Early match sickness

[Father of Tennis]

My 10 years old boy plays tennis seriously, I mean that amount of training and matches are almost highest level as they can be for junior in that age. He has problems in morning matches, in my country morning matches for juniors begins 0800, 0830 or 0900. Those matches are often important, quarters or semis. With my opinion nobody is ready to give their best that early, you have to wake up latest at 0600. But anyway that's the way it is in my country.

Problem is that my boy feels sick almost every time when he wakes up for morning match. He doesn't eat, drink, sometimes he womits, feels very negative. On the court that means that he can give only 50-70 % of his capability, usually it means lost matches. All day and evening matches goes very well.

My conclusion is that it is not only physical problem, it could be in mental side, or maybe both but which comes first? Is this thing familiar to anyone? I preciate if you can give any tips or methods how to avoid this disruptive problem in near future.

thx!

 

[ollinger]

10 year olds don't generally vomit before a tennis match because of physical problems; it is an emotional issue almost invariably. What you see as "disruptive" may be a communication -- he may not want to do this. Does the tennis fulfill his goal, or yours? Your post shows no awareness on your part as to what his emotional state is when this happens, which usually means the parent isn't paying careful attention.

 

[sixftlion]

He is probably really nervous. Way much more than the "good butterflies" in his stomach. And then, if he doesn't eat, he doesn't have energy to perform on the high level. Sounds more mental than physical. How is he on the days when he doesn't play matches? No morning sickness, does he eat breakfast etc?

 

[charliefedererer]

Try to be sure he is not suffering from overtraining. You can download free information on the USTA Recovery in Tennis Project at http://www.usta.com/tennisrecovery/

As posters above have pointed out, his early morning nausea is likely a sypmtom of being anxious about the upcoming match.

It is simple to say "Don't worry about the match today." It is not simple totally ignore that the match is coming in a couple of hours though.

Clearly it is counterproductive to be so focused on the match hours in advance that nausea results. The mind needs to be distracted by conversation, music, reading or anything else that interests him until right before the match.

If the pattern persists despite all efforts, a period away from play to develop a morning routine, and then going back to playing may "reset" his early morning problems with nausea.

 

[Fugazi]

My 10 years old boy plays tennis seriously, I mean that amount of training and matches are almost highest level as they can be for junior in that age. He has problems in morning matches, in my country morning matches for juniors begins 0800, 0830 or 0900. Those matches are often important, quarters or semis. With my opinion nobody is ready to give their best that early, you have to wake up latest at 0600. But anyway that's the way it is in my country.

Problem is that my boy feels sick almost every time when he wakes up for morning match. He doesn't eat, drink, sometimes he womits, feels very negative. On the court that means that he can give only 50-70 % of his capability, usually it means lost matches. All day and evening matches goes very well.

My conclusion is that it is not only physical problem, it could be in mental side, or maybe both but which comes first? Is this thing familiar to anyone? I preciate if you can give any tips or methods how to avoid this disruptive problem in near future.

thx!

I did vomit a few times before morning matches when I was a junior. I believe it's mainly mental, but I guess not being a morning person didn't help either in my case. If he can't eat, maybe he could only try a shake, or a banana, or both. I guess an energy gel (with carbs, sodium and potassium) could do the trick, too, as well as drinking Gatorade or some similar drink to provide energy and keep him hydrated.

The next step is seeing a sports psychologist or talking to someone who can hear his performance anxiety issues and remove a bit of pressure off his shoulders. The "process VS results" philosophy is usually successful, but it takes effort and time.

Once, after an intense week of training, my coach gently forbade me of feeling nervous in the next tournament. I played the most brilliant tennis of my life that weekend, expressing myself fearlessly on the court. I guess it's paradoxical, because he put pressure on me not to put pressure on myself... In any case, it worked! As long as your son can be relieved of the pressure of performing and focus both on what he needs to do and on having fun (having fun on every shot is my philosophy), he will be better off.

Good luck!

 

[matt.flynn60]

It probably is just nerves, but perhaps he should wake sooner and eat a little breakfast too.

 

[Caloi]

My son takes football very seriously for a 9 year old. He too would wake up sick and feel like puking. It was very hard to get him to eat, which would effect his performance.

I noticed one weekend during a typical 8:00 am game day he wasn't nervous at all. He was more excited we had planned an afternoon at an amusement park later that day.

BINGO!

He was distracted by something else that day and played his heart out on the field.

Maybe plan something FUN for the family to do in the afternoons on those early game days. It may help him relax a bit and he may be able to eat more in the morning.


Just a thought.

 

[Devilito]

mabe he's just not a morning person

 

[Father of Tennis]

Thanks a lot! you already gave couple of very useful things to try. Chancing routines, something positive thinking over the match, which might help him to eat even gel or Gatorade and get energy levels bit higher for starting the "machine". And yes it is mental, Week ago my son game to home from 4 day tennis camp where they usually do not sleep enough with friends and training program is bit heavy. I asked that how your morning training goes there because of less sleep and early wake up. He said that all was perfect, no problem at all. I realized that they share everything, also pressure. So team support is so important in tennis, specially for kids. Like I wrote, he enjoy playing all other times but not in the mornings. And usually those other match times he perform very well.

for ollinger: I know that it's fine line for parents between supporting kid and filling parents' lost dreams, but I try to keep myself in healthy side. My boy is so temperamental and he will say it loud if tennis someday will turn to unpleasant.

 

[r2473]

He might be pregnant.

 

[Yonex Dude]

When I played tennis back in high school, I would get really nervous before matches and usually felt like I was about to crap myself. However, eventually I solved this problem using the distraction method mentioned above. Most of the time, I tried not to focus on the match at all and not on my performance at all. It may sound quite contradictory, but I always felt I played my best when I was not worried about how I played and when my mind had other things to think about also. Music is also a good thing for the mind. Try to get him to listen to some music as soon as he wakes up. (Maybe an alarm clock that plays music when you should wake up) Often times, a bright and cheerful song in the morning can set the tone for one's entire day. It will also take his mind off his match and even put him in a bit of rhythm to the music. I found that I was always more relaxed when I was humming a tune while playing. Just a few ideas...

 

[Player#1]

I have had a problem with early morning tennis/athletics as long as I can remember. It doesn't matter if it's a match, practice or just conditioning. I don't have nausea, but I always am at about 50%.

I don't have much energy, I don't feel like moving, I don't feel like eating before I exercise in the morning and I never play well. I have tried to adjust, but haven't ever had much success.

As far as I can tell, my circadian rythm runs shifted a little from what most people have. I tend to feel a lot better going to sleep late and waking up late even if I'm getting considerably less sleep.

Light therapy may be a solution, but I have never tried it.