On Expressions of Frustration

I've been thinking for some time about the various verbal and non-verbal expressions that a player makes on the court. I've tried to categorize them for your viewing enjoyment.

1) The Power Grunt. This is a player's mantra on the court for getting that extra oomph of power when making a shot. Sometimes these can be highly personalized and individual to one player. For instance, there was one kid that everyone called the "Hi-Yah Kid" because everytime he hit a shot, he screamed at the top of his lungs, "Hi-YAAH!" Sometimes the Power Grunt is uttered every shot, and sometimes it is just saved for that special occasion when you just need a little more octane in your step. I know I fall into the latter category, I do my little yell when I just need an extra burst, but don't do it every shot. This is possibly not really an expression of frustration, but I included it anyway, because it's probably the most common verbalization that players make. And also there's an argument that there is some frustration at not being able to move that extra inch unless the noise is made.

2) The Invocation to a Deity. In my limited experience, this has always been to the Judeo-Christian God. I have never heard anyone invoke the Buddha, or Allah, or any pagan tree god, or any other of the various and sundry deities one can ring up at the register. This consists of either asking for God's help, or requesting that God smite something or somebody. The purest form of the cry for help would be something like, "Why, God, why have you abandoned me in my moment of greatest need and can't you come to my rescue?" Or, as an example of the second option, "May the Lord strike down my opponent with fire and brimstone!" I have to admit that I've never heard either of the examples that I gave here and that they are quite extreme. But maybe that is why they are examples. Usually, the expression comes in it's purest form, just "GAWDDD!!!!" But there are lots of variations, including the mixing of the Invocation to a Deity with Option 3:

3) The Cuss Word. This you hear a lot. Some try to do the a) Sanitized Cuss Word, like "Darn!" or "Shoot!" These are popular in group lessons or among juniors when everybody knows that people shouldn't be offending sensitive ears. Then there's the b) Out-and-Out Cuss Word. We all know what those are. George Carlin gave us the basic ones, and of course, there's a few more and some variations on the basic theme. Then there's the c) Ear-Melting Performance Art Vulgarity in its Purest Form. Sometimes these receive The Stunned Look in response (and onlooker reactions are beyond the purview of this little essay, so I won't go into any more detail). Option 3c usually comes from those who are either exceptionally creative or gifted with linguistic ability, those who like provoking unbelieving reactions for shock value, or those who are really, really angry. Of course, as I said, options 2 and 3 mix well together to reach just the right touch of blasphemy and/or heresy to make any party complete.

4) The Primal Scream. This is usually frustration in its reptilian form expressed through a preverbal, yet vocalized, utterance. I once heard one that was almost ten seconds long. The vast majority of utterances of this type consist of an "A" sound in some form (usually a long "A"), with maybe an implied or expressed consonant or two thrown in. But really, it can be almost any primalized vocalization. This is probably one of the best ones at making the player feel better immediately after, but also one of the ones that gets the funniest looks. This is distinguished from option 1 in that it is uttered out of frustration, whereas option 1 is just directed at improving response.

5) The Self-Deprecating Verbal Humiliation. This is inwardly directed; the player expresses his frustration with his or her self. This can be mixed with options 2 or 3 as well to make a tasty verbal salad. Usually, it comes out as "Come ON [, your name here]" (I add the brackets because adding your name is optional). Or as, "HIT that shot, [once again adding your name is optional]". Or "What is WRONG with you?" (addressing one's self, but as if out of body). Anything similar where a player speaks to the self with deprecation counts. Sometimes the player will just state his or her own name, and nothing else, in a contemptuous tone.

6) The Witty Repartee. This is really the only one that is unambigously intended for your opponent's ears. It consists of making some joke about something you did, such as "Must be a hole in my racquet." Yuk, yuk. It is sometimes lightly frosted with option 5, or, less frequently, one of the other options.

7) The Cosmopolitan. This is one of the other options, only uttered in a foreign language. There can be some dispute over whether this one is intended for your opponent's ears, unlike option 6, which is clearly meant as two-way communication. Perhaps you want your opponent to hear how sophisticated and erudite you are. Or maybe you just yell something not necessarily directed at any audience, and it happens to be in a foreign language. I'll leave that dispute to the sociologists. As an example of a Cosmo, I often find myself saying, "Ay!" (sorry that I can't figure out how to do the upside-down exclamation point at the beginning in a fashion that will show up on all computers on all platforms) when I miss a shot. It's only a true Cosmo if it's not your native language. For example, if you are playing somebody from Turkey, and he utters a Turkish cuss word, it's not a Cosmo, but rather, option 3. However, if I were to utter a Turkish cuss word, that would be a marvelous Cosmo, worthy of opera-style light applause and accolades. Bravo.

8) The Miscellaneous Interjection. Something that just doesn't quite rise to fit into option 3 (not even 3a), and doesn't quite lower itself to option 4. Usually it is a verbalization of very light frustration. It should be an actual word of interjection to qualify for this category, but I could see that a minority opinion would allow in some grunts that aren't words because they don't fall into any of the other categories. This would be something like "Oh!" or "Aw!" as long as it was expressed out of frustration.

9) The Violent Action. This is just option 4 in action form, and the only one that has no verbal component, although it can be combined with any of the verbal ones to increase the dramatic effect. Instead of verbalizing reptilian frustration, the player carries out an action that demonstrates to all onlookers that anger is definitely present. This can consist of throwing the racquet, punching the fence, angrily throwing a ball, etc. In it's most extreme form, the action is carried out against the opponent or a spectator. This is most likely to lead to bad consequences, such as being kicked out of the event, or even jail time.

I've seen expressions of elation as well as frustration; maybe I'll talk about those later.