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Tennis Player Accountability- Drive Time Training

Posted on October 25, 2022 by in The Psychology of Tennis Parents, 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
Available through most online retailers!

 Click Here to Order

frank

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: What is drive time training?

Frank: In Southern California, I’m seeing most top juniors that I train spending upwards to two hours a day driving to coaches, trainers, practice sessions, their academy and/or tournaments. A solution is “Drive Time Training”- the training strategies of educating, strength training, motivating, and visualizing while held hostage in that comfortable passenger seat. Taking advantage of the time spent traveling is a great way to handle the frustrations of downtime spent in the car. Below are a few meaningful exercises your junior player will enjoy in the car.

 

Benefits of Drive Time Training:

Educating

There is a huge variety of tennis CDs and instructional DVDs

available on the market. (Visit: USPTA.org) Topics include stroke production, tactics and strategies, movement & fitness, and our favorite, the mental/emotional sides of competition. (www.MaximizingTennisPotential.com offers a series of junior tennis workbooks.) And of course, YouTube is a wonderful place to seek free advice on almost any topic.

Strength Training

“How do they strength train in a car?”  Most junior players lack upper body strength. Building the upper body will assist them in enjoying more powerful serves, stronger slice backhands, and crisper volleys. Remember the old formula for power is: Mass x Acceleration = Power.

More importantly, training the upper body will help prevent injuries. Prevention of injuries is a critical factor in high-performance tennis. Consider leaving bands under the passenger seat and/or light dumbbells stored away in the trunk, and check with your athlete’s trainer to customize your routines.

Motivating

Listen to motivational iTunes/YouTube/CD. Some are so powerful they are literally life-changing! My favorite motivators include Jack Canfield and Anthony Robbins. Check the Internet and read the reviews.

Visualization Exercises

Take their head phones off and ask your player to close their eyes and visualize perfect primary and secondary strokes. Then visualize the variety of their flawless patterns used to beat the different styles of opponents. Lastly, visualize walking through changeover and between-point rituals. If your child has difficulties beating retrievers, here’s a visualization exercise. I call it mental imagery: Ask them to visualize “mock” rallies to 20 with you as you drive. Again, turn off the radio, iPods, video games…etc. The goal is to rehearse, focusing on a single topic for a set period of time.

 

Try this exercise as you drive to your child’s next tournament. They say hit; they then visualize a slow, high arching stroke leaving their racquet, crossing their service line, crossing the net, crossing the opponent’s service line, landing deep into the opponent’s court,  bouncing high, and pushing the opponent back. Now, the parent says hit, and they repeat the visualization of the slow, high arching ball passing the opponent’s service line, passing the net, passing their own service line, bouncing deep on their child’s side. Next, they say hit as the slow moonball rally continues up to twenty. Cut them slack if they can’t focus on a pretend moonball rally. My bet is that you can’t either. (You’ll laugh because your mind will wander all over the joint).

 

SPECIAL NOTE: If they can’t focus intently on a few pretend 20-ball rallies, how will they ever apply the actual focus skill to do it for a three-hour match?

As tennis parents, it is your job to select how and when they program their minds and bodies. Positive programming to and from tennis will lead to increased knowledge, power, motivation, enthusiasm, and calmness on the court. Use drive time training as you enjoy secretly preparing better than all of your child’s rivals.

 

Tennis Player Association- Decreasing Unforced Error- Part 2

Posted on October 19, 2022 by in The Psychology of Tennis Parenting, The Psychology of Tennis Parents, 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, 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: How can we assist our son in decreasing his unforced errors? Part 2  

 

Situation #9: The Easter Bowl (Palm Springs, Ca.) is famous for its windy conditions. Often, players have to cope with 30-40 miles per hour wind speeds. The result is that most often, cautious, consistent retriever style of play gets rewarded. The elements play a critical role in shot selection.

Jason: Adapts his offensive baseline style to a safer style of play. He looks for ways to use the wind to his advantage. He applies more spin on the ball and aims four feet inside the court on every shot. He understands that going for winners in these “crazy” conditions is an almost impossible proposition, so he buckles down and uses his “B” plan. This plan consists of letting the opponent “self-destruct.” Jack: Begins the tournament with the expectation that the conditions are unfair and he cannot play in the wind! He conveniently forgets that he has had many opportunities to practice in the wind in weeks prior to the tournament, but he canceled his lessons because he believed it was pointless to practice in windy conditions. (Jack lives in Southern California and Santa Ana winds are present many times a year.) Guess who lost first and first this year at the Easter Bowl?  

 

Situation #10: The opponent starts off on a hot streak. Within 15 minutes, he is up 4-0.

Jason: Understands that controlling and managing both sides of the net is critical. Since he spots that, he is clearly not in control. He takes a bathroom break. Is this legal? You bet it is! He is looking for two things to happen: One is to take enough time to devise a new attack plan. Two is to act as a “Cooler.” He knows that he has to give the opponent’s fire a chance to burn itself out. We call this a shift in momentum. Jack: Says, “I know bathroom/trainer breaks are completely legal …but they’re for “sissies.” What kind of player takes a legal bathroom break? The answer is… smart ones!  

 

Situation #11: Our player’s opponent is a terrific retriever. He positions himself 10-15 feet behind the baseline and seems to get every deep ball.

Jason: Considers the opponent’s preferred style. He monitors both players’ court positions and elects to incorporate drop shots and short-angle shots to pull the opponent out of his comfort zone. Jack: Is super talented. He can hit all four short ball options (kill, approach, drop, or short angle), but elects to simply kill every short ball as hard as he can. This plays right into his opponent’s spider web. Frustrated once again, Jack walks off the court in record time, breaking a few more racquets on the way.  

 

Situation #12: Our last opponent is an old-school net rusher. His weapons are power and intimidation. He is coming in, and everyone knows it!

Jason: Understands that simply spinning in his first serve is not as macho, but it serves a critical function: It keeps the net rusher from using the second serve as an approach shot. Also, Jason does not go for outright passing shot winners from the first pass, he resists and elects to dip the ball soft and low at the on rushing players feet. This makes the player choosing to volley earn the winning shot, while giving Jason a higher percentage shot at actually passing on the second ball. Jack: You know Jack by now…Jack bombs away at his monster first serve. He hits his typical first serve percentage of 30 percent in. Because of the fragility of his second serve under pressure, he is attacked relentlessly on his second serve. Like most of us, Jack is uncomfortable being attacked. He feels the pressure and goes for huge passing shots as soon as he sees the opponent begin to come in. Most of his passes land closer to the back fence than in the court. After the match, Jack takes his racquet bag and shoves it into the trash can and walks to his car.

The solutions to improving an athlete’s shot selection choices are found in live ball sparring sessions. I recommend finding a suitable partner and book two back-to-back, hour-long lessons with a USPTA, USPTR or ITF certified teacher.  Both families can pay for an hour as the athletes enjoy two hours of training under observation. As live points are played, the high IQ coach will ask the athletes to identify the cause of the error as well as the best percentage solution. This is a great example of practicing in the manner in which you’re expected to perform.  

Tennis Player Association- Decreasing Unforced Error- Part 1

Posted on October 17, 2022 by in The Psychology of Tennis Parents, 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
Available through most online retailers!

 Click Here to Order

IMG_080_R_WHITE

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: How can we assist our son in decreasing his unforced errors?

 

Frank: In my opinion, decreasing unforced errors always starts with the identification process. On numerous occasions, I have asked parents and coaches to chart players utilizing The Cause of Error Chart. (Found in Match Chart Collection at Maximizingtennispotential.com). The results were very interesting.

 

While most of the international coaches solely focused on stroke production year in and year out, the main cause of errors were consistently shot selection and NOT form.

Upon analyzing The Cause of Error Charts with high-performance athletes, the leading cause of errors was Mental-Shot Selection, followed by Movement-Spacing, a very close third was Emotional-Performance Anxieties…and last on the list Technical-Stroke Mechanics!

 

Because poor shot selection is the leading cause of errors at the higher competitive junior levels, let’s focus on that aspect. Shot selection starts with understanding that in between each shot in a rally, there are only about 2 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. Pre-setting offense, neutral, defensive, and directional options is mental training.

 

“High Percentage shot selection is mental readiness.”

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. Below are a dozen shot selection scenarios.  Let’s see how each brother chooses to handle the situation.

 

The Tale of Jack and Jason

Situation #1: It’s an 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 (Like the one that he made once in tornado liked conditions back in 2014.) He misses, gets angry and rushes into a double fault.

 

Situation #2: Our player just hit an offensive shot and has the opponent on the dead run, 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 re-starts the rally. Jack just missed an important opportunity to win the point.

 

Situation #3: The opponent hits a deep cross-court ball.

Jason: Hits a neutral building shot 4 feet over the net and back cross court.

Jack: Tries for a screaming net skimming half volley winner down the line and creams the ball into the bottom of the net.

 

Situation #4: The brothers are in a vulnerable position running fifteen feet behind the baseline, retrieving the opponent’s terrific shot.

Jason: Throws up a deep, high, defensive lob to push the opponent back and gain valuable recovery time.

Jack: Goes for an offensive, down-the-line pass that lands near the back fence…Then screams…AAAHHHH!

 

Situation #5: Our player gets to the ball late. He is off balance and ends up striking the ball down by his socks.

Jason: Quickly dials his offensive shot selection down to neutral and elects to simply keep the opponent from taking an offensive position.

Jack: Is still in full flight and goes for a topspin rip-off of his shoe laces. The ball rips into the net.

 

Situation #6: Our player is winning comfortably 6-3, 4- 1.

Jason: Continues to do the exact same boring shot selections. He closes out the match in a routine fashion. He realizes the importance of saving physical and emotional energy for the next round.

Jack: Gets bored with such a lead. He begins to throw in a bunch of more exciting yet low percentage new things. In essence, Jack has changed the shot selections that have gained him a comfortable lead. Now the set is 5-5, and Jack is so angry that he is acting like a Crazy Person, throwing his racquet and yelling, “I Hate Tennis.” His situation is a result of his wandering mind.

 

Situation #7: Our player is down 1-4 but is actually controlling the court and the points. His hard-hitting baseline style is working, but he is simply missing the put away balls by a few inches.

Jason: Spots that the style is working. He adapts by staying with the hard-hitting style of play and chooses to apply more topspin to his shots and simply aim three feet inside the lines.

Jack: Is so upset that he is missing that he does not spot the fact that he is actually controlling the points with his hard-hitting baseline style of play. So, he changes his hard-hitting style, stands flat-footed, and pushes every shot. Jack’s slow, short balls are now “Sitting Ducks,” and the opponent has a field day hitting winner after winner. After the match, Jack says, “He was too good.”

 

Situation #8: Our player wins the first set 6-2. Upon the start of 2nd set, the opponent shifts from his hard-hitting baseline style into a conservative, retrieving style of play.

Jason: Spots the change in style and counters by simply adapting to the “New Look.” Since he is no longer receiving FREE points, Jason begins to work on his selection of patterns.

Jack: Does not spot the shift in style. He begins to get frustrated by the fact that the opponent is not missing the second or third ball anymore. Jack begins to panic, play faster, and hit harder without even knowing. Jack is trying to force winners left and right. Jack implodes once again and breaks another brand new racquet!

 

 

Tennis Player Accountibility- Tennis Roadblocks Part 2

Posted on October 10, 2022 by in The Psychology of Tennis Parents, 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
Available through most online retailers!

 Click Here to Order

Frank Giampaolo

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: What are some hidden roadblocks and myths in high-performance tennis?

 Frank: It fascinates me how some junior athletes will hold on to crazy beliefs. They would rather live in their “altered state of reality” and continue to get poor results than simply be accountable to their deliberate customized developmental plan. Below I have compiled some of the most common myths coming out of your kids’ mouths!

 

Procrastination

The champions win big-time national titles because they accept the fact that they will be shedding serious blood, sweat, and tears months before the event begins. Procrastinators often do everything else except focus 100 percent on improving. As long as they do not actually give 100 percent on the practice court, they will have a built-in excuse… “If I had the time to practice, I could have beat her…etc.”

Thinking that Practicing for One Hour is Good Enough

Top tournament play often requires that your child compete in two, best of three sets, single matches daily. Since doubles play results count for their overall ranking, throw in a doubles match as well.

Under Training Off-Court

If your child “thinks” that they are mostly in shape…they are most likely not in shape. Players that are in great shape “know” they are in great shape. Getting past the third day of a big event is going to be a challenge for every junior who only “thinks” they’re in shape.

“Solid fundamentals will get them in the draw. Being crazy fit keeps them in the draw. But being mentally and emotionally stable under stress wins titles.”

Cramming Last Minute for an Event

Cramming in training days before a national event will lead to your child’s “batteries” half full come match time. Also, their millisecond decision-making skills won’t be sharp. They will likely hesitate with their judgments and often overthink under stress. Lastly, last-minute crammers usually end up playing sore or injured.

Mistake Management

It is essential that your child understands the difference between a “good” mistake and a “bad” mistake. Also, did the mistake stem from technical form, inappropriate shot selections or poor movement? Mentally making the appropriate corrections without emotional condemnation is important.

Anger Management

Poor preparation is the source of the problems that cause anger. Plans and patterns should be nurtured months before an event. Tools are sharpened, and the rust is buffed out.

 

“It’s not the opponent that causes the actual anger issues in a match. It’s the fact that the opponent has exposed a weakness that wasn’t fixed
before the match began.”

 

Blame Management

Blaming is a common excuse many juniors have perfected. Changing string tension, racquets, coaches, and academies are a short-term, feel-good fix. However, designing a strong personalized developmental program and sticking to it is the solution to their problems.

“Intermediates spend most of their time working on the strokes they already own. Advanced players also spend time perfecting the strokes and patterns they wish to add to their tool belt.”

 

Lack of Pre-Match Routines and Rituals

Essential routines and rituals are used by professionals and often overlooked by junior competitors. Teens are often too cool to prepare properly. Champions act like champions long before they become champions.

To review, I highly recommend taking a bit of time to communicate the above player accountability issues with your athlete and their entourage of coaches. Plan on organizing solutions to the common roadblocks and de-bunking the myths. Again, if you, as a parent, are not comfortable with the developmental process, please hire a high-IQ tennis professional to oversee your child’s strokes and their mental and emotional training components.