Tag Archives: competitive match play

How to Close Out A Match- Part 3

Posted on September 19, 2022 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
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Scenario Number Three:

Mr. Johnson sends me another 4 page text Saturday afternoon. Essentially claiming that his little Kristin, the best athlete in the tournament, has choked away another match… She was up 5-1 and missed two shots and went off! “She was killing her opponent and then… I don’t know?”

Here is how he described his daughter’s mindless play: fast anger walking, choking, then more choking, racquet cracking, hitting harder and harder and then screaming at herself game after game as the opponent is handed the set 7-5. He writes, “Kristin didn’t even sit during changeovers!”

Solution Three:

First, let’s review choking versus panicking because it is confusing. It’s important to recognize that choking is caused by over-thinking. Dozens of irrelevant contaminants jumble the brain. These include outcome thoughts like: “Who will I play next?”, “What’s my ranking going to jump to?” and “I wonder if I’ll qualify for the Easter bowl after I beat this seed?”

Choking is entertaining irrelevant thoughts during the match instead of the task at hand. What Mr. Johnson described wasn’t over thinking (choking), it’s choking’s evil twin- panicking.

Panicking is the opposite of choking. It’s under thinking. As Kristin’s frustration tolerance level reached its peak, she didn’t think at all. She rushed mindlessly through the rough patch hoping that the quicker she played the quicker she would get out of this bad situation. Unfortunately, the opposite holds true.

 

An analogy to panicking is attempting to get off an iced over road as quick as possible. The faster you move, the more you fall. Slowing down is required…the same goes for panicking in a tennis match.

 

In this panicked state of mind, slowing down to a crawl is the answer. It would serve Kristin to develop pre-set protocols to slow down play and establish her very own between point rituals and changeover rituals. After all, the negative behavior Mr. Johnson described was happening in-between points. Panicking is an easy fix if Kristin is willing to re-focus her attention on the practice court. If your child occasionally goes brain dead and panics in matches, I suggest meeting with their coach and organizing practice sets where your child’s only focus is on their between point rituals and changeover rituals. The art of closing out matches requires players to stop avoiding head to head competition on the practice court. Closing out sets and matches is a learned behavior. It requires dedicated practice. Remember the old saying “Practice doesn’t make perfect…practice makes permanent.”  So, if you want your youngster to be permanently excellent at closing out matches- customize their training accordingly.

How to Close Out A Match- Part 1

Posted on September 13, 2022 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
Available through most online retailers!

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HOW TO CLOSE OUT A MATCH

 

Imagine that it’s a hot summer day, 102 in the shade.  Every electrical device is on to capacity inside your house. There’s so much stress on the electrical system that it blows a fuse. “Click” … lights out, AC‘s off… everything shuts down.

Under extremely stressful conditions, uneducated junior tennis players do the same. When a junior tennis player over stresses their emotional system, the same total shut down occurs.  Stress plays havoc on their psyche.

 

As contaminants jumble the brain, simple motor programs are lost in the inner chatter. Basic functions like “move your feet” and “just breathe” begin to cease because the brain is cluttered with dozens of irrelevant thoughts. Well-rehearsed performance patterns and plans are nowhere to be found. Heck, some players are so unknowingly stressed they can’t even remember their name.

Below are three real life scenarios and their solutions to help your child identify why they’re not closing out matches.

 

Scenario Number One:

Molly is a strong starter. She routinely performs her aggressive baseline style of play as she opens the set with a 4-1 lead. Once a lead is established, the trouble sinks in. Molly gains the lead by keeping her foot firmly on the gas pedal with a “play to win” attitude. As she begins to see the finish line, she takes her foot off the gas and unknowingly slips into a “play not to lose” mentality. Her amazing ground strokes dramatically change from 80 mph with extreme depth to 50 mph balls landing mid court in the perfect strikes zone for her opponent!

Her thoughts race from “Ok, you got the lead. Now just don’t give it back.” to “The last 5 times I had a 4-1 lead I choked ….so, just be safe and don’t choke another one away.” Molly unknowingly gets tight, begins to push and once again, blows the lead and hands the seed the match.

Solution One:

The system of “playing to win” with Molly’s foot heavy on the gas was working brilliantly. She was winning 66% of the points and controlling the match. Taking her foot off the gas and playing it safe actually changes the exact winning style that earned her the lead. The answer for Molly is learning not to be afraid to lose with her “A” game plan. If her “A” game plan is winning 2 out 3 points- it is a winner!

Sadly, by slipping into her “now be safe…don’t blow it” mode, Molly is elongating the actual drama she is trying so desperately to avoid. Her probable victory turns into a probable slow torturous death. I strongly suggest that when you gain a lead, have the guts to take the match with the same gusto that was used to build the comfortable lead.

 Playing to win for the entire match would earn Molly approximately 70% of her sets. But she doesn’t. Why? Because, Molly doesn’t deeply trust her attacking style of play. Instead she chooses to repeat her reoccurring nightmare – which is switching to playing it safe after gaining a lead. With this mentality, she is earning a 30% winning record. Molly has to have the guts to play to win.

So why does she play so safe? In the younger age divisions, Molly could push and retrieve her way to victory as the under developed opponents simply self-destructed. However, at the higher levels, top seeds have not earned their high ranking by choking against a lesser player. Molly needs to believe in her game and play to win – essentially wrestle the trophy away from the top seed. It would serve Molly well to “over cook” under stress versus “under cook” with her shots.

 

“Molly should play practice sets starting at 2-2 and rehearse over cooking in the later stages of each game and set.”

 

Between-Point-Rituals and Change-Over-Rituals

Posted on August 22, 2022 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
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Frank Giampaolo

BETWEEN POINT RITUALS AND CHANGE-OVER RITUALS

 

Most intermediates think, “What’s the big deal with these between point rituals? The balls not even in play!” Unfortunately, this is a result of not properly educating our youngsters about the importance of rituals- early and often. Athletes that neglect to implement rituals are missing an important opportunity to dissect the opponent, relax and recover, and organize future patterns. Their mind is too caught up with contaminating thoughts regarding the ramifications of the future outcome, whose winning on court #6, or any of their invented performance anxieties that have been keeping them from getting the results they deserve.

 

It’s estimated that during a match, the athletes are actually playing in-the-point approximately 20-30 percent of the time that they are on the court. Seventy-eighty percent of the time they’re in between points.  That’s a staggering amount of time. Wouldn’t it be wise if they learned how to put that time to good use?

 

In the 25 seconds allotted in between points, it’s advisable to create a customized 3-part routine that the athlete is comfortable performing each and every point. There are two forms of these rituals that are performed simultaneously:

1) Internal Rituals: I refer to internal rituals as the mental/emotional doorways a player must pass through. I have categorized them into 3 phases: Getting over the last point, planning the next point’s pattern and applying a relaxation ritual.

 

2) External Rituals: These rituals are the routines outsiders see. They commonly consist of taking the racquet out of the dominant hand to relax it, time management routines such as taking extra time to prepare, toweling off, or looking at their strings to relax the eyes. Once an athlete buys into, understands and develops these rituals they’re on their way to a higher level.

 

Parents, along with your child’s coach, schedule time for practice sets with the mandatory between point and change over rituals firmly in place.

 

The second most important “down time” in match play is during the 90 seconds allotted for changeovers. While this is a physical rest-break, it is not a total mental/emotional detachment from the task at hand.

During changeovers, there are, once again external rituals like toweling off and hydrating. It is during this phase of the of the match cycle that important internal routines should be executed. I recommend beginning by briefly thinking only about the previous two games. Assess what went right-what went wrong in the previous serving game as well as the return of serve game. Make a strategic plan to repeat what’s working and to re-vamp what isn’t. After the athlete performs their external routines, they go internally once again and review.

Experienced competitors visualize both their upcoming service game as well as their upcoming return of serve game. They choose to plan on running the same past successful patterns and avoid past failures. Applying this change over rituals will keep your athletes attention in the present-task oriented, peak performance state of mind.

Remember the boxing analogy, “Stop the bleeding”- Shut down their winning patterns and “Cause more bleeding”- Keep pounding away at their weaknesses.

OPPONENT PROFILING

Posted on April 3, 2022 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
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OPPONENT PROFILING

 

Top competitors are continually seeking an advantage. One of the best strategic (mental) and calming (emotional) advantages comes from scouting an upcoming opponent. Casually observing is one thing, but profiling the opponent is a skill set. Each playing style has an inherent group of strengths and weaknesses. Opponent awareness is an important part of match day preparation. Player profiling involves looking past strokes.

NOTE:  Whenever possible, as I coach players from the 12’s to the ATP/WTA pros, I apply the below profiling topics.

 

Opponent Profiling Scouting:

  • Primary style of play.
  • Preferred serve patterns (especially on mega points).
  • Preferred return of serve position and shot selection on both first and second serve returns.
  • Favorite go-to rally pattern.
  • Dominant short-ball option.
  • Preferred net rushing pattern.
  • Stroke strengths and weaknesses (Advanced players should also consider the strengths and limitations of strike zones.)
  • Movement, agility and stamina efficiencies and deficiencies.
  • Frustration tolerance, focus, and emotional stability.

Opponent profiling should continue from the pre-match phase, all the way through the actual match and into the post-match. Intelligent athletes even jot down notes regarding the opponent’s game on their post-match match logs. This is used as a reminder for the next time the two meet.

 

Looking Past Strokes:

During the warm up, the uneducated player/parents/coaches often think Player A has the match in the bag.  But what they do not realize is that Player B often wins because of their ability to identify and execute a game plan exposing their opponent’s weakness. Player A may have great looking fundamental strokes but “hidden” flawed mental and/or emotional components. Player B may have average looking strokes, but an incredible proficiency in their mental game. Hence, giving player B the edge due to his ability to isolate weaknesses or exert emotional intelligence at crunch time.

Tough Love Insights to Successful Competitive Tennis- Part 9

Posted on April 6, 2020 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

frank

Advance competitive tennis demands more than simply hitting another basket of balls. Parents and players need to recognize and understand that:

  • To compete at the highest levels, mental, and emotional tennis training must be part of the athlete’s developmental plan.
  • The real issues of competitive failures.
  • Inefficient training routines need to be redirected.

The following posts list some common training missteps that competitive tennis players and parents need to acknowledge and refine to maximize performance.

 

Tough Love Insights to Successful Competitive Tennis

Insight Nine: Playing practice matches against slightly weaker opponents isn’t beneath you. It’s called: an opportunity for growth.

Possible Solution: Schedule practice sets with players ranked slightly below your level. Tell them you need to train your secondary strokes and consider bringing your coach along to reinforce the secondary stroke training session/match play. Or play against a player that is not your competitor.