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Emotional Aptitude in Tennis

Posted on October 5, 2016 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports, Emotional Tennis

The following post is a re-post from The True Athlete Project. ea-in-sports4a_2d

EMOTIONAL APTITUDE IN SPORTS: THE CASE OF TENNIS

 “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” – Mark Twain

Mark Twain’s famous quote could not be a more fitting in the world of competitive tennis. Emotional Aptitude in Tennis peeks into why athletes with seemingly solid games lose… and lose often.   Most players enter the game intently focused on improving technical (strokes), mental (strategic) and their athletic components. Unfortunately, these outward components are kidnapped due to under-developed emotional skill sets.    I have written a new book, Emotional Aptitude in Sports, as a result of my curious obsession with the root causes of choking and panicking under stress.

Why do a handful of players at the club have all the trophies?

Why isn’t on-court stroke production, riding the stationary bike or buying the latest gear helping athletes earn more hardware?  To the untrained eye, technique and mental toughness seems to take the blame for most losses. But if these components appear flawless in practice on Friday only to abandon the athlete in Saturday’s match, there is definitely more to the story. All too often it’s an athlete’s lack of emotional aptitude that’s holding them hostage under stress. Successfully handling competitive pressure demands a more focused emotional developmental regimen.

Decades of observational research has shown me that emotional aptitude is more important than “perfect” technique in athletic competition.

Athletes are often frustrated that their match day performance is far inferior to their practice performance. The majority of tennis athletes interviewed believed that the inherent complexity of their sport is the cause of their stress that halts their success.  But in actuality, their stress is caused by simply being judged. While every top athlete must be willing to put in the hours developing their technique, becoming physically fit and understanding tennis specific strategic plans, to be a successful competitor, they must also to be able to perform when it counts. As professionals, we see it every weekend, in every age division whether we realize it or not. Elegant looking, well trained athletes often wilt under the heat of competition while seemingly unorthodox looking competitors flourish. Why?

The answer is the athlete’s lack of complete development- avoiding the development of the emotional component. 

Let’s use the computer analogy to further explain this phenomena. I’d like you to look at an athlete the same way you look at your computer. For the computer to run efficiently both the external hardware and internal software packages work seamlessly together. For the athlete, their hardware package consists of their technical and athletic aptitude. Their software package consists of their mental and emotional aptitude. Far too many athletes are unevenly developed as competitors.

Poor emotional aptitude actually causes your students technique to break down, their footwork to vanish, their focus to waver and their problem solving skills to abandon them when they need them the most. It’s our job as industry leaders to begin to develop the skill sets necessary to strengthen most athlete’s weakest link …which is the emotional muscle. 

 

Parents need to know that this situation is partially the teaching professional’s failure.  As I travel across the country I see two very common teaching scenarios, one set of coaches are the political “snow job” artist and the second set are true developmental artist. I see the “snow job” artist at posh country clubs, in parks and rec’s and coaching D-1 College. They are political masters. They fully understand that teaching “change” is difficult and uncomfortable. It’s much, much easier for them to fluff over the difficult changes and keep everyone coming back smiling next week. I get it- if the athlete wants to hit and giggle.  But in order to serve the best interest of the competitive tennis player, more of the second set of coaches are needed- those who choose to develop a complete athlete by developing technical, athletic, mental and emotional components to maximize the player’s potential.

I employ the coaches to take the high road in the education of your children. The challenge for both the parents and the coaches is to do the research and improve so teaching the more difficult components becomes second nature. This requires both IQ… And emotional aptitude. Which brings us full circle.

Understanding emotional aptitude, as a parent or coach, will help you to help your athletes as you connect at a deeper level. It will aid you in mastering difficult components and conversations. Most importantly, emotional intelligence will assist you in developing more efficient competitors at crunch time. I’m convinced that the future leaders are the teachers who are open to learning and then sharing.  This is what moves us all forward.

 

Connect with Frank Giampaolo via Facebook or receive his free monthly newsletter at: www.maximizingtennispotential.com
 

The Benefits of Repetition

Posted on September 23, 2016 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible NOW available through most on-line retailers!  Click Here to Order

 Frank Giampaolo

 

QUESTION: Why is repetition so important in developing athletic royalty?

 

Frank: Most professional coaches view repetition as the godfather of mastery. Repetition is essentially motor programming.

Developing a motor program begins with a thought, which is messaged through the nervous system, down the spinal cord and into the muscular system. The more we pre-set the protocols the more it “grooves” the pathways. So, the more familiar the habit, the easier it is to execute the proper protocol during match play.

Repetition doesn’t just involve the physical strokes. It also applies to the athletic, flexible skills movements, the cognitive processing skills and emotional responses. All four of these components need appropriate, deliberate repetition.

 

“It doesn’t matter if you’re actually doing it, imagining it or observing it, you are developing a pathway.”

 

Neurological-connections are strengthened by repetition. One of the most important keys to repetition is to “practice in the manner in which you’re expected to perform.” Often, improvements are maximized through manipulating the exercises with variations. Examples include:

Athleticism– Varying the direction, physical reps and/or sets.

Strokes– Varying the strike zones, tempo and/or movement.

Emotional– Varying the performance anxieties and their pre-set solutions.

Mental– Varying the different patterns used to beat the different styles of opponents.

Applying each of the four components under stress effortlessly requires an intuitive process. What appears to be a natural talent is actually a learned behavior through repetition. Mastering each component requires repetition.

 

It’s important to note that repetition isn’t always good. Repeating the same old flawed mechanical stroke or repeating the incorrect emotional response to stress is only ingraining that flaw deeper, making it harder to fix later.

 

Wandering Mind in Match Play

Posted on September 20, 2016 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

 

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible NOW available through most on-line retailers! Click Here to Order

Frank GiampaoloQUESTION: My child’s mind wanders off in matches, how can we fix that?

 

Frank: Lapses in concentration are so very common. Focus is a key mental and 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 section, an un-trained brain can easily slip back and forth between it’s under-arousal state of mind, it’s over-arousal state of mind and it’s optimal emotional 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 optimal performance state, the athlete stays deeply entrenched in their calm, happy, confident script of patterns. When this 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.) Once the athlete is able to identify a particular thought process during a match, under arousal or over arousal, they should be coached to apply pre-set protocols or triggers to help bring about the appropriate performance state of mind.

Remember, triggers are used to get an athlete back into their script of patterns. Triggers are both verbal and physical. Triggers serve the athlete in two very positive ways: it inflates their energy while deflating their opponent’s energy and by sending the message that they’re in it … to win it.

 

Improving Confidence and Low Self Esteem

Posted on August 23, 2016 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

I’m excited to announce that my new book: Emotional Aptitude in Sports is scheduled for a fall 2016 release. The below post discusses the role of emotional intelligence in rekindling confidence.

Enjoy the ride!

Frank

IMPROVING CONFIDENCE AND LOW SELF ESTEEMFrank Giampaolo

Regardless of the reason, athletes who begin to doubt their true capabilities need to flip their negative outlook before their negative beliefs ruin their practices and performances.

 

“A positive outlook is a prerequisite to positive performances.”

A lack of confidence can stem from a singular reasons or a combination of reasons. As always, solutions are dictated by their cause.

 

Typical Causes of Low Confidence:

1) Athlete has slacked off in their weekly training regiments…

2) Athlete has not trained efficiently (quality over quantity)…

3) Athlete is injured, sick or are returning to the game after an injury or sickness…

4) Athlete’s pessimistic attitude is getting the best of them…

5) Athlete has under-performed in recent competition and lost a few close matches to players they believe they should beat…

 

Rekindling confidence starts with a rebuilding of the belief systems.

 

“Confidence is a progressive spiral of numerous positive inputs which leads to a positive attitude…which in turn leads to new positive actions that leads to positive results.”

 

Let’s first look deeper into common stepping stones that will help rekindle an athlete’s confidence:

  • Re-Commit to Getting Fit Start with being the best athlete they can be. Hit the gym and hit the track – gain strength and improve stamina, speed and agility.
  • Clear the Mind: Re-Focus on Tennis Teens can get derailed by numerous factors including: school, parties, peer pressure, other sports, hobbies, shopping, etc. Re-organize your weekly planner.
  • Customize the Instruction Practice in the manner in which you are expected to perform. Build a game plan around exposing strengths while hiding weaknesses. Customize the athlete’s style to their brain and body type. Develop and rehearse the critical Top 7 Patterns of play.
  • 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.
  • Surround Them with Supportive People Positive coaches, trainers and friends with good character are key. Is his new girlfriend pulling his focus in a new direction? Do her new friends at school want to party and shop all the time? Is her coach pessimistic?
  • Help Others Ask your athlete to teach the under privileged kids for free at the park and rec or 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…
  • Avoid Negative Comments Derogatory comments, a negative tone of voice, offensive, threatening body language or even facial expressions can tear down a sensitive player’s confidence. Cut out the negative influences in their life. Pessimism is contagious and very toxic.
  • 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 and coaches, it’s important to communicate to your athlete that they can’t go back and rewrite a better past…but they can start today and write a better future.”

 

FOCUS ON POSITIVE INFLUENCES

 

“Guidance from a coach or parent with a negative mindset is extremely toxic to a child.”

 

Exposing and destroying pessimistic beliefs and attitudes is an integral part of my daily mission, both personally and professionally. It’s your job as the tennis parent to eliminate these poisons from your athlete’s world. Sadly, it’s often a parent, sibling, friend or coach that’s feeding the negative beliefs and pessimistic attitudes. It is in your best interest to remedy this issue or remove the negative source(s) from the child’s tennis entourage. Parents, just as it is your duty to remove negative psychology, it is your responsibility to teach positive psychology. Teach belief and confidence, find their motivational buttons, develop their desire and hunger for mastering the game and teach them to embrace the challenge. These positive life lessons are part of raising athletic royalty.  If you teach the love of the game and the benefits of commitment, your athlete will progress seamlessly through the losses, technical difficulties, injuries and bad luck that come with athletics.

Allow the tennis teachers to teach, the coaches to coach and the trainers to train because as you know now, the tennis parent’s job description is far too comprehensive to micro manage each entourage’s role.

 

Mind Sets: Fixed versus Growth

Similar to the two sides of psychology, there are also two mind sets. Coaches often see student’s with either a fixed mind set or a growth mind set. While the athlete’s genetic predisposition is undoubtedly present, it’s most often the nurtured opinions of their parents, siblings and coaches that set their outlook.

1) A person with a debilitating fixed mind set truly believes that they cannot change. They are extremely rigid, view the world as black or white and are un-interested in change. Their unwillingness to accept new challenges often results in remaining average at best.

2) A person with a growth mind set believes that their opinions, outlooks, attitudes and abilities can and will change throughout their lives. Growth mind set individuals are more willing and open to accept change in the name of progress/improvement.

 

“Raising athletic royalty is a direction, not a destination. What you choose to teach your children now will live on for generations to come.”

 

I find that parents who encourage both positive psychology and a growth mind set are developing much more than a future athlete, they are developing future leaders.

 

CONTACT: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net