The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!
NURTURING CHARACTER BLUNDERS
Parents, please be more concerned about your child’s character than their rankings because junior success is temporary… character is lifelong.
Ignoring Your Child’s Personality and Body Type
I mentioned this blunder several times in this book. Your child has a genetic predisposition to excel at a particular style of tennis. A common parental mistake is assuming that your child is wired like you… It is highly likely they have a different brain type, and they see the world and approach tasks differently than you or their coaches.
I’ve found that by understanding each player’s brain type, body type, and personality traits, similar obstacles, skills- efficiencies and deficiencies, frustration tolerance levels, styles of play, and decision-making abilities are evident.
However, a child’s preferred learning style is a product of both their genetic (nature) and environmental (nurture) make-up. So just as a player’s upbringing plays a role in shaping their future, so too do their desires, actions, and results.
Often, my students win their first national title and skyrocket their rankings after determining their personality profile and training them accordingly. Their training was systematically customized to their unique brain and body design, and their rankings greatly improved.
