The Reset Button in Action

July 10, 2011

No one likes losing the first set of a match.  It’s not the kind of start you’re looking for when trying to win, but on the other hand, it’s not the end of the match either.  Comebacks are possible when you have the right mindset.  However, many players see the loss of the first set as equivalent to defeat and therefore the second set becomes a formality on the road to defeat.  So what is the right mindset for coming back?  Here’s an example from the Tournament Training Camp that Coach Bob Greene directs at theWorcester Tennis Club.

A couple of times a week, we get the kids playing matches and on this particular day, two very talented teenage boys were pitted against each other.  The match was set up so that I could coach each of the players during change overs to help them with their tactics and their mental approach.  I also spoke to the players at the beginning of the match to let them know that I wanted this to be like a tournament match – they would be playing 2 out of 3 sets and I would be using the score cards to show the score.  They were to sit down on change overs and take their time between points.  Additionally, I let them know that I would be stat tracking the match and sharing that information with them through the course of play.

The first set was closer than the score indicated at 6-2.  The player who lost the set had been at the camp the previous week when we discussed the Reset Button in our group Skull Session so I wanted to remind him of that when he sat down after the set.  I asked him to look at the score cards (I had already reset them for the next set) and to tell me what they said.

“Zero-zero” was his response.

“That’s right.  You’re back to even, so what are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to reset myself and play better in this set.”

“Good!  This match isn’t over if you don’t want it to be.  Go out and play your game and you’ll be fine.”

He immediately jumped out to a 3-0 lead and eventually won the set by breaking his opponent for a 7-5 win.  His tennis was more relaxed in the second set and he was able to do something that he might not have thought possible after a 6-2 set loss – come back to tie up the match at one set all.  That’s the beauty of the Reset Button – you have multiple opportunities to start over in a tennis match and the more you take advantage of those opportunities, the tougher you will be to defeat.  Follow that path and you will become a relentless competitor – the player who never gives up regardless of the circumstances.