Voice of the Athlete: Claire Carter
We had the opportunity to interview Claire Carter, who has 30 years of high-level playing and coaching experience. She is a 4-time All-American at the University of Washington. GO UW Huskies! She had a full-ride athletic scholarship, coached women at the UW, and has been a professional coach for college-bound players, rec players, kids, and beginners in Northern California at Bay Club Redwood Shores for over a decade.
We present to you the Voice of the Athlete: Claire Carter.
Claire was instrumental in helping me with my foundation when I started playing tennis. Many people have commended me on my strokes and technique. That is all attributable to Claire insisting that I execute each stroke the "correct" way. Playing tennis collegiately was always a goal of mine when I started playing tennis at the age of 10. Claire inspired me to achieve that goal by always encouraging me and giving me a solid foundation from which I could build and grow my game.
Question: How did you get started in tennis?
Voice of the Athlete: My parents bought some plastic rackets while on a camping vacation. I hit the sponge foam ball in between the tents & absolutely loved it!
Question: What is your favorite thing about playing tennis and how has it helped you outside of your sport?
Voice of the Athlete: It’s hard to answer what my favorite thing about tennis is. I love how it feels when you hit a great shot. I love hitting a variety of shots. It feels great getting a good sweat and meeting people from all around the world. Some of my closest friends are from playing tennis as a kid.
Tennis has helped me enormously off the court with resilience, bouncing back from disappointments, determination, competitiveness, staying calm, organization, and many more life skills.
Question: How did you stay focused under the pressure of competition?
Voice of the Athlete: Through experience and practice. Focusing on breathing and one point at a time.
Question: What was your biggest source of motivation on days you didn't feel like training?
I knew that quality over quantity was important. Also, keeping it fun to play games helped me a lot on tougher days.
Question: Have you ever experienced or seen someone having paralyzing fear at competition time and what did it look like?
Voice of the Athlete: Yes, I was an assistant coach in a D1 college. One of our walk-on players was struggling with her ball toss on her serve. During the match, she double-faulted over 20 times. She had paralyzing fear. And she was so upset. I was able to help her calm down during the change of ends through breathing. And making her laugh, which relaxed her. She came through for the win in the third set!
Question: How did you transition into coaching?
Voice of the Athlete: After playing 4 years in college, I was deciding whether to continue and play more professional tournaments, I had competed a lot and was a little burnt out. I had met my husband in college and didn't want to travel all over the world, I loved tennis, and I wanted to continue with the sport, so coaching was the best option for me. I was very lucky to have such amazing coaches as a player. And I learned a lot from them.
Question: How did you mentally prepare before a competition, and how do you coach your players for their mental preparation?
Voice of the Athlete: I did a lot of visualization on how I wanted to play. When I was younger, I had notecards with reminders that I would look at during change of ends. They had tips such as "Stay Positive," "Take Your Time," "Explosive Footwork," and "One Point at a Time." These are all tips I give to my players.
Learn more about how athletes can use keywords as triggers to activate confidence and focus in our book:
Maximum Composure: Dominate Emotions with the Adaptive Mindset System: https://www.MaximumComposure.com
Question: What's the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Voice of the Athlete: That's a tough one! Take care of the small things, and the big picture will take care of itself.
Question: Who are your role models, and how do they inspire you?
Voice of the Athlete: I love watching Roger play. He inspires me. My dad always encouraged me to keep learning.
Claire is an ambassador for Racket Pets. Racket Pets are the first dampener and overgrip set that brings a tennis racket to life by turning the racket into an adorable Racket Pet! Check it out: https://racketpets.com/pages/ambassador
Question: How did you become an ambassador for Racket Pets? It seems like such a fun project.
Voice of the Athlete: I met Maria through social media. She has a great company, and I enjoy helping her. Her animal dampeners and grips are so creative and fun for kids or adults.
Question: What legacy do you want to leave as an athlete for the next generation of athletes?
Voice of the Athlete: Work hard and have fun. Every day you can improve yourself to be better, whether it is on or off the court.
Voice of the Athlete: Claire Carter
Takeaway #1: When she was younger, she used to prepare notecards with keywords so she could look at them during change of ends in a match. Her keywords were "Stay Positive," "Take Your Time," "Explosive Footwork," and "One Point at a Time." These are all tips she gives to all her players.
Takeaway #2: Tennis has helped her enormously off the court with resilience, bouncing back from disappointments, determination, competitiveness, staying calm, and organization.
Takeaway #3: The best piece of advice she ever received was, "Take care of the small things, and the big picture will take care of itself."
Thank you, Claire Carter, for being the Voice of the Athlete and sharing your journey as an elite tennis player and coach.
Follow Claire @clairecartertennis
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Question for you: If you created your own Racket Pet, what would it be?