The Thalamus

The thalamus is a meaty organ in the center of the brain that coordinates and networks all of the sensory and motor signals the brain processes..... Who cares!? Well, you should, but for one reason only. The thalamus is the seat of co-ordinated activity - like tennis strokes. It is where you remember how to hit a forehand and the part of the brain that you use to bring your racket (under your control) and the moving ball (not under your control) together. It is responsible for footwork, hand-eye coordination and the sequencing of events that leads to power and control in tennis. It is a wonderfully simple organ - sitting at the pinnacle of our developmental worm brain - that processes sensory information and reacts appropriately. In the animals it is how birds fly, fish swim and worms wriggle. It is fast, connected to everything, and can store and playback very complex movements. It is affirmative and all " let's go, go, go!", which is why evolution provided us with a big, fat cerebral cortex to ride herd over it. The cortex is all "...no thank you very much!" And it is there to prevent the thalamus from acting rashly. It likes to think about things for a while then plan its response before it lets the thalamus loose. That is great for dealing with campfires and spinning knives but stinks for tennis, where one must respond to complex situations in milliseconds with intricate and coordinated sets of motions (strokes, footwork, etc.) When you train in tennis, you are training your thalamus, not your cortex. The worst thing, therefore, you can do in tennis is let your cortex take over; "Should I breathe in or out on the backswing?" I would love to tell you that all you have to do is to stop thinking, but I can't, because there are many sneaky psychological mechanisms by which the cortex can take over, and the thalamus ignored.

The Ego versus the Thalamus

It is the ego that uniquely human personality trait that can insinuate itself between your thalamus and victory. The ego lives in the cortex of the brain, and its principal purpose is self-preservation. It has lots of beneficial functions, including impulse control and anger management, but neither the ego nor its henchman the cortex, know anything about hitting a tennis ball. You store all of that knowledge in the thalamus. For its part, the thalamus knows nothing about avoiding humiliation or savoring victory; those considerations are the purview of the ego. Effective tennis performance only happens when you act exclusively from the thalamus, essentially banishing your ego to the stands. Once banished, the ego can no longer distract your thalamus with helpful suggestions such as "Hit softer, stupid!" The ego is not qualified to provide coaching, psychotherapy or advise on strategy. Putting and keeping the thalamus in complete control of your tennis game is how you make a home in the Zone.