Whether you are competing in a doubles or singles tennis tournament, it is important to begin mental and physical preparation well before your competition day. Eliminate distractions that will take your focus away from the competition and work on your skills with a coach or friend.  Identify your weaknesses and search online for drills that will help turn these weaknesses into strengths before the tournament. Work on your volleying, footwork, and stamina in the weeks before your competition. Give your body time to digest and store your food as energy by eating a vegetable, fruit, and carbohydrate-based meal well before the competition. Bring snacks, like fruit, a small lunch, and plenty of your own water or sports drinks if you are playing more than one match in a day. Good meal options before a tennis tournament include a banana with oatmeal, a fruit smoothie containing strawberries and bananas with a protein supplement, or a whole grain piece of toast topped with jam and an assortment of nuts. A week before the tournament, assess what gear you do not already have. Consider purchasing new gear, like a racquet or tennis shoes, if what you have is worn out or old. Assemble your gear, including comfortable clothes, tennis shoes, and a racquet, and place them in a bag so that you won’t forget anything.  Tennis clothing should fit comfortably and be breathable to limit sweating. Cotton shirts will keep you cool if it is hot out, and provide warmth if you are playing in the cold.  Tennis shorts can be purchased at any sporting goods store and are specific to the sport, preventing the buildup of moisture while looking professional. Headbands and wristbands are important to keep sweat out of your eyes and off of your hands while playing.  Proper tennis shoes are an important investment and should always be worn with moisture resistant sports socks. Bring a towel to wipe the sweat from your face and arms in between play. If the tournament does not supply tennis balls, bring your own for the match and for warming up. Before your first match, it is important to warm up properly to avoid injury and prepare your body for the competition. Go for a five minute jog before your match to loosen your muscles and increase your heart rate. Stretch your major muscles groups, like your quads and back muscles, before the match to increase flexibility and help avoid injury. Practice static stretching of all your major muscle groups, including your quads, hamstrings, upper and lower back, and chest muscles for five minutes after a cardio warmup. It is easy to get nervous on the day of a tennis tournament, but nerves will only get in the way of you winning. Picture yourself winning the tennis match, going through each set and seeing yourself succeed. This visualization will calm your nerves and help you stay confident in the moments before the match starts. In the days leading up to your match, visualize your success before falling asleep and before practice to get used to this kind of thinking.

Summary: Start practicing two weeks before the tournament. Eat a balanced meal two hours before the competition. Bring all the necessary tennis gear to the match. Arrive at least thirty minutes early to warm up. Visualize your success to calm yourself.


Depending on what you're high on, you'll want to use caffeine appropriately. This is important, because if you don't use it appropriately, you could undermine your attempts to put yourself in a better position to study.  The best thing you can do to get rid of that nasty grogginess brought upon by marijuana is to get energy. To do this, drink some coffee or a 5-hour energy. If you're amped up or wired from another drug, avoid caffeine at all costs. It'll simply reinforce the high that you're trying to fight. Be aware that caffeine doesn’t necessary cancel out a marijuana high, and it may actually make you feel higher than before. As a result, only use caffeine if you know how it affects your body and yourself when you are high. Many drug users know that food can often help bring you down. This is because when you eat something, your body will start to metabolize that food, which will help your body breakdown and metabolize any chemicals that might be making you high. However, when taking this approach consider:  Don’t eat too much. You don’t want to get overly full and then feel sleepy from that. Don’t eat too many carbs or sugar. Carbs and sugar might pep you up right away, but after a short while you’ll wind up crashing and you’ll be groggy and muddled again. Avoid eating only meat. Eating only meat, depending on the meat, might make you groggy again. Eat a well-balanced snack that includes vegetables, fruits, some carbs, and protein. If you're high on an upper, it might hurt your appetite. Try to overcome this by eating something. Chances are, it'll help. Drinking lots of water and other non-alcoholic liquids will help you sober up a bit so you can do some work. Hydrating yourself works for a number of reasons:  Like with eating food, drinking liquids will help get your juices flowing and your metabolism pumping. This will help your body move THC and/or other chemicals out of your system and help you to become more alert. Hydrating yourself helps in detox in the long run. Consider drinking liquids that are rich in vitamins like vitamin C, D, or B-12. These vitamins will help wake you up and make your more alert.

Summary: Use caffeine appropriately. Have a snack. Hydrate yourself.


If you try to stay out of trouble but can't stop your behavior no matter what you do, it could be because of circumstances in your life or a medical condition like ADHD. Talk to an understanding adult that can help with things going on in your life. Explain your emotions to them so that people can get a better understanding of who you are as a person. You can also ask an adult about the right strategies to use when talking to teachers or authority figures. You may enjoy the attention that you get from your classmates when you get in trouble, but you are the one that has to face the punishment for your actions. Try to find other ways to be popular in school, like being good at sports or art. Always think about the potential repercussions of your actions before you do them. More than thinking about the punishment you may get for your actions, think about how they will affect other people's lives. Be compassionate for other people, and always think about how your actions will affect you and others.  For instance, if you feel like trashing the lunchroom or leaving packets of ketchup on the floor, think about the person who has to clean it up and how it makes their day harder. If you bully other people and make them feel bad about themselves, try to think about how it would make you feel if someone targeted you in the same way. Sometimes you may feel like you don't have a choice with who we are friends with, but you do. If you have friends who are always getting into trouble and getting you in trouble, you need to stand up against them. Either let them know that you're tired of risking it and getting in trouble, or tell them that you can't hang out with them anymore. Doing this should cut down on how often you're getting into trouble.
Summary: Talk to your parents or trusted adult about your issues. Stop trying to impress classmates with bad behavior. Think before you act. Don't hang out with people who get you into trouble.