Tag Archives: cheating in tennis

Dealing with Adversity

Posted on May 24, 2017 by in Cheating, Emotional Aptitude in Sports, Emotional Tennis

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: Why does my daughter become irrational when cheated?

Frank: The human brain simply can’t stand being treated unfairly. It’s that resentment of injustice which triggers the downward spiral. Youngsters feel they deserve a fair chance of any reward being offered and with that taken away … so goes their rational decision-making abilities.

How to handle unjust situations is not a tennis issue, it’s a learned life skill. When a tennis opponent is repeatedly cheating and provoking your athlete, a full-blown meltdown is often the result. Biochemical reactions in the brain distort rational reasoning and the fight or flight syndrome overtakes the situation. That is unless your athlete has been trained to insert the correct protocol- which is the solution to the problem.

Taking back control begins by understanding Channel Capacity- a term neuroscience has assigned to the brain’s inability to process multiple forms of important information at one time.  A common example of channel capacity is texting and driving.

“The human brain cannot solve two complicated tasks simultaneously.”

On-court, the creative line caller systematically pulls your athlete away from the present (performance state of mind) and into the past or future (outcome state of mind.) Understanding this phenomenon is key to salvaging seemingly catastrophic matches.

So instead of little Zack focusing on his performance goals such as “ I’m going to serve to the backhand, hit high and heavy ground-strokes and crush short balls.”, Zack finds himself stuck in the wrong thought process. He is thinking “This guy is such a punk!!! I can’t lose to such a jerk, what will my friends say? I can’t believe I lost the last set, he’s ranked 57 spots below me…” The creative line caller has now got Zack right where he wants him-mentally far away from his performance goals.

If your athlete has issues playing against cheaters, ignoring the issue and hoping it will go away is not in their best interest. I recommend practicing their pre-set protocol during practice sessions to reinforce their match tough confidence. Arrange a few practice matches each week with the opponent being allowed to call any close ball out. Learning to deal with adversity and staying on the correct side of your brain under duress is a skill set that must be rehearsed.

 

Pre-Set Emotional Match Protocols

Posted on January 25, 2016 by in Cheating, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

“The Triangle between player, coach, and parent is full of speed bumps and sharp curves! Everyone wants to accelerate and speed ahead to the supposed finish line. Too often what should be a fun and rewarding journey gets forgotten. kudos to Frank for providing a road-map to developing a better young tennis player, and a better relationship with their coaches and parents forever.

This is a great resource for every coach who wants to develop great players and most importantly, responsible young adults.”Chuck Gill USPTA

Chuck Gill, President USPTA

 

 

The following post is a Q & A excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible available for pre-order now! (Pre-order yours with Amazon and email Linda the receipt at lindateresag@hotmail.com and get two free gifts for immediate download.)
Click Here to Order

 

QUESTION: My child is scared to call an umpire onto the court. How can we help?

Frank: As I’ve addressed throughout this book, pre-setting the emotional match protocols are as important as developing motor programs for mechanical strokes.  The solution to dealing with on-court controversy (such as calling an umpire to the court.) should already be pre-wired before the match begins.  Be sure your child is clear about the actual rules and regulations of competitive play. This requires reading the rules and regulations of the game.  Once your child is aware of the official protocol of calling an umpire to her court, she will be more confident in her proactive action.  Remind her that she works too hard to allow cheaters to steal what is rightfully hers.  Calling an umpire onto the court is demanding fair play.

 

Countering Gamesmanship

Posted on January 16, 2016 by in Cheating, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

“Even if you think you are an ‘expert’ tennis coach or parent, you need to read this book.”JOHAN QUOTE PHOTO

Johan Kriek, 2-time Grand Slam Champion Australian Open

 

 

 

The following post is a Q & A excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible available for pre-order now! (Pre-order with Amazon and email Linda the receipt at lindateresag@hotmail.com and get two free gifts for immediate download.) Click Here to Order

 

QUESTION: What forms of gamesmanship should my daughter expect in tournament tennis?

Frank: “Creative Line Callers” or cheaters, unfortunately play a major role in tennis. Back in the 1980’s I had several opportunities to chat with the legend: Jack Kramer. He said that in his youth, (in the 1930’s) he estimated an average of 6 bad lines calls per competitive match. Remarkably, that number of “creative” line calls remains the same.

“Experts agree it’s most often not the number of ‘gamesmanship’ issues per match that determine the outcome but the ability or inability to recover
after the drama.”

Gamesmanship is found in every age division, from the 10 and under beginning crew to the national level juniors to the ladies leagues and all the way up to the 90 and up division of competitive play. Cheating does not go away… so parents and coaches would be wise to assist the athletes with the solutions needed to overcome these difficult situations.

“Counter gamesmanship tactics are learned behaviors.”

Communicating about possible/probable scenarios and pre-setting your child’s correct response (protocols) is a great start.  Rehearse the solutions by setting up scenarios whereby the form of gamesmanship is discussed and your child has to verbally rehearse their response sequence. Many parents and players are unaware that counter gamesmanship tactics are a learned behavior. Before we provide solutions, let’s review the top cheating antics found in tennis.

Top 10 Antics to Expect in High Level Tennis:

1) The opponent cheating on line calls (especially on game points.)

2) The opponent’s excessive stalling between points.

3) The opponent changing the score.

4) The opponent belittling your child.

5) The opponent taking several extended bathroom/trainer breaks.

6) The opponent displaying temper tantrums and slamming & breaking racquets.

7) The opponent fighting with their parents and/or referees during the match.

8) The opponent’s entourage heckling/belittling your child.

9) The opponent accusing your child of making bad line calls/cheating.

10) The opponent receiving coaching from a parent or coach through the fence.

Developing a protocol to handle each of these antics is an important learned behavior (mental and emotional.)  Organizing the solutions to these antics is a form of preventative medicine. The reason why each of the above top 10 forms of gamesmanship work so well is that secretly pull your child’s focus away from their essential performance goals and into the drama they create.

Cheaters prey on the weak which are those competitors with underdeveloped mental and emotional skills. Inexperienced players fall victim to gamesmanship as they get sucked into the drama and forget about the task at hand.

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