The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
BLUNDER: Being an Unaccountable Player
Let’s look briefly at a typical open ranked junior player’s schedule:
There are 168 hours in a week. Sleeping takes up roughly 56 hours, school and homework take up roughly 60 hours, high performance tennis training takes up 15-20 hours, add on travel and meals, and the average player is still left with approximately 25 hours unaccounted for.
Unaccountable players believe they don’t have enough time to train. But, if you are an organized and accountable player, you will see there is actually plenty of time to train!
CURE: Document your personal weekly demands (school, homework, sleep, travel time, on-court training, off-court training, etc.) and then organize a weekly schedule. Follow your plan for one whole week. Identify strengths and weakness in your plan and adjust your plan accordingly.
How much time do you have left after accounting for all your personal weekly demands? Are all your demands essential?
Ask Yourself?
Have you ever heard this quote? “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Are you scheduling training before and after school/work? Have you considered completing your off-court training before school/work? Top players find the time.
BLUNDER: Underestimating the Success Formula
Now that you have developed a weekly organized plan, let’s look long term: It is called the 10,000 hour rule. For approximately ten years, you should be spending 20 hours per week in tennis related activities to become a world-class player. Of course, quality of practice trumps simple quantity. Used as a guideline, the 10,000 hour rule applies to all fields of expertise. Try to use a weekly planner to organize your personal blue print for success.
CURE: Now that your new organizational weekly plan is complete, use your new weekly planner to map out your schedule for the next few months.
Ask Yourself?
How many hours are you dedicating to tennis each week? Is it close to the high performance level of 15-20 hours per week? Can your schedule be adjusted? Can you maintain this new schedule for a month?
Parents and coaches, check out Franks all new book: Raising Athletic Royalty.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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