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steveno's review against another edition
4.0
I read this because I heard a lot of NBA coaches recommend it and I was curious what it's about. It's an interesting way to think about performance -- that your body knows what to do and our conscious mind often disrupts this. It applies not just to tennis and basketball, but also art and music. It's a lot of interesting ideas to consider and worth a read.
jhayden's review against another edition
4.0
Nonfiction self help book about tennis, but fundamentally about how to trust yourself and be present, which is universally applicable. I can definitely overthink and get in my own way, so a friend recommended this book and I really enjoyed how easily digestible and applicable it is. Nice happy medium between like hippy and academic. It does feel a bit repetitive but I understand it well so I don’t mind. You will also have to convert all the tennis stuff to whatever is most relevant in your own life but can’t really fault the book for that. Definitely recommend!
junderscoreb's review against another edition
3.0
Read this one on the recommendation of a piano teacher. Solid self-help fare.
jjkamin's review against another edition
5.0
This is one of the best mindset for change and coaching I have ever read. While it does focus a little bit on tennis, it is applicable to every sport and activity. It was recommended by Steve Kerr and Pete Carroll.
vkurup's review against another edition
4.0
I don't think I've ever played a competitive game of tennis, and doubt I ever will. This is a great book that has nothing to do with tennis. It's about the 2 selves within us. The problematic part of us is critical, "all-knowing", and attention-seeking. The other part of us is not judgemental, but just responds to stimuli and responses, trying to optimize its performance based on objective evaluations. If you can get self 1 out of the way, self 2 will do a great job of improving performance. He provides a much better explanation, with exercises to help quiet self 1.
He also provided an interesting insight into competitiveness. I am competitive in some things, but in almost all things, I'd be happier to lose than to actually beat someone else. I thought I was strange (and rare), but he describes the same characteristic in himself. He says he feels almost embarrassed to win. That's exactly how I feel! But he's come around to the understanding that competitiveness is not about beating the other person, but rather about 1) challenging yourself to perform the best that you can in any situation, and 2) providing that challenge to the one you are competing against. If an opponent has a weak forehand, it isn't "nice" of you to try to avoid hitting the ball to their forehand. It just robs them of the ability to get the practice to make it better.
I still haven't bought into that line of reasoning fully, but I thought it was the first defense of competitiveness that appealed to me.
He also provided an interesting insight into competitiveness. I am competitive in some things, but in almost all things, I'd be happier to lose than to actually beat someone else. I thought I was strange (and rare), but he describes the same characteristic in himself. He says he feels almost embarrassed to win. That's exactly how I feel! But he's come around to the understanding that competitiveness is not about beating the other person, but rather about 1) challenging yourself to perform the best that you can in any situation, and 2) providing that challenge to the one you are competing against. If an opponent has a weak forehand, it isn't "nice" of you to try to avoid hitting the ball to their forehand. It just robs them of the ability to get the practice to make it better.
I still haven't bought into that line of reasoning fully, but I thought it was the first defense of competitiveness that appealed to me.
datamom's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book I have read about sports. It was quite meditative in nature. The lessons apply in life and not just in tennis. There were some technical tennis terms that I don’t understand but it made me fascinated enough to look into tennis classes here in my city.
subzerochi's review against another edition
4.0
Good sports psych, a lot of the advice in the book is from a time these things were not well known, but the cognitivist approaches have since improved and progressed much. Great advice overall, if from the time this was a new science.