Tag Archives: tennis competition

Losing Versus Getting Beat

Posted on September 1, 2022 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
Available through most online retailers!

 Click Here to Order

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LOSING VERSUS GETTING BEAT

 

For every 64 talented juniors that enter a six round tournament draw- all 64 have the same outcome goal: “I want to win!” Unfortunately 63 of those players go home losers. Although the nature of the draw format dictates only one champion, not all 63 lose- some of them get beat. There’s a big difference between getting beat and losing a match. Being defeated should be viewed from a new perspective.

 

“Attempting to never make a bad shot stops your athlete’s flow of great shots.  Great winners and correct errors come from the same relaxed, free zone.”

 

Let’s look deeper into the cause of the loss:

In my book, being outplayed by someone is getting beat. It is absolutely fine to get beat by someone who is:

  • Executing their best style of play.
  • Performing their best strategies & tactics.
  • Working harder.
  • Controlling the mega points.
  • Choosing to utilize the rituals they’ve developed.

 

In the above situation, the opponent may actually deserved the victory. On the other side of getting beat, is losing. It is much more painful to lose a match when:

  • Your child is more talented but their opponent is a harder worker.
  • Your child chooses not to employ their best style of play or falls into their opponent’s style of play.
  • Your child makes too many reckless, unforced errors.
  • Your child is too passive to compete at crunch time.
  • Your child doesn’t bother to spot and attack the opponent’s weaknesses.

 

Making your opponent beat you while applying your best style of play is actually a win-win situation. It’s what I call a mental and emotional commitment. When your player is confident and committed to playing their patterns and tactics, they often beat even the top seeds. But even if they don’t win the match, they’ll have no regrets. They will have attempted their best systems and that is all that can be expected.

Parents, please promote that learning to win or getting beat by confidently playing their best style of play is learning to “compete” correctly.

 

“There is a difference between missing the actual shot the moment demands and missing random, reckless shots.”

 

Parents and coaches must acknowledge that by taking the risk to compete, your child will likely lose in almost every high level tennis tournament. Parents must reinforce that losing the correct way, playing the game systems they have been trained, is their best shot at beating the best players.

Tough Love Insights to Successful Competitive Tennis- Part 4

Posted on March 27, 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

frank

Advance competitive tennis demands more than simply hitting another basket of balls. Parents and players need to recognize and understand that:

  • To compete at the highest levels, mental, and emotional tennis training must be part of the athlete’s developmental plan.
  • The real issues of competitive failures.
  • Inefficient training routines need to be redirected.

The following posts list some common training missteps that competitive tennis players and parents need to acknowledge and refine to maximize performance.

 

Tough Love Insights to Successful Competitive Tennis

Insight Four: The athlete wants to make friends with top players and find better sparring partners and doubles partners.

Possible Solution: Great player want to spar with other great players. In your first encounter, play your best and try to beat them with no mercy.  They’ll be calling you to play soon.

MENTAL REHEARSALS TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE

Posted on September 16, 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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MENTAL REHEARSALS TO ENHANCE PERFORMANCE

 

 “Desensitize anxieties by applying mental rehearsals.”

One way athletes learn to respond with solutions is through visualization. The use of imagery recreates the positive experiences athletes need when seeking confidence. Overcoming the onslaught of stressors is much easier if the athlete is desensitized to the situation.

Successfully dealing with uncomfortable scenarios in a relaxed environment helps to prepare the warrior for the battle ahead. In the studies of performance psychology, mental rehearsals are proven to facilitate real-time match performance. Neuro Priming for Peak Performance is a dedicated workbook I wrote to assist athletes as they apply customized mental rehearsal scripts. These scripts are then recorded into the athlete’s cell phones and listened to nightly and before competition.

Prepare for pressure by visualizing clean stroke mechanics, millisecond decision making, shot sequencing patterns, and between point rituals, to name a few.

Pre-match visualization desensitizes anxieties and improves performance.

Pressure Reveals Character

Posted on September 4, 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

 Preparing final cover 3D

Pressure Reveals Character

 

“Be the alpha predator…not the prey.”

All predators can smell fear and uncertainty. They sense the timid and weak, and they prey on them. The predator could be a lion on the plains of Africa, the hoodlums on the subway in NYC or the experienced tennis competitor.

Alpha competitors can be physically, mentally, and/or emotionally imposing. Mark Twain once said, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight …it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

The key mental/emotional characteristics of tennis predators include:

  • The ability to hit the shot the moment demands.
  • The unwavering belief that they are the best.
  • A strong demeanor, assertiveness, and dominance.
  • Calmness and supreme confidence in the moment.
  • Resiliency, perseverance, and grit at crunch time.

Learning to read fear and taking proper advantage of the situation is one of the hidden mental/emotional differences that separates the consistent winners from the pack. Walking into a clubhouse before the match, victors and victims may look similar but possess polar opposite mentalities.

Teach your athletes not to be afraid of the storm
but to be the storm.

Match Play Anxiety- Part 1

Posted on June 11, 2019 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 online retailers!  Click Here to Order

 

QUESTION: Why is avoiding performance anxiety in practice bad?

 Frank: Avoiding stress in practice only magnifies a player’s performance anxiety during future competition. This avoidance keeps competition scary and uncomfortable and fuels the athlete’s lingering self-doubt.

“Players are actually increasing their anxieties by dodging their fears.”

 Every time a player sidesteps their issues, the thoughts of possible failure multiply into a serious lack of confidence and self-esteem. Their apprehension and fear of competition will actually increase until they agree to stop avoiding their fears.

Losing Versus Getting Beat

Posted on April 20, 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

black_ebook_design2

 

LOSING VERSUS GETTING BEAT

For every 64 talented juniors that enter a six-round tournament draw- all 64 have the same outcome goal: “I want to win!” Unfortunately, 63 of those players go home losers. Although the nature of the draw format dictates only one champion, not all 63 lose- some of them get beat. There’s a big difference between getting beat and losing a match. Being defeated should be viewed from a new perspective.

“Attempting to never make a bad shot stops your athlete’s flow of great shots. Great winners and correct errors come from the same relaxed, free zone.”

Let’s look deeper into the cause of the loss:

In my book, being outplayed by someone is getting beat. It is absolutely fine to get beat by someone who is:

  • Executing their best style of play.
  • Performing their best strategies & tactics.
  • Working harder.
  • Controlling the mega points.
  • Choosing to utilize the rituals they’ve developed.

 

In the above situation, the opponent may actually deserved the victory. On the other side of getting beat, is losing. It is much more painful to lose a match when:

  • Your child is more talented but their opponent is a harder worker.
  • Your child chooses not to employ their best style of play or falls into their opponent’s style of play.
  • Your child makes too many reckless, unforced errors.

 

  • Your child is too passive to compete at crunch time.
  • Your child doesn’t bother to spot and attack the opponent’s weaknesses.

 

Making your opponent beat you while applying your best style of play is actually a win-win situation. It’s what I call a mental and emotional commitment. When your player is confident and committed to playing their patterns and tactics, they often beat even the top seeds. But even if they don’t win the match, they’ll have no regrets. They will have attempted their best systems and that is all that can be expected.

Parents, please promote that learning to win or getting beat by confidently playing their best style of play is learning to “compete” correctly.

“There is a difference between missing the actual shot the moment demands and missing random, reckless shots.”

“Parents and coaches must acknowledge that by taking the risk to compete, your child will likely lose in almost every high-level tennis tournament. Parents must reinforce that losing the correct way, playing the game systems they have been trained, is their best shot at beating the best players.”