The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Question: Why is it hard for some athletes to make changes?
Frank: Let’s take another look into personality profiles. People with a sensate judging (SJ) dominate brain type are actually wired to be safe. In their mind, being safe provides a sense of security. For them conformity is comfortable. Standardization is key. To these SJ personalities, change is uncertain and therefore feared.
Others personality types, especially intuitive perceivers (NP), are wired to trust their natural inquisitive instincts and be more risk takers. These NP personalities are future oriented and boldly see the world as something to conquer. It’s in their DNA (nature.) These inborn characteristics are called genetic predisposition.
A person’s ultimate belief system is a result of both their genetic predisposition (nature) and their life experiences (nurture) -such as upbringing, surroundings and parental views. Humans naturally protect their beliefs, some way more than others.
When confronted by different ideas or opinions a chemical reaction triggers a response. To the SJ personalities, this new idea may be viewed as a threat because it hasn’t been analyzed yet, so avoiding it is often normal.
When new techniques are presented to these folks they are often uncomfortable simply because the information is different. The new method clashes with the old comfortable method so the new method is disregarded as wrong.
“Sometimes the new way is actually the right way…but it feels wrong to the SJ athlete coach and/or parent.”
In seeking change, consider your athlete’s brain type and body type. For example, asking a fine motor skilled dominant body type player to change their foot work, core balance and stability is going to be much more difficult than asking a gross motor skilled dominant player to do the same task.
“Motivate your athlete to accept change. Although change can be difficult, by refusing to change and grow … you will likely be left behind.”
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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