Brian Lomax, Ed.D.

Want to know what the 3 components of Mental Toughness are? Read #TheMentallyToughCompetitor amzn.to/2MvwO4c

The Power of Full Engagement by Loehr and Schwartz does a nice job of showing how energy management should be used for time management. Expend, recover, expend, recover,...

I agree with your thoughts on coaches being adaptable. But there is a message for parents layered in here: create an environment in which your athlete is learning to do things for themselves (e.g., getting their own water, carrying their bag, etc.).

With respect to looking at your strings between points, it's important that mental coaches explain why you are doing that activity. If a player doesn't know why or believe in the reason, there will be little benefit to doing the ritual/routine.

There is research on the benefit of mini-celebrations or looking for mini-wins. It promotes motivation and desire to continue behavior. That celebration doesn't have to be a fist pump. It could be completely in your mind (ex. "Yes, let's go")

@TennisChannel Ted and Jimmy have been talking about John Millman's fist pumps after points. We should be careful not to impose our beliefs about such things on all players. Jimmy was correct in that you have to find what works for you.

Great book and an invaluable resource in one's practice!

@tiebreakerpsych and I would love to have @BrainGameTennis on the podcast. Would be fascinating to go deep on a number of mental components related to excellence in tennis!

New episode of the Tennis IQ Podcast now available. Ep. 93 is a conversation with @hbryant42 about his journey in tennis and his observations of mental strength in sport. I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope you will too! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…

Do you think momentum exists in tennis? My thoughts: performancextra.com/competit… #mentaltoughness #tennis #sportpsychology

Thank you for posting this!

It's great to see a major university willing to fund mental performance consulting positions. Most of the sport psych positions in college settings tend to be focused on clinical work, but the mental performance side is so important for these athletes. Well done!

Great program! 😀

I'm in agreement with you, Jon. When you are out there playing, you may not feel the pain quite as much as you will later. You make the best decision you can in the moment. Rafa decided to play. He won. Fritz didn't. This is what competitors do.

In tennis, there is a lot of suffering from point-to-point, and game-to-game. If you can't persevere through that, you won't prevail. #tennis #wimbledon #sportpsychology

Gotta learn how not to lose: performancextra.com/competit…

"Never" might be a bit extreme. I would say that mentally tough athletes are able to regain control of their emotions, focus, etc. more quickly than others because they have trained themselves on how to regain control.

Very much in line with John Wooden's definition of success. Peace of mind, self-satisfaction, minimizing regret. And through this process of striving and of hope, have you conducted yourself with good character? Let that be part of the assessment in the end as well.