top athletes experience the same mental and emotional challenges you do

By Tom Veneziano

Marla Runyan ran in the 1500 meter event in the 2000 Olympics and came in eighth. She was the first American woman in history to place that high in the 1500 meter race. And this was only the 4th or 5th time she had ever run the 1500 meter event competitively. What caught my attention in her book, No Finish Line, was how she learned the different ranges of mental and emotional challenges that all athletes must endure, and used her mind to overcome them. As a top runner in the world she had experienced the whole gamut of self-doubt, confidence, frustration, exhilaration, aggression, complacency, disappointment, and jubilation - sometimes all in the same event. Does this possibly sound a little bit like your last tennis match?
Yes, top athletes experience the same mental and emotional challenges you do. How top athletes deal with these challenges is what elevates champions above the pack. In one race, Marla experienced a spectrum of mental and emotional fluctuations, from confidence to self-doubt, and kept running successfully. After the race she realized that top athletes still experience a wide range of changing attitudes. She changed her perspective and accepted these fluctuating attitudes as part of the never-ending journey toward excellence. In her book she said she wished someone had prepared her for these emotional and mental swings, because then she would not have been so frustrated when facing failures and setbacks. She finally saw the big picture and learned how to handle the fluctuation by being patient and not focusing on isolated situations.
These valuable lessons applied not only in the races themselves, but when she was injured or had other problems in practice. Now if she doesn't do well in practice, instead of ending her practice in frustration, she remains relaxed and waits for another day. No longer does she isolate a situation by blowing it out of proportion; she now thinks in terms of the big picture and makes the bad experiences as well as the good experiences part of the package of being a seasoned athlete striving toward excellence. You must learn to do the same: Make the ordinary extraordinary!
There is one other salient fact that you should know about Marla Runyan. Although she never made an issue of her handicap, Marla Runyan is legally blind. She was the first legally blind runner to make the Olympics. She had partial vision and could see some colors, but she could not see a person's face five feet in front of her. She could not see the finish line and was not sure who was who when she was running. The title of her book, No Finish Line, literally meant she could not see the finish line!
Marla was a top-notch runner with extraordinary abilities. Her mind exemplifies the ultimate warrior mentality. She said that she wished someone had told her that these mental and emotional fluctuations were part of the process. She had to learn through hard knocks that success and failure are not on the opposite ends of the spectrum, instead, they ride together in tandem toward her goals.
Never separate success and failure. Someone once said, "Success has many fathers, failure is an orphan," but this is not true. Failure is a necessary detour on the road to success. Like the pros, whether you're training or playing you will experience an arena of self-doubt, confidence, frustration, exhilaration, aggression, complacency, disappointment, and jubilation. Accept them as part of the process of learning, playing, and striving toward excellence.
You need not succumb to these fluctuations, you must only recognize they are part of the game. Learning and playing tennis can be like an emotional roller-coaster ride: One minute you are on a mountain top, the next you are in a valley. Many of you fight the roller-coaster ride by holding on too tight, becoming anxious, and losing mental control. Adrenaline wasted on all that negative emotion should be directed toward controlling your emotions instead. Otherwise, by the time you are through with your match you will be mentally beat up and emotionally exhausted.
Stop isolating these fluctuating attitudes as if self-doubt or frustrating situations are unique only to you. Mentally step outside yourself and realize these fluctuations happen to everyone, including the pros. Therefore, it is important to mentally push the self-doubt or frustration aside and keep moving. Like Marla, learn to concentrate on the big picture; banish anguish and frustration from your thoughts. Make Marla your model for conquering your innermost doubts and fears. The victor crown awaits those who persevere.

Tom Veneziano, a tennis coach for more than 30 years, currently teaches at the Piney Point Racquet Club in Houston, Texas. As the developer of the Tennis Warrior System, Veneziano has produced numerous books, audiotapes and CDs.

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