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Competitive Tennis Dramas – Anger Part 2

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible NOW available through most online retailers!

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COMPETITIVE DRAMAS: INTERNAL STRUGGLES Frank Giampaolo

Champions Experience Failure

Discuss how most tennis champions have probably lost way more matches than your child has even played. Ambitious people experience many failures. One of my past students is Sam Querrey (ATP top player). He’s been playing full time on the ATP tour for ten years and has won 7 ATP singles titles and a handful of double events. That means, most of the time, Sam goes home losing week in and week out. Would you say he’s a loser? Not a chance- Sam is a top touring professional!

Never Outgrow Fun

You often see top professionals battle and still smile in the course of a match. Negative thoughts, stress, and anger clutter an athlete’s thought process and tighten muscle groups, both of which decrease the player’s ability to perform. Pessimism affects both an athlete’s physiology and psychology. Optimism is a coping skill used to combat the negatives that are found in one-on-one competition. Smile, laugh, and enjoy the competition.

Tennis Is a Gift Not a Right

Discuss how there are millions of natural-born athletes that are the same age as your child that will never get the opportunity to compete at a high 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 ironic 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 their successes and model them and their pitfalls and learn how to avoid them.

Rehearse Focusing on the Solutions Not the Problems

Ask the athlete to allow you to videotape a few matches. As the athlete and coach watch the matches, ask them to spot unforced errors and then categorize them into their cause of error chart. Ask them to recognize negative thoughts, loss of concentration, or an emotional breakdown on the court. Now, remind the coach not to ask the athlete to think about NOT repeating the problem. That only draws deeper attention to the problem. Instead, discuss the development of the solution to the problem. Then simply focus on the rehearsal of the actual match solution.

A Genius Simplifies the Complex

In the higher levels, most lessons should be focused on “trimming the fat” off of strokes and/or off of the player’s thought control. Going from really good to great is not always about adding more. There are often hidden contaminants that bog down gifted athletes.

Maturing the mental and emotional components is a life skill. Athletes need to manage anger and stress. The old Buddha saying is “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2020 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential

I WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

ALL THE BEST, FRANK GIAMPAOLO

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 4

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

Click Here To Order through Amazon

Keep Your Athlete On-Script before Competition

“Your athlete’s script is their repeatable dominant patterns.”

Let’s go a step deeper into how parents can assist their athletes in preparing for pressure. When your athletes are uncertain, they play confused and fearful. Fear is the enemy of peak performance. When your athletes and their coaches design scripts (with clear physical, mental, emotional protocols), these intentions breed confidence. Focusing on their script of pre-set patterns and solutions serves two purposes for the athlete.

The first benefit is that a proper headspace distracts the athletes from the onslaught of contaminating outcome thoughts. Worrying about the possible upcoming catastrophe gets most athletes into a horrible mindset. While they can’t really stop themselves from thinking, you can purposely distract them from outcome dreams and nightmares. It’s important to note that often, the parents are the instigators of the contamination.

The second benefit is strategic- pre-setting rehearsed patterns and plays prior to competition. This is accomplished by asking your athlete to review their current performance goals, strategies, and contingency plans. Mental rehearsals through visualization is a terrific way to assist the athletes to adhere to their script mentally and emotionally before competition.

Great performances begin with an optimistic organized mindset.

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 3

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

Click Here To Order through Amazon

Is The Parent a Source of External Pressure?

“It’s no secret that a large portion of pressure comes unknowingly from tennis parents.”

The tennis parent is the second most important entity in the athlete’s entourage (The athlete being the most important.)

The parents are the CEO, the manager of the entourage of coaches, and the facilitator of the player’s customized developmental plan. With responsibility comes pressure. This is especially true when the parent is bankrolling the journey. All too often, tennis parents become overbearing yet don’t see themselves as the leading source of frustration.

Communicating with an adolescent competitive athlete isn’t easy. A relaxed demeanor versus a stressed appearance matters deeply. In fact, current studies show that approximately 7% of communication is verbal, while 93% is made up of tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language.

While it’s natural for parents to be on high alert for any possible signs of danger, it’s essential to understand that the athlete needs a calming influence.

Parental pressure can be both real and imagined. In the end, it’s the perception of the athlete that matters.

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 2

Posted on December 2, 2020 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

Click Here To Order through Amazon

Identifying your Personal Stress Response

Preparing final cover 3D

“When results matter, pressure will affect performance.”

Parents, ask yourself, “Is performing under pressure beneficial or harmful to your child?” Your answer determines how likely you are to be affected by competitive pressure. Because of that, your athlete will likely inherit that point of view. If the parent perceives pressure as a negative force, they will repeatedly associate it with anxieties such as negative judgment, fear of failure, and self-doubt. Parents applying a pessimistic viewpoint drains the athlete’s energies before competition even begins. Uneducated parents pull the athlete’s focus away from performance goals and into the praise or criticisms coming their way.

This common negative parental mindset leads to the dismantling of the trust every good coach develops. All too often a stressed-out parent unknowingly sabotages the confidence they’ve just paid a coach to instill. Once tournament titles are perceived as paramount by the parent, the process of performing when it matters most is shattered.

It’s meaningful to understand how stress multiplies. The design of a tournament draw ensures that pressure increases through each round of the event. As the level of stress increases, so too must the athlete’s emotional aptitude. Pressure naturally increases towards the end of each game, set, and match. If the pressure begins to be perceived as overwhelming the performance level will decline. Monitoring and releasing pressure stems from the proper use of between point rituals and changeover routines. Athletes who choose to skip these “recharging stations” routinely breakdown when they need emotional clarity the most.

What if the pressure was seen as beneficial? Billy Jean King famously said, “Pressure is a privilege.” An optimistic point of view is that the athlete is where their peers want to be. Athletes who are nurtured that pressure has positive forces become unflappable at crunch time. These balanced parents who are routinely nurturing tenacity and confidence have athletes who apply situational awareness versus outcome obsessions.

The impact of parents greatly influences the athlete’s physical, mental, and emotional development. In the correct optimistic frame of mind, pressure prompts growth, and consistent growth is what you seek. So, is pressure seen as harmful or beneficial to the development of your child?

Promote competition as an information-gathering mission necessary to test developing skills.

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 1

Posted on November 30, 2020 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

Click Here To Order through Amazon

TEN Questions Parents Should Ask Their Athletes

“Ask…don’t tell.”

Let’s begin with identifying the number one question parents should NOT ask, “Did you win?” This question pulls the athlete into an outcome-oriented mindset, instead of being growth-minded. The art of communication with athletes includes promoting accountability and problem-solving. Commanding your child what to think is a sure-fire way to encourage disconnection. It’s our job to show them where to look, but not to tell them what they see. Teach your athlete to analyze their performance and to research solutions that promote growth and retention.

Questions Parents Should Ask:

How was your preparation?
How do you feel about your performance?
What worked well?
What can you improve?
What did you learn?
How else would you have handled that?
What would you do differently next time?
Are you satisfied with your level of play?
How was your composure under pressure?
Did you thank your coaches?

Competitive tennis is incredibly emotional. Parents, it’s within your job description to share your calmness versus partaking in their chaos. Your child needs to hear, “I want to hear your opinion. I believe in you. I’ll always be here to help you.”

Eliminating Internal Judgment- Part 4

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book, The Soft Science of Tennis. Click Here to Order through Amazon

Eliminating Internal Judgment

How to Strengthen Self Coaching Solution #4:
Identifying Internal Obstacles

Looking deeper into competitive success brings us to a fourth method, which is assisting athletes by identifying their internal obstacles. Although losing to a more experienced player stings a bit, losing to a toad because you have self-destructed is much more harrowing. The secret to conquering one’s inner demons stems from understanding the importance of self-coaching. It is essential to master self-coaching with positive inner dialog by exchanging judgmental tirades with calming routines and rituals.

“Overcoming internal obstacles is more satisfying at a deeper level than beating a top seed.”

Athletes perform best when they are not excessively judged or overly concerned about the outcome ramifications. Having outcome goals is fine, as long as their focus is on the process. To continually stay process-minded is the backbone of successful inner dialog. What influences athletes most in their toughest moments is their mental commentary. A healthy mindset orchestrates a positive attitude, belief, and effort. So, what is competitive success? Competitive success is performing at one’s peak performance level set after set; the optimum victory for any athlete.

Eliminating Internal Judgment- Part 2

Posted on October 31, 2020 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Soft Science of Tennis

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book, The Soft Science of Tennis. Click Here to Order through Amazon

Eliminating Internal Judgment

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How to Strengthen Self Coaching Solution#1:
Video Analysis

One method of combating the athlete’s negative self-dialog begins with videotaping tournament matches and providing non-hitting match play video analysis. This process accesses the specific stressful environment that needs to be studied.

As the high IQ coach quantifies the match data alongside the athlete, I recommend identifying how the athlete’s inner dialog helped or hurt their performance. Were they able to self-coach successfully? When providing match play analysis, remember to apply the five optimistic comments for every one pessimistic statement. Following are video analysis topics the athlete and coach would be wise to discuss.

Match Play Video Analysis

Strokes & Movement Efficiencies & Deficiencies
Anticipatory Efficiencies & Deficiencies
Staying on Script. (Top 7 Patterns)
Opponent Profiling
Between Point & Change-Over Rituals & Routines
Emotional Control
Focus Control
Cause of Errors
Court Positioning Cause & Effect
Score Management

Athletes who are trained to monitor their emotions and inner dialog via post-match video analysis are much more likely to become aware of the software complexities of competition.

DOES YOUR CHILD NEED MENTAL/EMOTIONAL TRAINING? – PART 2

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential, 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 online retailers! Click Here to Order

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DOES YOUR CHILD NEED MENTAL/EMOTIONAL TRAINING?

Is a lack of Mental/Emotional training holding your child back from getting the results they deserve?

TAKE THE QUIZ

The following questions can be used to determine whether your child is in need of mental/emotional training. Good Luck!

My child plays incredibly on the practice court but often falls apart in matches. Yes/No
My child avoids playing full practice matches most weeks. Yes/No
In matches, my child’s focus is only on winning versus actual performance goals. Yes/No
My child doesn’t apply proper change over and between point rituals in matches. Yes/No
My child is unorganized in planning their weekly training schedules. Yes/No
My child has not yet developed his/her secondary strokes. Yes/No
My child has super high expectations and expects to perform perfectly every match. Yes/No
We haven’t yet put together our entourage of hitters, teachers, and trainers. Yes/No
My child hasn’t developed plans or patterns to beat moonball/pushers. Yes/No
My child hasn’t developed plans or patterns to beat hard-hitting baseliners. Yes/No