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August 2002 Article Wild Cards Archives:
Tennis Server
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by Tom Veneziano
Momentum! What is it? How do you get it? How do you lose it? And how do
you get it back again? Good questions. You will be glad to know you do
have some control over momentum, but you must have your mental attitude on
straight. Otherwise momentum shifts in a match will drag you down.
Actually I should say YOU will drag YOU down, not the momentum.
Let's go to the dictionary for a definition of "momentum." In Webster's
dictionary
momentum is, "a property of a moving body that determines the length of time
required to bring it to rest when under the action of a constant force or
moment." What! What in the world was that? Forget it! Here is my
definition. Momentum is when your opponent is on a roll and you have to
stop them - or lose! Ahhh, that's much better. Apparently Mr. Webster
does not know much about tennis! Of course, you can also be the one with
the momentum and your opponent must stop you.
Momentum is the unseen drive or force that moves you continuously forward.
You must learn to develop your own momentum in a match and if you lose it,
you must gain it back! Most players do not realize it, but the key to
momentum is consistency. Here is a phrase you should remember -
"consistency establishes momentum." If you want momentum on your
side, be consistent. Consistency is the gateway to momentum. This is one
of the reasons why handling your negatives, mistakes, and failures is top
priority. If you are always letting up when you fail, you will not be
consistent and consequently you will struggle to maintain momentum. If you
lose momentum you must focus on consistency to gain it back.
Consistency establishes momentum!
The key to momentum is consistency, the key to consistency is concentration,
and the key to concentration is self-discipline. What I am telling you is
YOU have a lot to do with momentum. You must be self-disciplined to not let
negatives, mistakes, and failures bother you. You must be self-disciplined
to be patient when you lose momentum, and look to reestablish your
consistency. And you must be self-disciplined to keep playing the same way
and not change your game when you have momentum on your side.
Self-discipline will help you maintain your consistency and keep your
momentum.
Have you ever noticed when one player has the momentum then some unusual
situation occurs and the momentum shifts back the other direction. For
example,at a crucial point, player "A" who does not have the momentum
accidentally hits the net cord and the ball drops over on to player "B's"
court. If it is a crucial point many times the momentum will swing back
the other direction on that one point! Do you know why this happens? It
happens because consistency establishes momentum. The player who hit the
net cord and won the crucial point feels motivated. The player who had a bad
break during a crucial point feels a little down. Being a little down
causes the player with momentum to lose some concentration and his
consistency wanes a bit. Since consistency establishes momentum, he is
vulnerable to losing some momentum at that moment. On the other hand, the
player that caught a break at the right time feels great and his
concentration improves which affects his consistency. Therefore, he is in
position to grab the momentum back and many times this is exactly what
happens!
One way you can grab the momentum back is to self-discipline yourself to be
patient
and keep plugging away waiting for a similar opportunity to present
itself--then
seize the moment!
In conclusion, remember consistency establishes momentum. The key to
momentum is consistency, the key to consistency is concentration, and the
key to concentration is self-discipline. All of these principles come down
to one little word that always makes the difference in any match. That word
is YOU!
Tom Veneziano has been a tennis pro teaching in Houston, Texas for over twenty-five years. He has taught thousands of players to think like a pro with his Tennis Warrior System, which is described on his web site at www.tenniswarrior.com. If you wish to provide a comment to the author of this Wild Cards column, please use this form. Tennis Server will forward the comment to the author.
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