Tag Archives: improve development

The Evolution of Winners

Posted on March 27, 2017 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

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

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The Evolution of Winners

“It’s not the strongest that survive nor the most intelligent but the one most responsive to change.”

Charles Darwin

 

Being responsive to change is emotional aptitude. Winners innovate. The solution to becoming a winner is to be willing to take risks. Through risks comes rewards. Champions see taking calculated risks as necessary in order to achieve greatness. It’s important to note that in competitive sports, there is a difference between controlled aggression and reckless aggression. The same holds true with calculated risk versus reckless risk. In competition, only with risk comes reward. Athletes too afraid to take risks are commonly known as “spectators.”  Emotional aptitude is the mindset of taking your best shot at greatness, regardless of possible failure.

Benefits of Taking Calculated Risks:

The comfort of the familiar often takes precedence over the risk of the unknown, both in sports and in life. This safety zone destroys growth.  Taking calculated risks push athletes through pre-existing emotional walls and forges new emotional protocols. Without taking calculated risks, athletes cannot maximize potential. Improvement is not a result of random chance.  Improvement comes with systematic change. I’ve outlined three critical benefits of taking calculated risks.

Enhances Skill Sets and Promotes Confidence

Developing new techniques and strategies is considered a risk for many athletes. Added skills are the tools in one’s toolbox. With new tools comes a new found sense of confidence.

Improves Problem-Solving Skills

New solutions to long term problems will present themselves once you’re open to new ideas and are willing to try different approaches towards improvement.

Encourages Commitment and Trust

Taking risks encourage growth.  With growth comes new pathways towards improvement. New success, in turn, reinforces inner belief and the risks then become the reward.

 

The benefits of taking calculated risks come from a growth mindset.

 

In scheduling practice sets, what should my daughter focus on?

Posted on February 10, 2016 by in The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

“I have been involved with tennis for 60 years and I have witnessed the development of the modern game. Frank has put together the most complete manual for Parents, coaches and players. I learned a lot from this book. It’s a must for every Parent and Coach who want to make the least amount of mistakes.”Carlos A. Kirmayr, Centro De Treinamento Kirmayr, Brazil

Carlos A. Kirmayr, Centro De Treinamento Kirmayr, Brazil

 

 

 

The following post is a Q & A excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible NOW available through most on-line retailers!  Click Here to Order

QUESTION: In scheduling practice sets, what should my daughter focus on?

Frank: Design a plan of action, a focal point for each day’s practice session. The missing link I see daily is that most juniors don’t focus on improving a weak component. They only try to win. As you know by now, utilizing performance goals is the key to systematic growth.

Instead of relying on other juniors and their parents, it’s often much more efficient to hire a seasoned player and ask them to role play for two complete sets. If your child is in elementary school, hire a high school player and high school players should hire a local college player. (If your athlete has issues beating a retriever, ask the hired gun to be the most annoying pusher for both practice sets).  Also, remember that most kids are “One Set Wonders.” They meet to play sets but chat for 20 minutes, maybe complete one set then go home. After the tournaments they’re known to say…”Geez…I have such bad luck, I never win these three set matches!”

Below are 8 common topics to focus on during practice sets. (Focus only on one of the below topics at a time.)

Eight Focal Points Used During Practice Set Rehearsals:

1) How to Beat Retrievers

2) How to Beat Hard Hitting Baseliners

3) How to Beat All Court/Net Rushers

4) Focus Only on Their Top 7 Patterns

5) Focus on Spotting and Stopping the Opponent’s Top 7 Patterns

6) Focus on Offensive, Neutral and Defensive Shot Selections

7) Focus on Applying Quality Changeover and Between Point Rituals

8) Focus on Spotting Game Points (Mega Points)

The key to quality practice sets is to agree upon a pre-set improvement goal. Focus only on the improvement of that skill set versus focusing on the need to win.  You’ve heard it before but trading in that old fashion grooving back and forth with a deliberate improvement plan is in your athlete’s best interest.

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net

Developmental Goals

Posted on June 1, 2015 by in Blunders and Cures, Maximizing Tennis Potential

The following post is an excerpt from Blunders and Cures.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

Championship Tennis Cover

BLUNDER: Overlooking Goal Setting

Goal setting and organizational plans should be used as soon as you enter into the competitive phase. After an event, plan on setting some goals as you schedule your upcoming lessons. Sit down with your entourage to review your performance at an appropriate time. This analysis will provide your “Blue Print” for the upcoming weeks’ worth of lessons and clinics.

There are four basic sides to your game that need to be developed religiously. Examples include:

  1. Technical: (Example: Slice backhand)
  2. Tactical: (Example: How to beat a moonball/pusher)
  3. Movement/Fitness: (Example: Develop core strength and stability)
  4. Emotional/Focus: (Example: Practicing closing out 5-2 leads)

At all levels of competition, matches should be viewed as an information gathering session. The overall objective is to maximize your potential at the quickest rate. Winning comes from experience and experience comes from both winning and losing.

CURE: Identify an area in your game that can be improved upon in each of the four sides of development.

  1. Technical:
  2. Tactical:
  3. Movement/Fitness:
  4. Emotional/Focus:

Define a plan of attack for each of the 4 skills identified. Evaluate the plan after its implementation and determine if the plan is working? Adjust as necessary but continue to train on the skills you need most.

Ask Yourself?

Did you find one flaw per category you wish to improve? Di you set aside time to review your list with your coach and devise a plan on working to improve your identified weaknesses? Do you have a style of opponent that you hate to play? Have you ever taken a month and focused on developing the tools to actually beat that particular style of opponent? Or do you do the same drills week after week and hope for different results?

Write down your Personal Action Plan:

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