For anyone who has been following the French Open,
there are constant reminders of the importance of the Inner Game ~ 

Match statistics give clear evidence of the connection between match winners and unforced errors - invariably it is the player with the least number of unforced errors who wins. And loss of focus is the only cause of unforced errors. I like to look for signs of mental interference in the action replays - and often a hint of tension in the player's face before they hit the ball correlates with an unforced error whilst more relaxed facial muscles go with a winning shot.

A good example of this was in Andy Murray's quarter-final against Fernando Gonzalez. As I remember it, in the fourth set, Andy found his focus to break back with apparent ease and have a chance to level the set at 5-all and then lost his focus for the next three points - three unforced errors and three match points to his opponent and in a couple of minutes it was all over. So the way I see it is that his opponent didn't win the match - Andy lost the Inner Game at a crucial moment.

Andy basically agrees with this in his post-match interview - he talks about how big the Gonzalez forehand is and how well he played, but admits that when it came down to it, he didn't take his chances (to me, this translates as mental interference) - especially when he was serving at 4-5 down in the fourth set.




Basketball Pilot Course ~

Andy (Knibbs not Murray  ) and I had a great day in Sheffield on May 19th delivering 'Coaching for Self-belief' to England Basketball Coaching Development Manager Brian Aldred and two other tutor-level coaches. It was interesting to see how easily set-piece training drills can be energised with a few simple questions to add to the mix.

At one point we asked the guys to set up a typical three-man training routine - one shooter, one on rebound passing out to the third player who then passed back to the shooter. They got the drill going and one of the things that they noticed was that the player who was passing back to the shooter looked underchallenged and boredom interference was looming. When we asked him what could make the drill more interesting - he knew at once - he simply needed to move to different spots to receive the rebounder's pass. This also gave the rebounder an added challenge and made it feel a bit more like a game situation. Boom! One simple question and the drill caught fire - the right challenge, increased focus, decreased interference, increased performance and more self-motivated energy.

We discussed the perception that some coaches have that learning performer-centred coaching skills requires a massive and difficult shift - from this example and others on the day, we hope that we showed that it can be a very simple addition to everything that the coach already does well.

As always there is a learning curve however simple the skill being taught and that's where we see Inner Works Coaching being of particular value. We love to ensure coaches who understand some of the theory can really begin to put it to use and see that they can make it work right from the start.

Brian told us that his daughter's tennis experience on a family weekend activity holiday after our Basketball Pilot was all the better for a bit of 'Bounce-Hit' and he is now reading the Inner Game of Work..

Website ~

My own learning curve with Dreamweaver has taken so much focus it's beginning to cause interference with family life! I hope the new look and improved consistency of the site works for you.

Pete*