THE INNER GAME

updated march 13, 2015

Make a BIG SPLASH!!  I swim for tennis, and seek out "the zone" that tells me I am in the inner game of athletic excellence. So, I did my swimmer's mile this morning, and of late have been breaking up the sequence to twice a week for a total 1.5 swimmer's miles.  This morning I am focusing on extra effort, so I did the mile, plus 2/3 earlier in the week. My effort leads to increased strength, which leads to muscle memory, that will lead to "the zone."

What does swimming have to do for tennis? Everything!  

I need work on pacing during a match, understanding the ebb and flow of the momentum of a match, and swimming works on my concentration so that I can evaluate my own pacing.  How do I start?  Too fast, then I run out of gas sooner?  Or too slow, then I have inhibited myself from gaining any real momentum at all. Each lap I do, I try  to imagine a match that I am in, the points, and my energy level in relation thereto. 

Even the last two points from my match last week. I indeed took for granted the actual feel of the match and that the pendulum could swing either way for either opponent.  In my final two laps this morning, I envisioned those last two points, and this time constructed a different scenario in my mind. 

After 32 laps, I am certainly tired, but the 33nd lap, I forced myself to swim extra harder, forcing the mind to be quiet and simply swim harder.  That's it and nothing more. 

Get the body to do the work, once given the command it will oblige. If you haven't already, a great book to get at Amazon by W. Timothy Gallwey is The Inner Game of Tennis:

at Amazon

Enjoy your day and think about pacing, but not too hard! :)