Tag Archives: Frank Giampaolo

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 3

Posted on December 4, 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

Is The Parent a Source of External Pressure?Preparing final cover 3D

 

“It’s no secret that a large portion of pressure comes unknowingly from tennis parents.”

The tennis parent is the second most important entity in the athlete’s entourage (The athlete being the most important.)

The parents are the CEO, the manager of the entourage of coaches, and the facilitator of the player’s customized developmental plan. With responsibility comes pressure. This is especially true when the parent is bankrolling the journey. All too often, tennis parents become overbearing yet don’t see themselves as the leading source of frustration.

Communicating with an adolescent competitive athlete isn’t easy. A relaxed demeanor versus a stressed appearance matters deeply. In fact, current studies show that approximately 7% of communication is verbal, while 93% is made up of tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language.

While it’s natural for parents to be on high alert for any possible signs of danger, it’s essential to understand that the athlete needs a calming influence.

 

Parental pressure can be both real and imagined. In the end, it’s the perception of the athlete that matters.


 

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

 

 

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“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.

Tennis from the Parent’s View- Part 3

Posted on November 22, 2020 by in 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

 

FIND THEIR WHYPreparing final cover 3D

 

“The willingness to prepare is more important than wanting to win.
Preparing to be great begins with WHY?”

Mr. Jones wants the new S500 Mercedes Benz with jet black exterior and the baseball-mitt brown leather interior. To afford such a luxury, he realizes he has to work overtime for the next few years. Mr. Jones found his “Why” (his new dream car), so he’s happy to put in
the extra at work.

Junior athletes need to choose between being a champion or a “normal” kid. They also need to buy into their “WHY”- intrinsic motivation. I recommend planting the seed of athletic royalty at the college of their choosing. Review the common perks of the typical college athletes such as free books/laptop, priority registration, room & board, full time dedicated tutor, and of course, tuition!

 

The multiple benefits and rewards of participating in college tennis may be the reasons why young,
intelligent athletes put in the daily work.

 

NAVIGATING THE ATHLETE’S PATHWAYS

Posted on August 23, 2020 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

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NAVIGATING THE ATHLETE’S PATHWAYS

Regardless of the stage of development, parents should seek coaches and trainers with high tennis IQ’s and optimistic attitudes- which will stimulate growth and happiness. Hire great educators to join your elite team and they will take your child beyond your wildest dreams.

SIGNS OF A HIGH IQ TENNIS COACH

Here are a few insights to remember when seeking a new coach. Great tennis coaches offer the necessary hands-on involvement with as little coddling as possible.

“Great coaches don’t need you or your athlete…you need them.”

They deeply understand the depth of the science behind the strokes while considering the athlete’s personal flair. A great coach offers structure with the freedom to explore. Lastly, a great coach is a team player who always puts their students’ needs above their own.

Characteristics of an Elite Tennis Coach:

  • Optimistic.
  • Encourages observation of his/her lessons.
  • Listens to you and your child.
  • Combines fun and laughter with serious learning.
  • Doesn’t use a one size fits all approach to development.
  • Understands personality profiling, brain typing & body typing.
  • Organizes a deliberate customize blueprint for your child’s development.
  • Eager to view your match charts and match video analysis (during scheduled lesson times.)
  • Help define parental roles and responsibilities.
  • Knowledgeable of the essential components of a high-performance tennis player.
  • Understands the importance of positive parental behaviors.
  • Assist in organizing an entourage of mental/emotional trainers, off-court fitness experts, and physical therapists- as needed.
  • Assist in the logistics of raising athletic royalty.
  • Available for monthly entourage team meetings.
  • Welcomes parent’s emails and progressive dialogue.
  • Helps organize the player’s weekly developmental schedule.
  • Assist in organizing the player’s tournament schedule.
  • Encourage parents to use tools such as Reading Raising Athletic Royalty.
  • Conducts parental workshops.
  • Recommend that the parents educate themselves through seminars, workshops, and educational materials.
  • Teach life lessons through the sport of tennis.
  • Willing and able to be a mediator between the child and the parent.

 

Parents, world-class coaches are very hard to find. Finding one with free time in their busy schedule is even tougher.

 

“Plan on compensating your elite coach for their time on-court and off-court. If you find one with the above characteristics, hold onto them for dear life.”

 

Elite Tennis Training- The School Methodology

Posted on July 19, 2020 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

Building “Coachable” Athletes- Part 3

Posted on June 20, 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

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Eliminating Internal Judgment

 

My neighbor, Pete, owns Pete’s Home Repair Specialist. He’s a super friendly independent contractor. Due to his excellent soft science personal skills, Pete’s always in high demand.  His decades of experience have taught him that detailed preparation prevents poor performance. Pete’s truck is like an encyclopedia of tools organized by alphabet and ready for action. Though Pete doesn’t need all of his tools at every job, he brings every tool, just in case he needs it.

This analogy is very similar to a high-performance tennis player’s tool belt. In matches, they may not need to employ every skill set developed in their tool belt, but they do need to have primary and secondary strokes ready for competition, as well as multiple patterns and plays developed and prepared to be accessed if needed. Life skills, such as preparation improve the athlete’s confidence, inner dialogue, and of course, solution-based self-coaching skills.

 

“In the heat of battle, the voice inside each athlete is their driving force.”

 

In match play, an athlete’s internal dialog is their self-coaching. Internal dialog is the conversation their ego is having with themselves. Athletes have a habitual way they choose to navigate their matches. When they see competition in a negative light, their internal dialog is dark. Conversely, when they “see pressure as a privilege,” to quote Billy Jean King, their self-coaching is more positive, uplifting, and optimistic. The question is: Where did the athlete learn their internal dialog mantras?

An athlete’s negative, problem-oriented inner dialog sabotages their performance by interfering with their quiet mind. To some athletes, negative inner dialog spirals them into a self-defeating, under-arousal state. To others, it pushes them into a panicked, over-arousal state. Both are detrimental to performance. As I mentioned earlier, an athlete’s non-stop inner dialogue is either helping or hurting their performance. Intermediate athletes are known to sabotage their play by criticizing themselves, worrying about losing, and inventing post-match catastrophic conclusions during competition.

 

Tennis- Rethinking Stress- Part 1

Posted on May 13, 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

 

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Rethinking Stress

A very common view within the athletic community is that stress is the enemy in competition- the more stress felt, the worse the performance. Essentially believing that nothing good comes from stress.  But this belief couldn’t be further from the truth. Stress is actually very beneficial to the competitive athlete. Athletes who accept that stress is part of competition, are actually healthier competitors and much more likely to succeed.  How one views competition, ultimately determines the effects that stress has on their performance. In fact, on the playing fields, chasing excellence is better for your well-being than trying to avoid the stress (pain) of competition.

Let’s join up with Evan and Jarrod one last time. This time to discuss their take on the stress of competition.

Question: How does stress in competition affect performance?

Evan: When I feel stressed, my heart beats faster, raising my adrenaline levels and pumping more oxygen throughout my body.  I see stress as a plus- preparing me for the battle. Stress tells me it’s “GO TIME” and I focus better. Without the stress, there wouldn’t be extra hormones running through my body giving me an extra boost. 

Jarrod: In the past, when I’m freaking out … My stomach hurt and I became irritable, overwhelmed, and angry. All I would think about is the outcome and I panicked and choked.  I guess I chose to go that route. I used to be an idiot …

Frank’s Tip: Stress isn’t the culprit. It’s how individuals choose to view stress. If you’re a bit like Jarrod, it is time to apply stress management solutions to help you flip your attitude and learn to use stress to improve your performance.

Final thoughts on Evan and Jarrod: I had a feeling that Evan would help provide young athletes with an optimistic, solution-based voice coming from their peer group. Honestly, I was very worried about Jarrod at the beginning of this process. I speculated wrongly that his narcissistic views couldn’t be swayed. As we dug deeper into the benefits of emotional aptitude, Jarrod slowly but surely changed his rigid stance and began to accept this developmental process. I couldn’t be more pleased that Jarrod is now on board.

 

SOLUTION #17: Basic Stress Management Strategies

  • Apply physical activity to burn off excess stress hormones- go for a short-run before checking in to the event.
  • Apply relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, yoga, or meditation.
  • Flip the negative frame of mind with a more positive frame of mind.
  • Set aside time for non-competitive hobbies, such as playing a musical instrument or reading a motivational book.
  • Get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy, balanced diet.
  • Understand that viewing stress as a positive builds confidence.

 

Keys to Accelerating Learning

Posted on December 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

 

KEYS TO ACCELERATING LEARNING

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How do you take a kid with potential and develop them into a proven champion? What predetermines their success? How do you convince them that they’re special? What factors build passion? How do a parent and coach develop a consistent winner?

 

Let’s use my stepdaughter Sarah Fansler as a quantifiable example of gauging the development of a kid’s potential. Most would agree that Sarah had a flair for the game. She was ranked top in the nation. Sarah won multiple gold, silver and bronze balls. She won a total of 10 U.S. National titles.  She’s played the junior U.S. Open twice and the adult U.S. Open once before the age of 16. She was honored as the NCAA College Freshman of the year while at USC.

Now, let’s uncover her underlying story and take a deeper look at Sarah’s training regimen. As a junior player, Sarah had spent six years training full time. That’s about 20 hours a week or a thousand hours a year practicing in the manner in which she was expected to perform. Sarah only followed a deliberate, customized developmental plan.

Sarah did a private lesson with me from 6:30 am -7:30 am before getting ready for school. Sarah’s after-school regimen included playing full matches against paid college players and/or off-court training at a specialized gym called “Get Fit”, a Vert system off-court training center. After dinner, Sarah and I drilled for an additional hour and a half. On weekends, Sarah played tournaments.

Sarah followed my Customized Player Evaluation (Found in section VII) – a formula for deep accelerated learning. Her training regimen was more intense than the typical training program of an average high-performance player. The hidden factor to her tennis success was her hard work on and off the court each week. The accelerated learning process catapulted Sarah above her rivals.

 

“You can’t simply place your athlete in with the group… if you actually want them to get ahead of the group!”

 

So, was Sarah’s success due to her natural gifts or was it earned through a planned process? My answer is that approximately 20 percent of Sarah’s junior success was due to her natural talents, 80 percent was due to her learned behaviors. The development of life lessons was a major factor.

So talent is actually measured by the preparation before the performance. Often professionals say “I didn’t just win this event today…I won it through the last three months of customized preparation.”

So, my question to the parents and coaches is: What’s your deliberate, customized developmental plan for your athlete?

“Everyone says, ‘JUST PLAY YOUR GAME,’ but I don’t know what my game is?”

Posted on November 12, 2019 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, 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

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“Everyone says, ‘JUST PLAY YOUR GAME,’ but I don’t know what my game is?”

 

“Top contenders have defined their global style & most proficient patterns of play.”

Upon arrival at a coaching gig in Spain, I noticed the coaches on all the red clay courts running the same drill. Player A hits a high & heavy ball deep to player B’s backhand. Player B retreats, contacting the ball above his/her shoulders and produces a short reply. Player A moves into no-man’s land and screeches “AHH …HEEE” and drives a winner into the open court. I asked the famous director, “What’s the drill they’re all working on?” He laughed and said, we call it, “How to beat the Americans.”

Athletes should start each match with their global style of play. Whether they’re in Miami or Moscow, in the first round or finals, on hard or clay courts, starting matches by doing what they do best is an intelligent formula. Their global system is their most proficient style of play (not necessarily their favorite style). Styles include hard-hitting baseliners, counterpunchers, retrievers, and net rushers.

The athlete’s global system also includes their repeatable strategic plan – which is their most proficient patterns of play. These patterns need to be designed and developed. They include: serving and return patterns, rally patterns (like the above Spanish group), short ball options, and net rushing plays.

 

 

In competition, each athlete has to know what they do best and must routinely apply their global plan and hitting the same old, boring winners over and over.

 

Every player should know and have had rehearsed their strongest, repeatable patterns of play. Then, choose to play those patterns in matches.

 

THE Parental VISION

Posted on October 28, 2019 by in 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

Preparing final cover 3D

THE Parental VISION

 

The Parental Vision was written to assist parents in shaping their athlete’s future. What parents think, say, and do matters. In my experience, a parent obsessed with character trait development and positive brainwashing trumps the parent obsessed with pointing-out their athlete’s failures.

Issues arise when the parental influence is misaligned, which confuses the athlete and derails the process. It is important that the athlete, parents, and coaches are all on the same page with the singular goal of maximizing the athlete’s potential.

Parents who shape their athlete’s future make the journey a family priority. This section includes samples of goal setting and advanced scheduling.

“A goal without a plan is just a dream.”

 

The parent is the team leader who’s responsible for shaping the athlete’s future. Parents only interested in being passively involved should only expect average results from their children.

Parents, children model the behavior they witness daily. It’s not only what you say … it’s what you do that matters most.