Jason Goldman-Petri Tennis

Jason Goldman-Petri Tennis I am a high performance tennis coach, author, and speaker

05/03/2024

Proud coach moment:
So I'm at the end of a spring session and I always like to have my students compete at the end of a session. My students are all doing great and making me so proud as a coach.
One student in particular really shocked me yesterday. I have been working with him privately on incorporating drop shots into his arsenal. He can do it in drills but has struggled to use it in points at all, even against me when I'm trying to set him up for it.
Yesterday he made it to the finals of his in-group tournament and actually attempted some drop shots. Not only that, last year during these same type of matches, he really got nervous and emotional to the point that it impacted his performance. This year, he kept it together, and while he didn't win, he was playing a far more experienced player and he competed phenomenally.
Big shout out to Jerbear OT for raising some great kiddos and shuttling them to tennis!

02/10/2024

My new program on how to improve focus will begin Monday and registration is closing tomorrow night at midnight.
So if you want to learn how to have G.O.D.L.Y. levels of focus it's time to join. Remember that the cost to join is 270 dollars and that includes 3 months of access to me as well as 5 modules on focus and a personal planning session.
I will be going through the program with you, showing you how to implement your own focus, and providing practical steps for you to take to be successful along the way.
Once you learn how to be focused you can apply the lessons learned over and over along your journey.
I'm happy to get on the phone to answer questions you all might have as well. Send me an email to sign up or schedule with me. Just remember that space is limited to the first 10 people and registration closes tomorrow night at midnight!
Email is [email protected]

02/10/2024

Have you ever gotten nervous before a big match?
Do you think the pros feel the same things?

While we know they do feel nervousness I highly doubt it would be experienced anything like what most amateurs feel. Which is crazy because they are fighting for so much more meaningful a prize. Why is it then that they most likely do not get as nervous?

You may have recently seen a video circulating of all the different warm up activities that the pros were doing before their Australian open matches. And besides those serving to warm them up and prepare them to play those routines serve another very important function...
.. they are very strategically designed to give their brain something else to be doing besides getting more nervous.

By focusing on that next warm up activity and focusing on how to do each aspect of it correctly your brain can't ALSO focus on the upcoming match in a way that might make you nervous.

That is why in my upcoming intensive program on how to be more focused I'm going to help all of my clients develop a better warm up routine that helps prepare them physically but also, mentally.

Just one of many practical steps that you can take to help make you a more focused tennis athlete.

02/07/2024

How in control are you over your focus?

Everyone knows about the pink elephant. It's a great way to show just how easy it is for our focus to shift, even seemingly without us having any control.

However, it's not like you now have to continue thinking about the pink elephant. You can, if you want, recognize that your having this focus away from your intentions, and gently ask yourself to refocus.

Creating a better awareness of your focus is huge for this. So many players aren't even aware of what they are focusing on, or that what they are focusing on may not be helpful.

That's why I like to have a little failsafe built into my tennis. Something as simple as reflecting back after a lost point or a point that didn't exactly feel right and say to myself, 'what was I thinking about there?'

Highly focused players are aware of what they are focused on, when they lose focus, and what to refocus on when they do happen to lose focus.

The quicker you can go through this process the more in control you are over your focus.

Right now I am very focused on my new program all about focus debuting next week. All of my on court lessons I have been talking about focus and helping my players with their focus. And the results are incredible. When you understand focus on a deeper level you will feel more in control and will learn how to perform your best more often.

02/07/2024

How should you structure your goals?

This is actually a highly debated topic.

You are probably familiar with SMART goals. You may have seen Eric Butoracs Ted talk on how he did his goals. You may have heard the recent interview where Jimmy Arias talked about how he thinks he did his goals wrong. Or you may have heard about the Harvard study on goals and success.

Since there are a number of contrasting views and even contrasting research available on the topic, I find it helpful to narrow things down to what the research and all these contrasting viewpoints seem to agree on.

This also relates back to our day to day practice and match play so I think it is highly important. What we focus on day to day is going to be tied to our goals, so our goals need to guide our focus appropriately. And overwhelmingly poor performers put too much focus on results.

One of the first steps in my new program I'm starting next week on focus will be to hone your goals to best serve you and help create a focused vision that leads to short term AND long term success.

But whether you go about this process with help or not, try to work on setting goals that are not so tied to results.

Or as the famous coach John Wooten used to say, 'If you put in the work, the scoreboard will reflect'

02/04/2024

One of the greatest examples of what it means to be focused was a tie breaker between Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori. You can look up the clip by typing into YouTube Roger Federer doesn't realize he's won match.

You heard that right. Roger wins the match in a tiebreaker and then keeps on going through the motions as if the match isn't over. He's unaware he has won.

Now how could this be an example of someone being focused? He was so unfocused he didn't know he had won? If he was focused, shouldn't he have known what the score was?

I think this highlights one of the biggest issues most people have with focus. They are too focused on winning. The results are so important that they can't actually focus on what's going to help them get that result that they want so bad.

Federer was focused on something more important than the score. He had things to do to help him perform at his best. This is a big part of why he was such a great player, he knew what to focus on. These are the types of things I will be covering in my focus intensive course starting in just a little over a week.

Do you tend to lose focus in those moments when the score has gotten very close, like when you are involved in a tie breaker? Chances are that you've gotten too focused on the results

Follow my page to learn more!

02/02/2024

If you've been following my account you know that I've been highlighting the importance and nuances of focus the past few days. I've been doing so because today I am launching my new program:

G.O.D.L.Y. Focus - a 3 month intensive to teach you everything you need to be the most focused player possible

This is a first of its kind course. It's going to not only take you through all the areas you need to understand, but it's also going to hold you accountable. As we learn we will also be implementing with the goal of using the lessons to improve our games.

I will be going through the process right along with you and documenting every step of the journey to help you see what focus is all about from a theoretical understanding to the actual practical ways you can use it to make you a better player.

If you want to join in this program I will only be allowing a max of 10 people to make sure that everyone recieves great value and attention.

What you get:
3 months of access to coach Jason to help with your focus
Weekly presentations on focus
Practical steps to help you implement
Personal planning session
Drills to help you with your focus
And much more!

Since this is my first time running the course, I am going to offer it for just 270 dollars. If you are interested in joining please send an email to [email protected]

You can also send questions about the program to that email or message me here on Facebook

The program will begin in 2 weeks and since space is limited make sure to secure your spot now!

02/01/2024

When we get nervous it can be really difficult to stay focused. But let's be real here, even the best get nervous sometimes, so how are they able to stay focused? Why does it seem like no matter how important the moment, the best seem to still find their good form?

We all have tendencies. Issues that no matter how hard you focus never seem to completely go away. As an example Arthur Ashe used to say that when he was nervous he would toss the ball too low on his serve. So what did he do about it? He said he'd recognize when it was happening and tell himself to toss the ball twice as high, reach up twice as high, and then he would almost get it right.

Basically when you are aware of your tendencies you can over correct. You can double down on your focus in those areas to compensate. So while it is difficult to focus in those nervous moments, if we over emphasize the fix for our typical errors we should still be able to get things right.

The best know themselves intimately. They pay attention to their errors and use that information to come up with solutions. If you are consistently coming up against the same kinds of issues, it's time to start doubling down on your focus.

And if you feel like you need help with your focus remember that tomorrow I release a new focus intensive course. Message me for details!

01/31/2024

Focus is a limited resource. Don't use it up on things that aren't helpful.

As a tennis coach I see the effects of this often on test day. Kids come to tennis looking like zombies. When I ask, inevitably they took some standardized test thing that lasted multiple hours.

They used up all their focus on that test and have nothing left over for their tennis!

This is also why practicing for 5 hours straight is not actually beneficial. There's very little chance that all 5 hours were highly focused.

Here are some practical steps you can take to improve your focus and make the most of this limited resource:

1. Eat healthy. If you are getting good nutrition you'll have the fuel to focus longer and more intensely.
2. Sleep. Lack of sleep will make it harder to restore your focus resource and so you'll run out faster.
3. Break up practice into smaller more meaningful chunks. Instead of 5 hours straight, maybe 2 hours in the morning, go have a little rest, and come back for 2 more later.
4. Learn to let go of things that deplete your focus that you do not want to eat up that limited resource. Only focus on what is helping you to improve.

And if you can tell that you need help with your focus, tomorrow I launch a new focus intensive course. Message me for details.

01/31/2024

How long do you need to focus on something until you don't have to focus on it anymore?

Basically what I'm asking is how long does it take to form a habit, because the great thing about habits is we don't have to focus on a habit to do it.

Many years ago a research study was done on professional golfers and their putting ability. To sum up the results of the study the golfers who were asked to really think about their putting mechanics did the worst. The conclusion was that thinking or focusing on mechanics was bad for you.

This led a whole generation of athletes and coaches to wrongly state things like, 'you shouldn't think when you play'. You've probably heard advice like this before. 'Your thinking too much', or 'just stop thinking and play', are common iterations of this basic idea.

But those were professional golfers who knew how to putt habitually already. And how do you think they got to that point? By focusing on their mechanics of course!

If you need to make a mechanical change in order to improve its going to take A LOT of focus. Some studies on motor coordination tasks (that's what your tennis swings are) state that changes can become habit in as little as 21 days, but that is if practice is done in a way where you NEVER do the change any other way.

This means we need to be steadfast in our focus. If you happen to play a match at any time between learning something and the change becoming a habit you will ABSOLUTELY have to focus on the change while you play. And how can you be sure it's a habit? You'll probably want to play some matches and see how it holds up under pressure before assuming it is a habit. That means more matches where you inevitably will be 'thinking'.

Focus is tough. Do you need help with your focus? Stay tuned as I plan to announce a new master course on focus. Message me for details.

01/29/2024

Why is it so hard to stay focused for the entirety of a match?

When I was growing up I'd often hear people say you needed to stay focused on your match but I could never seem to put together a complete performance. There would always be at least some noticeable lapses in focus.

One year I was playing exceptionally well and had won the first set against a guy named Josh whom I had beaten earlier that year. After winning that set I noticed my coach had randomly shown up to watch. My coaches were great but very busy teaching so they rarely came to see us play in tournaments.

I started thinking about what he would want me to do. Every lost point I thought about what he might think of that one. I didn't serve and volley like I should have. Or that I used bad technique on that shot. I could feel my thoughts swirling and it became harder and harder to focus.

Losing that match was a defining moment for me. I'm sure most of you have experienced something similar. After that I swore I wouldn't let that happen again and learned what it took to be focused for an entire match.

The gist of what I learned was that focusing on certain things can lead to added stress while focusing on other things can lead to you being more relaxed, helping you to prolong your focus. A huge part of staying focused for a whole match is learning what to focus on, and also when to focus on those things.

You won't be the best competitive version of yourself until you learn which thoughts do which, why, and when.

More to come on focus this week, make sure to like and follow so you don't miss anything!

01/28/2024

So many players out there struggle to make grip changes.
What does it take to have the focus to make a grip change as quickly as possible?

When I was growing up I may have been a little naive, but I think it ended up helping me to focus in the way you need to. Basically what happened was that when my coach told me you were supposed to use a continental grip on the serve, I naively thought that I had been breaking the rules of tennis. That should I continue to serve with any other grip I would be cheating or in danger of getting penalized.
This made it easy to make the change, I HAD NO OTHER CHOICE!
That's how we all need to focus when it comes to making changes to our game. Yet rarely do I see players hold themselves accountable in this way.
If given no other choice you will make that change as quickly as possible because if you don't your going to lose and no one wants that. When we give ourselves an easy out our brain is going to inevitably take it to prevent that loss. Make sure not to allow yourself to go back to old habits by simply not even having it as an option.

Remember that for the rest of this month I will be deep diving into the topic of focus so stay tuned for more!

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