Tag Archives: mental tennis

Mistake Management

Posted on September 16, 2017 by in Raising Athletic Royalty

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MISTAKE MANAGEMENT

 

“Game day performance logs are an excellent way to identify strengths and weaknesses.”

 

“GAME DAY VIDEO ANALYSIS PROVIDES ASSESSMENT OF YOUR PLAYER’S TECHNICAL EFFICIENCIES, MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL CONTROL UNDER STRESS, MOVEMENT, FITNESS, AGILITY, FOCUS, STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AS WELL AS OPPONENT PROFILING.”

 

“Managing mistakes requires forgiveness and the ability to have great short term memory loss.”

 

“IT’S NOT THE SINGLE MISTAKE THAT HURTS AS MUCH AS HOW THE ATHLETE RECOVERS FROM THE ERROR.”

 

“Re-occurring Nightmares Are Mistakes That Tend To Be Repeated Game After Game.”

 

 

Executing Game Plans

Posted on August 21, 2017 by in Emotional Tennis, Raising Athletic Royalty

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EXECUTING GAME PLANS

 

 

“A GREAT GAME PLAN IS TO FOCUS ON ELIMINATING UNFORCED ERRORS.  CONSISTENCY IS A POWERFUL WEAPON.”

 

“Shutting down your opponent’s primary game plan forces them to shift to a less comfortable, less successful style of play.”

 

“THE ABILITY TO EXECUTE THE SAME OLD BORING WINNING PLAYS OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS BRILLIANT.”

 

“Knowing how to apply strategy and actually executing it depends greatly on emotional control.”

 

“TO EXECUTE WHAT THE MOMENT DEMANDS SEPARATES THE GOOD FROM THE GREAT.”

 

“Overthinking usually ruins execution.”

 

 

 

The Art of Winning

Posted on May 7, 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 Art of Winning

 

  • Developed Strokes will get you into the tournament.
  • Strategies and Tactics (Mental Components) will push you through the ‘gatekeepers/retrievers.’
  • Endurance & Stamina will move you into the final rounds.
  • Emotional Skill Sets (Handling Performance Anxieties) will earn you the winner’s trophy.

 

Frank Giampaolo

Amazon’s #1 Best Seller: Emotional Aptitude in Sports

Managing Tipping Point Tendencies

Posted on August 27, 2016 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 on-line retailers! Click Here to Orderblack_ebook_design2

 

TIPPING POINT TENDENCIES

Experienced champions have developed seemingly hidden skill sets I call, Tipping Point Tendencies. To the untrained eye, as the athletes warm up, opponents may appear to be equally matched with similar physical abilities. It is during match play that tipping point tendencies become apparent. The game is on and “playing catch” is over and playing “keep away” begins. These pre-developed skill sets are the critical factors that tip a close match in ones favor.

The tipping points are those hidden moments in each match when an emotional energy shift is about to happen.

 

“In close tennis matches, positive and negative energy and attitudes flows back and forth.”

 

Most intermediate athletes and their parents don’t even realize that this critical struggle for power is taking place. That is… until now! Mental readiness is required to control the positive energy.

 

Think back to the last few times your athlete lost tight matches. Chances are you blamed the losses on bad luck, or the opponent cheated, or your kid just did not have the “feel” that day, or for you superstitious types… you went to Quiznoz’s instead of Subway. Those re-occurring close defeats are most likely due to your child’s incomplete training and not lunch meat. Tipping point tendencies are essential learned behaviors that athletic royalty must master.

An athlete that shifts focus to the following tipping point tendencies, accelerates the learning process and a competitive warrior is born. Close matches are often decided by a handful of points. Let’s look a little deeper at ten of the top “hidden” tipping point tendencies that can help tip your athlete’s matches in their favor. (These are terrific conversation starters for your athlete and their coaches.)

 

Top Ten Tipping Point Tendencies:

1) Pay attention to the energy flow throughout the match. Who’s cranky and negative, who’s eager, hungry and positive? If you’re negative, apply your triggers and steal the energy back.

2) Monitor your state of mind. Is your mental and emotional state in the under arousal state of mind, in the optimal peak performance state of mind or in the over arousal state of mind?

3) Learn to spot the mental and emotional signs of choking (over-thinking) and panicking (under-thinking).

4) Manage the score to manage your adrenaline. Different points have different psychological values. Pay attention and get pumped up before big points.

5) Note that tennis scoring isn’t numerically fair: You can win more points than the opponent in the match and still lose the match. Winning requires spotting tipping points.

6) Spot the mega points (game winning points) and run the appropriate pattern that you’ve trained to death versus going rogue.

7) Spot mini-mega points. A 30-15 lead isn’t the correct time to relax. Winning that crucial point earns you a 40-15 advantage, lose it and you’re staring at a 30-30 tie.

8) Spot mini-mega games. These games in a set hold crucial building blocks. A 4-2 lead isn’t time to relax. Winning that mini-mega game earns you a 5-2 lead. Lose is and the sets a 4-3 dog fight.

9) Opponent profiling is crucial. It’s the flip side to running your Top 7 Patterns. Competitors who pay attention not only spot the opponents preferred patterns but actually shut them down on these big occasions.

10) Self-chart both sides of the net. Witness where errors and winners stem from and problem solve accordingly.

In regards to higher learning, I’m amazed at how often very young intermediate athletes understand this type of mental and emotional training. It is not reserved for the older advanced group. Parents and coaches, please remember, their world isn’t remotely like ours at their age. With Google on their smart phones, they are accustom to collecting and quantifying data at lightning speeds.

Have you ever witnessed your child on their phone with one friend, doing their homework, skyping another friend, snap-chatting, while eating and watching TV?  Children can multi-task. Asking an intermediate tennis player to improve their mechanical stroke components while improving their mental components is a piece of cake!

 

Mastering the tipping point tendencies is the art of winning under stress. Those seemingly “little things” are actually the extremely “big things” that make all the difference in tipping the odds in your favor.

 

CONTACT: Frank Giampaolo FGSA@earthlink.net

 

The 3 Control Dramas in Tennis

Posted on July 31, 2016 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 on-line retailers!  Click Here to Order

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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:

1) The Power Contest

2) The Speed Contest

3) 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.

CONTACT: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net

Mentally Tough Component

Posted on August 15, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

 

Ten Essential Components of the Mental/Emotional Tough Competitor:

  1. Dedicate physically, mentally and emotionally to the process of becoming mentally tough. Without full commitment, it is unlikely mentally toughness will be achieved.  Mental/emotional toughness can only be mastered by someone who is ready to dig deeper into the strategic, stubborn protocols of winning and the psychology of defeating their own demons.

 

  1. Acknowledge that being mentally/emotionally tough isn’t reserved for the gifted few. Mental/emotional toughness as well as mental/emotional weakness is a learned-earned behavior.

People around the world from the passive Buddhist monks to the aggressive Navy Seals spend each day developing their mental/emotional toughness skills.  Some juniors have unknowingly invented their own mental/emotional weakness protocols and because they don’t know better, return to them religiously under stress.

 

  1. Decide to stay the course and confront hardship instead of bailing out at the first sign of confrontation.

Psychologists call it the fight or flight syndrome. Choosing to persevere through difficult circumstances leads to improved confidence. Getting in superb physical shape is a great place to start. Begin the journey by fighting through exhaustion, pain and discomfort.

 

  1. On a daily basis, multi-task and build the mental/emotional muscles along with stroke production.

Closing out every single drill develops mental/emotional toughness. Negative scoring (Drill to 10 – subtracting 1 for each error.) to each physical practice session to rehearse overcoming hardships.

 

  1. Commit to a deliberate custmentallylf-trust are learned and earned.

Choosing to do what the moment demands within a millisecond requires preset protocol training- the deliberate, customized repetition that incorporates how, when and why pre-set solutions (protocols) are applied.

 

  1. Accept that becoming mentally tough requires sacrifice. You must choose to be a normal ‘kid’ or a champion. You have to pick one…because you can’t be both.

Mental toughness requires you prioritize your time- putting everyday normal ‘kid stuff’ aside, most of the time, as you becomes athletic royalty.

 

  1. Develop the ability to employ the art of intimidation and to raise the adrenaline level at crunch time.

Raising positive energy at crunch time inflates the athlete’s performance while systematically deflates the opponent’s performance. Intimidation is the confidence role/act that begins pre-game as the athlete morphs into a ‘warrior.’  Staying in that ‘warrior’ mind-set or on-script throughout the competition is essential.

 

  1. Choose to be a courageous competitor – playing to win versus playing not to lose.

Applying the strategically correct system the moment demands under pressure, without fear or hesitation, no matter the score, the opponent or seeding is essential.

 

  1. Master the ability to handle adversity – such as poor start times, adverse elements, occasional sickness, minor injuries, and/or gamesmanship.

Choosing to see disadvantages as challenges versus obstacles too difficult to overcome is mental/emotional toughness.

 

  1. Persevere and be willing and able to remain on course and stay on-script longer…

Most good athletes are able to perform like a ‘pro’ occasionally. Greatness stems from an athlete’s ability to perform good after good. Consistently remaining in the peak performance state is essential in the higher echelons of sports.

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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The Mental Components of Tennis

Posted on March 12, 2015 by in New Zealand Summit YouTubes, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.  Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
MaximizingTennisPotential.com
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Attaining Tennis Excellence

Posted on February 23, 2015 by in Match Day Preparation, Maximizing Tennis Potential, Tennis Specific Training, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible.
Thanks for visiting, Frank Giampaolo0623P_5063

 

Top Ten Tools Needed to Attain Tennis Excellence

The mental and emotional strength of being a fierce competitor and a respectful human being is a learned behavior. Building mental and emotional muscle takes time and effort.

The way you think and feel effects how you perform. Rafa Nadal is a prime example of player that has built mental and emotional strength through hard work.

If your player truly believes in his or her game as a result of proper training and hard work he or she is bound for greatness.

No one can outperform their self-image. Due to their discipline, athletes like Rafa, have inner strength and inner excellence. They truly believe in themselves and their abilities because they’ve earned the belief.

Top Ten Tools Needed to Attain Tennis Excellence:

  1. Hit the gym to gain strength.
  2. Commit to improving with unrelenting determination.
  3. Develop the mental side of shot selection to master offense, neutral & defensive skills.
  4. Schedule time to strengthen their speed, stamina, and agility.
  5. Revise between point rituals to enhance  “clear headedness” of shot selection on big points.
  6. Improve your ability to apply spin.
  7. Cultivate the competitive attitude. Do this by adding simulated stress with every drill. We call them “stress buster drills”.
  8. Perfect the ability to live in the moment (producing precisely what the moment calls for) by rehearsing closing out sets.
  9. Replace the need to win with the love of the battle.
  10. Reform calmness under stress, by simulating those intense moments.

For more information read The Tennis Parent’s Bible– hundreds of hours of lessons for less than a half hour lesson!

 

Contact: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net
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Building The “Emotional” Muscle

Posted on February 17, 2015 by in New Zealand Summit YouTubes, Raising Athletic Royalty, The Tennis Parent's Bible

Solutions to Cheater’s Antics

Posted on January 25, 2015 by in Cheating, Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following  is an excerpt from  The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Share with your junior champs these six factors used to help defuse the antics of tennis cheaters and your player will be better equipped to deal with these unethical players. It is especially important your child learn to handle the antics of cheaters for two primary reasons:

  • Cheaters are the gatekeepers of junior tennis – forcing many talented players to leave the sport early because they are unwilling/unable to tolerate the cheater’s unethical behavior.
  • Cheaters remain in the game (cheating) until the highest level ( ATP and WTA Professional Tour) – when multiple lines judges call every point!Thanks for visiting, Frank

Handling Cheaters

  1. Pre-Match Speculations

Preconceived ideas of what might happen when playing a known cheater causes so much stress that it affects the immune system and often results in players actually get sick. Many lose sleep the night before the match. Do not let your child’s expectations of the possible trauma pull them away from focusing on their performance goals.

  1. Focus on What You Can Control

Expect about 5 bad line calls per match. This is not in your control. What is? How about the 30 unforced errors per set you commit? Limit your unforced errors to 10 per set and they can have the 5 hooks!

  1. Focus on Not Cheating Yourself

The truth is that most often we see players missing calls. That is, not calling out balls out! The average number of missed calls is six per match. Tighten up your own calls.

  1. Be Grateful

Cheaters cheat because they know down deep that their skills are no match for yours. Usually a cheater is able to win because their bad calls get you so emotional that you become distracted from your performance goals and the trap is set.

  1. Try the Standard Procedure for Handling Cheaters

First First question the bad call. When that does not work, get a line judge. When the line judge leaves after a game or two, you have two options: Be an “enabler” and let the “cheater” steal the match away from you; or take matters into your own hands and fight fire with fire.

  1. After a Confrontation Do Not Begin Play Right Away

Regain your composer first by taking a “legal” bathroom break. You will need time to get your head back into your performance goals. Remember to use your between point and change over rituals to stay focused on your game!

FUN FACT: We conducted a seminar with 26 young national level players. We asked the ten National Champions in attendance to sit in front of the class and share their insight. The first question from Joey, a 10 year old from Las Vegas was “Were you ever forced to cheat back to stop a “cheater” from trying to steal away a National title or ITF title. Guess how many champions answered yes, they were forced to take matters into their own hands and solve the problem? All ten!

Thank you for visiting.  By the way, if you think cheaters go away in college tennis, you would be mistaken! The sooner your child learns to deal with them the better.   Frank Giampaolo

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