Improving Tennis Performance: Self Talk vs the Scoring Problem

Scientists have long known that positive Self-Talk improves player performance. There has been a lot of research done on this.
Scientists also know that a player cannot dual task. A player cannot think of two things at the same time.
See where this is going?! Put the research together and you get that Scoring in tennis interferes with player performance.

First, Here are some research examples:


Study: The costs of changing an intended action: movement planning, but not execution, interferes with verbal working memory.
Results: Keeping a fact in working memory interferes with athletic planning. (Dr. Schack wrote me that izzers is a real life application of his research.)

Study: You can do it! Scientists find urging yourself on in the second person is the key to sporting success  

Results: Positive self talk contributes to athletic success. Using the third person is better.

The summary:  The latest research shows that player performance is improved through positive self-talk in the third person, as in "(you) go, go!" That is, the player is having an inner coach cheer him on. The latest research has also shown conclusively that the same neurons that are used for self-talk or athletic planning are the ones that keep the score in working memory, wonder what the score is, or wonder if the opponent had called out the correct score. By having elite players use the izzers Tennis Score Keeper, they can ignore the score and focus on positive self talk. Izzers is the basis of improving tennis player performance. Izzers is the only personal tennis score keeper that is easy to mark and easy to see.