Brain Jogging: Cognitive Abilities of Beginner Tennis Players

Abstract

Brain-based skills are needed to perform any task from the simple to the most complex, one of which is in sports activities such as tennis. The characteristics of tennis include open skills, namely sports in which players accept to react in a dynamically changing, unpredictable, and externally moving environment. These skills require cognitive abilities to set game strategies to trick and kill the ball in the opponent's area. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of brain jogging on improving the cognitive abilities of beginner tennis players aged 10-11 years. This study used an experimental method with a pretest-posttest-one-group design. The research instrument used was a memory test using the IST subtest (Instructional structural test) and an attention test using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST). The research sample was members of the junior tennis club in Tasikmalaya City, with a total model of 35 athletes. The results of this study prove that the brain jogging program can effectively improve athletes' cognitive abilities. This is because the brain jogging program presents games that require coordination, mental training, physical training, and visual training; this exercise can stimulate cells in the brain, directly affecting cognitive function. The limitation of this research lies in the media used in the training process that is not digital-based. So, as the following research develops, researchers try to apply the technology in the life kinetics training program.