cheaters | Frank Giampaolo's Maximizing Tennis Potential

Solutions to Confronting Gamesmanship

Posted on January 29, 2016 by Frank Giampaolo in Cheating, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

“Frank is one of the most knowledgeable tennis coaches in the country. He has written, in my professional opinion, the best and most comprehensive tennis book for parents that I’ve read in my 55 –year tennis career.”

Desmond Oon, Ph.D., Former Davis Cup Coach (Republic of Singapore), Author, Master Pro USPTA

The following post is a Q & A excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible NOW AVAILABLE on Amazon!!! (Soon the second edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible will be available on this web site and through your favorite on line store.)

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QUESTION: What are the solutions to confronting gamesmanship?

Frank: First of all, let’s be honest; cheaters do exist. But let’s look at the issue from a growth angle. Cheaters will stretch your child beyond their normal frustration tolerance levels and that’s emotional toughness. Your athlete needs emotional intelligence as much as a wicked topspin backhand. Handling those “creative line callers” is a necessary stepping stone to becoming a tennis champion. Share with your junior champs the below ten factors and they will be better equipped to handle the antics of a cheater.

Three of the Ten Solutions to Conquering Gamesmanship:

Solution Number 1: Pre-match speculations.

Preconceived ideas of what might happen when playing a known cheater often causes so much stress that it can affect the immune system and often results in players actually feeling sick. Many lose sleep the night before the match. Do not let your child’s expectations of the possible cheating trauma pull them away from focusing on their performance goals.

“Worrying won’t stop the cheating…but educating your athlete will.”

Solution Number 2: Focus on what you can control.

This psychological protocol is the fundamental principle to your child’s mental and emotional approach to competition. Expect about 4-6 bad line calls per match. This is not in your child’s control. What is? How about the 40 unforced errors per match they commit? If they limit their unforced errors to 10 per set and they can let their opponent have a few hooks!

“Focus on executing the shots and patterns of play the moment demands.”

Solution Number 3: Ignore the drama.

Emotional toughness requires the athlete to stay on their pre-set script. Understand that focusing on the drama is a psychological trap. Once your child falls for the gamesmanship, they have left their performance state of mind and trouble is just around the corner.

“Intermediate juniors are easy marks because they are mentally and emotionally uneducated.”

CONTACT: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net

Handling Cheaters

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Frank Giampaolo in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

How should my son handle cheaters?

Before we look at cheaters, let’s take a quick look at your own vision. That’s right, your eyes. Studies we did back in the 80’s at The Vic Braden Tennis College showed some interesting data. The human eye cannot register a two millisecond event. That means you cannot actually see the ball hit the court or watch it hit your racquet. The eye is greatly affected by two variables: perspective angles and motion blur.

The first vision variable is the perspective angle that you’re watching from. Try this eye opening exercise at home. My bet is that you’ll laugh as you fail miserably.
Stand at the back fence on one side of a court. Turn facing the fence so you can’t see the court. Ask a friend to place 4 balls on and just beyond the service line on the other side of the net. Ask them to repeat it with 4 new balls on the opposing baseline. When the task is complete, walk slowly to your baseline and try to make 8 correct line calls. Which balls are in, which are out?
Don’t forget that in match play, the ball is only sitting there for about 2 milliseconds (two one thousands of a second). Next, walk towards the other side. As you take a sideline view things change! Now go stand behind the other baseline. Things really become clear. We find that your child may be cheated on average 5 times a match, but usually your youngster plays out balls in even more. You see balls landing a half an inch long appear right on the line from the angle behind their own baseline. This means your child may be falling into the common trap of cheating themselves!
The second vision variable is motion bl This occurs when you are running, landing, jumping etc. While in motion, your eyes are actually moving in their sockets and you could be considered “legally blind.” (That’s why you can’t read the paper as you go for your run!) So the first time your child says, “Are you sure?” your child should be asking themselves not the opponent.
Now let’s look at those Cheaters or “Creative Line Caller” from a deeper perspective. Cheaters will force your child to grow. They will stretch your child beyond their normal frustration tolerance levels. Handling cheaters is a necessary stepping stone to becoming a tennis champion.

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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