What part of your game is your biggest strength/weakness? I think my biggest strengths are determination and topspin. Although, my unintentional mis-hit lob winners are pretty lethal and annoy a lot of people.   My biggest weakness is probably being too analytical and letting “Self 1” get in the way. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, read “The Inner Game of Tennis.” You won’t regret it.

via Player Profile: Vin Miller – Tennis – timesunion.com – Albany NY.

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You’re probably thinking, ”A book on tennis?” It’s easy to explain when I tie the two sports together.

via The lineout horrors are all in the head.

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via A Golf Lesson On Beating Tiger Woods « jack wills blog.

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And we talked about Tennis, since I was suffering from some neck pain related to my competitive tennis play.

And in a eureka moment, he said, “And there’s that guy who wrote that book about tennis.”

My eyes lit up. “Timothy Gallwey.””That might be it.””You mean The Inner Game of Tennis, by Timothy Gallway?”

“That sounds right.”Holy Cow! He had hit me square in the heart. Not only had The Inner Game of Tennis formed a HUGE part of my youth, and my understanding of tennis as an exploration of self, but more recently I had gotten in touch with Timothy Gallwey, in order to support the publication of his new book, The Inner Game of Stress.

“YES!” I said. “The concepts of the Inner Game have been part of my life for a long time. I think they’ve guided me more often than I know. I mean, I learned them when I was about 14 or 15.””Well, there you go.””I was trying to learn about tennis, and this “self 1” and “self 2” concept was a bit over the top. BUT… It worked.””That’;s what I’m saying. I think you have your training. And it’s something you’ve been working at passionately for years.””Yeah, since I was about 10.””And you still love it.”So we talked about tennis and Timothy Gallway for a bit and I said something about the tennis racquet being sort of like a sword. And the game being fairly analogous to a duel. And in telling him about my game, I was describing my serve as a powerful weapon.

“The first cut,” he said.In principle, the serve is a single motion and attack, when executed effectively puts the opponent on the defensive. In my game it is my single strongest weapon. Nothing gives me more confidence than to have my opponents complement my serve at the end of a match. At the completion of a doubles match, hearing “We just couldn’t get a handle on your serve tonight,” is truly the highest complement one can receive in tennis. In addition to the WIN, that is.

I’ll go fish out my Gallwey book. And both my friend and I made a point to go seek out the new book The Inner Game of Stress.

Now I think I’d better go hit some tennis balls before the weekend rain starts again.

via The First Cut: Applying The Way of the Sword to Life and Tennis | uber.la.

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via Success Beyond Sport for athletes, retired & current – The Inner Game of Tennis.

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Let me get started by telling you my story and how I got into playing and teaching these peak performance concepts.

• I started playing in tennis tournaments when I was 10 years old.
• I was ranked #2 in Southern, CA in the 15 & under. I was ranked #2 in Southern, CA in the 18 & under.
• I was nationally ranked #6 in Singles as a Junior
• I was nationally ranked #3 in Doubles as a Junior
• I had the honor of representing the U.S. at Junior Wimbledon where I got to the Semi-finals.
• I played on the Junior Davis Cup team
• I played on the USC tennis team and the three years I lettered varsity we were National Champions.

As You Can See,
I Was A Pretty Good Tennis Player But Not A Great One.

But, I Had A Big Problem.

My Attitude Stunk And I Was Very Negative.

I Used To Yell And Scream On The Tennis Court

Because I Would Get So Incredibly Frustrated.

I thought that if I could only stroke the ball perfectly I would never miss. But of course, I couldn’t do that every time, and boy did I try hard. And, my attitude was horrible.

I Hated Myself For
Getting So Angry And Frustrated, But I Couldn’t Stop.

I had no idea why I played badly at times, and I didn’t have a clue as to how to turn my game around when I wasn’t playing well. I never beat players who were just a little better than I was. Remember I told you that I was ranked #2 in Southern California in the 15 and 18 and under. Well, a player named Jerry Cromwell was the one who was ranked #1 and I never ever beat him. I don’t think anyone tried harder than I did but I just could beat him.

After college, I began teaching tennis the traditional way until my conversion to teaching the Inner Game when I was in my 30s. What happened was that one day I was reading the LA Magazine about an instructor who was teaching the Inner Game of Tennis. His name was Tim Gallwey. I knew I had to have a lesson from this man, and I was determined to go to the ends of the earth to find him. As it turned out, he was right there in my hometown of Los Angeles.

To make a long story longer, I took two lessons from Tim, and he completely changed my life. In the first 10 minutes into the lesson, I felt that the weight of the world was taken off my back. I never got angry or yelled again – an amazing accomplishment since I had already spent all of my tennis life getting upset with my play. It was the best lesson I ever received and it changed my life forever.

To sum it all up,
I felt like a completely new person
when I was on the court.

I will be forever grateful to Tim Gallwey for showing me how to make this change. His book, The Inner Game of Tennis, has been my “Tennis Bible” and is truly one of the best books ever written on the mental aspects of playing sports. You can find his book in most bookstores.

In the 25 plus years since then, I have been studying the mental game so that I could achieve the state of mind that would allow my body to play at its very best. I wanted to know how to play “out of my mind” every time I played. The concepts I will present to you here will show you how to do this. These concepts, as you will see, are easy to talk about, but it takes practice to get there.

However, it is a process and you can use them for the rest of your baseball life just as I do in tennis. I am at an age where ones game is supposed to be going “over the hill” but I am still learning new things about myself and my tennis game is actually getting better. Maybe, I can’t run as well, but if I can get to the ball and hit it, I just don’t miss very often.

As to my basketball experience,
admittedly it isn’t very much.

I played first string on the Jr Varsity basketball team in high school when I was a junior, but I didn’t even try out for the varsity team when I was a senior because I needed to concentrate on my tennis. So, as far as actually playing that was about it.

I Taught Tennis To A Very Good Basketball Player

However, when I lived in Victoria, B.C., I play tennis with a fellow who was one of the best, if not the best, basketball player in Victoria. He was good friend and I wasn’t teaching tennis for money in those days but I did spend a lot of time working with him on his tennis. He then took what I taught him in tennis and used it when he played basketball. Needless to say, he found the concepts I teach very valuable.

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“I remember the time I first won a tennis match against my father,” says Tim Gallwey, author of the classic book The Inner Game of Tennis. Gallwey’s father had promised him a new racket if he won. Gallwey was 13 at the time, and had been playing in state tournaments. During the match, he was torn between wanting to win a new racket and not wanting to beat his father. When he won, he felt regret and compassion for his dad, who’d just been defeated by his own son, but was also elated by victory, glowing with a sense that his abilities had reached a new height. “That sense of self-worth is very precious,” says Gallwey.

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The Inner Game of Tennis, a 1970’s classic by author W. Timothy Gallwey, continues to remain one of the best sport psychology books ever written. With no disrespect towards the more contemporary sport psychologist’s who have written many impressive works in the past several decades, Gallwey (an ex-tennis pro) explains many of the inner workings of the mind in a simple yet powerful manner. And unlike the title suggests, The Inner Game of Tennis is a book that can crossover into any sport or performance zone… it’s not just for tennis players.
Gallwey starts off his book by looking at the big picture that affects each person and every game… no matter the forum. He opens the introduction with: “Every game is composed of two parts, an outer game and an inner game. The outer game is played against an external opponent to overcome the external obstacles, and to reach an external goal. Mastering this game is the subject of many books offering instructions on how to swing a racket, club, or bat and how to position arms, legs or torso to achieve the best results….It is the thesis of this book that neither mastery nor satisfaction can be found in the playing of any game without giving some attention to the relatively neglected skills of the inner game. This is the game that takes place in the mind of the player, and it is played against such obstacles as lapses in concentration, nervousness, self-doubt, and self-condemnation. In short, it is played to overcome all habits of mind which inhibit excellence in performance. “
It all starts with the mental game. Strengthening the mental muscle will take your external game to an entirely new level.

Timothy Gallwey’s website click : https://dev.theinnergame.com/about-tim-gallwey/
Find the book at Amazon Books: http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314

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Tennis and business have a lot more common than you may think. In 1982, a tennis professional coined the term “unforced error” to describe what happens when one player who is in position to return the ball makes an error by hitting the ball out of the field of play — or missing the ball altogether. That same kind of error happens all of the time in the business world.

Research shows that even the smartest managers make the worst career errors. Once again, the same is true in tennis. Even the best players in the world make unforced errors in every match. In professional tennis as in business, the player with the fewest unforced errors usually wins.

Research also shows that at the top levels of corporations unforced errors have taken a greater toll than ever before. For example, CEO turnover is up 60 percent between 1995 and 2006 and shows no signs of slowing down (that according to a Booz Allen). However, you do not have to be a CEO to make a costly unforced error.

In my career of nearly three decades, I have had a front row seat to countless number of unforced errors in the workplace. Much to my surprise, I have witnessed egregious, stupid errors made by people I regarded as the smartest, most effective of colleagues.

So what kind of tennis mistakes also translates to your life and career? Consider the following:

Mistake No. 1: Always playing with a singles mindset
“Playing doubles,” alongside a partner, is more realistic than acting like the Lone Ranger who does everything on his own. There are some individuals — think of them as cowboys — who have no ability to delegate or work with colleagues. This could be a huge unforced error; given the complexity of today’s operating environment, every employee and manager can use all of the help he or she can get.

Mistake No. 2: Not facing reality at all times
Many great tennis players have wasted precious time arguing with referees insisting that the ref’s calls were wrong (think John McEnroe and Serena Williams). In business, the same phenomenon occurs all the time. For example, managers cannot come to terms with the fact that their latest new product is a failure and they pour more good money into bad chasing something that should have been abandoned.

Mistake No. 3: Not taking learning seriously enough
This is another problem that exists in both the tennis and business worlds. In tennis, one needs to put in the requisite practice hours to improve his or her game. John McEnroe felt that Ivan Lendl became the incredible champion he did through “sheer rehearsal.” In business, one needs to take learning just as seriously. Former GE CEO Jack Welch affirmed that when he said that it is the responsibility of every worker to find a better way of doing things.

Mistake No. 4: Not experimenting on a consistent basis
Celebrated tennis writer W. Timothy Gallwey once said, “Perfect strokes are already within us, waiting to be discovered.” Tennis great Billie Jean King explained that champions keep playing until they get it right.” In business, a perfect stroke might be a marketing presentation that wins a million dollar account, or a strategy presentation that that helps you to win that elusive promotion.

Mistake No. 5: Not being prepared at all times
Being prepared counts for a lot in business as it does in tennis. And unlike other traps, this one is entirely within your control. For example, if you go to a meeting and your boss asks you about a project that is your responsibility, can you give her up-to-date-information on the account? Do you know important deadlines? What landmines must you look out for? These are the kinds of things that a manager must be prepared to answer at all times.

Mistake No. 6: Not protecting your flanks
Tennis players need to see and be in command of the total court. In business, one needs to be in touch with all aspects of the game if they are going to have a good chance of success. Everyone is affected by turf wars and power plays that take place every day in your office. The key, says career expert Dr. Kathleen Reardon is that if you “choose any two competent people, the one who has political savvy, agility in the use of power, and the ability to influence [others] that will go further.”

Mistake No. 7: Not taking ownership of your part of the court
Not taking responsibility is another of those tricky unforced errors of omission. The mistake is not in something one does, but in something that one doesn’t. So this is an easy mistake to make and one of the more common of unforced errors. While you can’t control everything, step up and take more responsibility — within reason — whenever you can. If there is nobody addressing a problem that you notice or taking advantage of an opportunity that you identify, think about whether you should be doing it yourself.

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I wanna talk more about my tennis game.
Sure. How’s your tennis game coming along?
It’s coming along pretty good. I’ve been playing pretty much every day even when we were in Switzerland – they have beautiful clay courts over there.
Does it help your guitar playing?
I swear to God it does. There’s this book called “The Inner Game Of Tennis” that sort of set me on this idea. You know, on the court, just looking for the zone where you can just play effortlessly…and that’s what you’re looking to do on stage or in the studio
So when we see you on stage with an elbow brace, we’ll know why.
Yeah, exactly.

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