Lake Zurich senior tennis player Matt Edkins was curious about the mental side of his sport.
So he did some homework on the topic.
Edkins went online and searched for information about mental toughness. As a doubles player, he did not win any tiebreakers last spring, and he wanted to learn how he could gain an edge in high-stress circumstances.
“We struggled in matches that were really close,” Edkins said. “This year I’m trying to have a little more mental toughness and trust I can win those (close matches).”
This spring, Edkins is the Bears’ No. 1 singles player. He often faces North Suburban Conference opponents who have extensive USTA experience and might be more talented than he is.
One way he hopes to close the gap on the court is with his knowledge and mental preparation.
“You have to not think about how good they are. When you think about the opponent, that makes you not as confident,” Edkins said. “You have to think about your own game and trust your strokes.”
Through his first eight matches, Edkins is 2-6. His victories have come against Zion-Benton and at a tournament on Saturday at Buffalo Grove. Edkins beat St. Viator’s No. 1 singles player, freshman Connor Flynn, 6-1, 6-2.
Lake Zurich placed fifth as a team at Buffalo Grove.
In his win Saturday, Edkins did not wait for Flynn to take the match to him. When Flynn hit short balls, Edkins aggressively attacked and finished points.
“He gets to everything and is very consistent with his ground strokes,” Lake Zurich coach Andrew McCurley said. “He frustrates other players when they think they have a winning shot and he hits it back.”
For most of the season, McCurley has played Edkins at the top singles spot, with senior Sam Leung at No. 2 and sophomore Jason Morrison at No. 3. The Bears’ doubles teams are usually seniors Aidan Gorny and Connor Trebac at No. 1 and seniors Justin Shah and Brennan Groble at No. 2.
Edkins has developed a plan to help prevent his mind from getting lazy during a match. He keeps his mind and body sharp by helping them stay in sync.
“I used to get distracted a lot during a match,” he said. “Now I’ll take deep breaths between points or look at my strings.”
He also has implemented a mental exercise that involves colors. He’ll keep those colors in mind as he tries to make a specific type of shot.
“For a full on shot, its green. Yellow, more stable. Red is more of a drop shot,” Edkins said, adding how during a match he will speak these colors quietly under his breath before hitting the shot.
There are times his approach works and other times when the opponent’s talent is too much to overcome. A 6-0, 6-0 loss to Lake Forest’s Will Zordani on April 19 was an example of overwhelming physical skill winning out.
But results have not impeded Edkins’ curiosity for the mental side of tennis. There are always new ideas to discover and apply.
“When you are playing well, you are thinking about each shot independently. Don’t think too ahead or behind,” Edkins said. “With more mental toughness, I trust I can win close matches at the end.”
Jon J. Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press
