Laura Robson - a star in the making!
It was heartening to hear Laura Robson talk about her approach to this years Wimbledon after her win in the Junior section of the draw yesterday.When asked about her performance, she responded by saying her body language was improving and she was happy with it and that there were still a couple of things she is working on to improve. At fifteen years old it was great to hear her talk about her tennis with such maturity and understanding.
She seems to understand that when playing the game her performance is dictated by how she herself approaches what she does, she certainly apprears to enjoy what she does and obviously understands that by using the correct body language reinforces, in her own unconscious mind, in what direction she is heading.
Another interesting comment was how she has worked with her coach to create a mental image of playing in front of her 'friends' to help her deal with the pressure of tournament play. Imagine how we would all perform better if we imagined our audience or spectators were our friends, the situations are endless for this application. Being the up and coming star of British Womens Tennis and having these skills certainly paints a positive picture for her future. If only more of our young sportsmen and women had her understanding and maturity.
All to often when I watch sport, do I see performers not enjoying what they are doing, showing it openly and performing way below their true potential. If when playing the 'game' they set out to enjoy it from the start and utilise their imagination, then their performance on a poor day would indeed be better and learning would take place much more efficiently.
It is interesting when you look up the word game in the dictionary. The definition you get is something done for amusement. My main focus is golf performance and for many years now you do not see many amused faces coming off the 18th green at the end of their round. Getting the person you are coaching, whether on the field of play, practice or in business in the boardroom, to use their body to give off the correct signs to enhance and lead the performance has to be beneficial.
Well Done Laura on the work you have accomplished so far and I will watch your career with much interest. As we approach 2012 Ican only hope that more coaches start to utilise more skills outside of just the technical elements of performance and create an environment where learning and performance are linked with enjoment and fun and that the performer can show that even on a poor day, that they enjoy what they do and are willing to learn from every situation.
