Tag Archives: Coach Frank Giampaolo

How the Brain Affects Performance- Part 4

Posted on June 1, 2020 by in The Soft Science of Tennis

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

Soft Science of Tennis_3D_Cover_version5

How the Brain Affects Performance

Judgers (J) versus Perceivers (P)

Judger Students

  • Prefer planned, orderly structured lessons.
  • Often postpone competing because they’re not 100% ready.
  • Are frequently afraid to make the wrong decision, so they freeze up in competition.
  • Need closure with a task before moving onto the next drill.
  • Enjoy making detailed lists to ensure productivity.
  • Have a strong need to control most aspects of situations.
  • Change is uncomfortable and is typically shunned.
  • Multitasking is avoided, as they prefer to focus on one component at a time.
  • Rules and laws apply to them and everyone else in the academy.
  • Often closed-minded to new information until its proven correct.
  • Often more-fixed-mind-set versus growth-mind-set.
  • Self-regulated and enjoy working their customized developmental plan.

 

Perceiver Students

  • In competition, perceivers are mentally found in the future, not the present.
  • Often struggle with closing out leads in matches.
  • Day-dream and often struggle with remaining on task.
  • Are flexible and spontaneous.
  • Easily adapt to ever-changing match situations.
  • Open to discussing and applying new, unproven concepts.
  • Often more growth-mindset versus fixed-mindset.
  • Appear relaxed and loose under stress.
  • Perform in cycles of energy.
  • Typically need goal dates and deadlines to work hard.
  • In matches, focus on outcome scenarios versus performance play.
  • Often postpone training until the last minute.

 

 

“Athletes who make the most significant gains are independent thinkers who are self-aware of their inborn characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses. Understanding your player’s personality profile will enrich your relationships and assist you in helping your students develop excellent technique, athleticism, strategies, and handling stress under pressure.”

 

Take a few moments, sit back, and digest the above information. I’m sure you will smile as you systematically place-specific students, co-workers, friends, and family members into their genetic predispositions.

In chapters 8- 11, four customized challenges and their solutions are provided for each of the sixteen personality profiles.

How the Brain Affects Performance- Part 3

Posted on May 31, 2020 by in The Soft Science of Tennis

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

Soft Science of Tennis_3D_Cover_version5

How the Brain Affects Performance

Thinkers (T) versus Feelers (F)

Thinker Students

  • Impersonalize tennis matches in a business fashion.
  • Continually analyze the pros and cons of each situation.
  • Thrive in private lessons versus group activities.
  • In discussions, they are frank and often void of tactfulness.
  • Aware of coaching inconsistencies.
  • In competition, they are less influenced by emotions than other brain designs.
  • Prefer logical explanations versus hunches.
  • Relate to technical skills training over mental or emotional skills training.
  • Less concerned about personal interaction and group harmony.
  • Prefer work before play even in practice.
  • Value fairness and good sportsmanship.
  • Often seen as uncaring or indifferent to others.

 

Feeler Students

  • Enjoy group sessions with their peers.
  • Often put others’ needs ahead of their needs.
  • Strong need for optimism and harmony on-court.
  • Struggle with match play cheating and gamesmanship.
  • Usually outcome-oriented versus process-oriented.
  • Perform with their heart versus their head.
  • Often miss the details and facts in problem-solving.
  • Sometimes too empathetic to struggling opponents.
  • Need frequent process reminders to regain focus.

 

“A gender stereotype myth is that females are feelers and males are thinkers. While the exact percentages vary widely from study to study, it’s clear that brain function doesn’t necessarily correlate with gender. Nature versus nurture falls into play.

Though societal bias may nurture females to be more nurturing and caring and males to be more tough problem-solvers, females can be genetically wired to be thinkers just as males can be wired to be feelers.”

Tennis Emotional Toughness- Part 4

Posted on May 25, 2020 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

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

frank

 

The Real Talent Is Emotional Toughness

 

6. Embrace Failure
Initial failures are the beginning of the long road to success. They are your teachers. It’s often through setbacks that your customized secrets to success are found.

7. Step Up and Take Responsibility
A challenge for many athletes is to not allow parents or coaches to routinely solve their problems for them. Solve your problems yourself versus tapping out when difficulties arise.

8. Take Competitive Risks
Being scared to leave your comfort zone stalls the growth you seek. Take the risk…or grow old wondering if you were ever good enough.

9.Ask Experts About Their Story
You’ll quickly realize that failing is what winners do often. Winners often don’t have the most physical talent. They most often possess the positive emotional qualities you seek.

10. Organize a New Developmental Plan
Success stems from spectacular preparation. A brand new deliberate, customized developmental plan along with intelligent game day preparation could make all the difference in the world.

Tennis Emotional Toughness- Part 3

Posted on May 22, 2020 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports, Maximizing Tennis Potential

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

frank

 

The Real Talent Is Emotional Toughness

 

11. Apply Positive Visualization

Winners use positive visualization by imagining themselves executing their best patterns and plays without hesitation. Less successful athletes are overcome with negative visualization, which of course overwhelms their thought processes with visions of failure.

 12. Train Under Game Day Stress
Athletes need to train much more than just their physical techniques and athleticism in practice. They have to get comfortable… being uncomfortable.

 13.Rehearse Tolerance
Overcome hardships and pain in practice. Simulating stress in practice provides you with the opportunity to conquer your emotional demons. By doing so, reoccurring game day negative thoughts are replaced by positive thoughts such as: “I’ve done this before, I’ve conquered this several times and I know I can overcome this again because I have done it often.”

 14. Learn to Compartmentalize Emotions
Great athletes stay in their optimal performance frame of mind during discomfort by staying on script (pre-set protocol). This entails choosing to mentally focus on the job at hand by overriding the emotional contaminants, thus not letting emotions control the show.

 15. Stop Feeding Negative. Emotions

Flip constantly feeding the problems, worries, and fears with customizing protocols which feeds optimism, courage, resiliency, and fortitude. Athletes should have pre-set triggers (words and actions) that help them focus on positive plays and patterns.

Tennis Emotional Toughness- Part 2

Posted on May 20, 2020 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

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

frank

 

The Real Talent Is Emotional Toughness

Sadly, emotionally weak competitors often ignore the development of such skills.  Cultivating these character traits is what propels the few into the winners’ circle. If you believe that your emotions are holding you, hostage, on game day and keeping you from the success you deserve, I suggest focusing your attention on the below list of solutions

 

SOLUTION #20: Fifteen Solutions to Foster Emotional Strength

  1. Nurture the Love of Competition
    Studies show that experiences bring more joy than possessions. The energy of the event is contagious. Athletes should enjoy competing against their past, fatigue, opponents, and against time.
  2.  Commit to Improving
    Being the best of the best (even in your town) doesn’t come without extreme effort. Improve your performance by understanding emotional aptitude.
  3. Recognize That You Can’t Be Normal …and a Champion
    Champions lead very different lives than normal people. Being an athletic champion is a daily lifestyle.
  4. Customize Your Training
    Realize that diligent customized training trumps social, group learning. Research shows, on average, group training takes up to six times longer than quality private training.
  5. Adopt a Growth Mind-Set
    Great skills are cultivated through continuous effort more so than initial talent or IQ. Without effort…you fail by default. Understand that success starts with the effort of optimism and a growth mindset.

 

Tennis – Rethinking Stress- Part 2

Posted on May 16, 2020 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

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

ea-in-sports4a_final

 

Rethinking Stress

 

SOLUTION #18: How to Perform Better In High-Pressure Situations

Extraordinary athletes have all found a way to perform in high-pressure environments. One re-occurring theme in this book is that the cleanest fundamentals (in practice) are of zero value if the athlete can’t access them when they need them the most.

The solution to dealing with the high pressure of competition is to begin to re-label pressure situations. Instead of calling it a stressful time, say, “Here we go, it’s a challenging time!” Flipping a negative mental approach into a challenging positive approach provides the athlete with an attainable goal.  By making a conscious effort to replace the focus on what you DON’T want to happen (don’t choke, don’t overthink, don’t miss, and don’t lose) with positive imagery of what you Do want to happen, you will be pre-setting success.

To illustrate how your thoughts control your actions, try this old school psychological exercise: Repeat to yourself 10 times: “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza,” “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza,” “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza,” “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza,”  “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza,” “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza,” “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza,” “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza,” “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza,” “I don’t want piping hot cheesy pizza.” After the tenth time. Close your eyes. What subconsciously enters your brain? PIZZA!

Often the more you try to suppress a thought, the more you strengthen it.

By thinking about negative thoughts before performing, we are “willing” negative results. Studies reveal that if we replace negative thoughts with positive thoughts, our brain will over-ride the negative beliefs. Going into competition without positive mental imagery, such as top pattern play, allows the mind to wander. So to perform better in high-pressure situations, it is imperative for an athlete to trust their training and to fill their thoughts with positive pattern play.

Remember, stress is inherent in athletic competition. But it’s how you choose to let it control your performance that typically separates the extraordinary athletes from the rest of the field.

 

SOLUTION #19: The Antidote for Emotional Sustainability

Remaining in the right frame of mind throughout an athlete’s journey is emotional persistence. Most often, future behavior is driven by emotional reasons. This is why reminding yourself daily of the positive motivational forces is so important. Take 10 minutes each day to focus on gratitude. Simply being thankful for your environment, your possessions, your friends, family, and coaches helps keep your athletic achievements in a healthy perspective.

 

Gratitude is a quick 10 minute cleansing of the soul.

 

Studies show that meditating for 10 minutes daily with the focus on your blessings helps ward off stress and feelings of being overwhelmed. I’ve read many experts in the field of psychology encouraging us to rethink meditation. Let go of the old school image of a Tibetan monk wrapped in a red robe sitting on a mountain and replace it with a new definition, which is the thought of a daily mental, emotional cleansing.

Sports and Optimism – Part 3

Posted on May 10, 2020 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

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

ea-in-sports4a_2d

Question: Do you think feedback from coaches and parents is helpful?

Evan: Yes, I like it when they compliment me on my effort the most. But it interests me to hear all their observations. It helps me improve.

Jarrod: I typically don’t welcome feedback. I pretty much know why I won or lost. I don’t need their comments…I’m smart, remember?

By reading the initial Q & A from the twins, you can see how one’s mindset affects everything. It’s important to note that the individual’s fixed or growth mindset determines critical life development. The good news is that fixed mindsets don’t have to be permanent. Athletes are not chained to their old belief systems.

In my 30 years of working with National Champions, I’ve found that winners are the ones who choose to master their sport. Mastery stems from devoting your heart and soul, which is emotional aptitude. The beauty is that developing a growth mindset improves not only the athlete’s career but their attitude, relationships, and health.

 

Changing a Fixed Mindset

Ideally, every time you hear your old, pessimistic, fixed mindset making excuses for you, acknowledge that just maybe your fixed mindset is mirroring your own false insecurities, stunting your growth, and limiting your opportunities. Having a growth mindset requires a willingness to try new solutions. Below are six common scenarios that play out in the minds of many athletes. Athletes have to replace their old pessimistic thoughts with new optimistic thoughts. When the fixed mindset states something negative, the new improved growth mindset should answer with a positive solution to the problem.

 

Fixed-Mindset: says, “Maybe I don’t have the talent. I shouldn’t waste my time training 100%.”

Growth-Mindset: answers, “Even if lose a bit now, with a customized development plan and effort I can build the skills necessary to succeed.”

 

Fixed Mindset: says, “Confrontation is so intimidating and frightening. It’s scary and unsettling.”

Growth Mindset: answers, “High-performance sports are confrontational, but it’s not personal, it’s the nature of the environment.”

 

Fixed Mindset: says, “What if I fail… I’ll be seen by peers, friends, and family as a failure.”

Growth Mindset: answers, “Most successful athletes have failed hundreds of times throughout their career. Failure is a natural part of growth.”

 

Fixed Mindset: says, “If I fake an injury or don’t try, I can protect my ego and keep my dignity.”

Growth Mindset: answers, “Lying to myself is an automatic failure. Where’s the integrity in that?”

 

Fixed Mindset: says “If I can’t be perfect, there’s no use in trying.”

Growth Mindset: answers, “champions in every sport are simply excellent not perfect. I’ll shoot for that. Perfectionism is toxic.”

 

Fixed Mindset: says, “It’s not my fault. The coach doesn’t like me. My parents are pushing me…”

Growth Mindset: answers, “Solutions stem from developing life skills like taking responsibility, persistency, resiliency, and better organizational skills. What can I do to progress?”

 

Your voice is your choice

It’s important to note that athletes need to be accountable for their mindset, attitude, and outlook. If you feel you have a bit of a fixed mindset, listen and spot those negative voices. It takes effort and commitment to flip a fixed mindset with a new, proactive growth mindset. Congratulations are in order for those of you willing to improve your mindset.

Along the lines of mindsets, improving one’s life skills promotes a healthier, self-reliant individual. Life skills are universal stepping stones necessary to succeed in sports and life. At the heart of emotional aptitude is the ability to be self-reliant and self-disciplined, two of my favorite life skills.

 

Parents, if you’re hovering over your junior athlete and solving every problem for them, you’re affectionately known as a Helicopter Parent. By doing so, you’re actually stunting the growth of the essential life lesson skills you seek.

 

No matter the age, coping with success and failure, and managing one’s emotions are skills worth developing. The physical value of participating in sports is only the beginning. Champions take life skill development seriously. Ownership of life skills is the pathway toward developing a strong moral character. Virtues such as courage, fortitude, resiliency, and honesty define strong moral character. With these traits, an athlete has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

 

Why Mental Imagery Works- Neuro Priming Part 1

Posted on April 30, 2020 by in Neuro Priming for Peak Performance

The following post is an excerpt from Neuro Priming for Peak Performance NOW available!
Click Here to Order

neuro priming

The following post is the introduction to the Neuro Priming For Peak Performance workbook.

 

In the medical field, heart surgeons report that if they practiced the way they did just five years ago, they would have been sued for malpractice. Yet, in the business of coaching tennis, teaching professionals all too often teach the same fundamental systems they were taught decades ago. Dedicating most tennis training to grooving forehands and backhands and neglecting training what’s between the ears. Success in the competitive game of tennis is dependent on emotional and mental warfare.

I’ve found that only training an athlete’s hardware (stroke fundamentals & athleticism) and ignoring their software (mental and emotional), often results in match-day disappointment due to underdeveloped competitive skills.

Researchers estimated that even with the best teachers, students typically walk away from their training sessions retaining approximately 20% of the coach’s advice. So to help reinforce lesson instruction, I recommend applying customized neuro priming.

Neuro priming involves mental imagery to review and rehearse solutions for competitive performance. This visualization process is an essential off-court form of training personalized to each athlete with advanced solutions designed for specific match play situations. Neuroscientists report that athletes who apply personalized mental rehearsals drastically improve performance during match play. I consider neuro priming not only fundamental for competitive athletes but often the missing link for athletes unable to compete under stress at their full potential.

 

“Competitive successes or failures aren’t the results of a singular performance, but the result of the athlete’s physical, mental, and emotional routines and rituals.”

 

The Neuro Priming for Peak Performance guidebook provides a fresh, unique pathway to improving tennis skills with a customized script, in the athlete’s very own voice via a series of audio recordings on their phone. Neural priming is not meant to replace an athlete’s on-court tennis training. It is an essential enhancement of their mental, emotional, and physical skills. Just as priming muscles before competition increases athleticism, neuro priming increases cognitive processing speed.

 

The Benefits of Neuro Priming For Peak Performance Includes:

  • Increased confidence
  • Enhanced match awareness
  • Quickened cognitive processing speed
  • Improved the mind-body neuro connection
  • Greater tactical awareness
  • Stroke flaw awareness & solutions
  • Conflict resolution
  • Stress management
  • Opponent awareness
  • Score management
  • Choking & panicking resolution
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Enhanced strategic responses
  • Improved emotional responses
  • Staying on script (patterns and plays)
  • Decreased worry, stress and fear
  • Advanced resiliency
  • Increased motivation
  • Less hesitation
  • Increased developmental organization
  • Upgraded focus ability
  • Enhanced concentration

Tennis Training- Listening Part 4

Posted on April 27, 2020 by in The Soft Science of Tennis

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

soft science

 

Pessimistic athletes project performance anxieties with statements such as:

  • “I’m always worried about failing.”
  • “I’m not good enough for that level.”
  • “I’m not ready to compete.”
  • “I can’t do it…I always blow it.”
  • “I’m not jealous but how is Kelly playing #1 and not me?”
  • “I have to win tomorrow or my life is over.”
  • “I don’t belong here.”
  • “I hate this…I hate that…”

 

Optimistic athletes project self-esteem and confidence with statements such as:

  • “I can’t wait to compete tomorrow.”
  • “I respect him but I’m going to beat him.”
  • “Competing is fun!”
  • “I trained properly and I’m confident in my awesome ability.”
  • “I’m grateful for the privilege of playing.”
  • “I trust my game and problem-solving skills.”
  • “I love the competitive tennis lifestyle.”
  • “I appreciate all the love and support from my parents and coaches.”

 

“A man is but the product of his thoughts – what he thinks, he becomes.”
Mahatma Gandhi

 

Applying Positive Affirmations

If one’s thoughts become one’s reality, what exactly is a positive affirmation? A positive affirmation is a positive declaration or assertion.  As optimistic thoughts sink into one’s subconscious mind, they become a self-fulfilling prophecy over-riding old negative beliefs and habits with positive beliefs and rituals. Positive affirmations sound like silly fluff to specific personality profiles but they are proven methods of emotional improvement. When applied religiously, positive affirmations have the ability to rewire the chemistry in your athlete’s brain. Elite athletes believe in their potential.

 

Assignment

Ask your athletes to customize ten positive affirmations that will help their self-esteem and confidence. Then ask them to read them aloud into their cell phone voice-recorder app. Finally, ask them to listen to their customized recording nightly as they are falling asleep. As they mentally rehearse their optimistic views, new solution based habits are formed and negative beliefs are dissolved.

 

Effective Listening doesn’t stop with the verbal language. A great deal of information is available from the athlete without them saying a single word. The next chapter addresses the high IQ coach’s secret ability to zero in on gathering critical information via non-verbal communication.

 

Tennis Training- Listening Part 2

Posted on April 24, 2020 by in The Soft Science of Tennis

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

soft science

Those of us who fail to abide by the above guidelines send damaging subconscious “red flags” to the athlete in regards to the student-teacher relationship. Parents and coaches who are poor listeners send the following messages to their athletes:

  • Your opinions and views aren’t as important as mine.
  • Your feelings are ridiculous and stupid.
  • I’ll explain your position more accurately than you.
  • Listening to you is a waste of my precious time.
  • I’m superior, stop talking and I’ll prove it once again to you.
  • There’s nothing you can say that I haven’t heard a million times.

Being a thoughtful teacher and communicator begins by being an empathetic listener. Great listeners change the student’s perspective from a problem being a catastrophic event to an issue that is a solvable opportunity for growth.

Questions That Motivate Dialog

A great tool used to develop champions is to ask your athlete for their opinion before you tell them your opinion. Questions can be based on an athlete’s perception of their successes or failures.

Dialog producing examples include:

  • “What was the cause of the winner or error?”
  • “How did that feel when you?”
  • “Were you paying attention to the opponent’s?”
  • “What was the highest percentage shot selection at that moment?”
  • “If you could do it again, what would you do?”
  • “What were you tactically trying to achieve?”
  • “Are you staying on script?”

On and off the tennis court, winners are great problem solvers so avoid the parental and coaching temptation to solve all their problems for them. By doing so, you’re robbing them of the exact skill sets needed to win tough future matches. In the big picture, listening to them versus talking “at” them is a much more enjoyable approach for the athlete. It sends the message of trust. It motivates them to take ownership of solution-based thinking. With regard to keeping athletes in the game, customized student-based teaching is a fundamental missing link.