Identifying & Exploiting
An Opponent's Mental Weaknesses 

Many articles focus on how to win the essential inner battle by adding strengths to your own game (e.g., confidence, focus, positive self-talk.)  Remember that your opponent is also engaged in a continuous inner struggle. Being aware of your opponent’s inner strengths and weaknesses is as important as knowing whether their offensive or defensive skills are better. It requires sensitivity and smarts to analyze your opponent’s mental state, but this awareness allows you the ability to exploit mental weaknesses when you see them. Let’s look at three very common types of players and how to exploit them:

Some players are easily prone to getting down on themselves, complaining about line calls, criticizing the opponent, or even slamming the officials. They do not really enjoy volleyball the way they could, and their negativity can lead to your success. They may display negative body language, make frequent sarcastic comments or become easily angry.

Keys To Exploit: This is the easiest player of all to rattle because they are already engaged in a fierce battle against themselves! These players are easily distracted, so the key is to play very consistent volleyball while giving them as much to think about as humanly possible. Keep the ball in play, but give them many different looks. Mix up the types of serves and targets or vary your own game rhythm (sometimes walk back to the baseline slower, sometimes faster!). While giving them a lot to think about, stay extremely calm and focused yourself. By all means, never feel responsible for your opponent’s antics if they challenge you, and refuse to be pulled into their unhappy or intimidating struggle. You’ll usually find that this player self-destructs. Be courteous and go on to the next round!

Some players don’t understand that a volleyball game is just one single point repeated many times over. They want to finish you off quickly and get back to their busy lives. They may be stressed, anxious, or bored, or don’t really understand volleyball tactics, but don’t let this become your weakness too.

Keys To Exploit: Take care to monitor and control your own pace against these players. They want to rush you into submission, but are actually susceptible to major problems with attention and make impulsive decisions. Subject these players to your own self-determined style and pace. Try tips at the net, short serves, roll shots, quick attacks, triple blocks at times to see if they have the patience to adjust to these tactics. They will make many errors since they are rarely "in the moment." They fail to devote the care needed for each point. Master this player with your own precision and focus, and take the attitude that you’ll stay out on that court 4 hours if necessary!

The Boring Player

There is another type of player on the tennis court … the absolute bore. The dull player brings nothing exciting to the table, may wear drab clothing, or may lack attractive shots. Don’t be fooled! This player is very dangerous, especially if she keeps every ball in play. It is important to realize that these people have no desire to impress you, go quietly about their business, and often defeat you.

Keys To Exploit: Forget about being entertained and be careful not to fall asleep! The main thing to realize is that you are in a battle for your life. Volleyball requires a relatively low level of intensity, focus, and consistency, not always flash and creativity. These players don’t care what you think and often have a steady game. You might underestimate their real power because they do nothing except win. Even at the highest levels, the player with the fewest unforced errors often prevails. What the bore may lack, however, is imagination. They may stubbornly cling to predictable patterns of play and fail to adjust to change. To exploit this weakness, you’ll need a sharp memory to quickly assess their tendencies in a variety of situations. Once you’ve discovered this … you gain the edge. If they suddenly become animated and interesting, you’ll know you’ve got them!

Knowing that one individual's behavior or performance can effect a team's success, can help your team take advantage of  an opponent's mental weaknesses and possibly win a match.