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The Inner Game of Tennis, a 1970’s classic by author W. Timothy Gallwey, continues to remain one of the best sport psychology books ever written. With no disrespect toward the more contemporary sport psychologists who have written many impressive works in the past several decades, Gallwey, an ex-tennis pro, explains many of the inner workings of the mind in a simple yet powerful manner. And unlike the title suggests, The Inner Game of Tennis is a book that can crossover into any sport or performance zone… it’s not just for tennis players.

Gallwey begins his book by examining the big picture that affects each person and every game, regardless of the forum. He opens the introduction with, “Every game is composed of two parts, an outer game and an inner game”. The outer game is played against an external opponent to overcome the external obstacles, and to reach an external goal. Mastering this game is the subject of many books offering instructions on how to swing a racket, club, or bat and how to position arms, legs, or torso to achieve the best results. It is the thesis of this book that neither mastery nor satisfaction can be found in the playing of any game without giving some attention to the relatively neglected skills of the inner game. This is the game that takes place in the mind of the player, and it is played against such obstacles as lapses in concentration, nervousness, self-doubt, and self-condemnation. In short, it is played to overcome all habits of mind which inhibit excellence in performance. It all starts with the mental game. Strengthening the mental muscle will take your external game to an entirely new level.

Timothy Gallwey’s website: http://theinnergame.com/about-tim-gallwey/

Find the book at Amazon Books: http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Game-Tennis-Classic-Performance/dp/0679778314