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Gently Pushing Your Athlete

Posted on February 20, 2015 by in Tennis Parent Education, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt of The Tennis Parent’s Bible.  Thank you for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

The Tennis Parent's Bible by 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:

  1. Say 5 Positive comments for every Negative commentThe fact is many youngsters only hear their parent’s negative comments and ignore positive comments. It is important to acknowledge your child’s efforts to improve.
    SPECIAL NOTE: Here’s an eye opening or I should say “ear” opening trick. Place a recorder in your pocket. Record a few training sessions and self-chart your positive to negative remarks!
  2. Celebrate the Positive: Reinforce what you want to see more!The following is an example of this rule. Your son’s ball toss is still too high on his serve. Instead of saying “Come on Mike…You are still tossing too high…How many stinking times do I have to tell you!” say “Hey, this is great, your toss is a lot lower. I knew you could make this easy change! Keep working and you will see your consistency really grow!” The positive approach actually gets results as you keep your relationship from getting negative and jaded.
  3. Teach Gratitude: A more positive attitude will lead to more positive behavior.Assist your child in focusing on the good things about their life. Problems and difficulties will always be present. It is very important for your child to feel grateful about their life opportunities.
    FUN FACT: There is a world of difference between “I have to play tennis today” and “I get to play tennis today.”
    By showing gratitude, both of you will be calmer, happier and more appreciative of each other and others will want to be around you because of your positive attitudes.

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 School Methodology of Tennis Training

Posted on February 19, 2015 by in New Zealand Summit YouTubes, Raising Athletic Royalty

The following post is a YouTube from a New Zealand Player/Parent/Coach Summit that Frank Giampaolo conducted with Craig Bell.

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
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www.MaximixingTennisPotential.com
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Anger on the Court

Posted on February 18, 2015 by in Emotional Tennis, Maximizing Tennis Potential, Raising Athletic Royalty, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.  Thank you for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

angry-tennis-player

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
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Building The “Emotional” Muscle

Posted on February 17, 2015 by in New Zealand Summit YouTubes, Raising Athletic Royalty, The Tennis Parent's Bible

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Understanding Genetic Predispositions

Posted on February 16, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Personality Profile/Learning Preference, Raising Athletic Royalty, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is a link to one of my instructional articles printed in Tennis Industry Magazine- February 2015.  The article is about the importance of understanding your athlete’s make-up. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

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http://www.tennisindustrymag.com/articles/2015/02/10_your_serve_mind_and_body.html

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.MaximizingTennisPotential.com

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Junior Competitive Tennis Myths

Posted on February 15, 2015 by in The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

Championship Tennis by Frank Giampaolo

Mental and Emotional Tennis Myths of Junior Competition 

It’s such a crazy world spending everyday with ranked juniors. Deciphering the facts from the myths raises a handful of question. Their attitudes and points of view of the game never cease to amaze me. They tend to be so unevenly developed. On court, they handle more pressure than most adults I know. Off- court, it is often a very different story. I knew a 22 year old top 80 WTA tour player that watched cartoons for hours on end in her down time. Below are some of the “Best Tennis Myths” coming out of the mouths of your kids!

  1. When I Become a Pro: Then I’ll Train like a Pro
    Professionals have to “live the life” for years before they actually win a single match on tour. The formula is 20 hours a week for 10 years to compete on the ATP or WTA level. Begin by challenging your child to train 20 hours a week for a month.
  2. I Need More…More is Better
    In matches, most juniors think about too many things. They have a tendency to over-hit; their body is off balance at contact as opposing force vectors fly in all directions; their racquet’s head is rolling through the hitting zone and their running through four segment swings. The key is to simplify. Most often, improving is about “trimming the fat” not adding more.
  3. I Will Just “Wing It”
    Later Planning decreases your stress. Often we see players begin to pack their racquet’s, find a new outfit, clean their water bottles, search for their over grips, print out the directions to the site, look up their opponent record, make breakfast, take a shower, brush their teeth all within the last 10 minutes before they are scheduled to leave. Hum…no wonder they’re angry and stressed.
  4. I Played a Set Last Week, I’m Fine
    To win major events you must be a good finisher. Building a tract record of closing out matches is the key. Exchange playing a set with playing 2 out of 3 sets and finish the match. The most important stage of any set is the end! If time is short, start each set at 2-2 but close out sets. On practice days, professional’s close out 2-4 sets a day.
  5. I Can’t Control My Anger or My Wandering Mind
    Re-programming these dominant thoughts takes about four to six weeks of serious focused attention. It’s often the same program as rebuilding a flawed stroke. Remember discussing this topic in the blunder section? You’ve built up that negative path. Retooling your emotions and thoughts on court is a learned behavior. The only way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a “stronger” good habit.
  6. To be Great, I Have to Play at My Peak Everyday
    Peak level and peak efforts are two different elements. It is too taxing to be physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally ready to battle everyday of their lives. Training in intervals is called periodization. After a tournament you should “unplug”. That’s right, recharge the batteries. In the practice phase strive for peak effort and let go of peak performance.
  7. If you’re Laughing, You’re not Working Hard Enough
    When you laugh, dance, smile or even hug someone you get biochemical surges of positive energy. Neuroscience studies clearly show that when you smile and laugh you stay in the correct (right) side of your brain. This is where muscles flow effortlessly and great decisions are made quickly. When you’re mad, judgmental or over analytical the right side of your brain shuts down and you are toast!
  8. Don’t Look Bad, Just be Cool and Play Safe On-Court!
    Right around high school children begin to fear what others might think. Their mission shifts into this crazy mode, just make it look close or just don’t embarrass yourself mode. So on-court, they “push the ball” under stress and play “not to look bad” instead of playing to win. If you’re afraid to look bad, you are not going to enjoy peak performance. Champs play to win. Either way, win or lose, winners play to win!

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Tennis Expectations and Guidelines

Posted on February 14, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

Maximizing Tennis Potential with Frank Giampaolo

Establishing Expectations and Guidelines

Parents have to communicate their expectations to their child during both practice as well as match play. This is especially important in the beginner and intermediate levels of the game. It may also be in your best interest to share your list with your child’s primary coach.  You will develop an alliance through clarifying your expectations and guidelines.

When speaking with your child, avoid starting with the standard “When I was your age, I had to walk to school uphill…in the snow…both ways…”

Here are my top twenty practice session tennis parental expectations:

  1. Place the improvement of your performance over having to win the match, social game or live ball drill.
  2. On the court be grateful, enthusiastic and polite.
  3. Arrive 10 minutes before your scheduled practice session to stretch.
  4. Arrive on court dressed and ready to compete.
  5. Avoid complaining or criticizing others.
  6. Give the coach your best efforts and your undivided attention.
  7. When the coach is talking, hold the balls. Stop, look him/her in the eyes and listen.
  8. No cell phones allowed on court.
  9. Move quickly between drills and during ball pick up – yes the student helps pick up balls!
  10. Hustle and give 100% effort.
  11. Avoid negative tones, body language and facial expressions.
  12. Avoid using profanity.
  13. Admit mistakes and understand the cause of the error.
  14. Come to practice with a pre-set game plan and an eagerness to learn.
  15. Be open to constructive criticism.
  16. Be willing to develop your weaknesses.
  17. Stay fully committed and focused for the entire training session.
  18. Rehearse staying in a positive frame of mind for the entire training session.
  19. Take full responsibility for your words and actions.
  20. Practice in the manner you are expected to perform.

Ask your child to challenge themselves daily. Remind them that choosing to train below their capability breeds “mediocrity.” A customized evaluation/plan will ease the stress and lack of communication that often results with lack of preparation.

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Building Confidence

Posted on February 13, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo0623P_5063

 

In my opinion, confidence is one of the top factors in achieving peak performance. To achieve confidence as your child progresses on her journey, it is first best to consider her goal in tennis matches. Keep in mind that the best parents and players strive for a certain type of success. That success comes in the form of performing in tournaments at the child’s highest level versus having to win every match.

“The second week in a Grand Slam is all about belief.”  Chris Everett

FUN FACT: Often professionals are quoted as saying “I’m satisfied and happy when I play in a match at the same level I do on the practice court!”

Lack of confidence issues such as self-doubt and a negative self-image arise from how athletes view past experiences. Often, when asking an adolescent what happened in the match they reply, “I don’t know, I‘m horrible!” Getting to the root of the issue is done by organizing tournament experiences by using match logs.

Champions have experienced losing hundreds of times more often than your junior player. The difference is how they view it. So, how should your daughter view tournament competition? Junior tennis tournaments in general should be viewed as information gathering missions. Success lies in doubling your child’s level of competence every six months. They have to be twice as good as they were six months ago. Replace focusing on winning with focusing on improving every week. Lack of confidence is a common issue. It sneaks into every athlete in every sport.

Confidence Fades:

  • Players are not training or being trained properly
  • They are injured or sick
  • They are returning to the game after an injury or sickness
  • They have underperformed in recent competition
  • They are burnt out

Players in a slump may be under achieving in more than one of these issues simultaneously.

Rebuilding the Belief

Confidence is a progressive spiral of positive input which leads to positive attitude. True belief and trust is earned by doing everything in your power to be the best you can be. Let’s first look deeper at ten common stepping stones that will rekindle your daughter’s confidence.

  1. Re-Commit to Getting Fit: Tennis specific speed, agility and stamina are key. Cross training is terrific. Hit the gym, hit the track and get physically stronger.
  2. Clear the Mind: Re-focus on tennis. Teens can get derailed by numerous factors. School, parties, peer pressure, other sports, hobbies, shopping, etc.
  3. Proper Nutrition/Hydration: What she puts in is what she gets out. It takes just 1-2 percent dehydration and the body is impaired mentally and physically. This could take effect with blurred vision, mental confusion, headaches, cramping etc. As for proper nutrition, the body needs high quality protein and carbohydrates at the right time to function most efficiently.
  4. Customize the Instruction: “Practice in the manner in which you are expected to perform.” Build a game plan around exposing her great strengths while hiding her weaknesses. Customize her style to her brain and body type.
  5. Promote and Educate Independence: Independent problem solving promotes confidence on and off the court. Even though some parents think they are helping, it may be wise to slowly stop doing everything for your little phenom.
  6. Surround Them with Supportive People: Positive coaches, trainers and friends with character are key. Is her new boyfriend pulling her focus in a new direction? Do her new friends at school want to party and shop all the time? Is her coach pessimistic or negative? This includes keeping your child away from negative or jealous tennis players or tennis parents.

FUN FACT: Girls 14’s, Super Nationals Clay Court Championships in Florida. Minutes before a second round match a Southern California parent cornered my daughter, Sarah, to inform her that she is about to get killed by the next “Martina Hingis.” He practically chased Sarah to her court as he continued to banter about how unbelievable her opponent was and how she should not feel bad about losing to this “great” player.

Luckily for us, Sarah had no idea about this second round match up. We simply told her the parent was a jealous nut and just keep the ball to the girl’s pitiful backhand and we’ll go to her favorite lunch spot in an hour or so. Result: My daughter won in two and 6 years later this parent is still causing trouble on the tournament circuit.

  1. Help Others: Ask your daughter to assist the local food bank once a month and feed the homeless. Seeing the positive attitude of someone less fortunate reminds them how fortunate they truly are!
  2. Avoid Negative Comments: This is any advice or stimuli that are perceived as unfavorable. The key word here is perceived. Remember this, often parents will say five positive comments and one negative ones but guess what your child hears? Only the negative. We find that derogatory comments, tone of voice, body language or even facial expressions can tear down a sensitive player’s confidence.

Examples:

  • A friend telling your daughter “You play Amanda next? Oh no!!! Nobody ever beats her. She won two nationals and is ranked in the top 5!”
  • A coach saying “You’re going to run 20 laps if you miss another backhand. Just do it right!”
  • A parent saying after a tournament loss “You always make so many errors, maybe you should quit!”
  1. Proper Warm Up and Pre-Match Routines: Confidence comes from rituals, such as, warming up all the primary and secondary strokes. This includes swing volleys, short angles, top spin lobs, proper nutrition, hydration, scouting, visualization and going for a short run before you go on the court.
  2. Perfectionists Set the Bar Too High: Unrealistic expectations kill confidence. Parents, just because your son won last week’s tournament, don’t expect him to win every one from now on. Players, a sure fire way to disable your confidence is to expect perfection. Even if you’re in the zone for a while, it’s a borrowed experience. No one owns the zone. No one stays in the zone and lives there year around.

Parents, ask your player to read through these ten common confidence busters. Do any of them apply to your child? If so, customize a plan to erase them!

Thank you visiting, Frank

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.maximizingtennispotential.com
www.RaisingAthleticRoyalty.com

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Teaching Strategy Simply

Posted on February 12, 2015 by in Customized Organizational Plan, Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thank you for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

 

Those strategy books seems so technical.  Can you make it easy?

What is strategy? Tennis is a very strategic sport.  Strokes may get you into the match, but strategy brings success.

  • Strategy can be so easy yet so complicated
  • Strategy is changing, adapting yet ritualistic It is science and art
  • It is psychological yet physical
  • It can be beautiful and oh so ugly
  • Strategy applied correctly allows your child to meet the opponent under advantageous conditions
  • Strategy keeps your child focused and in the correct mind set

Let’s look at strategy in a simple, yet effective format. There are three factors in understanding strategy on the tennis court. They are generic, stylistic and customized.

 Generic Strategy

Generic strategy is simply applying the player’s core strengths in patterns. The plan is that the opponent has to respond to your child. Create your child’s patterns, plans and tactics ahead of time. Your child’s generic strategy is to run their patterns and plays. Generic strategies and tactics could include getting in 70 percent first serves or staying neutral until you get the opponent vulnerable, then attack. Patterns can be detailed or so simple. In times of trouble, saying “bounce, hit” as the ball actually bounces off the court and hits their racquet is an s age old generic tactic. It is a wonderful tool used to control the player’s vision and calm them down when they are overcome by the occasion. These generic tactics will be used in January through December, from the first round through the final, In Miami or Moscow, on clay or hard courts. These are your child’s everyday “nuts and bolts” game plan. The idea is to make the opponent react to them.

Stylistic Strategy

Stylistic strategy is your child’s ability to adapt tactics depending on the current style of the opponent. Remind your child not to change a winning tactic just because the opponent changes game styles. A change is only made if the opponent starts to win and the momentum has switched to their side. Styles include retriever, hard hitting baseliner and all court players. It is imperative that your player develop and rehearse patterns used to beat each style of opponent.

Custom Strategy

Custom strategy is your child’s ability to adapt to the day. Your child has to customize or adapting to different elements (wind, heat), court speeds and surfaces as well as the particular strengths and weaknesses of the current opponent. A common word in this phase is tendencies. To borrow from the boxing world, your child needs to spot what is causing the opponent to hurt or “bleed” and then do it more. It is just as important for your child to spot what is causing their own “bleeding” and systematically stop the bleeding. If your child is competing well in every game and often has the winning shot on his/her racquet, it is in their best interest to modify their tactics slightly while keeping the current strategic style of play. If they are losing and are not even in the points or games, a much larger shift of complete game styles may be in order. (For example: Take a bathroom break then change from a hard hitting baseliner to a steady retriever style of play.)

SPECIAL NOTE: A wonderful tool is video analysis. Record a tournament match every week. Have a weekly “Match Play Video Analysis Lesson” with an experienced coach. That’s right, a non- hitting lesson.

The preferred learning style of most players is “Visual Learner”. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Together, they will spot strokes that break down under stress, movement and footwork issues, opponent awareness issues and of course tactical and strategic issues that arise under stress. This allows your coach to customize the lessons as they actually provide solutions to the real issues!

For more information: The Tennis Parent’s Bible    Thank you for visiting, Frank

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
wwwMaximizingTennisPotential.com

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Anticipatory Speed is Essential

Posted on February 11, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.  Thanks for visiting, Frank GiampaoloFrank Giampaolo

FOCUS CONTROL: Broad Vision Versus Narrow Vision

Have you ever watched a match, amateur or professional, and the player with flawless strokes loses to a player with less than perfect strokes? Winning tennis requires more than perfect stroke production.  The best player uses proper broad and narrow vision on the court.

Why: Employing both broad and narrow vision develops quicker anticipatory speed, court coverage, court awareness.

Narrow vision is used when the incoming ball is approaching your child. Their attention should be on watching the ball after the bounce in their strike zone.

FUN FACT: Avoid asking them to watch the ball hit their racket. Kids are smart. You’ll be embarrassed. No human can actually see a 2-3 millisecond event.

Broad vision is employed when the ball has left your child’s strings and is out bound towards the opponent’s side. Ask your child to shift their focus to the big picture. They’ll need to spot where their ball is about to land, their opponent’s court position, their swing speed and swing length and their probable strike zone.

If they sense the opponent is on defense, they should be moving to an offensive position. On the other side, if they spot the opponent moving forward preparing to cream the ball, your child should be preparing for defense.

Good players have fast reaction time. They possess quick hands and fast feet. Great players have those skills as well as anticipation. Average players focus on simply tracking the ball. Advanced players pick up visual clues milliseconds before the opponent strikes the ball. Top players position themselves based on the pre-strike observations of the opponent. Examples include:

  • Watching the knee, hip and shoulder rotation as well as the ball toss angle before the opponent serves. Can you spot the obvious ball toss of a kick serve?
  • Watching the shoulder position and racket face angle before an opponent volleys. Can you read a crosscourt versus down the line incoming volley?
  • Watching the flight pattern, swing speed and swing length of the opponent’s backswing on their ground strokes. Can you spot a slice backhand versus top spin backhand before the opponent strikes the ball?

FUN FACT: Top players aren’t always faster; they simply understand what they are seeing and adjust quicker than the average player.

Thank you for visiting, Frank

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.Maximizingtennispotential.com

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