The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Nurturing your Child’s Tennis Strengths
Your child has a genetic predisposition to excel at a particular style of tennis. A common parental mistake is assuming that your child is wired like you! Most likely they have a different brain type. They may see the world differently and approach tasks differently than you would.
I’ve found that by understanding each player’s brain type, body type and personality traits similar patterns emerge as you examine obstacles and skills. Other similarities are found in frustration tolerance levels, similar styles of play and decision making abilities. The player’s upbringing, family, friends, and cultural environment also play a large part in shaping their game. This is called the “nurture” side. (The other is called the “nature” side.)
To dig deeper into brain typing I suggest you visit my friend Jon Niednagel’s site: www.braintypes.com or Google brain typing and read about your child’s preferred learning style. I suggest, that you first take a few minutes to accurately brain type yourself, your spouse and each family member. It may open a whole new world of communication.
Note: Since writing The Tennis Parent’s Bible, Jon Niednagel’s site is no longer free.
Once you have identified your child’s brain type, consider your child’s preferred learning style. The three preferred learning styles are visual learners, auditory learners and kinesthetic learners. The following is an example of talking to a visual learner.
Mr. Kolouski says to me, “I’ve explained numerous times to my son, about decreasing the racket face angle 30 degrees. I told him to rotate his right palm a quarter of a turn. I’ve expounded on the 60 degree lift through the shoulder hinge. I decipher things for hours. I explain everything in detail, yet my son’s still confused. I feel like I am conversing with a granite wall!”
Explaining detail after detail for hours on end to a visual learner is just plain preposterous.
Different people have different learning styles or preferences. Getting into your child’s world and understanding how he’s wired is the key. Remember that a parent and coaching blunder is forcing your child to enter your world!
Dozens of my students annually win their first National title and skyrocket their rankings by applying brain typing. Their training was systematically customized to their unique brain and body types and their rankings greatly improved. Best of all they enjoyed tennis again!
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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