the ball as they strike it, they tend to look where they want the ball to go! This is a big mistake that will lead to many miss hits. Once you enter the zone, you will automatically know where to hit the ball because your subconscious will make that intelligent decision for you. Another nice trick for improving your response time is incorporating something called a split step into your footwork. For those of you who do not know what a split step is, it’s when you jump slightly off the ground with both feet right as your opponent is making contact with the ball. This helps your subconscious mind decide where to move quickly.

An order to allow your subconscious mind to dictate intelligent dec

At some point in every tennis players experience, they enter a state of extreme focus. Every shot will feel solid, well targeted, and flawless. Their movement becomes swift and agile, never thinking about where to go, just knowing then moving instantly. Unfortunately, this state doesn’t last very long for a lot of players. They don’t know how to maintain that high performance invincible state. News flash! There is a way…

Playing in this high performance state known as, “the zone,” is nothing more then a form of deep concentration. This concentration is so intense that it almost feels as though you are in a trance. This is where the concept of running on auto-pilot comes into play. Your body releases chemicals to activate the fight or flight awareness. All senses become heightened. Muscles will become more efficient. Now for the good stuff, the steps for entering this mind set at any given time.

The first step is clearing your mind. There’s nothing worse than over thinking what to do during the point. This will lead to hesitation which will lead to miss hits. One point can mean the difference between winning and losing. You might as well minimize the points that you give away! The key to clearing your mind is to live in the moment. The only thing that exists is you, the ball, and your opponent. There is nobody watching, no one else playing on the court next to you. The whole idea is to free your mind of everything besides the task at hand. The following exercise will help you accomplish this.

Say the following to yourself in your mind. Due to the fact that this exercise takes immense amounts of concentration, don’t use it while ball is in play.

*******************Exercise ********************

“This moment right now, strictly consists of three things, me, my opponent, and the ball. There is nothing else around me, no one anywhere near. I only have one task at hand, one goal, and that is to play at optimal performance. All I can hear is the sharp sound of the ball as it’s hit, all I see is the detailed ball and my opponent, and all I feel is the ground beneath my feet and the solid connection when I hit the ball. I am truly in the moment.”

This exercise is only one component for allowing your body to run on auto-pilot. Another key aspect is focusing intensely on the ball. When you are looking at the ball, you should be looking for something specific on the ball to help narrow the focus. A good thing to strive for is to focus on the seams of the ball. This will allow you to become more in-tune with the ball and heighten your connection with it. The more connected you are with the ball, the quicker you will respond to it. Never take your eyes off of the ball! A lot of players don’t focus on the ball when they hit it. Instead of watching the ball as they strike it, they tend to look where they want the ball to go! This is a big mistake that will lead to many miss hits. Once you enter the zone, you will automatically know where to hit the ball because your subconscious will make that intelligent decision for you. Another nice trick for improving your response time is incorporating something called a split step into your footwork. For those of you who do not know what a split step is, it’s when you jump slightly off the ground with both feet right as your opponent is making contact with the ball. This helps your subconscious mind decide where to move quickly.

An order to allow your subconscious mind to dictate intelligent deci

Your body releases chemicals to activate the fight or flight awareness. All senses become heightened. Muscles will become more efficient. Now for the good stuff, the steps for entering this mind set at any given time.

The first step is clearing your mind. There’s nothing worse than over thinking what to do during the point. This will lead to hesitation which will lead to miss hits. One point can mean the difference between winning and losing. You might as well minimize the points that you give away! The key to clearing your mind is to live in the moment. The only thing that exists is you, the ball, and your opponent. There is nobody watching, no one else playing on the court next to you. The whole idea is to free your mind of everything besides the task at hand. The following exercise will help you accomplish this.

Say the following to yourself in your mind. Due to the fact that this exercise takes immense amounts of concentration, don’t use it while ball is in play.

*******************Exercise ********************

“This moment right now, strictly consists of three things, me, my opponent, and the ball. There is nothing else around me, no one anywhere near. I only have one task at hand, one goal, and that is to play at optimal performance. All I can hear is the sharp sound of the ball as it’s hit, all I see is the detailed ball and my opponent, and all I feel is the ground beneath my feet and the solid connection when I hit the ball. I am truly in the moment.”

This exercise is only one component for allowing your body to run on auto-pilot. Another key aspect is focusing intensely on the ball. When you are looking at the ball, you should be looking for something specific on the ball to help narrow the focus. A good thing to strive for is to focus on the seams of the ball. This will allow you to become more in-tune with the ball and heighten your connection with it. The more connected you are with the ball, the quicker you will respond to it. Never take your eyes off of the ball! A lot of players don’t focus on the ball when they hit it. Instead of watching the ball as they strike it, they tend to look where they want the ball to go! This is a big mistake that will lead to many miss hits. Once you enter the zone, you will automatically know where to hit the ball because your subconscious will make that intelligent decision for you. Another nice trick for improving your response time is incorporating something called a split step into your footwork. For those of you who do not know what a split step is, it’s when you jump slightly off the ground with both feet right as your opponent is making contact with the ball. This helps your subconscious mind decide where to move quickly.

An order to allow your subconscious mind to dictate intelligent dec

whole idea is to free your mind of everything besides the task at hand. The following exercise will help you accomplish this.

Say the following to yourself in your mind. Due to the fact that this exercise takes immense amounts of concentration, don’t use it while ball is in play.

*******************Exercise ********************

“This moment right now, strictly consists of three things, me, my opponent, and the ball. There is nothing else around me, no one anywhere near. I only have one task at hand, one goal, and that is to play at optimal performance. All I can hear is the sharp sound of the ball as it’s hit, all I see is the detailed ball and my opponent, and all I feel is the ground beneath my feet and the solid connection when I hit the ball. I am truly in the moment.”

This exercise is only one component for allowing your body to run on auto-pilot. Another key aspect is focusing intensely on the ball. When you are looking at the ball, you should be looking for something specific on the ball to help narrow the focus. A good thing to strive for is to focus on the seams of the ball. This will allow you to become more in-tune with the ball and heighten your connection with it. The more connected you are with the ball, the quicker you will respond to it. Never take your eyes off of the ball! A lot of players don’t focus on the ball when they hit it. Instead of watching the ball as they strike it, they tend to look where they want the ball to go! This is a big mistake that will lead to many miss hits. Once you enter the zone, you will automatically know where to hit the ball because your subconscious will make that intelligent decision for you. Another nice trick for improving your response time is incorporating something called a split step into your footwork. For those of you who do not know what a split step is, it’s when you jump slightly off the ground with both feet right as your opponent is making contact with the ball. This helps your subconscious mind decide where to move quickly.

An order to allow your subconscious mind to dictate intelligent dec

ound beneath my feet and the solid connection when I hit the ball. I am truly in the moment.”

This exercise is only one component for allowing your body to run on auto-pilot. Another key aspect is focusing intensely on the ball. When you are looking at the ball, you should be looking for something specific on the ball to help narrow the focus. A good thing to strive for is to focus on the seams of the ball. This will allow you to become more in-tune with the ball and heighten your connection with it. The more connected you are with the ball, the quicker you will respond to it. Never take your eyes off of the ball! A lot of players don’t focus on the ball when they hit it. Instead of watching the ball as they strike it, they tend to look where they want the ball to go! This is a big mistake that will lead to many miss hits. Once you enter the zone, you will automatically know where to hit the ball because your subconscious will make that intelligent decision for you. Another nice trick for improving your response time is incorporating something called a split step into your footwork. For those of you who do not know what a split step is, it’s when you jump slightly off the ground with both feet right as your opponent is making contact with the ball. This helps your subconscious mind decide where to move quickly.

An order to allow your subconscious mind to dictate intelligent dec

the ball as they strike it, they tend to look where they want the ball to go! This is a big mistake that will lead to many miss hits. Once you enter the zone, you will automatically know where to hit the ball because your subconscious will make that intelligent decision for you. Another nice trick for improving your response time is incorporating something called a split step into your footwork. For those of you who do not know what a split step is, it’s when you jump slightly off the ground with both feet right as your opponent is making contact with the ball. This helps your subconscious mind decide where to move quickly.

An order to allow your subconscious mind to dictate intelligent decisions as to where to hit the ball, it needs to be told. Otherwise it’s like relying on an airplane to fly on autopilot without first programming the software. The best way to program your subconscious is by using suggestion and classic conditioning. Your subconscious is most receptive to information when you are in a relaxed frame of mind. A lot of the time this occurs when you first wake up. This brings us to our next exercise.

Keep in mind you can use this technique at any time, it has just been proven that ones mind is more easily influenced when he or she wakes up. Say the following to yourself before you get out of bed.

********************Exercise*********************

“I strive to hit the ball where my opponent is not. I will not hit the ball directly to my opponent. I will constantly run my opponent from side to side, back and forth by hitting the ball to the open court, never directly to him or her. I will hit the ball to where my opponent is not, I will hit the ball to where my opponent is not, I will hit the ball to where my opponent is not.”

The repetitive nature of this exercise is intentional. The more something is repeated to you, the more your subconscious mind accepts it. After a while you will notice that you actually have to consciously think about hitting the ball to your opponent when you are simply rallying with him or her.

The final component for achieving auto-pilot is training your body. Your body has a memory, it recognizes movements that have been performed in the past. This is partly the reason as to why our skill level is able to rise so quickly and not disappear if we don’t use that skill for some time. The old phrase, “It’s just like riding a bike, you never forget how” is a perfect example of this.

Bottom line, this means that you need to physically train your body to make the movements with out having to think about them. The best way to do this is though repetitive practice. Hit 60 forehands in a row, then 60 backhands, 80 serves and so on. But the main point I am trying to get at is foot work. You need to train your feet to move effectively with out having to think about it. To achieve this, include the use of the split step every time you play and practice. When you are rallying with someone, try to focus on quick and light feet, small steps for perfect body positioning. After a while you will not have to think about your foot work at all, it will compliment your ability to enter the zone. Stop thinking, and allow the power of your subconscious to aid you in becoming victorious!