Meet Dr. John F. Murray
Author of the best selling Tennis book
Smart Tennis

Name:
John F. Murray, Ph.D.

Occupation:
Psychology Resident at Florida International University in
Miami. I am taking the Florida psychology licensing exam in one week and
will be a licensed Clinical Psychologist and Sport Psychologist.

Marital Status:
Married

Degrees:
Bachelor's (Psychology) Loyola University New Orleans
Master of Exercise and Sport Sciences (Sport Psychology) University of
Florida
Master of Science (Clinical Psychology) University of Florida
Doctor of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology) University of Florida

Playing/coaching experience:
I played at the high school and junior level in Florida and competed in
tournaments during college as we had no team at Loyola. After college, I
taught tennis privately in Florida, North Carolina and Munich, Germany. I
later joined Peter Burwash International and directed and coached tennis at
programs in North America, Hawaii, Europe and the Middle East, but
primarily at Tennis Magazine's #1 Rated Tennis Camp, Hotel Stanglwirt in
Austria. During graduate school I was the #16 Ranked Player in Men's Open
Singles in Florida in 1996.

Sport psychology experience:
I have provided sport psychology services to many athletes across most
sports including tennis. I conducted mental skills training sessions as a
tennis coach and later earned my first Masters degree in the sport
psychology track at the University of Florida Department of Exercise and
Sport Sciences. I consulted with athletes as a graduate student at the
University of Florida and completed my doctoral dissertation on a sport
psychology topic with the 1996 national champion Florida Gators football
team. I completed my clinical psychology internship at Washington State
University. This was the only APA accredited internship in psychology with
a full-time sport psychology rotation - so I provided regular and frequent
sport psychology consultation at Washington State University. In my
current position at Florida International University I've expanded the
sport psychology services with athletes in many sports, and I also consult
privately with professional and amateur athletes on performance
enhancement.

What were your motivating factors in writing "Smart Tennis"?
I wanted to give back some of the fun and knowledge I acquired from my
background in international tennis coaching & playing, sport psychology and
clinical psychology. I wanted players and coaches to have a succinct and
clear handbook based solidly on what is known about mind-body skills, and
how to actually do it! I wanted everyone in tennis to have a copy of Smart
Tennis so that they could truly understand themselves and unlock their
potential. The first chapter is a check-list that everyone in tennis should
take to gain better self-understanding. In my opinion, the all-important
mental game was still being ignored, although players always emphasize that
the mental game is 70-99% of tennis!

Reading the first few pages of "Smart Tennis" I got the impression that
tennis can in itself be a science, full of rules, formulas, discoveries
and theories, is "Smart Tennis" the blueprint to such a science?
Perhaps. I developed Smart Tennis based on what is now known in Sport
Psychology scientific research, so it is indeed a good foundation for the
science of tennis. In fact, the principles really apply to all sports.
Tennis is a great experiment and one that requires so much mental &
physical energy and precision - so efforts to refine our understanding of
performance in this sport are so important if we want to keep evolving the
game.

The tennis mind and body checklist is a very in-depth tool to identify a
player's strengths and weaknesses, is it applicable to the beginner as
well as pro players?
Absolutely. Self-understanding is even more important for beginners who
have the advantage of taking the proper mental perspective from the outset,
before developing habits that can interfere with success and fun. For
example, Confidence is for the beginner as much as for Sampras.

You take the reader on a step by step journey to improvement, how quickly
can someone see positive results?
If Smart Tennis ignites a person to focus more effectively, enjoy the sport
more, have more confidence etc... the results and effects can be seen
almost immediately. However, for a long-term lasting and consistent
development, I think it's important to read the chapter of interest (e.g.,
Goal Setting) very clearly and then apply it to daily activities. If this
is done properly, changes and positive results can occur very quickly.
Improvement will definitely occur - and one way to note this is by taking
the TMBC again in a couple months to see how your responses have changed!

So often professional tennis players seem to disappear from a match,
sometime never to recover and lose the match - do you feel like saying
"Here read Smart Tennis"?
Funny you said that - that actually happened a couple times, but I was a
little more subtle in my approach!

I'm an advanced player I had very strong scores in the TMBC (Tennis Mind
Body Checklist) but not perfect, how would Pete Sampras or Lindsay
Davenport do with the test, would they be perfect?
I don't think they would be perfect, but much higher than most players.
These scores highlight your relative strengths and weakness, so the real
value is knowing what to focus on first. For example, if a player has an
A-A Need Type after taking the TMBC, they are advised to focus on actions
(A) to improve attention control (A). Even players at the very top will
find ways to improve their game with the TMBC. The demands of strong
mind-body skills stay the same regardless of level.

Can a player with bad fundamentals and or apparent stroke weaknesses ever
become mentally tough, in other words, since tennis is 70-90% mental can
someone bypass the physical aspect and become mentally proficient in the
game?
It obviously helps a lot to have sound physical fundamentals. For example,
to perform imagery correctly and set appropriate goals, you need to
understand and experience what the image or goal is precisely. On the
other hand, many mind-body skills like confidence, energy control, and
attention control can be mastered without knowledge of a semi-western grip
or footwork on the approach shot. A beginner can still learn to be
extremely proficient in the mental arena. They need extra patience because
their technical skills and lack of experience will occupy a lot of
attention. Refinement in mental areas rarely overcome serious stroke
problems unless the opponent is also deficient in strokes. Tennis is
70-99% mental given relatively equal levels of competition. This is
usually the case when two players take the court. Beginners play
beginners and pros play pros. At the lower levels, however, there is going
to be much greater variability in performance.

There are some things that some people cannot do or will have a very hard
time attempting to perform, example, not all of us can play the piano or
be a circus performer, is tennis different, can anyone and everybody play
tennis?
Almost anyone can play tennis if they are interested and physically
capable. The level they achieve, however, varies depending on nature and
nurture. I would say that high level players are both born and made. Both
genetics and environment are both essential, and early learning shapes
brain development too, such that those who start very young have a great
advantage. Still, most of the population can enjoy a solid game of tennis
with the proper opportunity and health.

How and where can the readers purchase "Smart Tennis"?
Your local bookstore (Barnes & Noble, Borders etc..) should have it. If
not, ask them to re-order. Or if you'd like to get a copy at an online
bookstore discount, go to the Smart Tennis Book Page at:
http://www.smarttennis.com

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