Some year’s back I read a book called ‘The Inner Game of Tennis’ and basically it was this. Every individual knows how well he or she can play - the problem is tapping into that potential at the critical times during a match. For example: A player may be blessed with a ferocious forehand drive, which can be hit from anywhere in the court. At 5-1, 40:15 and serving in the first set, such a need may develop for this shot and the player will be confident to make the play, but ask the same player to hit the same shot at 5-5 in the breaker or to save a set point in the tenth game and all of a sudden, this becomes the most difficult stroke in the game!!. This is all about the mental game - the inner game.

Since then I’ve fast forwarded ten years and replaced tennis with volleyball. The sport may’ve changed but the principle behind the inner game remains the same. Let’s take a textbook situation. First spike of the match seems a relatively unimportant affair. There are maybe another 50 odd points to play before the set is over and then another four sets perhaps, so this one shot at such an early stage seems like a drop in the ocean. The same textbook spike at 15-15 in the fifth set is a different kettle of boiled haddock altogether. Why is this? Well, physical and mental conditioning play their part but I think that the real problem is FEAR!!...

Yes fear. We’re not talking about the namby pamby, bed wetting, scared of the bogeyman type but fear of making a mistake. There is this fear that missing the shot is going to cause embarrassment or a loss of self-confidence. If this shot is missed then an inconsiderate or unsupportive team can amplify those feelings. On top of all that, it would appear that, if you were at set/match point, the blame lies entirely at your feet (hands - sic.). You could humiliate yourself infront of your home crowd or a hostile away team. All of these things conspire against your own inner game.

There is no fear but the fear you make. Now, apart from sounding like a dodgy piece of dialogue from the Terminator II movie, it is largely true. We build up anxieties inside ourselves if things aren’t going our way and begin to doubt our own abilities. There is a ‘Stressed Eric’ within us all (and not just me!).

The previous points you cannot do anything about - the current one you can, so give it your full attention

Before I go on, I should point out that the idea of this article is not to bring your game down (although I’m aware that it reads like that now) but merely to bring to your attention that this inner game does exist and can have an effect on your performance. Once you recognise this, you can start to do something about it.

The mind is stronger than the body and I believe that you should detach yourself from the importance of the score and concentrate on the point at hand. The previous points you can’t do anything about - the current one you can, so give it your full attention. This way, if you look after the points one at a time, the score will look after itself. Coming back to this textbook set to you, if you’d missed the earlier shot, then this next point is now that little bit more important to you and your team so you will try that bit harder to succeed. Some players will naturally keep a mental tally of shots made and missed - it’s how some of us determine whether we’ve had a good game or not. We want to keep the mistakes to a minimum but still apply the pressure (hit the hardest shot that you KNOW will go in, my coach always used to say).

Try not to fall into the trap though of trying too hard. If you were to bludgeon your way through this fear of missing by just going hell for leather at this next point, then anything other than a perfectly set ball may result in another mistake. In other words, the player has already prearranged through his/her head, regardless of what sort of pass they get, what they are going to do to the next ball. The player with this ‘red mist’ is likely to be less fluid and more robotic in his/her movements. With that, the timing diminishes and the likelihood of blasting the ball into the back wall or ignoring the two-man block right on top of the net sees another point lost. So what is the way out of this?? How do you avoid this discomfort of failing??. How do you make the inner game work for you??

This, like I said, is a point of view and technically this statement is incorrect, but as this article is geared more towards personal performance than points acquired, it’s still not a bad train of thought to adopt; Try as hard as you can. It sounds too obvious but if you’re trying as hard as you can then you can’t make a mistake because you’ve already given your best. You can’t give more than that and if it isn’t good enough then, maybe on this occasion, the opposition got the better of you - but remember, they’ve got to get the better of you 25 times!!. If your shot goes pear shaped, don’t worry; It happens, accept it, next point - just try not to do it again and certainly don’t dwell on it. Nobody makes mistakes on purpose - I’ve been saying that for years and still believe it to be true, at least of people such as ourselves. When someone is attempting the first pass, the set, the spike. If someone is trying to block a big hit, covering the block, covering the hitter, serving the ball over the net. All of these shots are played by people who want it to succeed.

Focus is the concentration that will see the ball, from the moment of it’s flight, til the point it contacts yourself

Just like the pain of missing a shot, there is an equal pleasure in performing the shot correctly that we all strive for. The fact that we don’t play these shots to the best of our ability isn’t because the person didn’t try - more likely because they didn’t focus. Focus is the concentration that will see the ball, from the moment of its flight, til the point it contacts you. This focus will determine your early preparation. This is important, as it will decide how much time you have to position your feet for the pass/set or the approach to a spike. The more time you have to make the play, the more calm and relaxed you’ll feel which will lead to better execution and a higher ratio of success. The alternative is seeing the ball late, shuffling your feet, rushing the play, contacting the ball while still moving and then swearing blind that there was no way that you could’ve played the shot any better!!. Focus is key, if you lose this then mistakes are sure to follow.

The only mistake to make on court is to give less than 100% (and if you can give more - so much the better). I mean, how can you expect the best from yourself if you’re not trying as hard as you can?? It means that every time you are on court, however frequent that may be, you try as hard as you can on that day. This last bit is important as your best one week may not be as good as your best last week, so try not to be discouraged if it doesn’t seem to be going right for you. Ideally you should always be giving 100% and if you were to achieve this then mistakes will become fewer and farther in between. Your execution will improve as, if a shot goes amiss, you’ll have the presence of mind to recognise what went wrong and correct it next time. In essence, you’ll be coaching yourself. Recognition, application and repetition - these are very seeds of self-improvement. It’s just another learning process and, like anything else, will come with time and practice.

Of course, developing this focus is a skill that needs to be honed for it to be an asset to yourself. To help you achieve this, employ visualisation within your game. Try to see this perfect shot in your minds eye before attempting the execution. This shouldn’t be confused with the prearranged shot. No, visualisation occurs a split second before contact. You’ve already received the pass from the setter or seen the flight of the serve. The body will follow what the mind is telling it so if you see yourself playing the perfect shot you may very well do that - or get pretty damn close to it. Great players in all manner of sports employ this technique to perfect their perfect shot, rally or even match! Either way, it’s got to be a better state of mind than thinking ‘oh no, don’t serve on me’. Imagine yourself playing the perfect shot and see your game improve.

Many times I’ve seen the fifth set get steamrollered by the mentally stronger team

Another factor is the people around you. If other teammates aren’t trying as hard as you think you are, then resentment can creep in. Try not to go that way (it leads to the dark side). Instead trust in your team that every individual is trying as hard as they can for the good of the team as well as their own personal benefit. In the tight fifth set, this trust in each other will be the glue that keeps you together and pulls you through. Resentment at this stage is fatal and many times I’ve seen the fifth set get steamrollered by the mentally stronger team after four closely fought sets. For the time being though, do the best with whatever ball you get - it is all you can do. Let’s go back to our earlier red mist friend. If you’ve already decided to play the ball one way but the pass you receive isn’t suitable, do you still go with the prearranged play?? The alert player will recognize that the play isn’t on and improvise another one. OK, so you’ve had to compromise what may’ve been a great shot/pass but when the hit is not on you play the percentage. The best struck ball is useless if it doesn’t clear the net and in such a situation, you’ve got to make the opposition play. At local league, I’d say there are as many points won on forcing the error out of the opposition as killballs won by a team. The amount of times in tennis I would miss a running backhand down the line to hit just one full blooded drive, and sure, I’d feel great about that one drive, but the 6 or so I missed would count heavily against me.

It’s a bit corny and a little cliched but some say that there is no such thing as a mistake - just a learning experience. Well, yes and no. It is a learning experience if you take something from it. If your play hasn’t gone as planned, then ask yourself why. Literally - stop (after the point has finished, obviously), analyse your own shot and ask of yourself ‘what must I do to play the shot correctly’. More than often, you’ll come up with the answer yourself like ‘got to get my body behind the ball’ or ‘move into position sooner’ and then you’re back to the focus thing - you’ve already told yourself how to correct it. If you are still new to the game then ask your coach what you are doing wrong. Whichever way the answer comes to you, keep that thought in your mind and the next time the same shot comes along you’ll remember how to do it right - or at least how to not do it wrong!!(?). If a mistake goes by unnoticed then you may well see yourself doing exactly the same thing again. I mean, really, if you’ve served the ball for instance and the receiver has struggled, wouldn’t you serve to the same person again and again until they got it right?? You can win 4 or 5 points like that alone.

In short, you’re zoning!!!