The following quote is an excerpt from Raising Athletic Royalty. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
“LIST YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. THEN ORGANIZE PLAYS AND PATTERNS TO EXPOSE YOUR STRENGTHS WHILE HIDING YOUR WEAKNESSES.”
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The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
The Pain Principle
Overlooking the pain principle as it relates to tennis growth is a very common mistake.
Remember the old saying? “If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.” Players hit common walls in their development. One of those walls is resisting change.
If your child views change, as more painful than losing, they’ll continue in the same losing path. It’s so painful for some to change a flawed grip, stroke or stance; they’d rather accept the pain of losing than deal with changing.
Great things begin to happen when the pain of losing starts to be more powerful than the pain of changing. Once they accept the fact that a change has to be made, they are on their way to the next level. This is where great parenting comes in.
The cycle of change is a three step process:
NOTE: At stage 2, the pain of being uncomfortable often pulls them back to their old strokes.
Placing your youngster into a competitive situation before the three phases are complete may destroy their new motor program and the old strokes will surely return. The result is wasted time, energy and money. As a parent, be sure your player and coach are on the same page with the necessary changes. Thanks for visiting, Frank
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
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The following post is an excerpt from the Player, Parent and Coach Summit in New Zealand conducted with Craig Bell. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.
Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Top Ten Tools Needed to Attain Tennis Excellence
The mental and emotional strength of being a fierce competitor and a respectful human being is a learned behavior. Building mental and emotional muscle takes time and effort.
The way you think and feel effects how you perform. Rafa Nadal is a prime example of player that has built mental and emotional strength through hard work.
If your player truly believes in his or her game as a result of proper training and hard work he or she is bound for greatness.
No one can outperform their self-image. Due to their discipline, athletes like Rafa, have inner strength and inner excellence. They truly believe in themselves and their abilities because they’ve earned the belief.
Top Ten Tools Needed to Attain Tennis Excellence:
For more information read The Tennis Parent’s Bible– hundreds of hours of lessons for less than a half hour lesson!
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Another Holiday Spent on the Tennis Court?
How many times have you had to defend not being at a holiday celebration because of a tennis tournament?
Many non –high performance family members and/or friends do not get it? And that is okay, but when parents put regular social life events first, their child’s tennis progress can be delayed. It is very important for the family to decide on their comfortable level of commitment to tennis.
It is not fair to expect the child to perform at peak performance if the parents are not making a 100% commitment. For example: sending your child to the Spring Nationals the week after returning from a family vacation, away from homework, tennis and work, and expecting success.
High level tennis requires proper preparation. There is a time and place for tennis breaks. It should be joint decision. Preparing for a tennis tournament is twofold.
Hours before a match, Nadal morphs into a different personality. Chris Evert said she wouldn’t even call a friend before a match in fear that it may break her concentration. Before each concert, Tom Petty sits quietly alone with his acoustic guitar visualizing and preparing for that night’s concert. Michael Phelps even swam on Christmas Day-practice always came first.
Preparing mind, body and soul before a match is a learned behavior. Allowing your son to go wrestle in the grass with the other kids before a big match isn’t in his best interest. Allowing your daughter to text 39 friends then fight with her boyfriend hours before a big match isn’t in her best interest.
Knowing how and when to turn on the competitor within is critical. Assist your child in finding their own unique game day rituals. After the match is complete, your child can leave it all behind with no regrets.
SPECIAL NOTE: Attending tennis tournaments can be very memorable. I would always make a special effort to travel and visit local tourist sites or plan special dinners when my daughter was on the tennis trail. To this day, my family has very fond memories of our tennis travels. Many of our tennis memories will outlast another holiday sit down dinner. Enjoy the journey!
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
Maximizingtennispotential.com
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The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s New Zealand’s Player/Parent/Coach Summit. Thank you for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
The following post is an excerpt of The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thank you for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
How do you push your child gently?
Frequently, parents get fixated on what our junior “world beater” is doing wrong, what they need to change, need to learn or need to improve! Because we are so focused on our child’s success, we often become preoccupied with only seeing their faults.
Focus on putting a positive spin in your approach as you gently guide your child through the “wars” of junior tennis.
Here are three ways you can apply your positive influence:
To summarize, replace criticisms with a more positive approach. Hard work doesn’t have to be a painful, drudgery. Yes, tennis is hard. Yes, it is a “dog-eat-dog world”, but it doesn’t have to be negative.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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The following post is a YouTube from a New Zealand Player/Parent/Coach Summit that Frank Giampaolo conducted with Craig Bell.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.MaximixingTennisPotential.com
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The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thank you for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Anger on the Court?
On-court anger is very familiar to many. The ability to channel anger and improve performance is a skill many juniors have not fully developed. Most juniors displaying anger/emotional meltdowns on court are doing so because they have not properly prepared. Below are several reasons your that may help your child reduce anger fits on court. (For more detail: The Tennis Parent’s Bible)
Rehearse Successful Performance Goals Versus “I Have to Win” Goals:
Champions are performance orientated and not outcome orientated. After a match parents need to replace “Did you win?” with “How did you play?” In the 2009 Masters Doubles, one ATP team got 81 percent of their first serves in and capitalized on 3 out of 4 break points. Guess who won easily?
Tennis is Not Fair:
There are so many reasons why this game is not fair. Understanding these issues will reduce the stress some juniors place on themselves. For instance, luck of the draw, court surfaces, match location, weather (wind, sun, etc.), lucky let courts…Can you think of a few?
Everyone Gets the Same 24 Hours in a Day:
The difference is how they use it. I mentioned in a previous chapter that most juniors have an excess number of hours unaccounted for… I suggested getting a daily planner and discuss time management with your child. Assist them in organizing their on-court and off-court weekly schedule.
Managing Stress:
Experience tells us that if you are in a fight, take some time to clear your head. Get away or go for a brisk walk. Talk to your child about time management as it pertains to controlling the pace of the match. Winners often take bathroom breaks at critical times in a match, don’t they? Controlling the energy flow of the match is a super way to control the fire.
Champions Experience Failure:
Most tennis champions have probably lost way more matches than your child has lost. Ambitious people experience many failures. The majority of professionals lose every week- only one player can win the tournament. Does that mean most players are losers? Not a chance! Champions learn from their loses.
Never Outgrow Fun:
You often see top professionals battle and still smile in the course of a match. Stress and anger clutter your thought processes, which decreases your ability to perform.
Tennis is a Gift Not a Right:
Discuss how there are millions of great athletes that are the same age as your child that will never get the opportunity to compete at this level. Tennis isn’t fair, right? But has your child thought about how lucky they are to be able to play tennis and have a family that wants to support their passion?
Good Judgment Comes From Experience:
So where does experience come from? The funny answer is bad judgment. Talk to your child about how it is far less painful to learn from other peoples’ failures. After a loss, stay at the tournament site and chart a top seed. Analyze others’ success as well as pitfalls and learn how to avoid them.
Stay Aggressive through the Fear:
An old saying is “courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to carry on in spite of it.” Discuss how all too often we shift our style from “playing to win” to “playing not to lose.” Trust me folks, they are two very different mind sets.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
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