Tag Archives: Coach Frank Giampaolo

Competitive Tennis Dramas

Posted on January 26, 2021 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!

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COMPETITIVE DRAMAS: INTERNAL STRUGGLESblack_ebook_design2

 

QUESTION: Coaches always say “focus!” But what should my daughter focus on?

 

Frank: Focus management refers to the skill of focusing on variables in your control.  Throughout a match, a player must shift focus accordingly, so the correct statement is “focus on what the moment demands.”

Back in 2000, I brought in Pistol Pete (Sampras) as the Touring Pro at Sherwood Country Club. During one of our member clinics, a parent of two ranked juniors asked Pete, “What do you think about when you’re playing Wimbledon, down break point…serving in front of millions of viewers?”

After a long pause, Pete said, “I just toss to my spot.”

After about 10 seconds of uncomfortable silence, a short, balding gentleman suddenly vents “Oy Vey. That’s it …I paid $75.00 for your serving clinic and all you say is …to toss to your spot?”

In Pete’s defense, he focused on controlling the controllables.  This skill set was one of the major factors that contributed to Pete’s incredible success. He excelled at focusing on what he did best. Like we covered earlier, the efficiency each junior seeks is based around trimming the fat. This applies to mechanical stroke production as well as the hidden mental and emotional components such as focus.  Pete simply trimmed the fat.

Intermediate juniors often fail to focus on controlling the controllables.  They sometimes worry about controlling all the factors that are out of their control.  Professionals think about a hand full of cue words for each match while amateurs think about a thousand irrelevant thoughts per match.

 

Competitive Tennis Dramas

Posted on January 23, 2021 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!

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COMPETITIVE DRAMAS: INTERNAL STRUGGLESblack_ebook_design2

 

QUESTION: My child’s mind wanders off in matches, how can we fix that?

 

Frank: Lapses in concentration are so very common.

Focus is a key mental/emotional skill set. Without it, even the most gifted ball strikers are usually early-round losers. Focus requires the athlete to understand that their mind is like a muscle that needs to be continually tightened and toned. Remember from the previous section, an un-toned brain can easily slip back and forth between its under-arousal state of mind, to its optimal emotional conduct state of mind to its over-arousal state of mind.

Let’s look once again into the thought process of these three different “headspaces.”

In the under-arousal state, the athlete often begins to detach and slip into past or future thought scenarios. After the mind wanders off, athletes often report that they choked.

In the ideal performance state, the athlete stays deeply entrenched in their calm, happy, confident script of patterns. This mental, emotional state of readiness lasts throughout the match. The athlete often reports that they’re in the zone.

In the over-arousal state of mind, the athlete slips into the over hitting, rushing, and reckless style of play. The athlete often reports that they were trying to play better than they actually needed and simply panicked.

The initial key to solving this issue is to ask the athlete to begin to notice where their thoughts are at certain stages of the match. (This is best done through match play video analysis.)

 

Remember, triggers are used to get an athlete back into their script of patterns. Triggers are both verbal and physical.  Triggers serve the athlete in two very positive ways: it inflates their energy while deflating their opponent’s energy and by sending the message that they’re in it … to win it.

Competitive Tennis Dramas – Anger Part 1

Posted on January 17, 2021 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!

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COMPETITIVE DRAMAS: INTERNAL STRUGGLES

Frank Giampaolo

QUESTION: How can we help our son overcome his on-court anger?

 

Frank: First of all, not all anger is bad. Fire can be used as an analogy. A controlled fire can be used to cook meals and heat homes. An uncontrolled fire can burn down homes. Managing anger and fire requires knowledge and skill. Often it is the good anger that actually propels your child into an upward spiral. This requires being aware of adrenaline. This rush of adrenaline often pushes them into a higher competitive level.  Players who know how to “call up” or “quiet down” their adrenaline at the appropriate times are managing their emotions.

 

“Managing adrenaline is one of the most important emotional skills found at the higher
levels of competition.”

 

Notice how the top professionals know how and when to pump up their energy with the use of adrenaline. When do you see them applying this emotional skill set? Typically it is during the closing stage of the set.

The concerns most parents and coaches have arises when the player chooses to let their negative emotions control their behavior versus focusing on their pre-set performance goals.  In my opinion, bad anger on the court stems from a lack of emotional intelligence, resources, and tools.

Below is a list of mental and emotional components your child should digest in order to begin to manage anger and stress. Talk it through with your athlete and their coaches and have some fun.

 

Developing Mental and Emotional Strength:

Say Something Positive

On the practice court, ask your athlete to rehearse finding something they did well on each point. This will shift their focus from negative to positive. This rule applies to parents as well. Flipping your list of negative comments into positive comments will change your outlook, your relationships, and your world!

Tennis Is Not Fair

There are so many reasons why the game of tennis is not fair. Understanding these issues will reduce the stress some juniors place on themselves. For instance, luck of the draw, stylistic matchups, court surfaces, availability of referees, match location, elements like weather (wind, sun, etc.), and lucky let courts, not to mention the finances needed to compete at the higher levels. Can you think of a few?

Managing Stress

Experience tells us that if you are in a verbal argument, take some time to clear your head. Get away, go for a brisk walk. Talk to your child about time management as it pertains to controlling the pace of the match. Winners often take (legal) bathroom breaks at critical times during match play. I am sure you have seen this control drama play out in both professional and junior level matches. Controlling the energy flow of the match is a super way to control the fire.

 

Competitive Tennis Dramas- Part 2

Posted on January 11, 2021 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!

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COMPETITIVE DRAMAS: INTERNAL STRUGGLES

 

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QUESTION: What does emotional conduct have to do with winning? Part 2

 

Very few athletes have been taught to be aware of their emotional state of being. An athlete’s optimal emotional state is dependent on their ability to spot their under-arousal and the over-arousal states of mind. Let’s dig deeper into these issues.

Under Arousal -Choking

Players drifting into their under arousal state believe that they are choking. Instead of staying on their pre-set performance scripts and simply controlling the controllables, such as their performance goals, athletes in the under-arousal state of mind begin to choke because they choose to focus on the uncontrollables, such as their anxieties, match outcome, or the ranking ramifications.

Because most athletes haven’t been taught their optimal emotional conduct, they start fearing that they are going to blow yet another match, so they begin to unknowingly push versus hit. Their anxieties quickly spiral out of control as their new negative self-image takes control- essentially allowing the “inmates to run the asylum.”

Under Arousal Solutions -Triggers

Triggers are both verbal and physical solutions that are used to snap a player back into their optimal emotional code of conduct. Triggers used to stop choking include:

Verbal triggers: -“come on”, “let’s go”, “you got this”, “right now”, “hit through the ball”,  “trust your training”, “Play to win!”…

Physical triggers: – Moving your feet and pumping up the adrenaline, slapping your leg, fist-pumping, taking deep breaths, kangaroo jumps, walking more confidently, walking to the back fence and rebooting the energy, taking a towel break, fixing your hair/hat, changing your racket …

 

Over Arousal-Panicking

Players drifting into the over-arousal state of mind report the opposite responses of players choking. This is a sense of panic. Panicking is the opposite of choking because it is underthinking. Panicking players are often seen rushing, applying reckless play, trying to play better than the moment demands, forgetting to apply between point rituals, appearing unattached- with a deer in the headlight look on their face, over hitting, trying to end the point too quickly or playing angry and fearful.

Over-Arousal Solutions-Triggers

There are sometimes different triggers for different emotional states. The solutions to snapping out of the panicking, over-arousal state of mind include:

Verbal Triggers: “slow down”, “deep breaths”, “relax”, “re-start right now”, “3- balls in first”, “steady-high and heavy”

Physical Triggers: A player in an over-arousal state of mind must defuse some adrenaline by taking the full 25- seconds between points, taking the full 90- seconds during changeovers, re-gripping the racket, taking towel breaks, changing your racket, taking a legal bathroom break, taking a legal trainer break.

 

“Maximizing talent under stress requires the athlete to perform in their Optimal Performance state of mind.”

 

Sport science experts can detect whether an athlete is choking or panicking through psychological and physiological tests by monitoring brain wave patterns, muscle tension, heart rate, and breathing rate. They can also detect when a trained athlete switches “channels” away from or back into their peak performance state of mind.

Emotionally educated performers maintain a reduced level of neurological activity, less muscle tension, a lower heart rate, and slower breathing. This saves crucial battery life for the later rounds. Emotions play a key role in competition.

 

“A player’s emotional skill sets control the internal climate that allows the athlete
to perform comfortably for longer periods of time.”

 

Happy New Year

Posted on January 1, 2021 by in The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

WISHING YOU A HAPPY, HEALTHY, AND PEACEFUL NEW YEAR!frank

All the Best, Frank

Tennis Anxiety Issues- Part 2

Posted on December 27, 2020 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

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“I don’t want to play, what if I lose?”

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“Devalue the event to deflate the anxiety.”

A common outcome-oriented mindset is that each tournament is a life or death crisis. This negative frame of mind is counterproductive and incredibly stressful. It would be wise to educate the athlete and their entourage that tournament play is only an information-gathering mission. Each match should be analyzed to determine why they won points or lost points as a result of their competitive decisions. The objective is simple, quantify the data and learn from it.

Competition should be seen as a fun challenge, not intensely difficult or dangerous.

 

Destress the situation by decompressing the athlete.

 

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 6

Posted on December 12, 2020 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

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Parents, Avoid discussing outcome goalsPreparing final cover 3D

 

“On match day, to reach outcome goals, avoid talking about them.”

Many athletes add stress before competition by discussing outcome goals. Such conversations include, “I should beat Zoe 1 & 1, she’s only ranked an 8 UTR”, “I’m going to prove to my coaches and friends that I’m better than Mathew,” “I should easily reach the finals in this tournament!” The focus on these unnecessary outcome goals only adds unwanted stress to a stressful environment.

Similarly, parents are also to blame for destroying the calm mindset athletes seek. Parents often unknowingly add their own outcome-oriented stress as they routinely talk about “you should easily be hitting 2 aces a game with the service lessons I paid for this week!”, “This opponent is a pusher. You should win easy.”, “Once you win this tournament the USTA will have to invite us to the National Campus to train!”

These topics hurt the athlete’s chances of reaching their desired outcome. Instead, leave the speculations at home and choose to focus on the strategic performance goals customized for the upcoming match.

 

Desired outcomes are found when the entourage manages the performance.

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 5

Posted on December 9, 2020 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

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Understanding Internal PressurePreparing final cover 3D

 

“Thriving under pressure requires exposure, not avoidance.”

Teaching a junior competitor to handle internal pressure is a complicated affair. It greatly depends on their genetic predisposition. Some personality profiles are wired to overthink, worry, and stress, while others are natural-born competitors. If your athlete wilts under pressure, this is for you!

A solution that will help athletes to become comfortable in match play is replacing the mindless grooving of strokes in the academy with actually competing in real practice matches. Organize your athlete’s training sessions to focus on competitive, simulated stressful situations on a daily basis.

After a solid foundation is built, redundant technical training is counter-productive. Preparing for pressure demands exposing the athlete to more live ball flexible skills training. This allows them to make the software mistakes and learn from them on the practice court long before tournament play occurs.

A second solution in preparing for pressure is to avoid always enrolling your athlete in events above their actual match play level. I recommend also registering your athlete into lower level, winnable tournaments. This will allow them to gain the much-needed experience of playing longer at their peak performance level six matches in a row. Athletes need to routinely experience what it’s like to compete in the semis and finals of events.

Athletes need to become accustomed to the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms and cures found in real match play. Only with experience will they learn how to perform under pressure.

 

Parents, it’s your job to fluctuate your athlete’s exposure to the different levels of competition at the correct time. Their tournament scheduling should be customized to their current needs.

 

Tennis Can Teach Life Skills

Posted on November 13, 2020 by in How To Attract A College Scholarship

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s updated release:  How to Attract a College Athletic Scholarship.

College standout Steve Johnson provides his view on college tennis. Special Amazon e-Book price is $1.99

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Eliminating Internal Judgment- Part 4

Posted on November 5, 2020 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book, The Soft Science of Tennis. Click Here to Order through Amazon

 

Eliminating Internal Judgmentsoft science

 

How to Strengthen Self Coaching Solution #4:
Identifying Internal Obstacles

Looking deeper into competitive success brings us to a fourth method, which is assisting athletes by identifying their internal obstacles. Although losing to a more experienced player stings a bit, losing to a toad because you have self-destructed is much more harrowing. The secret to conquering one’s inner demons stems from understanding the importance of self-coaching. It is essential to master self-coaching with positive inner dialog by exchanging judgmental tirades with calming routines and rituals.

 

“Overcoming internal obstacles is more satisfying at a deeper level than beating a top seed.”

 

Athletes perform best when they are not excessively judged or overly concerned about the outcome ramifications. Having outcome goals is fine, as long as their focus is on the process. To continually stay process-minded is the backbone of successful inner dialog. What influences athletes most in their toughest moments is their mental commentary. A healthy mindset orchestrates a positive attitude, belief, and effort. So, what is competitive success? Competitive success is performing at one’s peak performance level set after set; the optimum victory for any athlete.