Steve O'Connell is an accomplished racquet sport professional and educator who is a USPTA elite certified pro, wheelchair tennis instructor, certified platform tennis instructor and a certified pickleball instructor. Through his careers in both tennis and education, Steve has been a long-time advocate of journaling and writing, emphasizing the many benefits of these practices to his students.  

Interview Highlights: 

1:25 - Steve explains his introduction to tennis 

4:35 - The similarities between coaches and teachers 

8:06 - How Steve got involved with journaling 

10:01 - Using journaling as a tool with developing tennis players 

13:01 - The best ways to get started with journaling 

20:27 - How much time should you wait before journaling about a match or practice? 

27:02 - Introducing journaling to tennis coaches 

33:40 - Helping athletes and coaches commit to journaling on a regular basis 

38:12 - The habit of learning from past journal entries 

45:01 - The benefits of writing things down after tennis lessons, practices, or matches 

51:09 - Best practices related to journaling and final thoughts  

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis, email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #tennisIQ​​​​​​​​​ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!