Tag Archives: practice with a purpose

SUPERSIZE Your Practice Sessions

Posted on May 23, 2016 by in Tennis Specific Training, 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

 

The following post is taken from Section IV- Practice Session Dramas:

QUESTION: How can we help supersize practice sessions?

Frank: Below I have created a checklist of solution to help Super-Charge Practice Sessions.

Stop hitting without accountability.

Hitting without accountability is like spending money with an unlimited bank account. Juniors perceive they hit better in practice because they are not aware of the sheer number of mistakes they are actually making. They remember the 10 screaming winners they hit, but forget about the 50 unforced errors they committed in the same hour.

Change the focus in practice sessions.

Concentrate on skill sets such as shot selection, patterns, adapting and problem solving, spotting the opponent’s tendencies, tactical changes and between point rituals.

Quit being a perfectionist!

Trying 110 percent promotes hesitation, over- thinking and tight muscle contractions. If you must worry about winning, focus on winning about 66 percent of the points. Yes, you can blow some points and allow your opponent a little glory and still win comfortably.

Replace some of the hours spent in clinics with actual matches.

Do you want your child to learn how to play through nervousness and manage their mistakes? Do you want them to get better at closing out those 5-3 leads? Do you want them to actually beat that moonball/pusher in the third set?

Players must begin to address their issues in dress rehearsal before they can expect them to win under pressure. Playing great under stress is a learned behavior. Practicing under simulated stress conditions is the solution.

“The challenge is to get comfortable being uncomfortable.”

Rehearse doing what you’re scared of doing. Take the tougher road less traveled. One of my favorite sayings is “If you want to get ahead of the pack, you can’t hang in the pack.”

This goes for parents as well. Obviously dropping your child off at the group lesson then going shopping for shoes is way easier than finding practice matches, charting and/or paying a college hitter to play sets. But ask yourself, is taking the convenient way out stunting your child’s growth?

CONTACT: Frank Giampaolo
FGSA@earthlink.net

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words…

Posted on December 14, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

Congratulations Isa, Katelyn, Isabela And Jenna On the Successes
That Come With Hard Work and Dedication! 

Spectacular performances are proceeded by spectacular preparation. Begin developing the hidden mental & emotional skill sets early like these young ladies and begin to raise athletic royalty.

Although these gals are literally a world apart they all share 3 things in common: Commitment to Frank’s Customized Developmental Plan; Fortunate to have World Class Tennis Parents; A Room Full of Trophies!

Jenna ThompsonJENNA Thompson

Won girls 14 National/Sectional North Carolina.

Isabela ThornhillIsabela Thornhill

Isabela’s first 14’s victory, won singles and doubles title at the Treasure Oaks, Ocean Springs MS tournament.

Katelyn SmithKatelyn Smith

Indian Wells Thanksgiving Tournament L6, Girls 12s Champion.

Isa waringIsa Waring

Regional tournament,Tennis Federation of Catalonia, Spain

Parents, start 2016 with a Customized Developmental Plan and hold on for the rocket ride to the top.

 

Only Playing Up Matches?

Posted on March 9, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Primary and Secondary Strokes, The Tennis Parent's Bible

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

 

 

Should my child only play up matches?

Tennis skills must be practiced on the practice court and during practice matches. If your child is expected to win every practice match, they will most likely not practice new tennis skills for fear of losing the practice match.  Putting too much stress on winning a practice match can be very destructive in the development of  a high performance player.

Most junior tennis players and their parents fall into the trap of ONLY seeking “up” matches. Up matches or playing someone better is a terrific way for your child to rehearse their A game plan. It can provide a major confidence boost to hold your own or even take a set from a higher level player. It’s a prominent way to get pushed and stretched to the limit.

Two Pitfalls of ONLY Playing Up Matches:

  1. Your child will lose most of the time and that isn’t always the best way to motivate some brain types.
  2. Your child’s practice match victories may be a false victories! A false victory is achieved when the higher level opponent isn’t trying to win, but is using your child as a sparring partner to rehearse his or her B or C game plans, secondary strokes or patterns. I often ask my players to play lesser players and focus on only hitting slice backhands. They are not trying to win at all.

FUN FACT: Alexa Glatch was a great Southern California junior player. She went on to play on the WTA tours and played on the U.S. Federation Cup squad. All through her junior career we scheduled sparring matches. She would be absolutely okay with losing most of her practice matches, as she rehearsed her weaker proactive patterns or her secondary strokes that she didn’t quite own. Yet in tournament junior match play, she would bring her A game plan and beat most top juniors. Essentially giving her practice match opponents fits.

I suggest asking your child to spend an equal amount of time playing weaker players. This will assist in the development of their B and C game plans. We know that players need to master different styles of play in order to be a contender at the national level. Juniors, quite honestly, won’t even try to develop their B and C game in an up practice match. (They don’t want to lose at a faster rate. Can you blame them?) If they won’t rehearse those skills in an up practice match …and they do not want to play practice sets against weaker opponents…when will the skills be developed and rehearsed?

The interesting question is: Why won’t your child play players they speculate are worse? Usually it is a genuine fear of an ego whipping.

SPECIAL NOTE: Players that won’t play down practice matches can often blame their parent’s fragile ego. Uneducated parents unknowingly sabotage their child’s growth by not allowing them to play sets versus different styles and levels of opponents. Consider paying a college player or great adult club player to play practice matches?

At our workshops, we structure practice sets against different styles of opponents, not just different levels. If your child has issues beating a Moonball/Pusher… guess what we focus on? You guessed it, the tools required to beat a Moonball/Pusher! Also, we gladly assist players in finding a weekly up match as long as they agree to play a down match as well.

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

 

 

 

 

Cultivating Proactive Patterns

Posted on March 2, 2015 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Primary and Secondary Strokes, Tennis Parent Education

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

Cultivating Proactive Patterns

As athletes in every sport progress from recreational players to competitive players they shift from playing reactive ball to proactive ball. Think about organized soccer, basketball and American football. Do they run plays? You bet!

In tennis, your child should shift from playing “catch” (hitting back and forth with their coach) to playing “keep away!”

Many talented tennis players spend their developmental years hitting back and forth from the base line.  You know the drills- down the line, cross court, up the middle etc. But to accelerate your child’s tennis game, be sure their practice includes pattern play and random ball drills.

Can your child list their favorite serving patterns, return of service patterns, rally patterns and net rushing patterns?  If your child hasn’t established these protocols, they are just playing reactive tennis.  Champions play proactive tennis.

The Tennis Parent’s Bible offers hundreds of hours of instruction/ direction for less than the cost of a half hour lesson.

Thanks for visiting, Frank

 

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

Why Does My Child Play Great In Practice But Horrible In Matches?

Posted on February 8, 2015 by in Match Day Preparation, Maximizing Tennis Potential, Raising Athletic Royalty, The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following is an excerpt from The Tennis Parent’s Bible. Thank you for visiting, Frank GimapaoloChampionship Tennis by Frank Giampaolo

 

 

Why Does My Child Play Great In Practice But Horrible In Matches?

It’s Friday, the day before a local junior event, John the young hitting pro carefully feeds balls waist level, in the perfect strike zone for your little Nathan. Nathan doesn’t have to move and hits like a champ. On the way home, Nate says, “Man, I’m on fire! Tennis is easy! Forget the open tourney, I’m going pro!”

Saturday morning rolls around and little Nate’s opponent is playing “keep away” from him. He’s wisely keeping balls above Nathan’s shoulders out of his primary strike zone. Nathan goes down in flames. After the match Nate says, “I don’t get it, I was famous yesterday.” Practicing in the manner in which you are expected to perform is a battle cry heard at my workshops daily. There is a totally different set of skills that provide “competitive” confidence or confidence under stress versus simply hitting.

It is important to understand that the essence of a champion doesn’t simply lie in their strokes but in their head and heart. The ability to stay comfortable when things get uncomfortable is undeniably a skill. Mastering their emotions may be just the ingredient your child requires to break through to a higher level. In typical private lessons, clinics and academies around the world the primary focus is on stroke mechanics. The attention is placed on bending your knees, change your grip, toss higher and run faster.

No question, developing sound fundamentals is a critical element of success. However to improve your child’s ability to perform under stress, it is in their best interest to switch from 100 percent stroke repetition practice to the following five practice solutions:

Practice Solutions:

  1. Stop hitting without accountability

Hitting without accountability is like spending money with an unlimited bank account. Juniors perceive they hit better in practice because they are not aware of the sheer number of mistakes they are actually making. They remember the 10 screaming winners they hit, but forget about the 50 unforced errors they committed in the same hour.

  1. Change the focus in practice sessions

Concentrate on skill sets such as shot selection, patterns, adapting and problem solving, spotting the opponents tendencies, tactical changes and between point rituals.

  1. Quit being a perfectionist!

Trying 110 percent promotes hesitation, over- thinking and tight muscle contractions. Remember this topic in the blunder section?

If you must worry about winning, focus on winning about 65 percent of the points. Yes, you can blow some points and allow your opponent a little glory and still win comfortably.

  1. Turn off the fear of failure

Top players lose almost every week. Take for example one of the ATP stars I worked with as a teen, Sam Querrey. He has been on tour full time for years. He is well adjusted, rich and famous and yet he understands that he is not going to win every tournament – which means he’s ok with the fact that he will most likely lose almost every week.

  1. Replace some of the hours spent in clinics with actual matches!

Do you want your child to learn how to play through nervousness and manage their mistakes? Do you want them to get better at closing out those 5-3 leads? Do you want them to actually beat that moonball pusher in the third set?

Well, they have to overcome these issues several times in dress rehearsal first before you can expect them to win under pressure. Playing great under stress is a learned behavior. Practicing under simulated stress conditions is the solution.

FUN FACT: Most junior players spend hours upon hours hitting in academies and zero hours a week in full practice matches. They’ve become solid ball strikers but weak competitors.

The challenge is to get comfortable being uncomfortable. Rehearse doing what you’re scared of doing. Take the tougher road less traveled. One of my favorite sayings is

“If you want to get ahead of the pack, you can’t hang in the pack.”

This goes for parents as well. Obviously dropping your child off at the group lesson then going shopping for shoes is way easier than finding practice matches, charting and /or paying a college hitter to play sets. But ask yourself, is taking the convenient way out keeping your child from winning national titles?

 

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