Tag Archives: athletic life lessons

CULTIVATING LIFE LESSONS

Posted on January 11, 2018 by in 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 NOW available through most online retailers!  Click Here to Order

 Frank Giampaolo

Tennis is a terrific sport that teaches invaluable life lessons. If your athlete is training to the best of their ability and they are learning essential life skills along the way what more could you ask for? Design a customized developmental plan and maximize your athlete’s potential and enjoy the journey! Thanks, Frank

 

CULTIVATING LIFE LESSONS
Rate your athlete’s life lesson skills.

1) Self-Motivation: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2) Personal Work Ethic: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3) Positive Attitude: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4) Time Management: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
5) Adaptability/Flexibility: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
6) Ability to Handle Adversity: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7) Ability to Handle Stress: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8) Courage: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
9) Competitiveness: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
10) Discipline: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11) Accepting Responsibility: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
12) Self Esteem/Confidence: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
13) Independence: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
14) Perseverance: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
15) Setting Priorities: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
16) Goal Setting: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
17) Sticking to Commitments: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
18) Determination: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
19) Problem Solving Skills: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
20) Resiliency: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

 

List your Top 3 Cultivating Life Lessons issues to solve this year?

Life Skills Transcend Sports

Posted on January 9, 2017 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

The following post is an excerpt from Emotional Aptitude In Sports NOW available through most on-line retailers!  Click Here to Order

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Hardships in Sports Prepares you for the Real World

There is no success in high performance sport without hardships. Hardships are actually the lessons needed to prepare athletes for success in the real world.

 

Strength doesn’t come from winning, it comes from the battle.

 

A study published in The Journal of Personal & Social Psychology reported that individuals who experience normal adverse events have better overall mental health than individuals with no real history of misfortune. I’ve found this same scenario to be true with athletes. Many talented athletes who are coddled and pampered by parents and coaches in their youth have difficulty in handling adversity in their teens. These junior athletes are sheltered from the exact problem solving skills they need in order to thrive at the higher levels. This lack of resiliency is an especially important life skill needed for success. In a sense, resiliency is like a “psychological immune system” which aids athletes in coping with the hardships that come with competing at the higher levels of sports.

“What doesn’t Kill you… makes you stronger”

                                                         Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Coaches and parents of athletes should be fostering resiliency on a daily basis. I suggest that you re-visit your test scores in section one and customize your developmental pathway.

 

Life Skills Transcend Sports

Athletic Life Lessons

Posted on June 4, 2016 by in 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 NOW available through most on-line retailers!  Click Here to Order

 

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With summer around the corner, many parents and players will be spending more time together traveling to tournaments and continuing to develop tennis skills.  This is a perfect time to review the below life lessons that you as a parent and/or coach are also teaching throughout your player’s tennis journey. Thanks, Frank

 

CULTIVATING LIFE LESSONS THROUGH TENNIS

Choosing to embark on this journey has lifelong benefits. It is widely known that the participation in the game of tennis cultivates life lessons. Tennis is an individual, elite sport that breed leaders.

“Congratulations for developing leadership qualities in your child.”

Communicating the important life lessons gained through tennis is a critical part of the tennis parent’s job description.

The Game of Tennis Inspires the Following Leadership Skills:

  1. Time management
  2. Adaptability and flexibility skills
  3. Ability to handle adversity
  4. Ability to handle stress
  5. Courage
  6. Positive work ethic
  7. Perseverance
  8. Setting priorities
  9. Goal setting
  10. Sticking to commitments
  11. Determination
  12. Problem solving skills
  13. Spotting patterns and tendencies
  14. Discipline
  15. Understanding of fair play and sportsmanship
  16. Development of focus
  17. Persistence
  18. Preparation skills
  19. Dedication and self-control
  20. Positive self-image

Without these important character skills, success on and off the court, simply won’t happen.  You see, achieving results requires thousands of hours of deliberate customized practice.  Without the above life skills, a deliberate developmental plan doesn’t happen.

Life skills lead to Process lead to Results

My favorite life lesson of the top 20 is persistence. As a coach, to see a talented player without persistence or the willingness to sacrifice and work hard is my worst nightmare! That is why at the junior levels it is often the slightly less talented who are willing to pay the price with smart work that earn all the trophies.

“Nothing is more common than unsuccessful tennis players with tons of physical talent.”

Finding a way through a tough opponent even though you’re having a bad day is persistence. Staying in the correct side of your brain even when things are clearly not going well is persistence. Staying engaged until the very last point is persistence. Now you know my favorite life lesson. What’s yours?

 

CONTACT:
Frank Gimapaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net