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Spacing Drill

Posted on April 22, 2017 by in Championship Tennis, Primary and Secondary Strokes

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Bestselling Book Championship Tennis available through most on-line retailers!

 Championship Tennis by Frank GiampaoloSpacing

In the early 1990s, I did high-speed video analysis of players’ strokes and discovered that a large a majority of mis-hits occurred because of the player being too close to the ball at impact. Mis- hits also resulted from the player being too far away from the ball, but being jammed was clearly more prevalent. This is why proper spacing plays such a large role in clean stroke production.

Hitting effectively on the move is a requirement for high-level play, and it’s something that must be practiced repeatedly. This is a great drill for developing the footwork required for proper spacing.  An experienced feeder is mandatory for this quick-paced drill. The feeder customizes the ball’s speed, spin, and trajectory to suit the player’s ability level.

Begin with the coach standing with a basket of balls, positioned behind the ad-side doubles alley. The coach will deliver a rapid-fire two-ball sequence to the player’s forehand wing at three different stations on the court.

 

  1. The player begins by standing behind the baseline on the opposing ad-side corner. The coach feeds a high deep ball directly at the player. The player has to run around to the side of the ball and space herself to hit an aggressive inside-out forehand. As the ball is struck, the coach feeds another ball, this time short and inside the service box. The player has to move into the court, properly space herself away from the ball, and once again hit an inside-out forehand.
  1. The player quickly slides back to the base-line, this time at the center hash mark, and the coach repeats the sequence—deep ball followed by short ball. The player continues to direct her shots toward the coach’s corner.
  1. The player quickly slides back to the base-line, this time to the deuce-side corner. The coach again repeats the sequence of deep ball followed by short ball. The player’s target remains the coach’s corner of the court.

 

After the player hits from all stations, repeat the stations with the coach drilling to the back- hand wing. Next, repeat the drill for both the forehand and backhand with the coach standing behind the deuce-side doubles alley. This corner of the court now becomes the player’s target area.

Short-Angle (Side-Door) Groundstrokes

Posted on July 1, 2015 by in Championship Tennis, Primary and Secondary Strokes

The following post is an excerpt from Championship Tennis.  Thanks for visiting, Frank GiampaoloChampionship Tennis Cover

Short-Angle (Side-Door) 

In a tennis match, most players prefer hitting hard to running hard. A short-angle, or side-door, shot is a terrific short-ball option that forces opponents to produce shots from an uncomfortable position. Instead of crushing the ball back, a player creates a short angle and demands movement, fitness, and agility from the opponent. Like any undeveloped tool, this is a risky option if attempted without training and repetition. When executed properly,
however, it results in taking opponents’ legs out from under them (wearing them out), putting opponents on the extreme defensive, or even giving the player an outright winner.
Unlike the high looper, the target window over the net for this shot is typically lower than on a standard drive. Because this is a cross-court shot, the ball travels mostly over the middle, or lowest part, of the net. Adding extra spin, especially topspin helps bring the ball down quickly into the court, and the resulting bounce can drag the
opponent even farther outside the court.

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

Posted on May 16, 2015 by in Primary and Secondary Strokes, The Tennis Parent's Bible

 

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

 

 

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
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Primary and Secondary Stroke Evaluations

Posted on April 25, 2015 by in Championship Tennis, Customized Organizational Plan, Primary and Secondary Strokes

 

The following post is a excerpt from Championship Tennis and The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks, Frank

Let’s say that we are sitting in my hometown of Laguna Beach, California. “Meet me at Tennis West Sports and Racquet Club in El Paso, Texas,” I say as I toss you the keys to my car. You have no maps and no instructions—just a car and a full tank of gas. The ride would take longer than it should, and the process would at times be maddening, but eventually you would probably still find the club. Now if the car has a navigation system with the address already plugged in, the trip would certainly be easier. And if the navigation system also reroutes for traffic jams and construction delays, the trip would be even faster, less stressful, and a more pleasurable experience. Well, think of this book’s evaluation chapters as a customized navigation system that maximizes potential at the quickest rate. Whatever the goal, having a detailed road map is the most efficient and effective way for a player to achieve it. The evaluations that follow will uncover each player’s confidence and ability levels in performing strokes as well as in executing tactics. These components are the foundations of competitive tennis.

To make these evaluations meaningful and effective, the components should be evaluated based on how they hold up under match conditions. In other words, hitting second serves from a hopper of balls on a relaxed practice court is not a good indicator of the dependability of the player’s second serve. The true barometer is whether the player’s second serve is reliable when the score is 5-6 in a tiebreaker.

The player may also want to consult a coach, parent, or playing partner to gain another perspective on his game. This second opinion can often be eye opening. Many players aren’t completely honest with themselves or don’t recognize their shortcomings. For instance, consider the three versions of a forehand: offensive, neutral, and defensive. A player may have a terrific offensive forehand, capable of crushing any ball bouncing short in the court. He may consider this his money shot. Yet a coach may reveal that the neutral and defensive characteristics of the player’s stroke are underdeveloped and unreliable under stress. In the player’s opinion, the forehand doesn’t need improvement, but in reality, it could use a lot of work.

Let’s review The Painter’s Analogy

To this day, we can all run to the store and pick up an intermediate paint set. These pre-packaged sets come with canvas or paper, a few brushes and a strip of colored paint. These “strips” are made up of the primary colors. As we dabble and enjoy the art of painting one thing becomes evident, if only primary colors (black, brown, red, green, yellow…etc.) are used, the paintings will continue to look “amateur.”

Advanced artists and surely professionals have learned that to make a painting jump off the canvas, to become “life like” they need to use secondary colors as well. Now, instead of applying one shade of green, they have 12 versions of green! Advanced painters use both primary and secondary colors.

As parents, we have to encourage, educate and develop secondary stroke principles. The following are the primary and secondary strokes in a Champion tennis player’s tool belt:

The Four Different Types of Forehands and Backhands:

  1. Primary Drive
  2. High, Topspin Arch
  3. Short Angle or Side Door
  4. Slice or Drop Shot

 

The Three Types of Serves:

  1. Flat
  2. Kick
  3. Slice

 

The Four Types of Volleys:

  1. Traditional Punch Volley
  2. Drop Volley
  3. Swing Volley
  4. Half Volley

 

The Three Types of Lobs are:

  1. Topspin Lobs
  2. Slice Lob
  3. Re-Lob (lobbing and over-head smash)

 

The Two Types of Overheads to Develop are:

  1. The stationary “freeze” overhead
  2. The turn & run/scissor overhead

 

The 6 Types of Approach Shots are:

  1. Serve and Volley
  2. Chip and Charge
  3. Drive Approach
  4. Slice Approach
  5. Drop Shot Approach
  6. Moonball Approach

A goal is just a dream without a plan.  Build your full tool belt of primary and secondary strokes and you’ll have a room full of trophies!

Thanks for visiting, Frank

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Mental and Emotional Tennis Tournament Tips

Posted on March 16, 2015 by in Primary and Secondary Strokes, The Tennis Parent's Bible

Thank you for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

 

Ten Tennis Tournament Tips

As tournament play approaches, common stumbling blocks sabotage even the most talented athletes. Often the difference between winning and losing is simply applying the following mental and emotional tips:

1. Warm up your primary and secondary strokes and patterns  Before a match, warm up the stroke and patterns needed to beat the style of opponent you are about to face. Have the appropriate game plan ready. If you do not know anything about your opponent’s style of play, warm up all your strokes.

2. In the match, keep your intensity and focus up until the match is complete. Often you have a comfortable 4-1 lead and tend to relax and lose focus, now thanks to you, it’s a 5-5 dog fight! Changing from “Playing to win” to “Playing not to lose” is changing a winning style of play.

3. Worthy opponents change their losing game plans. Your opponent switches to their plan “B” and you fail to spot the tactical change and fail to adapt and problem solve.

4. Spot and control the Mega and Mini Mega Points. Remember, you have to take the match from a champion. Expecting them to fall apart and quit when it gets tough won’t happen against the top players. Controlling the “big” points is a critical factor.

5. Perform your Between Point Rituals. Controlling the tempo of the match, your heart rate, mistake & anger management and problem solving takes place in between points. Often against weaker players you don’t bother doing your between point and changeover rituals. Later when you come up against a real competitor, you’re not comfortable with the feelings of problem solving and rituals which makes you uncomfortable applying it.

6. Apply the laws of offensive, neutral and defensive shot selection. Some players tend to go for glamorous offensive shots when they are in a neutral “building” situation. Others tend to get scared and fall back to simply hitting neutral shots when they have an offensive situation. Selecting the appropriate shot at the right time is high performance tennis.

7. Control the energy flow. Your opponent wins 3 games in a row and you just wander aimlessly to the next point. Your head is slumped, like a “poor me”…with a “deer in the headlights” look on your face. You are the only one who can stop this energy flow.

8. Second match warm up routines. Before the second match of the day you don’t bother to re-start your pre match rituals. You don’t bother with a short warm up or visualization with your next opponent’s game in mind. Heck, you don’t even go for a run before checking in. You’re sluggish, unfocused, and go down in flames.

9. If you’re being overplayed and can’t find an answer to get into the match. READ YOUR NOTES. You should have your patterns and plans listed. If you’re losing to a moonball pusher…pull out those notes! Try other options.

10. Gratitude. Your family is behind you 100%. They are always trying to assist you in your life’s quest. They pack your bags, string and grip your racquets, put thousands of miles on the family car to lessons, hitting sessions, off-court workouts, practice matches and tournaments every week! They sacrifice the hundreds of things they could be doing for themselves… They spend their time and thousands of dollars on ….you. Yet, you’re all too often mad at them. You don’t have a chance without the support of your parents. Instead of the “attitude” try gratitude. They are the best allies you’ll ever have.

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Only Playing Up Matches?

Posted on March 9, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Primary and Secondary Strokes, The Tennis Parent's Bible

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

 

 

Should my child only play up matches?

Tennis skills must be practiced on the practice court and during practice matches. If your child is expected to win every practice match, they will most likely not practice new tennis skills for fear of losing the practice match.  Putting too much stress on winning a practice match can be very destructive in the development of  a high performance player.

Most junior tennis players and their parents fall into the trap of ONLY seeking “up” matches. Up matches or playing someone better is a terrific way for your child to rehearse their A game plan. It can provide a major confidence boost to hold your own or even take a set from a higher level player. It’s a prominent way to get pushed and stretched to the limit.

Two Pitfalls of ONLY Playing Up Matches:

  1. Your child will lose most of the time and that isn’t always the best way to motivate some brain types.
  2. Your child’s practice match victories may be a false victories! A false victory is achieved when the higher level opponent isn’t trying to win, but is using your child as a sparring partner to rehearse his or her B or C game plans, secondary strokes or patterns. I often ask my players to play lesser players and focus on only hitting slice backhands. They are not trying to win at all.

FUN FACT: Alexa Glatch was a great Southern California junior player. She went on to play on the WTA tours and played on the U.S. Federation Cup squad. All through her junior career we scheduled sparring matches. She would be absolutely okay with losing most of her practice matches, as she rehearsed her weaker proactive patterns or her secondary strokes that she didn’t quite own. Yet in tournament junior match play, she would bring her A game plan and beat most top juniors. Essentially giving her practice match opponents fits.

I suggest asking your child to spend an equal amount of time playing weaker players. This will assist in the development of their B and C game plans. We know that players need to master different styles of play in order to be a contender at the national level. Juniors, quite honestly, won’t even try to develop their B and C game in an up practice match. (They don’t want to lose at a faster rate. Can you blame them?) If they won’t rehearse those skills in an up practice match …and they do not want to play practice sets against weaker opponents…when will the skills be developed and rehearsed?

The interesting question is: Why won’t your child play players they speculate are worse? Usually it is a genuine fear of an ego whipping.

SPECIAL NOTE: Players that won’t play down practice matches can often blame their parent’s fragile ego. Uneducated parents unknowingly sabotage their child’s growth by not allowing them to play sets versus different styles and levels of opponents. Consider paying a college player or great adult club player to play practice matches?

At our workshops, we structure practice sets against different styles of opponents, not just different levels. If your child has issues beating a Moonball/Pusher… guess what we focus on? You guessed it, the tools required to beat a Moonball/Pusher! Also, we gladly assist players in finding a weekly up match as long as they agree to play a down match as well.

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Nurturing the Complete Tennis Player

Posted on March 4, 2015 by in Customized Organizational Plan, Maximizing Tennis Potential, Primary and Secondary Strokes, The Tennis Parent's Bible

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

CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS PDF FILE

 The Complete Tennis Player

The evolution of your child’s progress is a direct link to their training methods. Progress is not made while staying in one’s comfort zone. I suggest asking your youngster to step outside of their comfort zone as they enter into the learning zone. This is where advances actually take place. The following are essential components to accelerating your child’s performance. (For more information: The Tennis Parent’s Bible)

Nurture All Four Sides of a Complete Player:

Primary and Secondary Stroke Skills

The four different forehands, four different backhands, three different serves and four different volleys need to be developed. Players possessing keen primary strokes and non-existent secondary strokes are usually come in second in a field of two. Your child’s game needs depth to go deep into the draw.

Shot and Pattern Selection Skills

Independently place your child in an offense, neutral or defensive position. Drill the movement and typical shot selections of that position. Secondly, assist your youngster in designing their proactive patterns. That is their serve patterns, return patterns, rally patterns and net rushing patterns.

Movement and Fitness Skills

Anticipatory speed is just as important as foot speed. A typical movement drill requires the coach to explain the sequence. The coach says, “Ok, forehand approach shot, forehand volley, backhand volley, overhead, let’s do it!”

I recommend training brain speed as well. So, I would say “Get to the net, I’ll give you 4-6 shots”. I would randomly mix in approach shots, swing volley approach shots, traditional volleys, half volleys and overheads.

Now, multitasking begins. In essence, practicing in the manner in which their expected to perform.

Focus and Emotional Skills

Emotions come into play during live ball, not drills. We call it dress rehearsal/stress rehearsal. In the session, start sets half way through and asks your child to close it out with role playing.

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Cultivating Proactive Patterns

Posted on March 2, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Primary and Secondary Strokes, Tennis Parent Education

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

Cultivating Proactive Patterns

As athletes in every sport progress from recreational players to competitive players they shift from playing reactive ball to proactive ball. Think about organized soccer, basketball and American football. Do they run plays? You bet!

In tennis, your child should shift from playing “catch” (hitting back and forth with their coach) to playing “keep away!”

Many talented tennis players spend their developmental years hitting back and forth from the base line.  You know the drills- down the line, cross court, up the middle etc. But to accelerate your child’s tennis game, be sure their practice includes pattern play and random ball drills.

Can your child list their favorite serving patterns, return of service patterns, rally patterns and net rushing patterns?  If your child hasn’t established these protocols, they are just playing reactive tennis.  Champions play proactive tennis.

The Tennis Parent’s Bible offers hundreds of hours of instruction/ direction for less than the cost of a half hour lesson.

Thanks for visiting, Frank

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Essential Skills Champions Develop

Posted on February 2, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Primary and Secondary Strokes, Raising Athletic Royalty, Tennis Parent Education, Tennis Specific Training, The Tennis Parent's Bible

Ten Techniques Junior Tennis Championships Develop  0623P_5063

“A Junior Champion is much more than a gifted athlete”

By Frank Giampaolo

 

John Kolouski (The name has been changes to protect the guilty.) has the Babolat Pure Drive, strung with natural gut on the crosses and polly on the mains… just like the pros. He sports the latest “Nadal” Nike shirts, shorts and shoes. His 8-pack racket bag even says “TOUR TEAM” on it. Man, he even goes to a $40,000 a year tennis academy. At first glance, he looks like a sure bet for the pros.

Now let’s look at Johns’ regiment a little deeper. John loses early every event in an implosion of negative behavior. Hummm… why?

There is nothing more common than young, talented athletes that are Weak Competitors. After reading the following Ten Essential Hidden Skills of a Champion, ask yourself if there are any similarities between John and your tennis phenom?

Ten Essential Hidden Skills of a Champion:

  1. Champions face their fears versus avoiding them. If you ask John to play a practice set against a younger retriever he has 100 excuses why he can’t and won’t play.
  2. Champions have swagger which is truly different than fake, empty confidence. John willingly practices his primary stroke production and then routinely SKIPS his weekly regime of off-court training sessions, closing out set rehearsals, and secondary stroke practice. Empty confidence shatters under the slightest bit of pressure.
  3. Champions are strong competitor’s not just good athletes. Set up a great sparring session for John and he’ll tell you “No thanks…I’m good! …I already hit back and forth to a partner today.”
  4. Champions do everything to prepare properly. John often stays out late the night before a big event; he doesn’t make time for a real breakfast; he doesn’t organize his tournament bag; and he only hits for maybe 10 minutes before the match. And he believes he is ready.
  5. Champions know that they will lose more than they will win. John believes that he should win every match he plays.
  6. Champions develop problem solving confidence, perseverance, determination and work ethic. John just focuses on stationary strokes, week in, week out.
  7. Champions have self-belief and a positive outlook. John wears his ball cap backwards and twirls his racket confidently at the start of each tournament, until he begins to play. Then like clockwork, he loses focus, misses a few easy shots and then morphs into an “Emotional Basket Case” every weekend. John only has one game style- hard hitting baseliner.
  8. Champions develop several game plans, emotional solutions to common problems, agility and brain speed. John is brain washed into believing that if he perfects his primary strokes every day, he will go pro.
  9. Champions understand that controlling their adrenaline and concentration wins matches. John believes that he is the one and only gifted, athlete out there and that should be enough to sky rocket him to success. When his opponents begin to challenge his game, he folds emotionally and mentally.
  10. Champions spot tendencies and control the energy of the match. John simply hits the shots that feel good to him versus hitting the shots that feel uncomfortable to the opponent.

In conclusion, it’s important to understand that there is nothing more common than extremely athletic individuals with weak competitive skills. This is why, to the untrained eye, it appears that the better “looking” athlete should win. As you all know, it is not the case.

Once solid fundamentals are developed, the art of winning stems from repetition of competition.  “Practice in the manner you’re expected to perform” is the motto champions follow. Training with competitive or simulated stress drills will improve match performance.

Thank you for visiting, Frank

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

Accelerate Your Game with B and C Game Plans

Posted on January 18, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Primary and Secondary Strokes, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following in an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. 0623P_5063

 

Ignoring their B and C Game Plans?

Developing your child’s secondary strokes is essential for the greatest tennis success. Only practicing basic ground strokes for hours each week is not the best game plan for winning tournaments.  As I say over and over- tennis is a game of keep away and not a game of catch.

At the competitive stage of tennis, spend a few moments to discuss your child’s primary and secondary styles of play in matches. Styles include hard hitting baseliners, all court, net rushers and retrievers. In lower levels of competition, continually bringing the opponent into the net is also an effective style of play.

Set up practice sets for your child against lower level players and ask your child to rehearse their secondary styles of play. Champions have mastered more than one style.

Example:

My step- daughter played her first adult U.S. Open at age 15. In the first round, Sarah’s opponent came out with her plan A (hard hitting baseliner). Sarah won the first set 6-4.  At the start of the 2nd set, the opponent switched to plan B (net rusher) and Sarah went up 4-1. The opponent then switched to plan C (moonball/pusher), Sarah’s least favorite style.  Sarah was amazed to see a 30 year old WTA veteran pushed her way to a $15,000 victory in the 3rd set.

SPECIAL NOTE: Moonball/pushers style never goes away, so your player had better learn to handle it!

Thank you for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
www.maximizingtennispotential.com
www.raisingathleticroyalty.com