“Excuses are for Losers”
One of the hardest things in sports is accepting a loss for what it is; you lost. The first temptation is to find a reason why you lost by blaming someone or something. Although I was ingrained with the concept of “Excuses are for Losers” at an early age, I will admit that the temptation to this is always there. It all comes down to this: your opponent was either smarter than you on the court, more skilled than you, or in better condition than you. What everyone needs to learn is that no one wants to hear an excuse for why you lost, especially if it is the Mecca of all excuses, ‘Well I was just too tired.’
Rafael Nadal easily could have had this excuse if he had lost to Roger Federer in the 2009 Australian Open Final. Nadal had just come off a brutal five-setter against Fernando Verdasco a couple days before the finals and the media had already made excuses for him before the finals had even started. He had an easy out if he lost. But, he came out and beat Federer in five sets. Now, I know we’re all not Rafael Nadal, but what we can learn from this is that no matter what tennis throws at us, there is always a way to win and avoid making excuses for ourselves.
As a coach, whenever I hear the excuse “I was too tired,” the first thought that comes into my mind is that this person didn’t train hard enough before the tournament to be ready for what this sport will throw at them. One of my favorite sayings is, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” This is so true in tennis because if you are not in shape for a tournament to where you can go six sets in one day, you are planning on losing that second match before the tournament has even started.
If you watch any press-conference for the NFL, NBA or MLB you may hear guys state, “No excuses, they were the better team today.” When the media is yelling, “You didn’t have your best player,” or “Your team was facing a lot of injuries.” Guys swallow their pride and accept the loss on that day and prepare even harder for the next game.
Recognize this: excuses make YOU look bad, not your opponent. Learn from your losses so that at the next tournament, you will not have the same problems that may have contributed to that loss. And next time you lose and hear that dreaded question from someone, “How’d you do?” The best answer is always, “I lost, he/she was better today.”
Most Common Excuses:
“I was too tired,” (You need to be in better shape and have a better nutrition plan)
“I haven’t played in two weeks” (You should have found some time to practice)
“I had a test the next day that I was worried about” (You should have planned ahead)
“I couldn’t hit a backhand” (You should have had more repetitions before the tournament)
“It was too hot” (It wasn’t any cooler for you opponent)
“It was too cold” (It wasn’t any warmer for your opponent)
“I didn’t have any energy” (There are Power Bar gels that give you boosts of energy)
“I was injured” (If you were so injured you probably shouldn’t have played the match in the first place)
Think about it!
Dennis Myers, March 2009
Sorry Dennis,
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Why Jogging Just Won’t Cut It
Growing up as a junior tennis player, I had no idea how to train for a tournament or even recognized that ‘training’ existed. I would go on a beach trip with my family, and after a long week of being in the sun, would return to have a first round match in a big state or national level tournament. I fooled myself into thinking that the time off relaxed me and made me ready for the tournament. However, during the actual tournament, I was quick to run out of steam and even have a couple of cramps in my legs. It wasn’t until I got to college that I really learned what it took to be in shape and ready for a tournament.
I also played soccer in high school and the day before tryouts I would go for a two-mile jog and be shocked at how tired I was the next day at practice. I would tell myself, “I went on a jog the other day, why am I so tired?” I see this in a lot of junior tennis players who go for jogs before tournaments and think they are getting themselves in shape. But, if you think about it, jogging only keeps your heart-rate in the 140 range. If you are a high level player, it might get up to 160-180 during a point. So, if you’re training your heart-rate at 140, when you hit 160-180 in a match your body is not going to be prepared.
For any sport with short bursts of speed like tennis, a good way to train for a tournament match or just a recreational match is to do some interval training. Since you get about 20 seconds in between points, using a treadmill can be a good way to train your heart. Put the treadmill level to 5.0. Every minute increase the speed to level 8.0 so that you are imitating a point. After a minute has passed on the sprint, bring the level back down to 5.0 and repeat for 30-45 minutes. (I suggest using 1 minute for these sprint intervals because pressing up or down on the treadmill every 20 seconds would be rather annoying.) I have even gone to the extreme of taking changeovers into account and taking a two minute walk every 5 minutes. You are wasting your time if you are jogging at 5.0 for 30 minutes because you are not training your heart for a tennis match – only for a jog in the park.
UFC fighters do this to prepare themselves for a fight. If they have three 5-minute rounds or whatever format it is, they will imitate a fight in their training. They bust it for 3 minutes, take a 1 minute break, and repeat as if they are in a fight. This prepares their body to perform at a maximum level when the time comes to compete. So the next time you are wondering why you are so tired in a tournament or match, ask yourself if you have trained your body adequately. Did you jog for a couple of weeks to ‘get in shape’ or did you train by imitating what a point would look like? I guarantee that you will outlast your opponents if you train properly.
You can do the following workout on a treadmill 4-5 times/wk for 3 weeks before tournaments to prepare yourself:
Level 5.0 (1 minute) Level 8.0 (one minute). Repeat for 30-45 minutes.
• Levels are adjustable
• Heart rates differ based on age/sex/overall health
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