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CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS at The US Open 2017
Skill Sets of Champions
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
QUESTION: What are the hidden skill sets of champions?
Frank: Jarrod Wilson has the Babolat Pure Drive, strung with natural gut on the crosses and polly on the mains… just like the pros. He sports the latest “Nadal” Nike shirts, shorts and shoes. His 12-pack racquet bag even says “TOUR TEAM” on it. Man, he even goes to an $80,000 a year tennis academy. At first glance, he looks like a sure bet for the pros.
Now let’s look at Jarrod’s regiment a little deeper as it pertains to player accountability. Jarrod loses early almost every event in an implosion of negative behavior. There is nothing more common than young, talented athletes that are weak competitors. This is a prime time example of player accountability. After reading the below Ten Essential Hidden Skills of a Champion ask yourself, are there any similarities between Jarrod and your little tennis phenom?
Ten Essential Hidden Skills of a Champion
1) Champions face their fears versus avoiding them.
If you ask Jarrod to play a practice set against a younger retriever he has 100 excuses why he can’t and won’t play.
2) Champions have swagger which is truly different than fake, empty confidence.
Jarrod willingly practices his primary stroke production and then routinely SKIPS his weekly regime of off-court training sessions, rehearsing closing out sets, match play video analysis and his required mental/emotional classroom sessions. His empty confidence shatters under the slightest bit of pressure
3) Champions are strong competitor’s not just good athletes.
Set up a great sparring session for Jarrod and he’ll tell you “No thanks…I’m good! …I already rallied with Kenny today.”
4) Champions do everything to prepare properly.
Jarrod often stays out late the night before a big event, leaves no time in the morning for a real breakfast, neglects to organize his tournament bag, hits for 10 minutes before the match and actually believes he is ready to compete.
5) Champions know that they will lose more than they will win.
Jarrod and his parents believe that he should win every match he plays.
6) Champions develop problem solving skills, confidence, perseverance, determination and work ethic.
Jarrod chooses to focus on stationary strokes, week in and week out.
7) Champions have self-belief and a positive outlook.
Jarrod wears his ball cap backwards and twirls his racquet confidently at the start of each tournament, until the umpire yells “2 minutes gentlemen.” Then like clockwork, he loses focus and morphs into an “Emotional Basket Case” every weekend. Jarrod only has one game style- hard hitting baseliner.
8) Champions develop several game plans, emotional solutions to common problems, agility and brain speed.
Jarrod is brain washed into believing that if he perfects his primary strokes every day, he will go pro.
9) Champions understand that controlling their adrenaline and concentration wins matches.
Jarrod believes that he is the one and only gifted, athlete out there and that should be enough to sky rocket him to success. When his opponents begin to challenge his game, he folds emotionally.
10) Champions spot tendencies and control the energy of the match.
simply hits the shots that feel good to him versus hitting the shots that feel uncomfortable to the opponent.
In conclusion, it’s important to understand that there is nothing more common than extremely athletic individuals with weak competitive skills. This is why, to the untrained eye, it appears that the better “looking” athlete should win. As you all know, it is often not the case. Although it is essential to develop solid fundamental, once fundamentals are developed, the art of winning stems from developing these hidden skill sets.
Championship Tennis at US Open
Frank’s best seller, CHAMPIONSHIP TENNIS is still a featured instructional book
at this year’s US OPEN!
Playing Styles
The following post is an excerpt from Championship Tennis (Available at Human Kinetics , Amazon,etc.). Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Playing Styles
Once players are fully attuned to their personality, body type, and athletic foundation,
they can more effectively adapt their playing style. Having an innate stylistic preference
leads to numerous advantages. The advantages include the following:
• The knowledge to hire coaches and trainers who possess personalities best suited
to accelerate his/her learning curve;
• The confidence that comes with knowing exactly how she/he performs best;
• The ability to lure opponents out of their preferred style and force them to play
out of their comfort zones;
• The ability to impose his/her best style, strategies, and tactics on the most important points;
• The improved ability to reach his.her goal of mastering a minimum of three playing
styles—called A, B, and C game plans—which adds depth and variation to the
player’s game; and
• The opportunity to select a stylistically complementary doubles partner to help form a winning
team.
Though there are subtle variations, six basic playing styles are seen in tennis:
- Net Rusher
- All-Court Player
- Baseline Counter-Puncher Player
- Aggressive Baseliner Player
- Retriever Player
- Finesse Player
Do you know what your preferred playing style?
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Short-Angle (Side-Door) Groundstrokes
The following post is an excerpt from Championship Tennis. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Short-Angle (Side-Door)
In a tennis match, most players prefer hitting hard to running hard. A short-angle, or side-door, shot is a terrific short-ball option that forces opponents to produce shots from an uncomfortable position. Instead of crushing the ball back, a player creates a short angle and demands movement, fitness, and agility from the opponent. Like any undeveloped tool, this is a risky option if attempted without training and repetition. When executed properly,
however, it results in taking opponents’ legs out from under them (wearing them out), putting opponents on the extreme defensive, or even giving the player an outright winner.
Unlike the high looper, the target window over the net for this shot is typically lower than on a standard drive. Because this is a cross-court shot, the ball travels mostly over the middle, or lowest part, of the net. Adding extra spin, especially topspin helps bring the ball down quickly into the court, and the resulting bounce can drag the
opponent even farther outside the court.
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Practice Smart
The following post is an excerpt from Championship Tennis. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
“Practice in the manner in which you are expected to perform.”
Players wanting to maximize potential at the quickest rate are practicing in the manner in which they are expected to perform.
Here’s a common scenario: John takes a lesson on Friday with his local teaching pro. The pro feeds every ball right to John’s primary strike zone. After a half hour of hitting these perfectly placed balls, John thinks, Forget the club tournament tomorrow—I’m going pro! John leaves the lesson feeling great about his game. The next day, he draws a moonball pusher in the first round of the tournament. The opponent plays at two speeds: slow and slower. He also hits with a higher trajectory than John is accustomed to, forcing John to hit at head level all match long. Not surprisingly, John goes down in flames. After the match, he thinks, I don’t get it. I was on fire yesterday. I’m great in practice, but I stink in a real match. The moral of this story? Players must practice in the manner in which they are
expected to perform. This is why some players feel good about themselves during lessons but seldom improve. Accelerated learning means practicing shots in those pesky secondary strike zones so that they’re second nature during competition.
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Flexible skills training
The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
Tennis: Flexible Skills Training
Static skills training, also called consistent skills training, are an elementary training method that is essential in the early development of motor programs. This is most commonly referred to as stroke development through repetition. A player is continually fed balls in his preferred strike zone in order to build proper stroke mechanics.
A sample half-hour lesson using consistent skills training may go something like this: “OK Arthur, let’s hit 50 forehands. . . . Nice job! Now 50 backhands. . . . OK, now come over and hit 50 serves. . . . Terrific! See you next week!”
However, after these skills are ingrained, in order for players to enhance their movement, they must practice in the manner in which they are expected to perform. Players who want to improve their anticipation, foot speed, and general court coverage should trade in their static skills training for flexible skills training.
A sample half-hour lesson using flexible skills training may sound like this: “OK Arthur, today we’re going to run service patterns for about 50 points. Hit your second serve into the backhand corner of the deuce box, and then I’ll quickly feed in two random groundstrokes; hit those to the opposing corner. Then we’ll shift to the advantage side.”
In both sample lessons, Arthur hit 50 forehands, 50 backhands, and 50 serves. Which session improves cognitive processing speed as well as foot speed? Which lesson also incorporates the additional benefit of presetting second-serve patterns? Advancing beyond static drills is a prime example of smarter training, which accelerates the learning curve.
For more information see: Championship Tennis on Amazon.
Thanks! Frank
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Tennis Strength Training
Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo
STRENGTH TRAINING FOR TENNIS
The following excerpt is from my book Championship Tennis. For more information see The Tennis Parent’s Bible and/or Championship Tennis.
Although equipment and improved technique can help increase the power of strokes, the greatest gains are brought about by physical improvements. Resistance training is an excellent training method for tennis players because the sport of tennis forces players to control their body through space, just as an athlete would during competition. This is not to say that free weights such as dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells have no value. Far from it.- they are great for building strong muscles and developing power.
Tennis players need their fitness to mirror what they need on the court (once again, practicing in the manner in which they are expected to perform). For this reason, the most practical and valuable tool for developing massive power for tennis-specific movements is the weighted medicine ball. Medicine ball exercises work the five regions necessary for massive power: the core, legs, chest, arms, and shoulders.
Special Note: Indian Well Tennis Garden in California has a large grassy area near the tennis courts that the professional use to off-court train while playing the Indian Wells BNP Paribas Open. The public can watch the pros off court training with their coaches- It is a great learning tool for your player to watch the players train on the lawn- you will see the Pros perform medicine ball and resistance band drills as well as speed and agility exercises on the lawn.
Be sure your player includes the medicine ball inn their tennis development. Your player has an off court training regime- right? Fitness is essential to a successful tennis career!
Frank
See Championship Tennis for tennis specific medicine ball workouts
Contact: Frank Giampaolo
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Tennis Myths
The following is an excerpt from book Championship Tennis. Thanks for visiting, Frank
TENNIS MYTH Number 1: If you’re laughing, you’re not working hard enough…
When you laugh, dance, smile or even hug someone you get biochemical surges of positive energy. Neuroscience studies clearly show that when you smile and laugh you stay in the correct (right) side of your brain. This is where muscles flow effortlessly and great decisions are made quickly. When you’re mad, judgmental or over analytical the right side of your brain shuts down and you are toast!
TENNIS MYTH Number 2: To be great, I have to play at my peak everyday…
Peak level and peak efforts are two different elements. It is too taxing to be physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally ready to battle everyday of their lives. Training in intervals is called periodization. After a tournament you should “unplug”. That’s right, recharge the batteries. In the practice phase strive for peak effort and let go of peak performance.
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