Coach, that’s not fair, my opponent is screaming after every rally! Okay, I got this from two points of view. First, the screamer; It is distracting to have an athlete yell after almost every rally when they hit a good shot. But this athlete is not thinking about anything but winning. This is so important to them they are leaving it all out there. They are not doing it to distract an opponent but to pump themselves up. If they see it does distract the opponent….oh well!
Now, the screamee; I get it. I have been there. I used to play a guy who not only roared after winning rallies but his wife would yell from the crowd things like, “oh Honey, what a great shot. Do it again!” If there was a controversial call she would yell, “cheaters never win.” To say this was distracting is putting it mildly. But here is the rub on all of this. I came to realize that the distraction was my fault, not anyone else’s. If I allowed myself to dwell on all of this it was my fault. I planned for it. I had my practice partner yell, stomp their feet if I had a setup, call me names, scream during rallies, and anything they could to distract me. That preparation really worked. The primal scream will not distract you if you execute shots. The scream is there for an opponent winning shots. They do not scream when you win shots.
Many people think this was in poor taste or poor sportsmanship. My advice, deal with it and learn from it.
Now if the yelling and screaming gets ridiculous, you do have a ref and a tournament director! Use both.
Or….
Win rallies and scream back! Or not-as you deem necessary. As Herm Edwards would say, “Hello, you play to win the game!”
Dwelling on the screaming makes you a victim. Doing something about it does not!