MASTER PRO CORNER
Sports Psychology
Fun, Effort and Self-Confidence. Ronald B. Woods, Ph.D
USPTA Master Professional Having been a USPTA member for over 40 years including serving as president of USPTA Middle States, member of the Executive Committee and frequent speaker at both national and division conventions, he was honored as USPTA Coach of the Year in 1982 and as a Master Professional in 1984. Ron is the husband of Kathy Woods, who is now the director of tennis at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida.
E. Paul Roetert, Ph.D. He most recently served as the CEO of the Society of Health and Physical Educators - SHAPE America. Prior to that, he was the managing director of USTA Player Development. Roetert has published extensively in the fields of coaching education and sport science, including five books, more than 25 book chapters, and well over 100 articles.
“Disclaimer: Sports Psychology for Kids; Fun, Effort and Self-Confidence is the second article from the Sports Psychology for Kids; When Should it Begin article that appeared in the Nov-Dec issue of ADDvantage Magazine.”
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he fundamentals, principles and skills of sports psychology should be the foundation of youth tennis from the very beginning when kids start to play sports. We believe that means starting from ages 5-6 and building on those basic skills through ages 7-12. In our previous article in ADDvantage Magazine, the Nov-Dec 2018 issue, we outlined the principle concepts along with a reasoned argument for introducing these concepts and skills at younger ages than most coaches typically do. Our goal is simply to introduce kids to tennis (or any sport they choose) in a way that promotes their mental, emotional and social development while acquiring physical sports skills. Coaches and parents have a responsibility to help their children succeed by teaching and reinforcing attitudes and skills that volumes of research and experimentation show promote healthy development, enjoyment and satisfaction in exchange of the effort and energy invested in sports during their lifetime. Let’s look at three major foundational concepts that can help guide kids from the first time they step onto a tennis court. We need to understand a more robust and nuanced idea of “fun” for kids and how to produce it. At the same time, young players need to approach the sport of tennis as a skilled game activity by investing their full effort and measuring their success by the energy and enthusiasm they commit to the effort. Within the context of exerting effort to have fun, even novice players will begin to
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develop competence in their skills which builds and nurtures self-confidence. The number one reason that kids play sports is “fun” and similarly, if they become sports dropouts, they typically report that a sport is no longer “fun.” As adults, we often think of “fun” for kids as laughing, fooling around with friends and goofing off. Obviously, that type of fun isn’t very compatible with the more serious and achievement orientation of most kids who play sports. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly even Olympic level athletes rate “fun” equal with the pursuit of excellence as the primary incentives for them in their sport. (Snyder, 2014). Sports research often uses the term “enjoyment” rather than fun as it conveys a broader, more robust understanding of the pleasure we get from physical activity and sports. When asked, young athletes say they enjoy sports when they are learning, improving, giving their best effort and getting along well with other players. Some players crave competition against others while others shy away and would rather focus on cooperation with others to achieve a shared goal. Respect those differences and help players learn to embrace both competition and cooperation in a healthy, productive way. Recent research by Visek et al., 2017 revealed 81 different fun-factors by youth athletes which were then grouped into 11 categories and ranked in importance from most to least important. The top four categories of fun-factors were: trying hard, positive team dynamics, positive coaching and learning and improving. In addition,
