MACH 4 is a straightforward system for use in life both on the tennis court and off. This system teaches that it’s absolutely critical to emphasize what your student, child, co-worker, or other significant people in your life are doing well, instead of focusing on weaknesses, in order to help achieve high confidence and a general enjoyment of life. MACH 4 contains hands on, user friendly tools in four target areas to improve your tennis and more. In tennis, I was immediately able to implement the mental guidelines, body language tips, specific cueing language, and intensity concepts with great success in my own personal tennis game and with the students that I instruct. I can easily see how MACH 4 could be adapted to every profession with great success. While attending pilot training in the US Air Force, I quickly realized there were enormous mental aspects involved in learning to fly in a fast-paced and extremely stressful environment. To help deal with these issues, I re-read Dr. Jim Loehr’s book Mental Tennis. When I later became an instructor pilot, I passed on many of these concepts to my students in the T-3 and found they served them as well as they did me. If I were doing it all over today, MACH 4 would be the book I would refer to for help over all others! After reading the book, I immediately shared the information with fellow pilots who found the concepts extremely useful and vital to their flying profession. I’m also excited to adapt the principles of MACH 4 to help the USAF Academy cadets that I sponsor in their careers as college students, military officers, and flying. Whether you’re a tennis player, parent, teacher, or pilot, MACH 4 will work for you! It will strengthen your tennis game and positively influence those around you! A big thanks is owed to Anne Smith and Bev Raws for creating the MACH 4 Mental Training System and relaying the information in an entertaining and easy to understand format. I can envision MACH 4 spearheading a new positive trend in coaching. It’s that powerfulI!
Grand Slam – Coach Your Mind To Win In Sports, Business, and Life is an inspiring and brilliant book relating effective strategies for winning — winning the emotional choices that we make in our lives, both on and off the tennis court. Grand Slam made me excited about life and motivated me with specific tools and concepts to be the best parent, spouse, coach that I can be. Anne relays real world personal stories and examples to drive home her points in an honest, easy to read, relatable delivery. Anne has dealt with real tragedy in her life and has keen insights on moving forward with a positive approach to life. This book is a true gem!
Kim Davis
Former Division 1 Head Women’s Tennis Coach at United States Air Force Academy
Colorado Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, 1996
2002 USPTA Intermountain Professional of the Year
Author of The Tennis Activity Book
Co-Chair USPTA National Women’s Committee
Foothills Swim and Racquet Club Director of Tennis (6 Years)
Currently a Head Professional for the Pikes Peak Community Tennis
Association (USTA’s 2004 Tennis Association of the Year and the 2005 Organization of the Year)
USAF Academy 1988 graduate
KC-135Pilot and Aircraft Commander
T-3 Instructor Pilot
Decorated veteran of Desert Storm and Bosnian conflicts
Spouse, mother of two girls ages 4 and 7
Dr. Anne Smith did a superior job coaching my daughter Danielle Morse. She
turned her game around on every angle from the mental to the how to win on the court.
The instruction that she received under Anne Smith was unsurpassed and even the press
noticed the power not only in her forehand but in her mind. She was recruited
to play Division I college tennis singles and continues to apply what Anne taught. She
is looking forward to working with her again.
Judith Morse
Conductor, Edison Symphony
Conductor, 2006 Clay Aiken Symphonic Christmas Concerts
www.edisonsymphony.com
In tennis, we all know the importance of the mental aspect of the game. Yet we never seem to always pay enough attention to it. As a professional tennis player there were moments when the game gave me a hard time and I always knew that I would be able to count on Dr. Anne Smith. She always had the time to listen to me and help me at various aspects of my game. To me, MACH 4 proved to be a great tool in shaping my game. I learned about controlling the level of intensity during practices as well as during matches, I have also learned about vulnerable moments when a player is more likely to give away free points as well as confidence issues. But probably one of the most valuable lessons I have learned from Anne was to appreciate my wins more and not being so hard on myself whenever I am not happy about my performance.
Anda Perianu
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Singles Ranking #159
2006 WTT Boston Lobsters
It is unbelievable what you can achieve in your tennis game and in life by just controlling your thoughts and having positive mental imagery in whatever you are doing. Dr. Anne Smith has hit the nail on the head with her MACH 4 Mental Training System. I’m a mother of two who works as a software engineer during the day and who loves to play tennis at night. I’m blessed with a family who supports my tennis passion enough that I can play two to three times a week. A couple of months ago I developed a case of tennis elbow which really started hampering my tennis game. A big part of my doubles game is my serve and net play. Because of my elbow I really lost confidence in my game and was losing matches that I used to win. I attended a seminar given by Dr. Anne Smith where she talked about her Mach 4 Mental Training system where we should have a positive attitude no matter what is happening, use an intensity level of 3 to 4 during matches and use mental cues to stay focused. I asked her how I should handle my body letting me down such as my elbow had and she said that I should just make up my mind that I would need to play at a 2 to 3 level intensity instead of 3 to 4 and don’t let it bother me. I used that advice and also came up with a mental cue of “15 to 20” to remind me that I only need to stay focused for 15 to 20 seconds during a point and I went on run of 11 wins and no losses even with my hurt elbow. Staying positive and focused and not letting noise get into my head really worked! I even started noticing other player’s body language where they were getting down on themselves and then I knew I had them. I also had an on-court session with Anne a few weeks ago and her positive training methods took the pressure off us as we were learning. I have used her message of always moving forward and the “Meatball” and “Bop” shots successfully in my matches.
I not only use Mach 4 in tennis but I have also applied Mach 4 at work since I’ve been promoted to a global system architect. As all of us know, each time you get promoted you have to start over proving yourself in your new job and now I’m proving myself at a global level so it is very important to stay positive and confident no matter what life throws at you.
I highly recommend Anne’s books “Mach 4 Mental Training System” and “Grand Slam Coach Your Mind to Win In Sports, Business and Life”. Anne you are awesome and your Mach 4 philosophy is another piece to the puzzle of life that I truly appreciate you sharing with us all. I’m indeed inspired by your ability to start up your professional tennis career again at the age of 46!
Jennifer O’Connell
Married 25 years and mother of 15 year daughter and 12 year old son
Member of USTA 3.5 team
Member of Arizona Tennis Association 4.0 team
Senior Principal Software Engineer at Honeywell
In life, every now and then you get the chance to experience one clarifying moment, one occurrence, that tells you that someone has had an influence in your life. With my gratitude, please let me tell you of such a moment. I hope you are truly aware that I will always greatly value the insights and efforts you put into coaching and training me and other members of the BAC Men’s team over the last 2 years. From the very start, it was clear that you worked diligently to find a way to connect with each individual in a manner
that worked best for them, rather than a “one-size-fits-all” model. I believe it was during only the 3rd clinic with you when you began to reference my martial arts training (2nd degree Black Belt), especially the posture, alertness and aggressive focus inherent in all the Martial Arts disciplines. Time after time, you found a way to directly link a tennis action to my Uechi-ryu training in a way that I could apply on the courts. In one specific tennis doubles situation… being at net as the opponent prepares to smash an overhead through your sternum, I was repeatedly advised to react as though I were in the dojo facing an opponent’s attack…aggressively “sit down”, knees flexed, back straight, racquet in “the ready position” (another Martial Arts phrase), clear my mind and push forward.
Last weekend, I was playing an A1 doubles match with Walter Carl as my partner. We had lost the first set 7-5 after being down 5-0. It was 4-4 in the second set, Walter’s serve, and we were down 30-40. Walter served, a strong return came back at Walter and he could only hit a weak lob, not quite to the service line of my opponent diagonally across from me. (Anne, I swear this is exactly what happened!). As my opponent positioned under the shot, a voice in my head YELLED at me, “Anne says to “sit down!”). Without hesitation, I assumed the proper “martial arts” position of strength, focused on the ball, hopped as he made contact and cleanly returned his smash at my knees. He drove my dig right back at me and without conscious thought, I was again in the “ready” position and volleyed for a clean winner! I started laughing, turned to Walter and said “Anne just told me to get ready!” and he understood. On the very next point (a deuce point to decide the game), Walter served, the opponent slammed a return at my navel and in the same strong stance, I crisply hit the put-away volley up the middle for us to hold serve. We broke them the next game and as time expired, won the deuce point in the third set which determined the winner of the match. That moment proved to be an epiphany. Your teaching has become a part of my game. I have never felt so quietly proud and confident that I will improve my net game. Your individually-focused work with me, finding a special connection between the known (confidence when facing an adversary as learned through the martial arts) and the “as yet to be known” (confidence at the net, also facing an adversary) has produced a breakthrough for me that I truly never thought would happen. I will always be in your debt and will miss you greatly.
My sincere thanks and my best wishes for your success and happiness.
Rex Nowell
SVP/Director, Sales and Marketing
Decision Economics Inc
Anne, I wanted you to know that your advice helped me to win 2 of my 3 singles matches during the MAAC tournament. It was a big achievement for me, they were 2 of the top seeded teams and very very close matches. I won the first one against Niagra, who took second in the tournament (in a 2 set match). I just wanted to let you know that your advice still helps me in matches. Also, I am the new captain for Rider tennis next year. Thanks again for everything, I really appreciate it.
Danielle Morse
Junior, Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ
Captain, Womens Tennis Team
First of all, I wanted to thank you for the wonderful clinic at Silver Spring CC on June 30th. I was so excited that Greg wanted me to be a part of it and feel very lucky to have been able to learn so much from
both of you in such a short period of time. I left there thinking that I had just had one of?those “once-in-a-lifetime experiences” that changed the way I think both on and off the court. Again, many many thanks for that!!
Secondly, I wanted to tell you about incorporating the “bop” cue in an adult clinic I had a few days later. Several of the women were complaining about playing lobbers in a recent USTA league match and wanted to know what I thought about defending against the lob. I immediately began to tell them what I had learned at your clinic – that they needed to maintain control of the net while still making an effective return of the lob. I explained the bop – how to hit it, how it worked, what their positioning should be on the court – then had them practice it for several minutes. We then set up doubles points with the lob and the bop response and they couldn’t believe how well it worked!!! They could defend against almost every lob while still maintaining their strong position at the net – it was an “ah-hah” moment for them (I got goose bumps!!)
I will continue to incorporate what I learned from you personally that day & in all of my clinics. I am looking forward to raising the level of my teaching, as well as my own play!
FYI – Michelle Wright and I had a successful?week at the National 40’s on grass at Forest Hills. Michelle placed 3rd in the singles and we placed 4th in the doubles. With our new-found positive attitude, and
not beating ourselves up when we made a mistake, we had a tremendous match on court #1 in front of 100 people (very very nerve-wracking at first!!!!) and?almost pulled it off, losing 6-4 7-5. But being able to
say, after the match, that we played great and we gave it everything we had while we were out there, felt sooooo good!! No more looking back at what-if’s and missed opportunities.
Amy Read
Tennis Professional
Four Seasons Racquet Club, Wilton, CT
I’m writing to give you some feedback regarding all we talked about at the event in CT a few weeks ago. I keep remembering everything I heard from you and it’s been helping me. I haven’t been teaching all that much this summer so I don’t really have a lot to talk about in that regard but I’ve been playing tournaments and that’s where I’ve been trying to use what I’ve learned from you. I tend to get quite nervous when I play but I’ve been trying to relax and not be my own worst enemy. Just to give you an example, I have to admit that for the first few minutes I was on the same court as you, Anne, I had butterflies in my stomach just thinking about everything you’ve accomplished. I remember not being able to hit a ball during those first minutes until I managed to relax because of what you were saying.
Anyway, ever since that event I’ve played a number of USTA matches and two tournaments (the 40s Eastern Sectional and the 40s Grass Court National). I have to say that I pulled two big wins in those events because I kept hearing your voices: “there are no easy shots in tennis”, “focus more on the good shots you hit instead of on your misses”, “look confident, even if you don’t feel that confident” and so on. At the sectional, I beat someone whom I truly believed (before I got on the court) would beat me. It was ridiculously hot and humid but after losing the first set, I managed to relax and regroup and take the match 2/6 6/0 6/4. I kept telling myself to stay focused on what I was doing right. In the finals I succumbed to the heat, a number of blisters on my feet and a very tough (mentally tough) opponent.
At the National, this year the draws were small but with quality players. I had a great first round match but a not so great semis. I guess I’m still struggling using all of these things I heard from you consistently. When I was playing for the bronze ball, I played against a grass court player (which I’m really not) and I had a great start jumping to a 5/2 lead. She then stepped it up a notch or two. I had a couple of set points at 5/3 and at 5/6 but she kept coming back. I served at 0/40 when we were tied at 5 but managed to win the game. I had a 6/3 lead in the tiebreak and again she stepped it up. I finally took the set 7/5 in the breaker. The important thing was that I never lost my focus no matter what the score was (concentration has always been an issue for me in the past.) I took advantage of the fact that I got her a bit tired during that first set and pretty much breezed through the second. Not too long ago I would have thought “I won a bronze ball but there were only eight people in the draw so it wasn’t that great”. But now I’m thinking “there were eight people but they were quality players and I did great”. I’m learning how to “accept the accolades”.
A funny thing happened when Amy and I were about to play our doubles match for third at the National. I was so nervous when they told me we were going to play on court 1, I thought I was going to hyperventilate. I couldn’t hit the side of a barn for the first few warm up shots but then I told myself to look confident and play with a positive attitude and I started to relax and focus on the match. We lost but it was a hard fought 6/4 7/5 match against two very fine players and we played well and gave it 100%.
I really feel like I’m having a different approach on the court. If I play a number of matches in a row like I played during my victory for bronze, I’ll have better results and more fun. That’s what I’m aiming for.
In addition, the other night, after a USTA match, Amy and I were talking to some of our teammates about MACH-4 and they were loving all of it. When we talked about LOCK & LOAD, they got so excited that they said we should change our team name to LOCK & LOAD. Anyway, we were telling them how much it has helped us when we’re playing matches and how we even communicate a little differently (and better) on the court now. During another USTA match we had a couple of weeks ago, I was really feeling my shoulder (one of 4 bad injuries I have – unfortunately, I’ve always had an injury-prone body) and Amy kept talking to me to reduce my intensity level when I was hitting, to try to focus on something else etc and we finished (and won) the match thanks to her talking me through it but towards the end I really thought I was going to pass out I was in so much pain. To be honest, I don’t think I would have managed to keep going if I were playing singles that day. What got me through that match was Amy reminding me of MACH-4 and just being a great partner. And that’s one of the reasons we’re a good team!!
Michelle Wright
Tennis Professional
Four Seasons Racquet Club, Wilton, CT
As parents of two young junior players, for several years we were very frustrated with what we perceived to be a very results oriented, win-at-all-costs, high pressure, negative approach utilized by many coaches and parents. After our children started playing with Dr. Anne Smith, tennis became fun again. Her positive Mach 4 method, focusing on what her students do well, gave our children a renewed sense of confidence and excitement for the game. Her cues simplified important concepts, and dramatically improved their play. The materials which Anne provided to the kids were also very valuable, as they were able to gain an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, and express their game strategy in a memorable way. With such a great environment, it allowed us as parents to step back and let the coaches coach, so that we could just enjoy watching the kids play. We would highly recommend Dr. Smith to anyone interested in improving their game while enjoying the process.
Ari and Tatiana Ramras
Phoenix, AZ
