Kevin Durney

28/01/2024

When looking at performing with confidence preparation is often discussed but have you given a thought to recovery. For this discussion I turn to sport where you 1) physically and mentally warm up / prepare for the upcoming event, 2) compete in the event and 3) recover from the event which will have...

30/11/2023

How much time do you practice? And how much of that time is productive?

We have all heard the old saying, "practice makes perfect," which works for some but I prefer, "practice makes permanent." Setting your mind to practice is necessary to achieve greatness but I see a lot of athletes and musicians placing their focus on an incorrect measure, 'Time.' Setting a practice...

29/08/2023

Always remember why you started playing 😊

As a tennis professional tennis coach I work with a range of players and abilities and I often see the journey of the player a long time before they do. A question I often ask is, "why do you play tennis?" And the general response is, because it's fun :-) One response however worried me as a coach f...

11/05/2023

When it comes to performing in front of an audience a common sentence I hear is, "I don't like it." Now if you're in a profession that doesn't require you to give a presentation or performance, no problem. BUT if you are a performer, guest speaker, musician, etc, then having an audience would be see...

30/12/2022

When it comes to a task which may frustrate you, what would you do first?

I was working at my computer completing a lot of forms in a bid to buy a house. They (whoever this globally re cognised group of experts known as 'they' are) say that buying a house is one of life's great stressful events. While filling in one 36 page document it wouldn't let me proceed unless I ans...

07/05/2022

With exam time coming up I wanted to give my thoughts on ways to stay prepared and in control through what can be for some a challenging time.

It is that time of year where a lot of the juniors I work with are taking their exams and I thought I would write down some ideas that have helped me perform with confidence under exam conditions. 1) Self talk. Common phrases that I don't see as helpful are; 'I need to pass xyz' or 'if I don't get x...

18/04/2022

How do you use your time in the day?

Yesterday to me felt like a waste of a day, BUT sometimes it's needed. For me these days help me recharge and reflect and the question on my mind was am I using my time on this planet well? So I did a little awareness check and today I feel great, productive and energised. This is my process but ple...

22/03/2022

https://www.kevindurney.com/post/birds-fly-higher-than-me

A topic that has been raising its ugly head recently when individuals (or parents / friends) compare themselves to others. On my drive home I noticed the birds in the sky and I thought, they can fly higher than me. This seems an absurd comparison because we are a different species. An equally useles...

06/03/2022

An observation with performers recently opened my mind to what I would consider an impossible task. The discussion went like this, Me: If you make one mistake in a performance, it is still a good performance isn't it? Performer: No if I make a mistake it's trash. Me: So if you took an exam and made....

30/01/2022

A student of mine messaged me today and asked if I had any advice regarding an upcoming driving exam. Of course it helps to talk but I also put together this simple list. You have been put forward to take your test because you are ready. Prepare your morning routine. This could include; what time yo...

16/01/2022

A recent visit to a music school to discuss performing with confidence brought with it a look into what children are nervous about and what they feel they can do about it. A question that came up was, how do you feel when ... ? Now this led to lots of different feelings and emotions causing a variet...

31/08/2021

26/02/2021

I first came across this model when reading 'Perform under Pressure, by Dr Ceri Evans' who was influential in his work with Richie McCaw and the All Blacks. The reason I rate this model highly is it can be used in all walks of life, not just sport. I'll summarise with a little bit of background but....

04/01/2021

Before reading on I have a little task for you today. Take a few seconds and have a look at the image of my kitchen cupboard, what do you see? What do you zoom in on? And if you could take one thing from my cupboard what would it be? Ok, back to todays topic, reprogramming with subtle changes. In th...

28/12/2020

It is coming to that time of the year where one year closes (and what a challenging year it has been) and a new year begins. A time where we take stock and make unrealistic claims that next year is going to be great, you're going to give up bad habits on January the 1st and start a new regime of bec...

09/11/2020

Psychological detachment (big words) is defined by the ability to mentally disconnect (from work in our discussion). Or in simple terms, when you are not at work, can you move your thoughts away from; that email you could send quickly, or the phone call you could make? Switching off from work comes....

29/10/2020

I'm sure you'll all be aware if someone tells you, "don't panic" you are aware that this is a pretty useless statement as you are generally drawn to one word, "PANIC!" It would also be difficult if I said, "don't think about a giant purple gorilla on the Great British Bake off tackling a lemon drizz...

17/05/2020

One beautiful sunny Friday morning I was on court with 12 ladies team players who were in the middle of a set of tennis as I walked around and said the following; "That was a rubbish shot," "You haven't hit a good shot all morning," "I'm sorry, that was just awful," "You are probably the worst playe...