The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book, The Soft Science of Tennis.
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How the Brain Affects Performance
“Athletes who share similar cerebral inner workings also share mental and emotional strengths and weaknesses
in the competitive arena.”
This chapter will uncover how brain design affects tennis performances. The following brain design categories can be used as an informal observation as you first profile yourself. However, I suggest going online to the dozens of more in-depth questionnaires. Choose the accuracy and depth of the personality profiling questionnaire that is right for you. After a bit of research, you will recognize learning preferences that best describe your brain design.
Let’s review the basics from earlier in this book. There are 16 configurations of personality profiles found around the world. By completing your chosen questionnaire, you will discover your association – a 4-letter acronym nicknaming your personality profile. Once comfortable with the terminology, you will be able to categorize your athletes into their unique designs. Following is a list of commonalities I’ve uncovered on-court with my high-performance students.
Uncovering Your Students Typography
Introverts (I) versus Extroverts (E)
Introvert Students
- Reserved, reflective thinkers.
- Prefer concrete advice versus abstract thinking.
- Need quiet, alone time to recharge their batteries.
- Prefer to blend into groups versus stand out.
- Energy conserving, private and quiet individuals.
- Enjoy the one-on-one settings of private lessons over group lessons.
- Prefer to retaliate in match play versus instigate action.
Extrovert Students
- Enjoy the energy in group lessons with lots of people.
- Enjoy the limelight, center court, and center stage.
- Vocally and physically expressive on court.
- Easily bored with mundane repetition.
- Prefer to make things happen in matches versus retrieving.
- View tournaments as social environments.
- Work best in short attention span type drills.
- Strangers are friends they haven’t met yet.
- Benefit from stretches of silent tennis drilling.
“Coaching confusion takes place when an athlete’s body type (size, speed, agility, strength) opposes their hidden inner workings.
For example, the athlete’s body type appears to be designed to instigate action by capturing the net, but they religiously choose to stay back and retaliate instead. Typically brain design overrides body design.”
