You train your strokes to develop correct bio-mechanics and muscle memory that won’t let you down under match pressure. You train your heart (cardio) and the rest of your body to support the physical demands of the game. So why don’t we train our minds, to change our brains, to enhance our performance? Because we all know that when your brain is in a state, some have called, “the zone”, others have called, “flow”, you make better decisions, you seem to know, intuitively, what to do in every situation, you feel in control, and most importantly, you perform at your very best!
So why has this aspect of the game gotten such little attention (aside from a few helpful suggestions for imagery or some vague talk about breathing)? Where is the science to back it up? Well, now we have the science to talk about how to achieve that mental focus and physiological balance. That’s what Neuro-Dynamic Tennis is; a method to teach you how to train your mind to get the feedback you need to begin to train your brain and amazingly, your heart- not the heart’s cardio fitness, but by facilitating heart coherence you create calmness and clarity ( cf. Heart Rate Variability page).
Dr. Keith Coleman (a USPTA Pro 1 and Licensed Mental Health Clinician) has brought together the best understandings of modern neuro-science and tennis bio-mechanics to create Neuro-Dynamic Tennis! He is the Director of Tennis at the Ocean City Tennis Center in Ocean City, Maryland. He is, also, the Clinical Director of the Ocean City Mind/Body Medicine Clinic. He holds a doctorate in psychology and has done training in mind/body medicine at the Mind/Body Medicine Institute at Harvard Medical School and through other training opportunities. He is a Fellow in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and a Member of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society. He has been published in ADDvantage Magazine on the subject of brain plasticity in teaching tennis using Constraint Induced Movement Therapy. That article can be accessed by goint to the home page of The Tennis Racket Bracket Website beneath Tracy Austin's endorsement of the Racket Bracket or the ADDvantage magazine webpage below:
http://www.addvantageuspta.com/(S(d2c35yjrtuynr5rsrtekaeim))/default.aspx?act=newsletter.aspx&category=ADDvantage&menuitemid=344&MenuGroup=ADD-depts&NewsLetterID=1001&&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
