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Mental versus Emotional Toughness

Posted on May 4, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

What is The difference Between Mental Toughness And Emotional Toughness in Sports?

Mental Toughness is:

  • Mental Components Relate to Analytical match Decisions
  • Three Tiers of Match Strategy
  • Assembling Game Plans
  • Strategies to Play against the 4 Main Patterns of Play
  • Customizing the Top Seven Patterns
  • Positioning to Maximize Success
  • Opponent Awareness (Style of Play, Strengths and Weaknesses, Top Seven Patterns and Frustration Tolerance Levels)
  • Shot Selection (Hitting the shot the moment demands.)

 

Emotional Toughness is:

  • Emotional Components Relate to Athletes Ability to Handle Competitive Anxiety
  • Controlling Anger/ Fear/Nervousness
  • Staying Unflappable Under Adversity
  • Closing Out a Set/Match/Tournament
  • Concentrating for the Duration
  • Playing at Peak Performance vs Weaker Players
  • Overcoming Choking or Panicking
  • Successfully Handling Hardship (Injuries, the elements, bad luck, gamesmanship, or an aggravated opposing playing style)

 

Diagnosing the correct cure begins with discovering the actual stressor.

Thanks, Frank

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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Causes of lack of mental toughness

Posted on May 3, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

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

 

If I had a dime for every phone call I received like this…

“Hello”

“Hi my name is Mrs. Johansson. My child lost again to a no-body!  I hear that you can help.”  Her voice cracks as she chokes back her emotions, “Chloe is so good but chokes and loses to seemingly less talented player? “

“Why do you think I ask? “

“Chloe’s just not mentally tough! “she adds.

As we dig deeper, we uncover that Chloe’s issues aren’t mental at all.  What makes the mental toughness component so mysterious and confusing is actually quite simple. The answers lie in the true cause of the breakdown versus the actual visible signs of distress.  The signs of on-court distress manifest in emotional breakdowns.

  • On-court breakdowns may include:
  • Hyperventilating,
  • Throwing the racquet,
  • Screaming,
  • Crying ,
  • Fast and mindless  play

The actual cause of the distress includes the four causes of error’s which include:

  1. Mechanical Flaws,
  2. Inappropriate Shot Selection
  3. Poor movement and Spacing
  4. Weak Focus/Emotional issues

Listed below are 3 examples of common match play scenarios where by the on-court outbursts are incorrectly labeled as mental issues.

Examples of Mislabeled Breakdowns

  1. Joey is out of shape. By the third match, his lack of fitness manifests in anger on court. Parents and coaches don’t recognize the lack of fitness issues; instead they say “Joey has mental issues- he is just not mentally tough.”
  2. Sarah has emotional control issues. When hooked by a creative line caller, her emotions pull her focus toward the drama of the hook and away from her actual “mental” performance goals needed to close out the match. Parents and coaches don’t see the emotional disconnect and say “Sarah has mental issues- she is just not mentally tough.”
  3. Mikey has a flawed forehand grip on his two handed backhand. This flaw leads to a rolling racket face through the strike zone. Under stress, Mikey’s muscles tighten and inhibit the smooth relaxed motion needed for him to roll the racket face within the millisecond window through the strike zone. As a result, his backhand deserts him when he needs it the most. This “mechanical flaw” leads Mikey to panic and play faster and faster without any between point rituals. Parents and coaches don’t see the mechanical breakdown and cry “Mikey chokes under pressure. He is just not mentally tough.”

As illustrated above, an on–court outburst has an underlying cause that is very different than the visual actions of distress displayed.  Identifying the underlying problem and proper training to improve the flaw is the only way to become a more mentally tough competitor.

The most efficient training method uses the “school methodology”- systematically shifting through all aspects of training- stroke production, pattern play, fitness, etc.( Just as a school child is shifted from subject to subject daily- such as from math to science to history to language etc.)

All too often, tennis coaches focus only on fundamental stroke production or a singular component hour after hour, week after week, and year after year, while expecting the player to develop a COMPLETE GAME through osmosis.  It just does not work that way. The player’s game becomes unevenly developed and a lack of confidence ensues.

Thanks Frank!

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Are Perfect Strokes Mandatory?

Posted on April 26, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

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

Blunders & Cures by Frank Giampaolo

BLUNDER: Thinking Perfect Strokes are Mandatory

“Nobody has perfect strokes; it’s what you do with what you’ve got that counts!”

-John McEnroe

The legendary Andre Agassi states in his book that he was still learning how to volley when he retired. Pete Sampras wasn’t thrilled with his topspin backhand. They simply competed with their secret weaknesses. The key is learning how to expose your strengths and hide your weaknesses!

Players, parents, and coaches who are waiting for every stroke to be perfect before they begin to compete are missing the boat. Every National Champion I’ve ever coached had holes in their game as they held up the gold ball.

SPECIALNOTE:  At the time of this print, my students have 72 National Titles.

The trick is learning how to compete with imperfections. Even if you did possess perfect strokes on the practice court, different strokes will occasionally break down at different stages of an event. Developing back up plans will help counteract such imperfections in your game.

CURE: While it is important to fix strokes that constantly break down in competitive situations, it is also essential to learn who you are on the battle field.

Ask Yourself?

What do you consider to be your A game plan(The style of play that you achieve your best results)? How about your B or C game plan? What are your best patterns of play? Do you have go-to patterns to run in serving or returning situations? Do you have favorite rally patterns? How about favorite short ball options or net rushing patterns? Do you continually expose the strengths of your game? Do you know how to hide weaknesses? What do you do when you begin to break down in a match? Do you have your pre-set ways to stop self-destructing? Can you develop the above patterns versus just rallying in future lessons?

Write down your Personal Action Plan:

 

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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Tennis Organizational Blunders

Posted on April 23, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

 

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

Blunders & Cures by Frank Giampaolo

BLUNDER: Being an Unaccountable Player

Let’s look briefly at a typical open ranked junior player’s schedule:

There are 168 hours in a week. Sleeping takes up roughly 56 hours, school and homework take up roughly 60 hours, high performance tennis training takes up 15-20 hours, add on travel and meals, and the average player is still left with approximately 25 hours unaccounted for.

Unaccountable players believe they don’t have enough time to train. But, if you are an organized and accountable player, you will see there is actually plenty of time to train!

CURE: Document your personal weekly demands (school, homework, sleep, travel time, on-court training, off-court training, etc.) and then organize a weekly schedule. Follow your plan for one whole week. Identify strengths and weakness in your plan and adjust your plan accordingly.

How much time do you have left after accounting for all your personal weekly demands? Are all your demands essential?

Ask Yourself?

Have you ever heard this quote? “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Are you scheduling training before and after school/work? Have you considered completing your off-court training before school/work? Top players find the time.

 

BLUNDER: Underestimating the Success Formula

Now that you have developed a weekly organized plan, let’s look long term: It is called the 10,000 hour rule.  For approximately ten years, you should be spending 20 hours per week in tennis related activities to become a world-class player. Of course, quality of practice trumps simple quantity. Used as a guideline, the 10,000 hour rule applies to all fields of expertise. Try to use a weekly planner to organize your personal blue print for success.

CURE: Now that your new organizational weekly plan is complete, use your new weekly planner to map out your schedule for the next few months.

Ask Yourself?

How many hours are you dedicating to tennis each week? Is it close to the high performance level of 15-20 hours per week? Can your schedule be adjusted? Can you maintain this new schedule for a month?

Parents and coaches, check out Franks all new book: Raising Athletic Royalty.

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Accelerate Your Tennis Game

Posted on April 15, 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

 

Accelerate your Tennis Game at a Faster Rate

Nature versus nurture is one of the oldest debates in sports: Are great athletes born or made? Are innate physical qualities—size, speed, and coordination—more important than learned behaviors? It would be foolish to boil it down to an either–or conclusion.

Plenty of evidence supports the belief that both factors play an integral part in an athlete’s development. The influence of either factor generally depends on the athlete. From this perspective, every player’s profile is unique. To maximize the player’s potential, the player and coach must understand the player’s genetic predisposition along with personal life experiences. Once players are fully attuned to their personality, body type, and athletic foundation, they can more effectively adapt their playing style. Having an innate stylistic preference leads to numerous advantages.

Benefits of Knowing Your Playing Styles:

  • The knowledge to hire coaches and trainers who possess personalities best suited to accelerate her learning curve;
  • The confidence that comes with knowing exactly how your athlete performs best;
  • The skill to lure opponents out of their preferred style and force them to play out of their comfort zones;
  • The ability of your athlete to impose their  best style, strategies, and tactics on the most important points;
  • Improves you athlete’s ability to reach the goal of mastering a minimum of three playing styles—called A, B, and C game plans—which adds depth and variation to the their game; and
  • The competence to select a stylistically complementary doubles partner to help form a winning team.

Though there are subtle variations, six basic playing styles are seen in tennis. It is important to know which style is most effective for your player and how your player can best compete against each styles.

  • Net-Rusher
  • All-Court Player
  • Baseline Counter-puncher
  • Aggressive Baseliner
  • Retriever
  • Finesse Player

Accelerate your child’s tennis game by identifying their playing style (which is based on their preferred learning preference.) For more information of player see CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS and/or The Tennis Parent’s Bible.

Thank you for visiting, Frank

 

 

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Cleaning up your Overhead

Posted on April 14, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, New Zealand Summit YouTubes

The above post is an excerpt from Frank’s New Zealand Player, Parent and Coach Summit.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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Opposing Force Vectors

Posted on April 13, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, New Zealand Summit YouTubes

The above post is an excerpt from Frank’s New Zealand Player, Parent and Coach Summit.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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High Performance Secrets

Posted on April 11, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, New Zealand Summit YouTubes

The above post is an excerpt from Frank’s New Zealand Player, Parent and Coach Summit.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Top 7 Patterns

Posted on March 30, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

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

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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The Art of Winning

Posted on March 27, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Tennis Parent's Bible

Frank GiampaoloLearning sound mechanical strokes and learning how to win are two distinctly different lesson plans. Learning how to win begins with understanding why you lose.

“Blowing a lead” is one of the most common mental and emotional match blunders seen day in and day out on the tournament trail. Learning to recognize the signs preceding the “Blowing a lead” scenario is the first step in correcting this blunder. Please read on…

We will take a peek into sports psychology to dig deeper into why your child had a top seed on the ropes, let them back in and lost another close one. Developing a pre-set protocol to handling these situations is what we call: The Art of Winning.

Below are Three Common “Blow a Lead” Scenarios and their Solutions:

SCENARIO: Top seed Mary Lee Chin just went down 2-5 to a relative nobody. Without a word, without any facial gesture at all, she calmly sits her racket down against the net and simply walks off the court. Mary is gone 10 minutes and your little Kelly’s mind is racing. “Where’d she go? Did she take a bathroom break? Did she quit? What am I supposed to do? Should I just sit here? Do I get a ref? Should I hit serves? Is she mad? Did I do something wrong? Maybe she thinks I’m cheating her and she is getting a ref against me? ”

SOLUTION : Kelly should take this time to remind herself that Mary knows deep down that stroke for stroke she doesn’t have the answer to beat her. Mary is hoping that her little “walk about” will pull Kelly’s mind away from her game plan and give her fiery strokes time to cool down. Mary Lee is hoping that random external stimuli will race through Kelly’s mind and she’ll temporarily forget about her current task at hand.

Kelly’s only job is to refocus her attention on the exact performance goals she is applying successfully. This includes successful serve patterns, return patterns, rally patterns and short ball option patterns. Any play that’s winning at a 70% rate, keep doing relentlessly.

 

SCENARIO: Your son, Mark, is playing in the zone. The opponent is even yelling “This dude’s treeing!!” Without even noticing, Mark had jumped to a 4-1 lead. During the changeover he slips out of his quiet, relaxed state of mind and begins an internal dialog that sounds like a rapid firing machine gun.” I’m killing this top seed…he’s not even that good. ..When I win, what are all my buddies going to say? What’s my ranking going to jump to? All those academy kids are going to see that I’m the man! Maybe now my dad will be proud of me?” The USTA will surely have to invite me to the high performance camps… I wonder how big the trophy’s going to be when I win this thing?

Mark walks back onto the court with a totally different state of mind. He looks like Mark, but he’s not Mark- “He’s a dead man walking.” Mark starts to play. He’s out of sorts, blows his massive lead and proceeds to lose the match. After losing, Mark’s opponent says” You’re getting a little better, keep it up.”

SOLUTION: Focus control is the learned behavior of rituals and routines. Mark’s loss isn’t due to stroke mechanics; it’s due to his wandering mind and his lack of changeover rituals.

Champions stay in their performance frame of mind during changeovers by applying a mental routine of only thinking two games back and two games forward. Thoughts include: Did I hold serve? Why or why not? Did I break the guy’s serve? Why or why not. Champions have taken the time to learn to how to eliminate external stimuli and only focus on the current task at hand. Mark should play 6 sets and only focus on the art of changeover rituals.

 

SCENARIO:

Opponent Justin has a bad reputation for gamesmanship. After your son Matt built a nice 3-0 lead, JJ or Jerky Justin, as he’s known in the tennis arena (and probably throughout his life…), starts his antics.

JJ is well versed in monitoring the location of the officials. If no linesmen are in sight, he’s a happy camper. Justin is also an expert at spotting an opponent who is emotionally vulnerable. Justin routinely hooks on line calls and does so, usually on game points. To make matters worse, he is well versed in accusing the opponent of hooking him on calls. How could I forget, JJ is also a master at changing the score and/or accusing the opponent of changing the score. I call Justin “type” players “creative line callers” – Unfortunately, they are found in every age division in every section. So, what’s the secret for Matt to overcome this situation and calmly closing out the match?

SOLUTION: The answer lies in discovering Channel Capacity.

Channel Capacity is a neurological term which refers to the degree the human brain is able to focus. The brain cannot successfully focus on two uniquely different tasks at the same time. A junior tennis player with his undivided attention on the drama of being hooked cannot simultaneously focus on the art of winning. (“Creative Line Callers” rely on this fact- even though they do not know why…) It’s a tough task even for a mature adult to focus on their performance goals relevant to the moment at hand, when all they can think about is the deliberate deception taking place before their eyes!

After a heated confrontation, I suggest taking a bathroom break of your own. Take 5 minutes to disconnect away from the drama and reconnect with your performance patterns that got you the lead. Once again, rituals and routines are the key to maintaining the proper state of mind. Rituals keep your mind busy focusing on the art of winning so it cannot wander off to the drama of the situation. Matt should play 6 sets and only focus on the art of between point rituals.

 

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