book, The Art of Lawn Tennis, he cited statistics “to show you how vital it is that the eye must be kept on the ball UNTIL THE MOMENT OF STRIKING IT” (his emphasis).“About 85 per cent of points in tennis are errors, and the remainder earned points. As the standard of play rises the percentage of errors drops until, in the average high-class tournament match, 60 per cent are errors and 40 per cent aces. ... Fully 80 percent of all errors are caused by taking the eye from the ball in the last one-fifth of a second of its flight.”Wow. Sobering statistics, to be sure. But exciting ones, too, because what Tilden is telling us is that it's within our power, right now, to eliminate the majority of our errors! And reducing the errors we make is the surest way to starve our opponent of points and extend his opportunity to give up points to us.Tilden was a great tennis observer as well as a player. He studied and wrote about all of the top players of his day, and observed and advised many a tennis beginner. We can trust him when he says that the greatest fault commited by novices (and by many more experienced players) is trying to watch too much besides the ball.Tilden compared the human eye to a camera, noting that neither is capable of clearly focusing on a moving object and its background at the same time. “Now the tennis ball is your moving object while the court, gallery, net, and your opponent constitute your background.” Therefore, ignore the background and rather “concentrate solely on focusing the eye firmly on the ball, and watching it until the moment of impact with your racquet face.”Shouldn't you at least take a peek at your opponent, maybe out of the corner of your eye? No: “You are not trying to hit him. You strive to miss him. Therefore, since you must watch what you strive to hit and not follow what you only wish to miss, keep your eye on the ball, and let your opponent take care of himself.”Tilden provided a chart in The Art of Lawn Tennis, a very simple one, but one that I hope you will commit to memory. It looked something like this:A—1—2—3—4—BImagine a ball passing from point A to point B, with you as the receiving player at B. According to Tilden, it can be taken as a scientific fact that if you keep your eye on the ball throughout its flight, your chance of making a good return is five times as great as it would be if you took your eye off the ball at point 4 (4/5ths of a second of its flight). Furthermore, your chance is ten times as great as it would be if your removed your eye from the ball at point 3 (3/5ths of a second of its flight).Tilden wrote: “The average player follows the ball to 4, and then he takes a last look at his opponent to see where he is, and by so doing increases his chance of error five times. ... Remembering the 85 percent errors in tennis, I again ask you if it is worth while to take the risk?”Keeping your eye on the ball is a good practice not just because you make fewer errors, but also because it strengthens the other parts of your game through developing the habit of concentration. As Tilden humorously explained, “It tends to hold [your] attention so outside occurrences will not distract. Movements in the gallery are not seen, and stray dogs, that seem to particularly enjoy sleeping in the middle of a tennis court during a hard match, are not seen on their way to their sleeping quarters.”So there you have it – one-fifth of a second that can make all the difference in your tennis game. It can truly be the magic moment for you, IF you cultivate the discipline to keep your eye on the ball not just occasionally or even most of the time, but during every single shot.P.S: Bill Tilden's The Art of Lawn Tennis is in the public domain, which means you can find it and read it online for free. I highly recommend that you do so. Although his references to events and personalities are of course dated, his playing advice is timeless. About the Author Steve Smith is a writer who lives near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His Web site, Tops 4 Tennis (http://www.tops4tennis.com), includes the complete text of The Art of Lawn Tennis by Bill Tilden, plus other articles and links for tennis players and fans. |
| Proprioceptive Training: A key to sports success by John D Moore Proprioceptive Training: A key to sports success John D Moore Let’s talk a little bit about proprioception for a minute. That’s a $3 SAT word that means your body’s ability to react properly to external forces. For example: if you ride bulls for fun, you must have the ability to react to gravity and the changing forces of the bull to keep from being thrown off. That’s proprioception. But proprioception is also your ability to walk across a room without falling down. One of the main components of proprioception is your kinesthetic sense. That is your ability to sense where your body is in space. But that’s only one component unless your sport happens to involve standing or lying in space. You must also be able to sense and control your body’s movements. Think of a gymnast showing perfect control as she throws herself about the parallel bars. The key here is the appropriate control of tension by your central nervous system. Balance is also a key element to proprioception. You will not perform your sport very well if you fall down all the time. Balance is also a key to generating power – as any martial artist will tell you. Balance in movement as occurs in walking or running, is a process of constantly and consciously losing your balance and regaining it quickly. The quicker you can regain your balance, the safer your movement. Deliberate Proprioceptive training has normally been reserved for people who are in rehabilitation from injuries. Sports injuries in particular can leave decreased performance in the mechanoreceptors in the body. Exercises for balance and greater kinesthetic sense are usually prescribed. The benefits of proprioceptive training to the healthy athlete are many. With increased balance athletes are less prone to injury. Athletes may also become quicker – in athletic terms this mean they can change direction faster. Proprioceptive training helps them make more precise movements with less effort. Think about the martial artist throwing that jumping spinning wazzu – butterfly kick – now that’s proprioception. So, the benefits break down to safer, more efficient, quicker, and more precise movement. What athlete wouldn’t want that To be fair, any type of training you do is already working your proprioception – unless you are training for the sleep Olympics. Playing you sport itself is a functional integration of your proprioceptive skills. However, you may want to spend some time focusing on proprioceptive training – to increase proprioception, then integrate that into your sport. Like any kind of training, proprioceptive training should be challenging. This forces an adaptive response on your body’s central nervous system. This is much like lifting weights where most of the strength gains come from the nervous system – and not from increasing muscle size. If all you ever do is lift light weights that aren’t challenging for you – you aren’t going to get much stronger. So, I can hear you asking, “what exercises can I do for proprioceptive training” That’s a great question. Let me tell you that there is an astounding array of exercises designed to increase proprioception. You know those big rubber stability balls that every gym has these days Those are great for proprioception. There are also wobble boards, Styrofoam doo-hickies, and all sorts of crazy wobbly things designed to challenge your balance and core strength. Certain yoga exercises are also designed to challenge balance, as are some forms of kettlebell lifting. To get some sport-specific proprioceptive training I suggest you check with a qualified fitness instructor.
About The Author John D Moore is a personal protection, self defense, and fitness instructor. he is the co-founder of Martial Training Systems - see http://www.martialtrainingsystems.com and author of the book Quotations for Martial Artists |
| Make Your Sports Viewing More Fun and Interesting! by Daniel B King Make Your Sports Viewing More Fun and Interesting! Daniel B King Many years ago when I started betting on sports, I never imagined that ten years on I would be betting and trading for a living. So how did it all start Well, for fun I would think is the most accurate answer! I placed bets for fun on sporting events that I intended watching on TV or attending in person. These bets, along with the small amount of betting research that I did back then, tended to increase my knowledge of the particular sport on which I was betting and certainly made the event more exciting to watch. Now of course I stake my bets far more heavily, research more thoroughly and trade off positions as necessary. Yet sometimes I do miss those carefree days when I had "twenty bucks on the game". It adds to your day - especially if you win! So what are two basic things that the sports bettor needs: Firstly he needs a place to bet online - no cheap plugs here but two sportsbooks that I particularly like, both of which are in worlds "top ten" online sports betting and gambling groups, are: - www.vipsportsgroup.com and www.betongameday.com - both sportsbooks also offer free comprehensive sports news, stats and matchups data. Secondly - the sports bettor needs to have a feel for value when betting. If the three rules of purchasing property or real estate are "location, location, location." then the three basic rules of sports betting success are: "value, value, value." Think about it - would you go to a store and by a broom for $20.00 when you can buy it for $10.00 at an equally close location Or if you were purchasing stocks or shares - would you simply buy the stock, or first consider the stocks price - factoring in price/ratio, moving averages, historical data and economic outlook It boils down to - "not paying more for a product than that product is worth." When I look at a bet - I have a rough idea in my head of what the odds should be. If the price quoted by the sportsbook is sufficiently above that estimation in percentage terms - then I will go ahead and bet on the event. I will not win every bet, especially on underdog plays - but in the long run I know that if I go with value - then I will come out on top. The best advice that I can offer to those starting out in sports betting is to "stick with what you know". If you have a team that you follow and already know well - then you are, in a sense, already a "mini expert". More on the "concept of value" in my next article. In later articles I will cover; money management, standard deviation, strike rates, specific sports and more.
About The Author Daniel B. King has been a professional sports bettor and trader for seven years. He runs his own sports betting and trading service at: www.arbitrage.ws as well as helping to advise a number of sportsbooks: www.betongameday.com www.vipsportsgroup.com www.sbsportsbook.com www.betonenine.com - all of which are industry leaders in the sports betting and gambling field. |
| Indoor Environment and Sports Performance by Dr GW Graham I saw a horse race once where the winner was not declared until the race people had a chance to look at the “photo finish.” Boy was it close. There was a bout 3 inches difference between first and second place. What could that second place horse have done in that mile or so of endeavor? What little bit extra could have won that race? How much extra energy or endurance did that horse need? 5%, 10%?? For three inches in a mile race, the horse needed less than 5% more performance to win. What about a high school track star? How much extra do they need to go to the Olympics? Probably about 5% more energy; 5% more mental clarity. Let’s back up in time. When the high school student [or professional athlete] sat in the dressing room, what were they breathing? When they were at home in their bedroom, what were they touching? Most people exposed to mold or some pollutants will show somewhere between 5-10% performance loss. http://www.canarycoalition.org/abby.html This is due to: 1. Slightly impaired oxygen uptake 2. Scrambled neurotransmitters that confuse muscle tissue 3. Interference with chemical cycles in the production of energy 4. Mental acuity interference Mold Molds give off chemicals that mimic natural signal chemicals in the body. These chemicals can cause confusion inside the body. An athlete needs focus not confusion. http://www.themoldlab.com/mytcotoxins.htm Mold loves moist buildings. Can you think of anything wetter than a high school dressing room? And many homes have wet basements or attics. So if you get rid of the mold in the athletes dressing room and home you can gain 5-10% extra performance, right? Well almost. Store cleansers We also have to think about regular chemicals in the home that can also interfere with nerve/muscle junctions. Most high schools try to get rid of mold and bacteria with bleach. Well, bleach won’t kill mold. But that’s the subject of another article. Bleach will burn the lungs and mess up vision and cause disorientation. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002761.htm Some of the things you buy at the store contain phenols and formaldehyde. Like bleach these cleaners scar the lungs and decrease the person’s ability to breathe efficiently. http://www.parish-supply.com/chemicals_in_your_closet.htm Does this contribute to an Olympic destiny? Hardly. Ozone machines Some people use ozone machines to disinfect the air in locker rooms. The logic is that ozone is all natural. Well, so is arsenic. http://www.2bangkok.com/2bangkok/Scams/Ozone.shtml http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=44567 Ozone has been traced to lowered lung efficiency. The lungs become less elastic and so the amount of air sucked in is less. Now there is something that will decrease athletic ability. Probably more than the 5-10% we have been talking about. Conclusion Okay what will clean the environment and not harm the potential sports hero? Go to your health food store and look for cleaners with tea tree oil [Melaleuca oil] or grapefruit Seed Extract. They kill mold and bacteria but don’t cause changes in the body’s ability to function at peak efficiency. Our company motto is, “If You Can’t Drink It, Don’t Spray It.” Just changing your cleaning products and cleaning up mold can add that 5-10% performance to an athlete. And that, my friend, is the topic of this article. About the author: For 30 years, Dr Graham has been helping people treat and prevent disease by showing them how to live in a clean environment. DrGraham@themoldlab.com http://www.tennesseemold.com |
| “How to Choose the Right Sportsbook!” by Daniel B. King “How to Choose the Right Sportsbook!” Daniel B. King So you have decided to start betting online – or maybe you just want to find a new trustworthy sportsbook – what do you need to look out for Well I am in a position to speak from some experience – I did at one time hold accounts with about sixty bookmakers in Europe, UK, Australia and offshore – the latter catering mainly to the US market. I have had at least three online sportsbooks go broke on me – luckily my losses were kept to a few thousand dollars – that may sound a lot but it could have been a lot worse. It is not that easy finding a reputable sportsbook – partly because the web is populated by website owners who will sing the praises of a sportsbook or casino simply because they earn revenue from signing up customers via an affiliate program. Often these website owners know nothing about betting, do not hold accounts with the sportsbooks they are advertising and have not researched the companies they are involved with. You are keeping your money in an account online. Therefore you should think of the sportsbook you are considering as a bank – a place that you intend to keep funds long term. So what do you look for: Read press articles as opposed to reviews – reviews are usually written by the sportsbook’s marketing team. Test run the software by joining and playing for free – most sportsbooks offer this facility. Find out if your funds are insured or separated in ESCROW accounts so that if the sportsbook company goes under – your funds are still safe. Find out if the sportsbook is independently audited. How long has the operation been online – three to four years is usually a good marker as a minimum. Test out the customer services to see if they meet your standards or the standards they promise you. If you know about betting already, then check some of their odds and lines – are they in keeping with what you would expect Some less scrupulous sportsbooks offer very attractive prices to lure unsuspecting bettors. Find out if the sportsbook is part of a larger group of companies. Sometimes this means added solidity. What are the deposit and withdrawal options and the associated charges. These vary quite a bit from book to book. Options should be available that are ‘free’ or where the sportsbook absorbs the charges. But ask yourself ; “how easy is it to get access to my money and how much does it cost” Not all the above are critical – but help towards finding a secure book. If you have already have an account with a sportsbook watch out for lapses in customer service and slowness of payment – these can be signs that the company could be in trouble. The UK has a number of established books including William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral, and Victor Chandler. I also like SportingBet www.SBSportsbook.com who take US customers and cater for global sports. I would say that US bettors are at most risk since they are generally forced to bet at offshore sportsbooks due to legality issues. The offshore books with whom I work are top grade but it is in the offshore environment that problems occasionally occur. It is, therefore, critical that those US customers put in the research before signing up. Happy betting!
About The Author The author has been a professional sports bettor and trader for seven years. He runs his own sports betting and trading service at: www.arbitrage.ws as well as helping to advise a number of sportsbooks: www.vipsportsgroup.com www.betonenine.com www.betongameday.com - all of which are leaders in the online sports betting and gambling industry. SportsTrade@arbitrage.ws |
| Coaching Sports For All The Right Reasons by Tim A Kauppinen Coaching Sports For All The Right Reasons Tim A Kauppinen The Glove It was during a March evening in 2002 that I received word that my grandfather was dying. I drove the four and a half hours to Ironwood, Michigan in a snowstorm to say goodbye. I was able to see my grandpa and he was able to recognize me and acknowledge that I was there. The next morning, he was gone. The doctors said that they were not sure how he had survived for so long. He had many health conditions and a lot of pain that he hadn’t really shown on the outside. Yet, he had visited my grandmother every day in the nursing home where she had moved just a few months before. The staff marveled at the fact that my grandpa could even make it up the stairs each day. But, he did it. He was always there to help someone else. I stayed in the town where my grandfather had been born, lived and now passed on. The funeral was scheduled for just a couple of days later. I thought a lot about my grandfather during this time. He had inspired me to be an athlete and coach. I remember him showing me the pictures and ribbons that he had won as a hurdler in track and field. But his real love was baseball. He was a great first baseman who played for a while with the Union City Greyhounds farm team and even had a try out for the St. Louis Cardinals. Rumor has it that he left baseball to come back for my grandmother. He continued to play ball in his home town. When times were tough and jobs were scarce, my grandfather was offered a job at the mine... if he would also play on the company’s baseball team. Two days passed and the preparations for the funeral were made. I spent a lot of the time at my aunt’s house with the rest of my family. Late in the morning, there was a knock on the door. An older gentleman stood outside and carried a small object under one arm. My aunt answered the door and had a short conversation with the man. He then handed her the object, said goodbye and walked off. My aunt entered the room looking sad but strangely happy at the same time. In her hands, she cradled a baseball glove. It was old and battered and some of the laces were missing but you could still see the words US ARMY branded into the leather. My aunt set the glove on the table and filled the rest of us in on what had just happened. “This was Dad’s glove from the Army,” she said. “Remember that when he got back from the war, he helped to start the first little league here in town. That man was a member of Dad’s first team. His family didn’t have much money and he couldn’t afford to buy a baseball glove. Dad gave him his so that he could play like the rest of the boys.” The man had gone on to say that he had never forgotten my grandfather’s generosity. He had kept and cherished the glove for over 45 years. He had seen my grandpa’s obituary in the newspaper and had wanted to return the glove to the family and let us know what a great coach, and man, my grandfather had been. The glove was put on display at my grandpa’s funeral. And, of course, the minister’s sermon contained many allusions to sports and frequent quotes from A Field of Dreams. All this made me ever so proud of my grandfather who enjoyed coaching and passing on his love of athletics to the youth in his town. It also made me remember why I chose to be a coach. How many times have you wondered, “Why do people coach Why do they give up their time and energy for little or no money, sometimes even less respect and the opportunity to be targeted by parents and fans alike” That cold and snowy March day, I was reminded of the answers to those questions. We coach to touch the youth. To instill values into young people that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. We coach to make a difference and to show the right way to play, work and live. We coach so that, even 45 years can pass without a man forgetting his coach and the impact that he had made on a young boy’s life. Copyright, Tim Kauppinen, 2005 This article is protected by copyright, 2005, Tim Kauppinen. All rights reserved. http://www.makesyoufast.com
About The Author Tim Alan Kauppinen, or Coach K, has over 20 years experience as an athlete and coach. He has worked with athletes of all ages and abiltities in track and field, football, speed training and strength and conditioning. This has given him the privilege and the opportunity to coach athletes who have become conference champions, state champions and Division I college players. Coach K publishes a free daily fitness email with current tips on getting stronger, faster and in the best shape of your life. To sign up for this no cost service, visit Coach Ks website at http://www.makesyoufast.com/contact.html |
| Do Superstitions In Sports Actually Work by Dr. Patrick J. Cohn Do Superstitions In Sports Actually Work Dr. Patrick J. Cohn What does it take to be successful in sports I have talked a lot about motivation, confidence, and focus and desire. All of these are important, but what about luck Do you ever wonder why athletes wear the same “lucky shirt” in competition such as Tiger Woods wearing his traditional red shirt on Sunday or athletes who eat the exact same meal for good luck prior to competition Some teams even go as far as not washing their jerseys until they lose a game. Superstitions in sports are mainly based on the notion that if you repeat a certain behavior, you will have good luck. As irrational as some superstitions seem, they give athletes a sense of feeling lucky, but is there more to superstitions other than just feeling lucky For example, some athletes and coaches would say that superstitions give athletes and teams confidence and belief. Yet you could argue that most superstitions are just wacky habits that have no scientific research to back up the claim they actually work. Let’s first examine the difference between superstitions and a preshot or preperformance routine. Preshot routine are not the same as superstitions. Preshot routines help athletes to prepare, in a meaningful way, for the execution of a motor skill such as a basketball free throw. A preshot routine can be called by many names. Pre-shot, at-bat, pre-serve, and pre-race routines are just a few examples of pre-performance or pre-shot routines. A golf shot, basketball free throw, field goal, pitch, race motto, dive or any other sports task are all examples of sports specific tasks. The preparatory behaviors in routines are excellent methods to help you focus on one shot; one pitch; or one sports specific act at a time and are extremely useful tools to refocus attention when distracted as I discussed in the January 2005 newsletter. The pre-performance routine is a merging of mental and physical steps that blend into one long behavior. The preshot routine combines physical actions such as a practice swing and specific thoughts or images visualizing the shot, focusing on the target, and mental cues to trigger the start of your performance such as the image of the target in your mind. Most all high-level athletes use preshot routines to help them prepare for various tasks. You can see routines used by athletes at any basketball, baseball, or football game. Football kickers use very systematic routines right before a field-goal attempt. On the other hand, athletes also employ superstitions. A superstition is a single behavior an athlete adopts that is based more on luck and generalizations than on reason. Even the most successful athletes swear by the use of superstitions. Superstitions, such as when Tiger Woods wears a red shit for Sunday’s round are no doubt tied to “luck” and past success on Sundays when wearing red. Michael Jordan who graduated from North Carolina always wore UNC shorts under his Bulls uniform for good luck. A hockey player might always lace up the left skate before the right prior to a game. Athletes use superstitions because they think it gives them confidence. If a lucky shirt works, some athletes will keep it in play until the first loss when it loses its “magic.” It is hard to argue with Tiger Wood’s success on Sundays. Superstitions, unlike routines, are not based on fact or reason. If an athlete attributes his success to some consistent superstitious ritual, such as wearing a red shit on Sunday or eating a certain food prior to each game, the athlete will think it “works” and keep repeating the behavior, until he thinks otherwise and discards it. The person believes the ritual brings success and that has an effect on his confidence level. Former baseball player Wade Boggs was called the "Chicken Man," because he had to eat chicken before every game. Ted Williams spent many hours each year picking out the perfect piece of wood that he thought would make the best bat. These are all superstitions and not routines. Some superstitions are used to avoid bad luck too. Babe Ruth swatted butterflies on the diamond because he thought they were unlucky. In golf, balls with the number 4 or higher are seen as bad luck. Wearing the number 13 can be viewed as bringing bad luck for superstitious athletes. In hockey, it’s is bad luck for hockey sticks to lie crossed. Some tennis players would tell you to never serve holding more than two balls at once. Superstitions are not necessarily bad. In fact, they can build confidence and help boost morale for some athletes and teams. We have a saying in sports psychology and sports, “if it works, use it.” If you use a superstition before competition, have faith in it, and it works, great – use it. Anything that increases your faith or belief in performance is a bonus. I would give you one caution here: Do not use superstitions as the only reason for your success and think that they will help you be successful no matter how well you prepare before game time. My recommendation would be to develop sounds mental preparation skills to apply before competition such as a warm up routine, mental imagery, and setting game plans or strategies to perform your best. You should use proven mental preparation strategies to help you perform in combination with wearing that lucky shirt or some other superstition.
About The Author Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is a master mental game coach who works with athletes of all levels including amateur and professionals. Visit Peaksports.com to gain access to over 500 exclusive mental game articles, audio programs, and interviews with athletes and coaches to enhance your athletic potential: www.peaksports.com/membership or call 888-742-7225. |
| Tennis Humor - The Gift Of Making People Laugh At The Game Of Tennis by glenn sheiner To those of us who love to play the game of tennis, it is the competition, the athletic challenge and the potential for artistic shot making that usually gets us going emotionally. There's little time for tennis humor as we focus on ripping that next shot for a winner.But take a step back or just start watching some tennis matches at your club and you'll begin to see the humorous situations that abound in our game. Of course, just like mother-in-law jokes are a staple of marriage humor, dysfunctional tennis dynamics are the source of most tennis humor. And tennis humor in the form of tennis jokes or tennis cartoons on mugs, tshirts, mousepads, or greeting cards make great tennis gifts.So, without further adieu here are a number of tennis dynamics that lend themselves to humor:1. The married mixed doubles team. Need I say more? This classic dynamic has caused guffaws at the best of times and divorces at the worst. And for those still in dating mode -- tread very carefully!2. The poseurs -- look great in their new tennis clothes which they claim they received as tennis gifts from a well known-touring pro, carry at least 3 of the latest hi-tech rackets, and are the epitome of style until they have to hit that first ball. Of course, if truly desperate, they will feign injury while opening up a new can of balls to avoid public display of their atrocious strokes.3. The emotional player versus the " classic tennis dinker". Nothing can drive a tennis player more quickly to the asylum that having to play a talented retriever who gets everything back with no pace. Sit back, have a drink, and start betting pools on the number of times you're going to see a racket tossed in frustration.4. The obsessive tennis nut -- can't be standing in a line anywhere without starting to practice his or her swing - without a racket of course. Observers often inquire if they're watching some new martial art. 5. The interfering tennis parent -- can't play, never studied the game except for having watched an instructional video or two, but feels free to walk on the court and correct former Wimbledon champ who is instructing his or her child. Just watching the tennis pro try not to explode at this preposterous chutzpah is priceless.Of course, there are many more of these funny tennis dynamics which I'll address in a later article. So for now, keep your eyes open at the club and you may be very entertained by the gift of tennis humor happening right in front of your eyes. About the Author Glenn Sheiner M.D. is the author of the world's top selling tennis cartoon book THE WACKY WORLD OF TENNIS. Treat yourself to a laugh and split step over to http://www.cafepress.com/wackytennis . Check out great tennis gift items or just browse some of the cartoons. |
