Tag Archives: developmental skills

Customizing a Developmental Plan

Posted on November 11, 2017 by in Raising Athletic Royalty

The following post is an excerpt from Raising Athletic Royalty NOW available through most online retailers!
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ASSESSMENT

Customizing a Developmental Plan

When I accept a new client, I begin their session with a collection of detailed information as part of my Customized Evaluation Package. Upon completion of the evaluation, each component of the athlete’s game is systematically graded by three separate entities: the player, the parent and I. Most often, three different opinions result.  Typically, the players think they are great in all categories regardless of their actual skill level, the typical Type A personality parents believe their children are underachieving in most categories and I represent an unbiased professional opinion (usually somewhere in the middle). My role is to find a synergy of energy to bridge the gap between parent and child so a harmonious organizational plan can be activated to maximize potential.

I begin by gaining an understanding of the child’s personality profile, their athleticism, their athletic history, as well as their family’s athletic history. We don’t stop there. Discussions cover their general sports IQ (intelligence quotient), their current weekly developmental schedule, their academic schedule, their social calendars and their sport-specific schedules. We then dive into their sport-specific IQ, their current technical skills, their opinions regarding the demands of physical fitness, mental tenacity, and their emotional skill sets. All assets and liabilities are assessed before a customized developmental plan is put into effect.

This organizational process of designing an athletic blue-print should be the parent’s primary responsibility but is most often left to chance. Parents who take the time to develop a customized plan put their child in a position to maximize their potential at a faster rate. Note that for each stage of adolescence (early/mid/late), there are several common developmental protocols that most coaches follow. I challenge you to go deeper.

 

“Assessing your child’s abilities and developing a customized game plan begins with understanding their inborn strengths and weaknesses. Their brain type and body type play the most important role in understanding their developmental pathway.”

Are you a Helicopter Parent?

Posted on May 12, 2015 by in Parent Player Communication

Are you a Helicopter Parent? Frank Giampaolo
By Frank Giampaolo

While in the trenches coaching on the ITF tennis circuit, I sadly witnessed over-protective parents stunting the growth of their junior players. These types of parents have been lovingly nicknamed “Helicopter Parents.”

By insulating their athlete, the helicopter parent is developing the exact opposite skill sets needed to advance the critical mental/emotional components of a winner.  Controlling helicopter parents often unknowingly promote insecurity and dependency in their young adults.  Children need to experience both positive and negative life situations to become confident and independent thinkers.  Growth stems from mistakes and lessons learned.

Characteristics of Helicopter Parenting:

  • Shielding the child from every possible disappointment and any real or imaginary conceivable hardship.
  • Choosing to enforce their version of the solution without even considering the child’s opinion.
  • Failing to promote an open and supportive atmosphere that would encourages the child to volunteer their opinion.
  • Seeking to control everyone and everything in an attempt to give their child the upper hand.

Helicopter Tennis Parent Warning Signs:

  1.    Coddling and Pampering your Athlete

This parent treats their athlete like a toddler –incapable of doing anything for themselves.  “You rest honey, Mommy will pick up your balls, carry your bag & water cooler, refill your ice, order your lunch, cut up your salad …etc.”

  1. Being Overly Defensive of your Athlete’s Performance

This parent makes excuses for any and everything their athlete does wrong, making it impossible for their athlete to be accountable. “My gifted child is the best out there. After all, she comes from our phenomenal gene pool. Losses are never her fault.”

  1. Nurturing Dependency of your Athlete:

This parent convinces their athlete that their success is dependent on them and without their help they are incapable of success. – “I’m the only one she can trust. I’ve always solved her problems and always will because … I’m her mother.”

Suppose the helicopter parent actually allowed the junior athlete to think, act, talk, fail and/or succeed on their own?

The benefits are startling. The athlete becomes more responsible, independent, self-reliance and confident. And with these skills, the athlete is able to develop their problem solving/conflict resolution skills.  At the higher levels of competitive tennis, resolving issues and overcoming hardships is the essential mental and emotional tennis developmental skill that separates winners from losers. Winners overcome on-court crisis and persevere because they are nurtured to solve their own problems.

Let’s look deeper at the cause and effect of parenting styles and on an athlete’s mindset:

Scenario 1: The parent is a perfectionist and does most everything for their child correctly. The athlete experiences no mental/emotional skills growth because the issue is solved for the child by the parent.

Scenario 2: The parent attempts to do everything for the athlete but fails. The athlete experiences no mental/emotional skills growth because there’s zero player accountability. Failure wasn’t the athletes fault, it was the parents fault.

Scenario 3: The parent encourages the athlete to do it themselves and the child actually succeeds. The athlete develops self-reliance, confidence, responsibility, self-esteem, personal belief, and time management skills.

Scenario 4: The parent encourages the athlete to do it themselves and the child temporarily fails. The athlete is taught recovery skills, accountability, problem solving skills, perseverance, and organizational skills.

Scenario 5: The polar opposite of a helicopter parent is the unaccountable parent.  This parent refuses to assist the athlete at all- believing the child’s sport is their “thing.”  Elite athletics demands a supportive team. Without parental support, the athlete is limited in their athletic success.

Parents, your role in managing your athlete’s developmental pathway is essential.  But please remember that winning tennis requires your athlete to have the capability to take an “emotional hit” and recover.  This is a learned developmental skill. The inability to problem solve for themselves is the missing link that separates good from great.

If you know a helicopter parent suffering from this dreaded disease please forward this article. Thanks, Frank

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