Frank Giampaolo's Maximizing Tennis Potential

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

 Click Here to Order

How do we assist our son in decreasing his unforced errors?

All of his coaches say he is one of the most talented players they have ever seen. His form looks great. Why does he lose to less talented players? Let’s look deeper into the different causes of errors, starting with the mental side.

Shot selection starts with understanding that in between each shot in a rally, there are only about two milliseconds of actual decision-making time. So, how much can you analyze in that small amount of time? The answer is not much. This means that most shot selection options are learned behaviors acquired on the practice court. That is right. These tools must be wired into a player’s game way before the tournament begins. This is mental training.

To explain the importance of shot selection, we will use two of my students, Jack and Jason (brothers that couldn’t be more different). Jason has chosen to focus on tennis’s mental/emotional sides early in his development, while Jack was and still is too cool to listen to this silly stuff.

Strength and Weaknesses

Situation: It is add-in. Holding serve means a comfortable 5-2 lead.

Jason: Selects to serve a big kick serve wide to the opponent’s weaker side; He runs a boring, successful pattern to close out the game.

Jack: Selects to go for a huge ace down the center (the one that he made once in 2010); He misses, gets angry, and rushes into a double fault.

Broad Vision

Situation: Our player just hit an offensive shot and has the opponent on the dead run; the opponent is stretching and lunging at a low slice backhand.

Jason: Spots the visual clues like the defensive court position, body language, open racket face, and defensive strike zone of the opponent. He moves in, takes away the opponent’s recovery time, and steals an easy volley winner.

Jack: Didn’t bother to learn to spot these clues, so he stands at the baseline, lets the opponent float the ball back, and he re-starts the rally. Jack just missed an

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

 Click Here to Order

PLAYER ACCOUNTABILITY

Player accountability stems from a champion’s mindset- which includes a positive moral compass, core values, and a high standard of behavior. Teach your children that even though the hardest path is often the road less traveled- it is also the quickest way to the top!

QUESTION: Why do some athletes thrive under extreme pressure and some meltdown?

Frank: Here’s my understanding of how the brain functions under stress. Nobel Prize-winning Neuro-Scientist Julius Axelrod found that some people crack under pressure more than others because they process slower and become overwhelmed in time-sensitive stressful environments.

In the brain, this is seen as an over-flow of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex (Where quick decision-making and conflict resolution take place.) Stress floods the synapses of the prefrontal cortex with too much dopamine. After the flood, the gene called COMT (catechol-O-methyltransferase) is stimulated to come to the rescue…

Scientists have found that this gene actually comes in two types: fact-acting and slow acting. Those athletes with fast-acting COMT enzymes clear the excess dopamine quickly, allowing the athlete, not to overload. Those with slow-moving enzymes cause some folks to overload and shut down under stress.

The good news for these natural-born worry warts is that if they rehearse being comfortable with the feelings of being uncomfortable, their dopamine doesn’t overflow the prefrontal cortex. Meaning performing under pressure isn’t felt as such intense pressure any longer. You see, what becomes a habit, isn’t as scary. So if your child melts down under stress, ask their team of coaches to add stress simulations to their daily drills and watch your child become “clutch.”

QUESTION: Why do some juniors see a performance review as character assassination?

Frank: Successfully navigating the world requires continual analysis and review. An effective developmental plan needs to be tweaked and enhanced for continued growth. The art of becoming athletic royalty demands the player, coach, and parent communicate about the developmental direction. Players that thrive in the college world have nurtured their communication skills as well as their athletic skills.

Unfortunately, some juniors view performance reviews as lengthy rants pointing out all of their failures. Of course, in the eyes of an experienced coach or parent, performances are actually seen as information-gathering missions- not as life or death or win-or-lose affairs.

Performance reviews are a beautiful chance to discuss issues (successes and failures) so successes continue to increase, and failures decrease in the future. Ignoring successes or failures and assuming they all happen by chance is delusional.

Juniors who don’t bother to learn from their shortcomings are destined to repeat them. I challenge the coaches/parents to communicate with their child about the event. Dig deeper, learn from the facts and review the stats, charts, and video analysis. Juniors, try your best to understand why you’re not getting the results you’re capable of getting.

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

 Click Here to Order

QUESTION: Should my son copy Nadal?

Frank: Before I answer this question, let’s review some of the facts I love about Rafael Nadal…and you should too.

His Uncle taught him how to play. They’ve stuck together as a team. That’s respectful. At 14, The Spanish Federation invited him to train in Barcelona, essentially taking over his training.  He already had a great team so he declined. That’s loyalty.

As a youngster, his emotions were like a volcano, so his uncle made him play with dead balls and inferior gear to teach him how to deal with adversity. That builds character.

• Nadal has an entourage: His coaches, trainers, hitters, and agent has been with him for the long haul. That’s smart!
• Nadal has a pre-match routine that he uses before every match: He gets to the site a few hours early to warm up on a side court; he showers, eats, then gets taped up; he plays the match in his head (visualization) a half hour before it begins; he puts on his favorite Spanish pop music and then The Phantom of The Opera on his iPod; he jogs, jumps in place and builds a sweat while visualizing his performance goals. Great preparation- that’s admirable!
• Nadal focuses on the need to improve versus the need to win. Rafa was quoted as saying, “To improve, you have to make mistakes.  That’s the problem with improving; you have to accept this.” That’s intelligent!

In early 2008 at #2 in the world, Uncle Tony decided that Rafa needed to improve his offensive court position to win major hard and grasscourt events. They worked on positioning on the baseline for months, taking balls early, and stealing volleys.   He went from being a retriever to a counterpuncher to an attacker. Knowing he could still improve, Rafa’s insight yielded him an Olympic gold, a Wimbledon Championship, and the world’s #1 ranking. That’s brilliant!

• Rafa has had more than his share of injuries yet comes back stronger than ever.  That’s character!  (2004- A stress fracture took him off the court for three months; 2005- a mysterious foot injury sidelined him for months; 2009- knee tendentious took him out for two months… the list goes on.)
• Rafa is a well-rounded person who has outside interests and hobbies. He can be found enjoying golf and fishing on his days off. He also champions his own charity foundation called Fundacion Rafa Nadal.  That’s honorable!
• Rafa is disciplined. The next step after motivation is discipline. He does what he has to do when he has to do it.  No excuses, no procrastination. That’s commitment!

So, should your son copy Rafa? You Bet!

Below are tips your child can implement to attain Champion Skill Sets like Rafa Nadal:

• Hit the gym to gain tennis-specific strength.
• Commit to improving with unrelenting determination.
• Develop the mental side of shot selection to master offense, neutral & defensive skills.
• Schedule time to strengthen their speed, stamina, and agility.
• Revise their between-point rituals to enhance their “clear-headedness” of shot selection on big points.
• Upgrade their ability to apply spin.
• Cultivate the competitive attitude. Do this by adding simulated stress with every drill. We call them “stress buster drills.”
• Perfect the ability to live in the moment (producing precisely what the moment calls for) by rehearsing closing-out sets. Replace the need to win with the love of the battle.
• Reform their calmness under stress by simulating those intense moments.

FUN FACT: Average ball rotation off Agassi’s forehand: 1800 rpm, Federer’s forehand: 2500 rpm, Nadal’s forehand: 3200 rpm

The mental and emotional strength of being a fierce competitor and a respectful human being is a learned behavior and is a factor in player accountability.

SPECIAL NOTE: No one can outperform their self-image. Due to their work ethic, perseverance, and consistent discipline, athletes like Rafa have inner strength and inner excellence. They truly believe in themselves and their abilities because they’ve earned the belief.