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Understanding Internal Pressure

Posted on October 8, 2019 by in Personality Profile/Learning Preference, Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s NEW Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.
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Preparing final cover 3D

Understanding Internal Pressure

 

“Thriving under pressure requires exposure- not avoidance.”

Teaching a junior competitor to handle internal pressure is a complicated affair. It greatly depends on their genetic predisposition. Some personality profiles are wired to overthink, worry, and stress, while others are natural-born competitors. If your athlete wilts under pressure, this is for you!

A solution that will help athletes to become comfortable in match play is replacing the mindless grooving of strokes in the academy with actually competing in real practice matches. Organize your athlete’s training sessions to focus on competitive, simulated stressful situations on a daily basis.

After a solid foundation is built, redundant technical training is counter-productive. Preparing for pressure demands exposing the athlete to more live ball flexible skills training. This allows them to make the software mistakes and learn from them on the practice court long before tournament play occurs.

A second solution in preparing for pressure is to avoid always enrolling your athlete in events above their actual match play level. I recommend also registering your athlete into lower level, winnable tournaments. This will allow them to gain the much-needed experience of playing longer at their peak performance level six matches in a row. Athletes need to routinely experience what it’s like to compete in the semis and finals of events.

Athletes need to become accustomed to the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms and cures found in real match play. Only with experience will they learn how to perform under pressure.

 

Parents, it’s your job to fluctuate your athlete’s exposure to the different levels of competition at the correct time. Their tournament scheduling should be customized to their current needs.

Brain and Body Type

Posted on June 24, 2015 by in Customized Organizational Plan, Maximizing Tennis Potential, Personality Profile/Learning Preference

Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

Championship Tennis Cover

To best help your students, you need to understand the mental and physical predisposition of “athletic royalty.” It’s time to get into your player’s world, instead of continually forcing them into yours.

Old-school teaching and coaching requires the student to get into the authority’s training methodology — which disregards the student’s unique brain and body design. This archaic approach produces average athletes at best, and causes gifted athletes to leave the game at worst.

To get into your player’s world, you need to recognize and respect a student’s inborn characteristics, which mean understanding their brain and body types.

Personality Types

To understand brain (and personality) types, we can use the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), which has four categories with their opposing profiles.

Introvert vs. Extrovert: Introverts (I) are more comfortable laying back than retaliating. They need alone time to recharge and prefer to be inside their inner world. Extroverts (E) prefer to initiate action. They gain their energy by bringing people together.

Sensate vs. Intuitive: Sensate (S) individuals prefer to collect data and facts before making decisions. Intuitive (N) persons trust their gut instincts and are better quick decision-makers.

Thinkers vs. Feelers: Thinkers (T) make decisions through objective logic and impersonalize the situation. They enjoy the technical components and choose truthful over tactful. Feelers (F) are in tune to the emotional climate of the event and others’ actions; harmony is paramount.

Judgers vs. Perceivers: Judgers (J) prefer structure and like things orderly; they make lists and prefer to work before play. Perceivers (P) are adaptable and flexible; they enjoy experiencing new ideas and methods, rather than agonizing over details.

To help identify your athlete’s personality profile, first try categorizing yourself. Choose your dominant brain functions and write down your four-letter acronym. (While each of us exhibits multiple sides to our personality, we each have a genetically dominant trait.) For example, if you believe you’re an extrovert, intuitive, feeler, perceiver, then you are an ENFP.

Now, sit with your young athlete to brain type him or her. (Be aware that young people sometimes misdiagnose their own personality profile as they may choose characteristics they believe to be more popular.)

Motor Skills

The other part of this puzzle is how body types affect motor skills and athletic potential. The two opposing body types are called “fine-motor-skilled dominant” and “gross-motor-skilled dominant.” We all have a genetic predisposition to one or the other.

Fine-motor-skilled athletes excel from the muscles found from the elbows through the hands and fingers. A common compliment is that the athlete “has good hands.” Gross-motor-skilled athletes prefer the use of the larger muscle groups in the torso, legs and feet, and are known for superior core balance and body coordination.

Raising athletic royalty requires matching your young athlete’s preferred brain type and body type design with the right sport, style of play and/or position. Here’s one example, using two students of mine. Evan and Jarred are 14-year-old twins. They take the same number of private lessons and clinics but their training regimen is polar opposite. Evan is ENFP and fine-motor-skill dominant; Jarred is ISTJ and gross-motor-skill dominant.

Evan, being an extrovert, prefers to make things happen on the court. He often charges the net and ends the point with his volleys (good hands). Jarred is more comfortable assessing and then retaliating — the classic counterpuncher. Being gross-motor-skilled dominant helps Jarred uncoil the larger muscle groups of the kinetic chain — enhancing his textbook groundstrokes.

Teaching each student within their genetic guideline will maximize their potential at the quickest rate. Knowing your student’s genetic makeup and natural strengths and weaknesses helps to avoid the needless frustrations in their development and will better prepare you to assist and encourage them.

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

Athletic Personality Profiling

Posted on April 2, 2015 by in Parent Player Communication, Personality Profile/Learning Preference, Raising Athletic Royalty

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

 

Athletic Personality profiling

Terrific children, wonderful adults and tennis champions aren’t born, they are developed. It’s not simply heredity. It is an organized plan. No one becomes extraordinary on their own. The Williams sisters are an actual example of a parent with a plan!  The stories goes: Richard Williams planned to have more children for the sole purpose of developing them into professional tennis players. Wayne Bryan also had a plan with his twin boys, the Bryan brothers.  Without an actual plan, you’ll never know your child’s true capability.

Preparing an organizational blue print will save you thousands of dollars annually. It will also save your child thousands of wasted, unproductive hours, sweat and tears.  Applying the International Player’s Evaluation comprehensive guide will assist you, the tennis parent, in having a world class plan!

Your child is born with a unique genetic predisposition and pre-wired with a specific brain and body type. Consider it carefully as you and your coaches (your team) nurture your child’s talent. This is an important consideration at all levels of the game.

So, what’s the key to maximizing success in the shortest period of time? Is it purchase the latest equipment? Maybe it’s hiring a great local pro?  What if I said neither? The first and most important tool you will ever apply is discovering your child’s personality and brain design.

Old school tennis teaching looks a lot like this. The local pro Jose Gonzales came to the United States from Chile. He was a terrific collegiate player earning a full scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth. Jose even played a few ATP pro challenger events. He found success by being extremely patient. He had a natural gift with his quick feet and he enjoyed running. He took delight in being a steady counter puncher. Jose’s shot tolerance was a 20-ball rally!  As a teaching professional, he demands that each of his students abide by his playing style, disciplines and logic.

Your thinking, boy that guy sounds pretty experienced, let’s hire him as our child’s coach! So, is this the right mentor for your child?

The answer is, not likely.  Why? Because Jose demands that each student plays his style. The style of tennis that your child needs in order to thrive is based on his or hers own unique design. AKA: brain and body type.

Asking your child to play tennis in a style that opposes their skill sets, beliefs and temperament is a recipe for disaster. This is especially true at the beginning levels of player development. One of the quickest ways to ensure that your child will quit the sport is to demand that they play a style that opposes their brain and body type.

Understanding brain and body types is one of the first steps to becoming a world class parent.

 

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

 

Understanding Genetic Predispositions

Posted on February 16, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Personality Profile/Learning Preference, Raising Athletic Royalty, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is a link to one of my instructional articles printed in Tennis Industry Magazine- February 2015.  The article is about the importance of understanding your athlete’s make-up. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

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http://www.tennisindustrymag.com/articles/2015/02/10_your_serve_mind_and_body.html

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

Maximize your Tennis Game

Posted on January 12, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Personality Profile/Learning Preference

Greetings,

Happy New Year!  I hope you had an enjoyable holiday season. I just released  my all sports book: Raising Athletic Royalty: Insights to Inspire for a Lifetime. I combined the latest sports science discoveries and neuroscience personality profiling along with personal lessons to assist parents and coaches in motivating belief, confidence and passion in their athletes. It is now available at www.raisingathleticroyalty.com, www.maximizingtennispotential.com, Amazon, Nook, Smashwords, and  ibook.

The following is an article to help energize your tennis game.

Maximize your Tennis Game

Boost your child’s success by understanding his or her unique learning style. Educated tennis parents are the most crucial factor in the development of a tennis champion.

Do you know your child’s learning preference?  Teaching within the guidelines of the specific characteristics of each person’s preferred intelligence has been proven to accelerate learning.  By identifying your child’s preference, a whole new whole of excitement and success will open up on and off the court.

So why are players re-energized and performances accelerated at my Mental Emotional Tennis Workshops? As a coach, I first identify the player’s personality profile and learning preferences. I then customize their lesson accordingly. Tennis parents can ease the difficulties of their child’s tennis development with the same principles. Energized learning occurs when the player is coached in their preferred style of learning. This accelerates their progression and generates more smiles.

The following is a list of some of the more common learning preferences. Can you spot your child’s learning preference?

  • The Linguistic
  • The Logical-Mathematical
  • The Elegant -Kinesthetic
  • The Musical-Rhythmic
  • The Spatial Brainiac
  • The Interpersonal
  • The Intrapersonal

Let’s review the characteristics of each style:

Linguistic oriented players have a preference for verbal and written directions. These children use an expanded vocabulary and usually prefer detailed explanations for tasks at hand.

Positive ways to engage language-oriented players on court include:

  • Have them repeat lesson plans back, such as strategies and patterns. Ask them to reverse the roll and to explain the reasoning for the drill.
  • Ask them to write down their lesson review in the last 5 minutes of every training session.
  • Ask them to complete match logs after each match as well as daily focus journals.

Logic Minded players prefer structure, order and closure for each drill set. They want to successfully complete an exercise before moving on. These learners demand knowing not only how to hit a specific shot, but where and why. They enjoy working with numbers and facts. They are no-nonsense players who prefer quality over quantity when it comes to training.

Great ways to engage a logical minded player on the court include:

  • During training sessions, require them to close out drills while employing negative scoring. This keeps them accountable for unforced errors.
  • At each tournament, ask them to classify other competitors into their preferred playing styles and list the patterns used to beat that style.
  • Teach them how to chart the top seeds at tournament sites and then compare those charts to their own.

The kinesthetic player gives meaning to the word graceful. These players posses excellent core balance and can easily master elegant looking strokes. Give a gross motor skilled kinesthetic player a ball into their strike zone and “lights out.”

Profound ways to assist an elegant – player on the court include:

  • New developmental programs such as strokes or patterns should be slowly started by asking the player to shadowing an instructor. Also, ask them to stand behind a graceful player with smooth strokes and mimic and shadow there movement.
  • They prefer dress rehearsal repetition so they can simply recreate those patterns during match play. Pattern repetition is crucial.
  • Flexible skills training are mandatory for the kinesthetic player. Take them outside their predictable comfort zones to simulate actual match play conditions.

Musically in tune players thrive with rhythm. They enjoy playing opponents who hit the same ball speed, spins and trajectory. These players find the zone when they sing their favorite song during play. Training with an I-pod or music on the court is like heaven to this type of intelligence.

Perfect ways to engage a rhythmic player on court include:

  • Employ cadences and dance steps. For instance, to them, learning a serve motion may have a 5 count rhythm. An approach shot volley pattern may have a 3 step, split step cadence.
  • The best way to engage this type of player is through a consistent rhythm of a clean rally. Grooving is what they love to do best.
  • Train this type of player to handle players who have mastered the art of mixing the spin, speed and trajectory of their shots. Junk ball artists frustrate rhythmic players to death.

Spatial players are often, not the most naturally gifted athletes. They have to work extra hard and are usually prepared to do so. Brainiac’s are great tacticians. They have an uncanny ability to dissect opponents accurately and create a detailed game plan. They enjoy spotting strengths and weaknesses. They easily master the anticipatory skills found in the use of broad vision.

Positive ways to assist a spatial intelligence on court include:

  • Purchase a weekly planner. Structuring all the mandatory components into a detailed, organized plan rationalizes the lesson/instruction for this type of intelligence. Follow the plan day by day.
  • In practice ask them “What was the cause of that error” versus telling them what they did wrong.
  • Video analysis of tournament match play is right up their alley. Developing the art of winning versus simply “how to stroke a ball” truly fits into their frame of mind.

The Interpersonal (Myers-Briggs) personality profiling calls this intelligence “Extrovert- feelers.” These children have an emotional connection to almost everything and everyone. If there are 50 players in a group and 48 love them only 2 don’t like them, their day is ruined. They enjoy harmony and highly sensitive to people and relationships.

Great tips to engage the interpersonal player on court include:

  • These types enjoy group clinics with plenty of interaction with their peers. Gentle reminder: Group workouts don’t always offer accelerated learning, just social interaction.
  • Problems commonly arise in tennis match play due to their short attention span. They often have an inability to focus over the long haul and of course, they get bored with a commanding lead. Closing out practice sets is tenfold more important than rallying back and forth in a group.
  • These sensitive people need to design a protocol for handling cheaters as well as opponents who apply gamesmanship.

Intrapersonal (Myers-Briggs) personality profiling calls this intelligence “Introvert-Thinkers.” This preferred intelligence is remarkable at controlling their feelings, emotions and attention span on the tennis court. Since tennis is an individual sport by nature, these players have a genetic advantage when it comes to distraction control.

Profound ways to assist the Intrapersonal players on the court include:

  • Since they prefer to reflect and think things through before making rash decisions, they need detailed explanations as to why? “Because I said so” doesn’t cut it for this type.
  • They enjoy working alone in private lessons versus stressful group settings.
  • Attacking the net isn’t in their genetic design. They have to buy into the rational and be nurtured to spot a vulnerable opponent. They have to truly understand that rushing the net at the opportune time is in their best interest.

In Conclusion

Identifying and embracing your child’s personality profile will energize their tennis game as well as improve family dynamics. Encourage your child to embrace their preferred learning style and to approach the game (and the world) on his/her own terms. Boost your child’s success by understanding his or her unique learning style.

Thanks, Frank Giampaolo
fgsa@earthlink.net
www.maximizingtennispotential.com
www.raisingathleticroyalty.com