One of the things that plague players and keep them from seeing success on the court is trying to  be too perfect. Now, usually when I tell that to players, they look at me weird at first. And you probably are too 8-).

But hey, don’t get me wrong.  Trying to “attain” is perfection is a great thing. Ya know, you do want to show extreme hunger and try to get better every chance you get.

That shows that you’re serious. That shows that you want it. And it shows that you’re willing to push past any perceived limitations or barriers to get the job done.

And those are all great things! If you’re that type of player, your coach probably is in love with you because you’re so incredibly driven and have got self-motivation coming out of your ears.

But, there’s a problem. Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But, if this trait of yours isn’t controlled and you don’t know how to manage it properly, it actually be the cause of your own destruction.

You see, wanting to do no wrong is perfectly fine. You can’t go wrong there. The problem arises when you begin to “expect” perfection.  Too many players have their perfectionist attitude kicked so far into overdrive, that if they make one error or miss one ball, they’re all over themselves.

They’ll be slamming their racket to the ground, and can become very abusive to themselves as well (verbally… and at times physically). And let me tell you, when that happens, you’ve already lost the match. You just won’t know it until you actually walk up to shake hands.

I mean, it’s just like anything else. When you apply way too much pressure to something, what happens? It’s explodes! And that’s what happens to players like this.  Players turn to masochistic or negative thoughts and outbursts, and make themselves feel worse.

And what’s even worse is, that feeling tends to linger on for future points and future games. You see, and then you’ll be even harder on yourself because you’re playing even worse.  Sound familiar? Been in this viscous cycle before?

Now, I hate to be “clicheic” here. But you know the saying, “Nobody is perfect.” Well, it’s NOT just a saying - it’s the 100% truth - especially on the tennis court.

No matter how much you practice, how much time and work you put in on your strokes and on your strategy, you’re (…unfortunately) going to make a couple errors. It’s going to happen.

This goes for Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, AND you!  So, if you have that “perfectionist” mind set, try to keep it at a very low level when playing.

Go in there with the mindset that you’re going to give your best and work your absolute hardest to get the W. But if it doesn’t go your way in the end, be satisfied with your 100% effort. That’s something you can always “hang your hat” on.

So give it your best shot on every point. And hey, if you if you miss one, who cares. It’s only one point.  Unless it’s match point, one point won’t kill you.

Give yourself some POSITIVE reinforcement. Take a second to regroup, and think about what possibly was the cause of the error. Then move on and try to apply it on the next one.

Do that, and you’ll perform much better. You’ll be a lot less stressed. You’ll feel like you’re in more control.  And your coach will be even more in love with you, because you’ll even have more wins in the W column .

Have a great weekend!

- Brian