Tag Archives: coaching tennis

Embracing Your Identity

Posted on July 13, 2024 by in The Art of Exceeding

THE ART OF EXCEEDING: Building High-Performance Athletes

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Frank’s New Release- The Art of Exceeding: Building High Performance Athletes is now ready to pre-order the E-book version for a Special New Release Price of Only $2.99

The following post is an excerpt from THE ART OF EXCEEDING: Building High-Performance Athletes.

Embracing Your Identity

Each individual brings a unique set of physical attributes, personality traits, and playing preferences to their game. As you progress in your journey, embrace your superpowers and tailor your performance style to align with your strengths.

“Be smart enough to find yourself and brave enough to be yourself.”

Frank Giampaolo

1 Building Your Identity

Staying true to yourself emphasizes the importance of authenticity in developing an identity. Training to play the systems that align with your personality profile maximizes potential. Embracing your personality enhances enjoyment and fulfillment.

2 Finding Your Game

Your identity begins with choosing the right style of play that fits your personality and body type. A typical battle cry from parents and coaches is, “Play Your Game!” Knowing your true identity is your game. Practicing in the manner you’re expected to perform is called “situational training.”

Training your response to typical situations requires you to know who you are? What reoccurring situations cause difficulty? Listing and embracing your unique responses to those “moment” is finding your game.

3 Developing Your Signature Shots and Strategies

Signature Shots and patterns are your go-to preferred plays. Exposing your strengths is a proactive approach. Everyone has signature shots; applying them on big moments is a great strategic intention. Plan on spending a lot of time strengthening your weapons.

4 Leveraging Innate Qualities

Identifying your strengths begins with reflecting on the four pillars (techniques, athleticism, mental and emotional). Begin by deciding to capitalize on your strengths in the four pillars of your game. Addressing weaknesses starts with an honest assessment of the game’s four pillars. Work with your coaches to design targeted training programs to overcome those weaknesses.

5 The Impact of Mental and Emotional Alignment

Embracing the development of your software components is a crucial aspect of peak performance. Identify and understand the strengths and weaknesses of your mental (thinking) and emotional (feeling) components. Hire an experienced mental coach to help align your playing style with your personality, which leads to quicker gains.

As you build your competitive identity, stay true to yourself. Nurture a style that brings joy and fulfillment to your game.

By combining individuality with strategic adaptability, you’ll create a distinctive playing style that sets you on the path to success in the world of high-performance.

Personality Based Training – Part 2

Posted on May 18, 2021 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

frank

 

Getting to know the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The MBTI is the most popular psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. It’s my intention to bring to light the usefulness of brain preference identification in the tennis industry. Each student has a preferred way of seeing the world. The basic MBTI theory categorizes preferences into four groups from which individuals identify their dominant cerebral preference.

The Typographies Include:

  • Extraversion (“E”)- People/Places
  • Introversion (“I”)- Theories/ Information
  • Sensing (“S”)- Facts/Reality
  • Intuition (“N”) Possibilities/Potential
  • Thinking (“T”)- Logic/Truthfulness
  • Feeling (“F”)- Harmony/Relationships
  • Judgment (“J”)- Orderly/Structured
  • Perception (“P”)- Flexible/Adaptable

 

For each of the above pairings, your athletes typically have a preference for one system above the other. The combination of their four preferences gives them their initial assessment in a four-letter acronym. An example is personality profile: ISTP (Introvert Sensate Thinker Perceiver)

 

“View your athlete’s brain design (dominant and auxiliary) the same way you would view right-handed versus left-handed body type functions.
Each athlete has an inborn preferred system.”

 

Effective Listening- Part 5

Posted on April 28, 2021 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

Effective Listening- Part 5Frank Giampaolo

Some athletes affirm positive results while others affirm catastrophe. Researchers continue to acknowledge the power thoughts have on one’s actions. Studies show how thoughts, beliefs, and emotions affect human behavior. Following, I have listed a handful of tennis-specific phrases from the mouths of our athletes and you can bet your life these habitual beliefs affect their match performance.

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 overriding 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 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 From The Parent’s View- Part 2

Posted on December 2, 2020 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Preparing for Pressure

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

 Click Here To Order through Amazon

 

Identifying your Personal Stress Response

 

 

Preparing final cover 3D

“When results matter, pressure will affect performance.”

 

Parents, ask yourself, “Is performing under pressure beneficial or harmful to your child?” Your answer determines how likely you are to be affected by competitive pressure. Because of that, your athlete will likely inherit that point of view. If the parent perceives pressure as a negative force, they will repeatedly associate it with anxieties such as negative judgment, fear of failure, and self-doubt. Parents applying a pessimistic viewpoint drains the athlete’s energies before competition even begins. Uneducated parents pull the athlete’s focus away from performance goals and into the praise or criticisms coming their way.

This common negative parental mindset leads to the dismantling of the trust every good coach develops. All too often a stressed-out parent unknowingly sabotages the confidence they’ve just paid a coach to instill. Once tournament titles are perceived as paramount by the parent, the process of performing when it matters most is shattered.

 

It’s meaningful to understand how stress multiplies. The design of a tournament draw ensures that pressure increases through each round of the event. As the level of stress increases, so too must the athlete’s emotional aptitude. Pressure naturally increases towards the end of each game, set, and match. If the pressure begins to be perceived as overwhelming the performance level will decline. Monitoring and releasing pressure stems from the proper use of between point rituals and changeover routines. Athletes who choose to skip these “recharging stations” routinely breakdown when they need emotional clarity the most.

 

What if the pressure was seen as beneficial? Billy Jean King famously said, “Pressure is a privilege.” An optimistic point of view is that the athlete is where their peers want to be. Athletes who are nurtured that pressure has positive forces become unflappable at crunch time. These balanced parents who are routinely nurturing tenacity and confidence have athletes who apply situational awareness versus outcome obsessions.

The impact of parents greatly influences the athlete’s physical, mental, and emotional development. In the correct optimistic frame of mind, pressure prompts growth, and consistent growth is what you seek. So, is pressure seen as harmful or beneficial to the development of your child?

 

Promote competition as an information-gathering mission necessary to test developing skills.

Develop Comfortable Routines & Rituals

Posted on September 1, 2019 by in Preparing for Pressure, Preparing for Pressure

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

Click Here To Order through Amazon

Develop Comfortable Routines & Rituals


Preparing final cover 3D“Preparing for pressure requires making the unknown …a little more known.”

Navy SEAL’s report that they spend approximately 85% of their time preparing for battle and about 15% of their time in combat situations. Their routines and rituals put them in the best possible position to handle extreme pressure. Routines and rituals are found in the four major components of our sport – the development and repetition of strokes, athleticism, mental, and emotional realms.

Simulating stressful scenarios in practice is a daily routine Navy SEAL’s and competitive tennis
players share.

Developing software skills is serious business. Under stress, athletes have to manipulate their software in order for their hardware to function correctly. For example, athletes must know how, when, and why they need to be able to calm down their nervous system to allow their fluid strokes to flow.

 

Poor emotional control can override the best mechanics and strategic intentions.

 

 

Confidence Bias: The False Reality- Part 2

Posted on July 31, 2019 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Preparing for Pressure – my book to be released on August 20th. Click Here to pre-order your copy.

 

Preparing final cover 3D

Over-confidence Vs Under-Confidence

 

“Under-confidence in match play is often a result of false-confidence in preparation.”

 

Let’s look deeper into a pre-tournament conversation with our friend Cocky Craig:
Frank: “Craig, Did you review your audio tapes/mental rehearsals?
Craig: “Nah…, I’m good.”
Frank: “Craig, Did you play your practice matches this week?
Craig: “I forgot to call-em in time, and they already had plans.”
Frank: “Craig, Did you do your off-court cardio routine?”
Craig: “No, I’m sore from last Mondays hit. I didn’t want to get injured.”
Signs of Over-Confidence in Athletes:
  • Avoids Pre-Match Preparation
  • Avoids Off-Court Training
  • Lacks Secondary Strokes
  • Avoids Playing Sets
  • Unrealistic Outcome Goals
Signs of Appropriate Confidence in Athletes:
  • Grit
  • Relaxed Breathing
  • Millisecond Problem Solving Skills
  • Perseverance
  • Resiliency
  • Determination
  • Smiling
Signs of Under-Confidence in Athletes:
  • Choking/Panicking
  • Shallow/Heavy Breathing
  • Impaired Memory
  • Anger/Indifference
  • Tight Muscle Contractions
  • Impulsive-Irrational Decision Making
  • Pessimism

Confidence fortifies… but overconfidence and
under-confidence destroys.

The Formula for Achieving Results- Part 2

Posted on July 18, 2019 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, 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!  Click Here to Order

The Formula for Achieving Resultsfrank

Insight 4: Focus on controlling the controllables versus focusing on the uncontrollables. In the competitive moment, is your athlete able to change past issues or forecast future issues? No, during competition, your athlete is only able to control the controllable – which is the present task at hand.

Parental focus should be on the effort and let go of results. Excellent physical, mental and emotional effort for the duration should be the entourage’s mission.

 

“Remember, there is a significant difference between excellence and perfection. Excellent effort is controllable. Perfection is a lie.”

 

Insight 5: Seek to educate your children to strive for excellence, not perfection. The effort is in the process which will obtain winning results -not perfect results.

Your child’s success begins with preparing their character for the process of improvement. Only by achieving continuous improvement will your athlete be prepared when opportunity knocks. Unfortunately, many juniors get great opportunities but fail to capitalize, not because their lucky shorts were in the wash, but because they simply weren’t prepared.

 

Insight 6: Ask your athlete to complete a daily focus journal to assist them in self-coaching. Which of their components are weakest? Why? What would they suggest they could do differently to improve this weakness? The process of improvement needs a plan.

What drives your athlete to actually document their successes in their daily focus journal? What motivates them to wake up and put in the hard work? The answer is their moral compass, also known as their character. It’s their honest relationship and dialog with themselves that allows them to achieve their goals.

Insight 7: Character skills are life skills that parents can focus on daily. They include personal performance enhancers such as effort, dedication, time management, perseverance, resilience, and optimism. They also include personal ethics such as honesty, appreciation, loyalty, trustworthiness, kindness, unselfishness and respect. Parental coaching starts here.

 

Let’s review. The formula for parents to assist in skyrocketing their athlete’s chances of achieving championship results is to begin with the character skills needed to implement their deliberate, customized developmental plan. An organized plan will be the foundation of the athletes accelerated growth. This is how you maximize your child’s potential as the quickest rate.

 

Parents, Allow Your Athletes to Dream Big

Posted on June 3, 2019 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book soon to be released, Preparing for Pressure.

 

Preparing for Pressure

“Winners are nurtured to dream big.”

Why are some athletes content to let their peers shine? Why do the average players laugh at dreamers? Every great innovation started with a dream. Preparing for pressure includes the acceptance of dreaming big. Once accepted, the parents have to work to nurture it.

All throughout the history of tennis, there have seen ordinary men and women come from humble backgrounds…with nothing but a dream. Most of these athletes weren’t especially gifted or financially wealthy. Yet they were able to become top ATP and WTA professionals. What separates us from them is their family decision and commitment to push beyond mediocrity. It doesn’t take much effort from parents and players to be average. Follow the crowd, and you’ll reach that level.

Most athletes dream of playing professional or NCAA D-1 ball but only a few are destined for greatness. It’s estimated that only 5% of High school varsity tennis players move on to play high-level college tennis. It’s not their lack of athleticism, it’s their lack of a deliberate, customized developmental plan.

Preparing your athletes for pressure includes training longer, smarter, and harder than the academy group down the street. It requires a high tennis IQ, well developed emotional aptitude, and the acceptance of serious weekly growth.

 

Dreaming big is a nice start, but dreaming doesn’t make it real. Parents, ask your athletes to think big, believe big, work big, and most of all…learn big. After they’ve dreamt it, start working for it.

The Pros and Cons of High School Tennis – Part 4

Posted on March 30, 2019 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

Bottom Line: Playing High School Tennis

It is important to reiterate that most high school age players are not as devoted as Mark. Others may be just as serious but need to decompress and simply play social tennis for a season or two. If so, I recommend playing their freshman year to get a little famous at their new school and then again their senior year after they have signed their letter of intent to play for their college.

I encourage taking some time to consider all these variables. If your child is more of a “hobbyist”, high school ball is one of the best experiences available.  However, if your child is a phenom, a compromise may be in order. It may be best to have a meeting with the coach and/or athletic director and organize a win-win schedule. Often top players and their parents can negotiate a workable schedule with the high school coach.

For elite players considering high school tennis, the following three topics should be addressed (negotiated) prior to committing to the high school season:

1) Skipping most practice session in lieu of their private sessions.

2) Scheduling to only play the tougher rival matches.

3) Playing enough matches in order to qualify for the season-ending state championships.

A New Way to Look at Strategy

Posted on March 22, 2019 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!  Click Here to Order

 

cali clays 10

A NEW WAY TO LOOK AT STRATEGY

To understand on-court control dramas, take a minute and think of a tennis match as a control contest. Each player is attempting to pull their opponent into their style of play to gain command of the match.

Three Control Dramas Seen in High-Level Tennis:

  • The Power Contest
  • The Speed Contest
  • The Patience Contest

To simplify the process, the goal of competition is to choose the contest your athlete performs best. Then formulate a plan to PULL their opponent out of their own world and into your athlete’s world. Let’s look a little deeper, yet keep it simple:

 

I have a top 300 WTA player training with me.  We have customized her game plan to hide her weaknesses and expose her strengths. Her body type and brain type play a major role in customizing her success.

Weaknesses

Ann is light in stature. Her opponents are generally much bigger and stronger. We checked off and excluded the “Power Contest” from her A game plan. This is not to say that she might use power as a B or C game plan. Ann also has focus issues. We checked off the “Patience Contest” and excluded it as her A game plan.

Strengths

Ann possesses great speed and anticipatory skills. We chose the “Speed Contest” as her A game plan. Ann is extremely intuitive. She can sense when the opponent is vulnerable and knows “How” and “When” to move in and take away the opponents recovery and decision-making time.

When Ann chooses to play her “Speed Contest”, she most often is able to move the bigger girls enough to force errors. She can also pull the Retrievers off the court to open up winning angles. When Ann chooses to get into a “boomball-power” contest with bigger, stronger girls, she loses. When she chooses to out moonball a “World Class” moonballer she loses!

 

As I mentioned earlier, this section should be a conversation opener with your athlete and their entourage.  Knowing who you are is an important step in formulating your most successful game plans.