Why Is Cam Norrie Beating “Better” Players Part 2
October 23, 2021
Tennis has long been described as a mental game whereby the winner is the most psychologically strong. We hear commentators talking about how focused and mentally tough Djokovic “always” is, or how calm and steady Raducanu was throughout her US Open run to victory. In a way, what they are saying is right. Staying focused, relaxed, steady and mentally tough are common attributes of the greatest players in the game, not only in tennis, but across all sports. However, what they don’t express, or even understand, is that being focused, relaxed, steady and mentally tough aren’t necessarily conscious decisions made by the mind.
Let me repeat - remaining focused, relaxed, steady and mentally tough aren’t conscious decisions made by the mind, but arise out of a body. A body that is fully engaged and mobilized toward a goal, while feeling safe, comfortable and in control. I call this state in the body the Play Zone. Beneath the Play Zone is a neurophysiology and it’s what the champions enter when they gain control of their body, their mind, their emotions, and ultimately the match. The Play Zone isn’t about winning, losing or even being a champion. It’s about deliberately and intentionally managing the attributes of your body (i.e. heart rate, breathing, posture, muscle tension, facial expression, eye gaze, vocalizations and even with whom and how you are engaging with others), in order to align your neurophysiology (the physiological state of your body) to support your goals, actions, intentions, concentration, resilience and performance! This is what’s really behind a player described by all of us as mentally tough, emotionally stable, multi-dimensional, or someone who always figures out a way to win. The fact is that you can’t be any of these things without first recognizing, respecting and regaining control of your bodily feelings, shifts and reactions to best match the changing situations, conditions and challenges you face on your court of performance. Every single aspect of performance, from power, to endurance, to mechanics, to execution; even your creativity, problem solving, confidence & belief - all are built on top of your bodily state.
Neurophysiologically speaking, optimal performance and resilience arise from a body with optimal cardiac vagal tone and vagal efficiency such that we can raise and lower heart rate, breathing and energy output to shift quickly back and forth between high levels of mobilization followed by a rapid recovery. Beneath what appears to a spectator to be a mentally focused, steady and strong mind, would therefore more accurately be described as a body that feels safe and in control, with the capacity to rapidly ramp up and calm down to match the ever changing conditions and challenges experienced on the court. This is what sets the champions apart from everyone else. This is also a skill that can be practiced, accessed and embodied in any situation to weather the storms of uncertainty, lift your game when the pressure builds, and ultimately reach peak performance.
Why is this important?
With cues of risk, uncertainty and evaluation coming at you from all directions, the court (any competitive sports arena) can easily become an “unsafe” environment for the body - especially when status, identity and money are on the line. Hence, it’s a natural, human reflex to shift into the mobilized fight/flight zone when taking the stage, and when overwhelmed by challenge, or the pressure of the situation, it’s also a natural, human reflex to shift into the immobilized zone of dissociation, collapse or shutdown.
You won’t stop these survival reactions from happening - even the champions feel them. But you can change what you do in your body & mind when these reflexive bodily shifts occur. And over time, you can retune your body to find safety, comfort and control when the stakes are high, and elevate your level of performance when your opponents fold under the pressure. To do all of this, you need to find what’s safe, stable and within your control in any situation - a reliable, sustainable CONTAINER OF SAFETY.
What’s A Container of Safety?
A Container of Safety (COS) is a resilient, flexible “bubble of safety and control” that deflects the cues of risk, evaluation and uncertainty coming at you from every direction outside of your control. Your On The Court COS consists of strategies, tools, resources & relationships that keep you feeling “in control, comfortable & safe” throughout the widest variety of challenges, conditions and circumstances.
When you are really anxious, overreacting, having emotional outbursts, making excuses or wanting to give up, it’s helpful to realize that these aren’t signs of mental weakness, emotional instability, lack of skill, or flaws in character & commitment. Rather these moods, emotions and behaviors are merely a reflection of a body under threat - nothing more, nothing less. Instead of beating yourself up with shame, blame or frustration, or spinning destructive narratives, instead, you learn to regain control of your body, to gain control of your mind, to gain control of your performance. The champions play in their comfort zone no matter the pressure because they don’t get overwhelmed by the big moments, destructive self-talk, or negative emotions - instead, they access the resources & relationships within their Container of Safety, and shift into their Play Zone when everyone else defends, attacks and cracks.
This is why Cam Norrie is beating “better” players, over and over and over again!
Let’s Play!
Michael Allison
If you’d like to construct your Container of Safety and explore the specific strategies, tools & resources that work best for you, let’s chat! That’s exactly what I do, and I work directly with coaches, teams, athletes, organizations and anyone who wants to optimize resilience and performance in whatever matters most to them!
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