Pre-Match Entourage Communication
The following post is an excerpt from Match Day Preparation e-Book NOW available through most on-line retailers! Click Here to Order
LESSON TWELVE: Pre-Match Entourage Communication
Successful coaches and perceptive parents know that nonverbal communication is the single most powerful form of communication. People don’t need to say anything for their stress, nervousness, and anxiety to be felt and adopted by others.
Before matches, players are trying to enter into their competitive “performance goal” state of mind. If you feel that your parents are unknowingly sabotaging your pre-match mind set, ask them to please read this section with you.
The following chart lists Appropriate and Inappropriate match-day topics for both coaches and parents. Review the chart and circle whether such topics are part of your entourage support system.
Appropriate POSITIVE Conversation
- Preparing equipment and adhering to nutrition and hydration requirements? Yes/No
- Applying warm-up routines (Hitting both primary and secondary strokes)? Yes/No
- Discussing both the player’s and opponent’s A, and possible B game plans, favorite go-to patterns, stroke strengths and weaknesses, movement issues, and emotional or focus issues? Yes/No
- Practicing visualization and imagery routines? Yes/No
- Listing the top three performance goals to accomplish? Yes/No
- Focusing on the process of endurance and competitive fight? Yes/No Reminds you to refer you to match “cheat sheets” if losing? Yes/No
- Provides positive memories of past performances? Yes/No
- Suggesting a short run before going onto the court?
- Reminding you to simply try your best to execute the correct shot (The shot that the moment demands.) rather than worry about the outcome?
- Encouraging you to smile, laugh and enjoy the day?
Inappropriate NEGATIVE Communication
- Discussing the need for a perfect performance? Yes/No
- Explaining why today’s match is the most important of your career? Yes/No
- Describing the consequences of the outcome, such as the player’s spot in the team’s lineup, the team’s position in the overall league rankings, or the individual’s position in the overall rankings? Yes/No
- Detailing how much time or money has been spent on the player’s career? Yes/No
- Placing emphases on outcome goals, such as the ranking game, over performance goals…“She’s ranked 98 spots ahead of us.”? Yes/No
- Adding stress by informing you of your opponent’s past successes…“She’s top 3 in the nation and just won the Super Nationals? Yes/No
- Reinforcing the importance of winning (outcome goals) versus performance goals…Such as being reminded that this will be a huge win for us? Yes/No
- Listing all the good players the opponent has already beaten? Yes/No
- Talking about what others will say “If they win and/or lose?” Yes/No
- Sabotaging you with hints of outcome goals… “If you win, your ranking will skyrocket into the top 20…if you don’t blow it.”? Yes/No
- Giving you last-minute negative advice… such as reminding you about your game weaknesses? Yes/No
ASSIGNMENT: Communicate with your entourage the de-stressing value of appropriate performance oriented communication versus inappropriate outcome oriented communication.
TAKE NOTE: Another side of pre-match communication is avoiding socializing with other tournament players or parents before a match. Keep in mind that competitive tennis at the higher levels is a brutal, individual sport. Unfortunately, other so-called friends or tennis parents may try to sabotage you with the exact negative discussions that a coach is desperately trying to avoid.
Socializing pulls competitors away from their pre-match routines and rituals. Remember, a transformation should take place before each match. You simply cannot transform from a normal person into a warrior if you are hanging out with friends.
Avoid outcome goals such as the visions of winning and focus on the process goals which are the actions necessary to win.
CONTACT: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
Spectacular Match Day Preparation
The following post is an excerpt from Match Day Preparation NOW available through most on-line retailers! Click Here to Order
There is often a very fine line between competitive success and failure. A poor start, an initial lack of focus, or a bout of wavering confidence can cause a seemingly winnable match to quickly slip away. The will to properly prepare for competition usually makes the difference. For players to achieve consistent positive match results, their preparation must include ritualistic, inflexible routines.
A player who is ready to compete creates an impenetrable wall that keeps the human elements of fear at bay. Remember, for a tennis player, FEAR stands for “False Expectations Appearing Real.” Players who disregard pre-match rituals often unknowingly start a downward spiral that inevitably results in a loss. Their lack of self-discipline leads to self-doubt, a condition that fuels nervousness and then causes a lack of confidence and low self-esteem. These negative forces have a way of fostering a lack of self-control on match day.
“Spectacular Performances are preceded by Spectacular Preparation.”
How does your player grade their match day preparation?
MATCH DAY PREPARATION
- Equipment Preparation: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Pre Match Visualization (Quiet Mind): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Pre Match Stretching (Dynamic): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Pre Match Warm Up Routines (Fundamental & Secondary shots): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Pre Match Run: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Pre Match Nutrition/Hydration: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Post-Match Stretching (Static): 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Post-Match Nutrition/Hydration: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Post-Match: Match Logs: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
- Scouting of Opponent:
10.1) Style of Play: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10.2) Stroke Strengths and Weaknesses: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10.3) Favorite Patterns: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10.4) Movement Strengths and Weaknesses: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10.5) Frustration Tolerance Level: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
List your Top 3 Match Day Preparation areas to focus on this year:
1.
2.
3.
Write your Personal Action Plan:
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
College Tennis Scholarships
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The following post is an excerpt from How to Attract a College Athletic Scholarship.
“Buyers” Market Versus “Sellers” Market
In the college athletic world, being in the “buyer” market means college coaches from prestigious universities across the nation will be begging your child to attend their schools. This is a result of the player’s (and their parent’s) focusing on developing the skills of a champion from an early age. Athletic royalty takes commitment and passion years before college. Assisting your child to build their physical, mental and emotional tool sets early will ensure that coaches will be selling you and your child on the merits of their athletic and academic programs and not the other way around.
FUN FACT: On a personal note, building a champion in her early teens saved us approximately $240,000 K on our daughters USC education. Build it first and they will come.
If on the other hand, you and your child have failed to prepare early for college athletics, college coaches will most likely not be searching your child out- hence your child will be in the “seller’ market.
What’s the “sellers” market?
In this situation, the seller’s market refers to the job of “selling” your child’s possible athletic value to college coaches, along with the thousands of other talented but unproven athletes vying for the leftover scraps of scholarship funds. If you think the task of “selling” your child’s skills is tough, wait until you have to write those dreaded big checks for their education. So I’ll say it again, build a champion and they will come. I recommend reviewing the essential material in the book: Raising Athletic Royalty.
SPECIAL NOTE: I want to clarify that developing athletic royalty skill sets usually begins well before the athletes reaches their teens, whereas, initiating the college search process usually begins the freshman year of high school.
Contact:
Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
Pre-Match Preparation
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Intelligent Pre-Match Preparation:
- Train repetition of primary and secondary strokes. This grooves the athlete’s timing and increases their confidence in every tool in their tool belt.
- Train repetition of proactive patterns. This leads to fast cognitive processing speed, no hesitation and faith in the patterns.
- Perform light off-court training. This leads to the reduction of injuries and increased strength and stamina.
- Preset mental protocols. Pre-planning how to beat the different styles of opponents leads to confidence and dependable problem-solving skills.
- Preset emotional protocols. Pre-planning how to conquer performance anxieties leads to self-assurance and trust under stress.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Pre-Match Visualization and Imagery
The following post is an excerpt from Match Chart Collection. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
PRE-MATCH VISUALIZATION AND IMAGERY
Warming up doesn’t stop at the physical. Players need to build up their “wall of defenses” in preparation for the continuous onslaught of mental and emotional challenges that competitive tennis encompasses. What we think about often dictates what we create. A mental, emotional no-no is to obsess about the next opponent’s past success, ranking or seeding. Winning tough matches begins with a winning mind set.
Pre-match visualization topics are unlimited, but some of the best visualization exercises include the following:
- Perfectly executed primary and secondary strokes
- Top seven favorite perfectly executed patterns
- The three pillars of between-point rituals
- Successful patterns of play against the four main styles of opponents
- Preset protocols for common emotional issues
To learn more visit my book Championship Tennis (Human Kinetics Publishing or Amazon)
ASSIGNMENTS:
Begin your pre-match visualization by arriving on site early enough to set aside 20 minutes to mentally rehearse the performance goals you’ve been rehearsing on the practice court.
- Start this self-hypnosis by seeking out a quiet area away from other competitors and distractions- with closed eyes; take several deep and relaxing breaths.
- Then create a vivid mental image of numerous tasks being performed successfully. Let’s call this your positive movie. To build confidence and reduce pre-match stress, you should mentally rerun the “movie” several times to reinforce the positive thoughts.
Make a list of your Top 5 Visualization Rituals.
Positive constructive visualization actually trains a player to perform
the skills imagined without hesitation.
ntact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Pre-Match Warm-Up Rituals
The following post is an excerpt from Match Chart Collection. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Pre-Match Warm-Up Rituals
Before each PGA tournament round, Tiger Woods warms up every club in his golf bag, just in case he needs it. In the high performance tennis world, players who routinely warm up both their primary and secondary strokes have a major advantage in tightly contested matches. Grooving fundamentals before a match is important, but let’s go deeper.
A first-set tiebreak can often come down to a player executing a winning secondary stroke such as a swing volley or topspin lob. To confidently perform secondary shots at crunch time, without hesitation, stems from properly warming them up before the match. Players who neglect their secondary strokes have a very different mind-set when faced with the same exact situation. Instead of instinctively moving forward to hit the swing volley to take the tiebreaker, they hesitate and are caught thinking, “I don’t remember the last time I hit one of these? Can I make it? Should I go for it?” Now guess who misses the easy shot, gets upset and blows another breaker?
Obviously, any stroke has to be developed on the practice court long before tournament competition begins. Once developed properly, it should be placed into your match day tool belt.
ASSIGNMENT
Make a brand new normal warm up routine. Leave the old school warm up routine behind and begin to warm up in the manner that you are expected to perform.
The 5 different forehands and backhands:
- Primary drive ground strokes
- High and heavy ground strokes
- Short angle/side door ground strokes
- Slice and drop shots
- Defensive lobs
The 3 different serves:
- Flat serve
- Slice serve
- Kick serve
The 5 different volleys:
- The basic punch volley
- The swing volley
- The drop volley
- The half volley
- The transition mid court volley.
The 2 different overheads:
- Stationary, service box overheads
- The turn and run, scissor kick overhead with movement
The 5 different approach shots:
- Serve and volley
- Return and charge
- Moon-ball approach to swing volley
- Traditional approach to volley
- Spot a vulnerable opponent and steal the volley
Let’s return to the golf analogy. Tiger Woods knows that each day’s course conditions dictate his upcoming club options. Within your tennis world, your warm up is often dictated by the style of opponent you’ll be facing in the up-coming match. For example, if you know that your next opponent is a Moon Ball/ Pusher, it might be wise to warm up your swing volleys, side doors and drop shots.
Often, what separates two talented players is the time and
energy put into properly preparing for battle.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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Equipment Preparation
The following post is an excerpt from Match Chart Collection. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Equipment Preparation
Are you a serious competitor? If you are a serious contender, the following list of Match Day Equipment Essentials should be included in your bag (or with you) during competition. Circle Yes or No by the tools that are currently found in your racket bag.
MATCH DAY EQUIPMENT ESSENTIALS:
- Three rackets freshly strung and re-gripped.? Yes/No
- Extra sets of strings (your brand and gauge) and extra vibration dampeners? Yes/No
- A first aid kit composed of Band-Aids, athletic tape, elastic bandages, appropriate pain reliever, plastic bags for ice, liquid Band-Aid, hair ties etc.? Yes/No
- Extra shoelaces, socks, and shirts; and a fresh towel(s)? (You may need an extra towel to soak in ice water to cool you down in very hot temperatures.) Yes/No
- Water, sports drinks, fruit (banana), and energy bars/gels to be used as quick energy and/or to bridge between meals. ? Yes/No
- Performance goals, match notes and cheat sheets (Reminders). Such as: How to beat moon-ball/pushers, match logs for post-performance analysis, past opponent notes, to possibly assist with matches in future rounds. Yes/No
ASSIGNMENT:
Pre-Pack your tennis bag with the above Match Day Equipment Essentials that can permanently be left in your bag? List any essentials that you wish to add to your bag? Make a check list of your essentials and review before each match.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Review and Organize:
Prior to your match: Review your list of the Match Day Equipment Essentials (Preferably the night before your match.) Pack your perishable Match Day Essentials the day of your match – ice, food, drinks etc.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Plan to check and re-check your tennis bag long before you leave for the tournament site.
Waiting until the last minute adds un-needed stress that can steal your emotional energy before even getting to the tournament.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Organizing Practice Sets
The following post is an excerpt from Match Chart Collection. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Organizing Practice Sets
The art of winning tournaments begins with the science of organizing practice sets. To win an event, a player will usually have to defeat several types of opponents. Worthy adversaries will apply a variety of playing styles along with their own unique strategies, tactics, ball speeds, and playing tempos.
List the four styles of players found in tournament competition.
1.
2.
3.
4.
(Answer: Hard hitting base-liner, Retriever/pusher, All-court net rusher and Drop shot artist)
Have you noticed a singular style of opponent that continually gets the best of you in tournament play?
(Example: Retriever/Pusher)
Now, begin organizing by looking deeper into playing practice sets. Develop and rehearse the actual patterns needed to defuse the exact style of opponent that sends you home early.
List 3 patterns of play that systemically pulls the crafty opponent out of their comfort zone.
1.
2.
3.
Examples Include: 1. Short angle/side door pattern, 2. Moon-ball approach to swing volley, 3. Drop shot to passing shots and lobs.
Readiness breeds confidence. Developing and rehearsing the game plans to defeat every style of opponent is essential to winning championships.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Hydration
The following post is an excerpt from Match Day Preparation. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
HYDRATION
High-performance athletes seeking optimum performance understand the value of proper nutrition and hydration. Uneducated players skipping the pre match nutrition and hydration requirements can expect to fall victim to:
- Lethargic play, decreased strength and reaction time
- Low physical, mental, and emotional endurance
- Impaired concentration, court awareness, and problem-solving skills
- Emotional breakdowns
- Delayed muscle repair and recovery
- Serious risk of dehydration and possible heatstroke (with as little as 1 to 2 percent dehydration)
Now that I have your attention, let’s dig deeper into this topic.
Answer the following questions Yes or No
HYDRATION ROUTINES
- I begin hydrating the day before the match? Yes/No
- I hydrate after rising on match day? Yes/No
- I hydrate throughout the warm up routine and during the match? Yes/No
- I re-hydrate after the match to prepare for the next day’s match? Yes/No
ASSIGNMENT:
Proper fluid intake on a normal day is approximately 6-8 glasses of fluids (48-64 ounces). On a training day, more water/diluted sports drink will be needed. The exact amount of fluid is specific to each individual. Fluid loss from sweat and weather conditions (cold, heat and wind) require additional fluid intake. The below chart illustrates how easy it is to stay hydrated with a healthy diet.
NOTE: If you have a medical condition check with your doctor about individual fluid requirements.
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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