Cheating in Tennis
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
“Cheating only creates a false sense of security.”
Those who have relied on manipulating, cheating and gamesmanship as their primary weapon in junior tennis match play lack the essential self-confidence needed at higher level tennis.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
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Coming Soon
The following post is an excerpt from the NEW The Tennis Parent’s Bible coming soon!
Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
Due to the over-whelming response to the 2010, bestselling first edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible, I’ve been traveling the world with coaching seminars, tennis parent workshops and working with private families of passionate athletes. Throughout my travels, I continued my quest to go deeper into the process of raising athletic royalty. In the past five years, I’ve increased my knowledge tenfold and I want to share these discoveries with you.
I was compelled to write the first edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible for two very important reasons:
First and foremost, I found that the old system of raising elite athletes lacked player, parent and coach synergy. And secondly, a successful organized guide to support parents in developing athletic royalty had not been established.
After years of coaching and working with players, parents, coaches and researchers, I had developed a more efficient way of organizing the tennis player’s team. I am obviously an “outside the box” style of thinker… I always have been. It’s my genetic predisposition. I found that by educating the tennis parent about the nuances of tennis development, the developmental process was more successful and the journey was appreciated.
“The modern epidemic of mediocrity, stemming all the way back from 1950’s and the assembly line mentality, is ineffective in athletic development.”
Educating the athlete’s parents is a revolutionary way to achieve greater family harmony while maximizing player potential at a quicker rate.
To illustrate my philosophy, here is an example of why your children shouldn’t be placed in groups based solely on their age. Customization is essential. I know 6 year olds that are more coordinated and athletically mature than 12 year olds and 17 year olds more emotionally immature than 10 year olds. Some athletes thrive in shorter sessions, some in longer sessions. Some enjoy training in groups of peers, some prefer private sessions. Growth development schedules are diverse. Different personality profiles require different approaches to their development. This book’s intent is to break the old fashion standardizations beginning with the role of the tennis parent in the developmental process.
Invested selfless parents deeply want to be involved in their children’s lives and be a part of the team. Telling the primary care givers to “butt out”, which is sadly the industry norm, isn’t in anyone’s best interest. Tennis parent education has been the most ignored and mysterious topic in the industry and I intend to continue my quest in changing this direction.
Regardless of the stage of development, The Tennis Parent’s Bible will assist you, the tennis parent, in maximizing your child’s tennis potential at the quickest rate. The evolutionary state of tennis demands parents be more involved and informed, due to the ever increasing demands of the game. The competition is bigger, faster and stronger. Around the globe, the competition is training more efficiently. The days of raising a talented athlete while being a passive parent are long gone. The Tennis Parent’s Bible is essential reading for those interested in developing confident, self-reliant and accomplished children.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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Parent Player Harmony
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Parent Player Harmony
“Extraordinarily successful athletes have parents that have mastered their managerial role.”
One of the most important duties of a parent is to instill harmony along the journey. Performance orientated (as opposed to outcome oriented) parents have the greatest chance at enjoying the process of raising athletic royalty. Parents should understand that their role as a tennis parent offers them the opportunity to use sports to foster life lessons. Through a parent’s unconditional love and support, the ultimate outcome of the athletic journey should be to create a well-balanced, world class adult and family harmony.
Behaviors that Foster Parent-Player Harmony:
- Emphasize the education of positive life lessons.
- Leave notes under their pillow reminding them how proud you are of their efforts.
- After a loss, give your child time and space.
- On a daily basis, be effort orientate versus outcome orientated.
- Understand the parents’ job descriptions.
- Abide by the tennis parent match day guidelines.
- Execute a deliberate, customized developmental plan.
- Put visions and goals in writing to keep the team on same page.
- Emphasize the development of all four major components
(Strokes mechanics, mental, emotional, athleticism) - Remember that your actions speak louder than your words.
“A parent should hold the athlete accountable for poor behavior. Instilling manors and good sportsmanship is part of the balanced approach.”
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
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Focus Control
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Question: My child’s mind wanders off in matches, how can we fix that?
Frank: Lapses in concentration are so very common. Eliminating them begins by looking into the athlete’s personality. This dictates their patience, shot tolerance level and wandering mind. Secondly, fixing the issue begins with educating the player to actually recognize when their mind is wandering. Third, the solutions include establishing adrenaline pumping cue words and mental recovery routines called triggers used to pull the athlete back into their optimal emotional conduct.
Focus is a key mental/emotional skill set. Without it, even the most gifted ball strikers are usually early round losers. Focus requires the athlete to understand that their mind is like a muscle that needs to be continually tightened and toned. Remember from the previous chapter, an un-toned brain can easily slip back and forth between its under-arousal state of mind, to its optimal emotional conduct state of mind to it’s over arousal state of mind.
Let’s look once again into the thought process of these three different “head spaces.”
In the under-arousal state, the athlete often begins to detach and slip into past or future thought scenarios. After the mind wanders off, athletes often report that they choked.
In the ideal performance state, the athlete stays deeply entrenched in their calm, happy, confident script of patterns. This mental, emotional state of readiness lasts throughout the match. The athlete often reports that they’re in the zone.
In the over-arousal state of mind, the athlete slips into the over hitting, rushing, and reckless style of play. The athlete often reports that they were trying to play better than they actually needed and simply panicked.
The initial key to solving this issue is to ask the athlete to begin to notice where their thoughts are at certain stages of the match. (This is best done through match play video analysis).
Remember, triggers are used to get an athlete back into their script of patterns. Triggers are both verbal and physical. Triggers motivate the athlete to get back into their peak performance level of play.
Triggers serve the athlete in two very positive ways: it inflates their energy while deflating their opponent’s energy by sending the message that they’re in it … to win it.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
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Real Cause of Errors
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Question: How do we assist our son in decreasing his unforced errors?
Frank: In my opinion, decreasing unforced errors always starts with the identification process. On numerous occasions, I have asked parents and coaches to chart ranked players utilizing The Cause of Error Chart. (Found in Match Chart Collection at Maximizingtennispotential.com). The results were very interesting.
While the majority of the international coaches solely focused on stroke production year in-year out, the main cause of errors were consistently shot selection and NOT form.
I suggest applying the cause of error chart to identify your athletes leading cause of error. I have found that the most common cause of errors in high level athlete’s are Mental-Shot Selection, followed by Movement-Spacing, a very close third was Emotional-Performance Anxieties…and last on the list…Technical-Stroke Mechanics!
Because poor shot selection is the leading cause of errors at the higher competitive junior levels. Shot selection starts with understanding that in between each shot in a rally, there are only about 2 milliseconds of actual decision making time. So, how much can you analyze in that small amount of time? The answer is not much. This means that most shot selection options are learned behaviors acquired on the practice court. That is right. These tools must be wired into a player’s game way before the tournament begins. Pre-setting offence, neutral, defensive and directional options is mental training.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
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Mentally Tough Component
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Ten Essential Components of the Mental/Emotional Tough Competitor:
- Dedicate physically, mentally and emotionally to the process of becoming mentally tough. Without full commitment, it is unlikely mentally toughness will be achieved. Mental/emotional toughness can only be mastered by someone who is ready to dig deeper into the strategic, stubborn protocols of winning and the psychology of defeating their own demons.
- Acknowledge that being mentally/emotionally tough isn’t reserved for the gifted few. Mental/emotional toughness as well as mental/emotional weakness is a learned-earned behavior.
People around the world from the passive Buddhist monks to the aggressive Navy Seals spend each day developing their mental/emotional toughness skills. Some juniors have unknowingly invented their own mental/emotional weakness protocols and because they don’t know better, return to them religiously under stress.
- Decide to stay the course and confront hardship instead of bailing out at the first sign of confrontation.
Psychologists call it the fight or flight syndrome. Choosing to persevere through difficult circumstances leads to improved confidence. Getting in superb physical shape is a great place to start. Begin the journey by fighting through exhaustion, pain and discomfort.
- On a daily basis, multi-task and build the mental/emotional muscles along with stroke production.
Closing out every single drill develops mental/emotional toughness. Negative scoring (Drill to 10 – subtracting 1 for each error.) to each physical practice session to rehearse overcoming hardships.
- Commit to a deliberate custmentallylf-trust are learned and earned.
Choosing to do what the moment demands within a millisecond requires preset protocol training- the deliberate, customized repetition that incorporates how, when and why pre-set solutions (protocols) are applied.
- Accept that becoming mentally tough requires sacrifice. You must choose to be a normal ‘kid’ or a champion. You have to pick one…because you can’t be both.
Mental toughness requires you prioritize your time- putting everyday normal ‘kid stuff’ aside, most of the time, as you becomes athletic royalty.
- Develop the ability to employ the art of intimidation and to raise the adrenaline level at crunch time.
Raising positive energy at crunch time inflates the athlete’s performance while systematically deflates the opponent’s performance. Intimidation is the confidence role/act that begins pre-game as the athlete morphs into a ‘warrior.’ Staying in that ‘warrior’ mind-set or on-script throughout the competition is essential.
- Choose to be a courageous competitor – playing to win versus playing not to lose.
Applying the strategically correct system the moment demands under pressure, without fear or hesitation, no matter the score, the opponent or seeding is essential.
- Master the ability to handle adversity – such as poor start times, adverse elements, occasional sickness, minor injuries, and/or gamesmanship.
Choosing to see disadvantages as challenges versus obstacles too difficult to overcome is mental/emotional toughness.
- Persevere and be willing and able to remain on course and stay on-script longer…
Most good athletes are able to perform like a ‘pro’ occasionally. Greatness stems from an athlete’s ability to perform good after good. Consistently remaining in the peak performance state is essential in the higher echelons of sports.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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Spotting Burnout
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Question: How do we spot tennis burn out?
Frank: Did you know that even the very best in the business don’t stay in their “Optimal Performance State” year around? ATP and WTA tour professionals rarely play more than three events in a row. They need the critical “down” time to re-charge, heal and fix flaws.
It’s not in your child’s best interest to force them to try to stay in their peak performance state 365 days a year. Taking a week off to re-charge the physical, mental and emotional batteries may help your child peak when it counts most. This is part of the periodization cycle. Yes- taking time off may help them to be more committed and focused when their tennis training commences- leading to better results. The number one reason junior players’ report that they want to quit tennis is due to overzealous parents unknowingly pushing them past the healthy limits.
While developing high performance athletes, I am constantly on high-alert for the warning signs of burn out. Signs of burn out can be physical, mental or emotional. Let’s look at some typical signs to assist you in knowing when it’s time for your athlete to take a break from their tennis quest.
25 Signs of Tennis Burn Out:
- Multiple injuries
- Reduced flexibility in their body
- Complaining about Fatigue
- Reduced concentration
- Fear of competition
- Lack of emotional control
- Lack of strategy and judgment
- Poor opponent awareness
- Negative verbal or physical outbursts
- Pessimism
- Negative attitude
- Lack of motivation to attend practice or to hit the gym
- Lack of motivation to compete in a tournament
- Poor equipment preparation
- Appearing slow and heavy with no energy
- Lack of anticipation and agility
- Negative facial expressions
- Negative body language
- Short attention span
- Eyes wondering outside the court
- Inability to concentration
- Lack of concern about performance goals
- Low patience
- Lack of enthusiasm
- A sense of hopelessness
In my opinion, if your child is showing several of the above negative signs and seems to be in a downward spiral, it may be in their best interest to put down the racquets for a while. A true contender can only stay away for a short time. Parents, allow them to heal. Then slowly re-start their deliberate customized developmental process.
SPECIAL NOTE: During your child’s time off court, encourage them to stay in physical shape by enjoying non-tennis cross training.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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Athletic Perfectionism?
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
“Constructive Criticism to a perfectionist isn’t seen as a positive step towards a better performance. It threatens to expose their flaws, which is a catastrophic assault on their self-worth. They don’t want the truth… They want to be correct…”
Perfectionists are often unwilling to learn because that omits a short coming or flaw. Their overriding primary concern is to prove that they’re always right. Does this antagonistic, defensive behavior hurt their chances of success? You bet…in tennis and life.
Perfectionist or not, no one likes to be criticized. If you have a perfectionist athlete, ask them to be open to suggestions, be willing to discuss options, be interested in feedback and teamwork. Maximizing potential at the quickest rate depends on teamwork.
“The path to the top is a positive and negative spiral …3 steps forward 2 steps back.”
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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Essential Tennis Skills
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Accelerate your child’s game with proper physical training. Modern high level tennis demands high level athleticism. Ignoring training and only focusing on stroke mechanics will severely limit any athletes potential.
The Following Training Skills are Essential to High Performance Tennis Athletes:
- Lateral Movement (Side to side)
- Up & Back Movement (Forward & back)
- Aerobic Fitness
- Ability to Accelerate
- Ability to Decelerate
- Speed/Agility
- Stamina
- Recovery Time between Points/Plays
- Recovery Time between Matches/Games
- Strength (Upper body/core/lower body)
- Body Coordination (Gross motor skills)
- Hand-Eye Coordination (Fine motor skills)
- Flexibility/Stretching
- Anticipatory Speed
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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