Tag Archives: tennis

Game Day Performance Anxiety Solutions

Posted on May 14, 2018 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

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

 

ea-in-sports4a_finalGame Day Performance Anxiety Solutions

Pre-Event:

  • Arrive early, stretch and undergo a thorough physical warm-up routine.
  • Recognize that pre-event anxiety is normal. Excess adrenaline can be burnt off by going for a run before competition.
  • Prepare mentally and emotionally by visualizing your peak performance plays and patterns.
  • Discuss performance goals and not outcome goals. Performance goals include running the correct plays and patterns the moment demands.
  • Outcome goals include the ramifications of winning or losing. By pre-setting the correct performance-based state of mind, athletes have a much greater chance of performing in the zone.
  • Avoid poor performances by utilizing proper nutrition and hydration.

During the Event:

  • Focus on your performance goals rather than the outcome of the event.
  • Choose to stay in your optimal performance state of mind.
  • Fake it until it becomes natural. Replace negative thoughts with positive visualization.
  • Perform in the matter you’ve been trained and to choose to stay on your performance script for the duration of the event.

Post Event:

  • Relax and recover. An athlete needs to recuperate. Downtime wards off burnout and is essential for long-term progress.
  • Review the event when emotionally ready to accept constructive criticism. Juniors, remember that the game is an information-gathering mission to aid you in long-term growth.
  • Agree upon a time to review the performance and make a developmental action plan to improve strengths and weaknesses.

 

Positive Game Day Inner Dialog for Athletes

Staying on your script requires constant positive self-talk.  In the heat of competition, an empty mind is susceptible to becoming contaminated with unwanted, negative thoughts. Staying in your optimal, peak performance state of mind requires the management of your inner dialog/thoughts. Positive dialog examples include:

  • I’m Shooting For Excellence, Not Perfection
  • I’ve Got Strokes, Athleticism, Mental & Emotional Skills
  • I’m So Grateful That I Get to Participate
  • I’m Performance Oriented Not Outcome Oriented
  • I Love Solving Problems in Competition
  • I’ll Walk into the Club Like I Own the Place
  • I’ve Morphed into An Athletic Warrior
  • I Admire My Courage to Compete
  • My Optimism Is Contagious
  • This Is My Favorite Part of the Week

I suggest picking a few positive statements from the above list and rehearse your own inner dialog. Research shows that performing in the future, as the “Alpha Competitor,” stems from continuously, nurturing your inner belief. Emotional aptitude is a learned behavior.  An athlete’s optimism and growth mindset should be molded daily.

Proper Preparation

Posted on May 10, 2018 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

 

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

 

ea-in-sports4a_final

 

Prepare Properly

If you want to make your own good luck, look towards your future athletic competitions as opportunities and bring to these opportunities exquisite preparation. When proper preparation and opportunity meet, the athlete will shine. The solution to developing one’s emotional muscle stems from copying one of the twins. I bet you already know which one it is. In case you are still unclear, let’s review a typical match day- starring our friend, Jarrod.

 

Spectacular Preparation Preceded Spectacular Performance

Jarrod, Evans younger brother by 9 minutes, is a very gifted athlete but a bit unevenly developed.  Emotional aptitude is his most unnatural component and so far he’s not interested in improving it. Jarrod would sabotage his tournament performances before they even began. Of course, Jarrod believed that his poor starts weren’t his fault. They were just plain bad luck.

The night before an away event in Indianapolis, I called Jarrod to discuss the incoming storm and the news reports of the morning flood-like conditions. “Jarrod, let’s plan on leaving earlier tomorrow.” He replied “Nah… I want to sleep in. We’re good”. Fast forward to the next morning. The plan was to meet in the hotel lobby for breakfast at 8:00 am.  It is now 8:15 … 8:30 … and still no Jarrod. It turned out he decided to skip breakfast before his day packed full of 6 hours of intense National competition.

So, we began the hour drive to the site. Visibility through the windshield was about 20 yards due to the pelting storm. All we saw for an hour and forty-five minutes were brake lights. This, along with him deciding not to put fuel in his gas tank caused unnecessary unspoken anxiety. An hour into the drive Jarrod said, “I’m so hungry”.

Thirty minutes away from the event I gently reminded him to begin his visualization routine. Leaving the “normal” teenage headspace behind and morphing into the character of a warrior. As I began to remind him again about the emotional benefits of pre-game visualization Jarrod talked over me saying, “I’m fine,” as he decided he didn’t need it and reached over from the passenger seat and turned up the rap station on the SUV’s stereo. Memorizing rap lyrics and tweeting friends were more important to him than the mental imagery of ensuring a peak performance in his upcoming match.

Arriving on site late meant that instead of casually enjoying a relaxed 45 minute warm up. Jarrod now had only 15 minutes to rush through his fundamentals. This brought about feelings of being underprepared which is a confidence killer. As the tournament director blew the whistle for the players to gather, I asked him if he remembered to prepare his equipment, drinks, ice, towels, etc.  Jarrod said, “Oh, can you get me a water… And find me a towel?”

 

Preparing properly for battle doesn’t guarantee victories, but choosing to neglect proper preparation sabotages one’s chance of performing at peak potential.

 

Jarrod’s athleticism didn’t cause another loss. The loss was caused by his lack of emotional aptitude, as seen in his distorted thinking and behavioral patterns in preparing for his event. Needless to say, Jarrod’s game was off from the beginning. He never recovered and went down in flames.

Proper Preparation Rewards Emotional Aptitude Part 3

Posted on May 8, 2018 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports, Maximizing Tennis Potential

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

ea-in-sports4a_final

In regards to spectacular preparation, let’s check in with Evan, the super-achiever, and Jarrod, the talented underachiever.

 

Proper Warm Up & Stretching Routines

Evan: I “YouTubed” a Tiger Woods interview. He said he hits the range before each round and systematically warms up every club in the bag. Just in case it’s needed. That made sense to me. I begin with 10 minutes of dynamic stretching and incorporate a full hour customized warm-up routine before even leaving for the event site.

Jarrod: Dude! I’m still putting my socks on when jumping into the car. At the site, I skip that silly dynamic stretching routine. It’s kinda weird.  I only need a quick 5 minute warm up as the game begins. I practice in practice sessions, not on match day.

 

Morphing into a Warrior

Evan: At the event site, I choose to stay away from the random texting and the typical “hanging out” with the guys. Instead, I focus on shifting from a normal teen into an athletic warrior. I understand that getting into character and remaining in character for the duration of the battle is critical.

Jarrod: As soon as I arrive on site, I jump out of the car and rush over to the other players to trash talk each other’s Pokemon Go scores. Sometimes we get the nerve to talk to the chicks.

 

Opponent Profiling

Evan: I like to arrive early and leave late on tournament days. I’m interested in scouting other athletes. I think it’s meaningful to identify their strengths and weaknesses. I like to see what makes different opponents freak out.

Jarrod: Man, I’ve got zero interest in wasting time. They should be scared of ME! My natural athleticism is all I need to win every event. If I don’t win, it just wasn’t my day. I’ve just got to play better next time.

 

Key Performance Review with the Coach

Evan: Well, you know. I like to call you before my match because I want insurance that I’m completely ready for battle. I enjoy systematically double checking my mechanical “to-do” list, my top patterns list, my relaxation ritual routine, and my alternate game plans to use if the opponent shifts tactical styles. This assists me in performing confident and calm in the heat of battle.

Jarrod: I don’t feel I need to consult a coach. Basically, I already know all I need to know and I want to prove it to everyone. Look, some people have it…some people don’t.

 

 

Proper Preparation Rewards Emotional Aptitude Part 2

Posted on May 6, 2018 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports, Maximizing Tennis Potential

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

 

ea-in-sports4a_final

In regards to spectacular preparation, let’s check in with Evan, the super-achiever, and Jarrod, the talented underachiever.

 

Equipment Preparation

Evan: I have a checklist of my requirements. I actually begin packing my extra shirts, uniform, socks, shoes, water, Gatorade, power bars, fruit, band-aids and athletic tape the night before. I sleep better knowing everything’s prepared.

Jarrod: Evan, you’re such a dork!  The last time I even saw my bag was when I left it in the trunk of mom’s car.

 

Visualization

Evan: I wake up early but before I get out of bed, I calmly visualize my skill sets for 15 minutes. I focus on proper mechanics, athletic movements and spacing, my mental game strategic plans and my positive emotional composure rituals. I feel that by pre-programming the subconscious, I’ll be more likely to perform later in the zone.

Jarrod: I typically sleep in as late as possible. If I do have extra time, I love playing Pokemon Go. I skip the visualization exercise you ask me to do. Let’s be honest…I don’t need that stuff!

 

Proper Nutrition and Hydration

Evan: I schedule the time to enjoy a healthy breakfast approximately 2 hours prior to my competition. I did some research and understand that good carbohydrates are the preferred source of energy for expanded muscle contraction and brain function. I like to apply preventative medicine to ensure that there’s little chance of a poor performance.

Jarrod: Breakfast is not my thing. I eat when I’m hungry. Hey, remember, we watched a video review of my game? You showed me how I struggled with lethargic play, decreased strength and reaction time, low endurance, slow cognitive processing speed, basic problem-solving skills, and violent negative emotional outbursts…Wait…so you’re saying that not eating may have had something to do with it?

 

Solutions to 2 Popular Performance Anxieties

Posted on April 13, 2018 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports

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

 

Solutions to Popular Performance Anxietiesea-in-sports4a_final

To illustrate how unique personalities operate differently, I’d like to reintroduce you to the twins: Evan and Jarrod. Let’s again call upon the brothers to offer their take on the following top ten performance anxieties.

 

Handling Pressure

Evan: I thrive under pressure because I’ve focused on it every practice session. I enjoy the negative scoring drills. These stress-buster exercises keep me focused throughout the practice session. They make me accountable for every sloppy error. They help me not only with my fundamentals but with my decision making, my problem solving and my self-coaching/internal dialog.

Jarrod: Dude, I just like to crank the tunes in practice and groove. I don’t need to think about my emotions. So what…?  I get mad when I compete…I’m not worried about it!

Frank’s Tip: Multitask and incorporate stress simulation scoring into daily training. This develops the emotional muscle as well as the technique.

 

Mental Toughness

Evan: I’m probably more successful than my peers, but not because I’m a better athlete, but because I prepare my psychological responses to game time stress. I think it’s because we make the time to discuss all the emotional scenarios and have pre-set the appropriate protocols.

Jarrod: I don’t care about mental toughness in practice. I’ll save my focus and concentration for the real match. You mean players actually train their concentration and intensity levels? Wimps…

Frank’s Tip: Athletes and coaches often categorize emotional toughness as mental toughness. In my opinion, there is a difference between mental (X’s & O’s of strategy) and emotional (performance anxieties.) It’s important to correctly categorize the cause of the performance inabilities. For instance, is the athlete unaware of the proper strategy to be implemented or is the athlete so nervous and fearful their strategy is un-accessible under stress? Identifying the cause will help define the solution.

ATP Stevie Johnson Interview

Posted on July 13, 2017 by in The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

 

Dear Stevie,stevie and steve

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. It was an honor to have known your father, Steve Johnson. Someone so special can never be forgotten. Wishing your heart and soul will find peace and comfort during this difficult time. Sincerely, Frank Giampaolo

 The below post is an interview with ATP Professional Stevie Johnson in 2015.

STEVIE JOHNSON ATP PROFESSIONAL

Stevie Johnson was a top US National Junior, 2 Time Singles CIF Champion and 4 Time Team CIF Champion at D-I University of Southern California (USC) and currently a top 30 ATP Pro tour player.

 

Frank: What qualities should a parent look for when hiring a coach or academy?

Stevie: The coach has to truly care about the student and sincerely look for what’s best for the student in both tennis and life. I feel it’s important to seek a positive learning atmosphere where both tennis skills and character skills are continually emphasized.

 

Frank: Looking back on your illustrious junior career, what do you attribute your success?

Stevie: Even though I was #1 in the 12’s and 14’s, that style of game wouldn’t take me to the top in college or in the pros. I had to refocus my development in the 16’s and 18’s. I was a bit lazy with my off-court training early on and relied on my talent and strong competitive nature, but to continue to grow and improve, I had to make fitness a priority. Honestly, I don’t even remember my 12 and under trophies.

 

Frank: It sounds like focusing on improvement versus tournament wins/rankings is a theme of yours. Why?

Stevie: In the younger divisions you can win with a limited moonball game because the rest of the field isn’t fully developed. This winning tactic is not successful in the older divisions. I really don’t see pushers in the pros. The professional athletes attack. I believe it’s important for the parents and players to be “ok” losing while developing the whole game. Just being satisfied with a limited game that wins to at the lower levels will limit your career.  I recommend seeking weekly improvement versus having to always win.

 

Frank: When should parents, players and coaches begin to develop the mental and emotional components of the game?

Stevie: I think it’s a maturity level, not a certain age. Different people allow their mood to affect their performance more than others. If they struggle with crazy emotional ups and downs, they should focus on improving their emotional stability. The key is to develop and continually improve every component so the player can stay engaged and competitive in every circumstance.

 

Frank: What are the primary differences between playing national level juniors and D-1, NCAA ball?

Stevie: If you choose the right college coach and program, there’s a heightened level of dedication, developmental structure, and focused off-court training. Coaches, teammates and even the international opponents push each other to train harder.

 

Frank: What are the primary differences between NCAA tennis and ATP pro ball?

Stevie: It’s not so much strokes but the addition of all the seemingly smaller intangibles. The mental and emotional components are better. They include longer-deeper focus and competitiveness. They don’t give away any free points and the athletes physical, mental and emotional endurance is stronger day in-day out.

 

Frank: I’ve known you and your folks forever but from your side, what makes your folks’ such great tennis parents?

Stevie: Balance! On court, my father was the coach. Off-court, he was just my dad. After matches, my dad didn’t banter for 30 minutes about the performance. My mom played tennis as well so she added great perspective.

 

Frank: Can you share a few words of wisdom for the parents, athletes and coaches reading this book?

Stevie: Have fun with the development of your game. Remember even though it feels like “life or death” at the moment, the wins-losses in the 10’s-14 don’t mean much. It’s a blessing to play so laugh and enjoy the process.

 

Tennis Speed Blunder

Posted on June 12, 2017 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

Frank Giampaolo

Regardless of the comfort level, accelerated growth demands aborting ineffective strokes, strategies or tactics and systematically re-tooling them. Change is mandatory for growth.

 

Assuming that Tennis Speed is Only Foot Speed

Tennis specific speed-training requires a combination of foot speed and anticipatory speed.

Heredity plays an important role in your child’s muscle type. Parents and coaches can’t improve the genetic predisposition of an athlete, but they can nurture both their foot speed and anticipatory speed. The path to better court coverage lies in avoiding hesitation and anticipating situations.

Anticipatory speed is greatly increased by understanding and rehearsing the art of vision control.  Here’s a sports myth “keep your eye on the ball.” I suggest shifting focus from narrow vision (watching an incoming ball) to broad vision. Broad vision is picking up visual clues as the ball travels toward the opponent. (This topic is covered in detail in the Section IV Common Questions and Solution: Parental Accountability.)

Prepare Properly

Posted on May 13, 2017 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports, Emotional Tennis

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

ea-in-sports4a_final

Prepare Properly

If you want to make your own good luck, look towards your future athletic competitions as opportunities and bring to these opportunities exquisite preparation. When proper preparation and opportunity meet, the athlete will shine…

Spectacular Preparation Preceded Spectacular Performance

Jarrod, Evans younger brother by 9 minutes, is a very gifted athlete but a bit unevenly developed.  Emotional aptitude is his most unnatural component and so far he’s not interested in improving it. Jarrod would sabotage his tournament performances before they even began. Of course, Jarrod believed that his poor starts weren’t his fault. They were just plain bad luck.

The night before an away event in Indianapolis, I called Jarrod to discuss the incoming storm and the news reports of the morning flood-like conditions. “Jarrod, let’s plan on leaving earlier tomorrow.” He replied “Nah… I want to sleep in…We’re good”. Fast-forward to the next morning. The plan was to meet in the hotel lobby for breakfast at 8:00 am.  It is now 8:15 … 8:30 … and still no Jarrod. It turned out he decided to skip breakfast before his day packed full of 6 hours of intense National competition.

So, we began the hour drive to the site. Visibility through the windshield was about 20 yards due to the pelting storm. All we saw for an hour and forty-five minutes were break lights. This, along with him deciding not to put fuel in his gas tank caused unnecessary unspoken anxiety. An hour into the drive Jarrod said, “I’m so hungry”.

Thirty minutes away from the event I gently reminded him to begin his visualization routine. Leaving the “normal” teenage headspace behind and morphing into the character of a warrior. As I began to remind him again about the emotional benefits of pre-game visualization Jarrod talked over me saying, “I’m fine,” as he decided he didn’t need it and reached over from the passenger seat and turned up the rap station on the SUV’s stereo. Memorizing rap lyrics and tweeting friends were more important to him than the mental imagery of ensuring a peak performance in his upcoming match.

Arriving on site late meant that instead of casually enjoying a relaxed 45 minute warm up. Jarrod now had only 15 minutes to rush through his fundamentals. This brought about feelings of being under prepared which is a confidence killer. As the tournament director blew the whistle for the players to gather, I asked him if he remembered to prepare his equipment, drinks, ice, towels, etc.  Jarrod said, “Oh, can you get me a water… And find me a towel?”

 

Preparing properly for battle doesn’t guarantee victories, but choosing to neglect proper preparation sabotages one’s chance of performing at peak potential.

 

Jarrod’s athleticism didn’t cause another loss. The loss was caused by his lack of emotional aptitude, as seen in his distorted thinking and behavioral patterns in preparing for his event. Needless to say, Jarrod’s game was off from the beginning. He never recovered and went down in flames.

 

Spacing Drill

Posted on April 22, 2017 by in Championship Tennis, Primary and Secondary Strokes

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Bestselling Book Championship Tennis available through most on-line retailers!

 Championship Tennis by Frank GiampaoloSpacing

In the early 1990s, I did high-speed video analysis of players’ strokes and discovered that a large a majority of mis-hits occurred because of the player being too close to the ball at impact. Mis- hits also resulted from the player being too far away from the ball, but being jammed was clearly more prevalent. This is why proper spacing plays such a large role in clean stroke production.

Hitting effectively on the move is a requirement for high-level play, and it’s something that must be practiced repeatedly. This is a great drill for developing the footwork required for proper spacing.  An experienced feeder is mandatory for this quick-paced drill. The feeder customizes the ball’s speed, spin, and trajectory to suit the player’s ability level.

Begin with the coach standing with a basket of balls, positioned behind the ad-side doubles alley. The coach will deliver a rapid-fire two-ball sequence to the player’s forehand wing at three different stations on the court.

 

  1. The player begins by standing behind the baseline on the opposing ad-side corner. The coach feeds a high deep ball directly at the player. The player has to run around to the side of the ball and space herself to hit an aggressive inside-out forehand. As the ball is struck, the coach feeds another ball, this time short and inside the service box. The player has to move into the court, properly space herself away from the ball, and once again hit an inside-out forehand.
  1. The player quickly slides back to the base-line, this time at the center hash mark, and the coach repeats the sequence—deep ball followed by short ball. The player continues to direct her shots toward the coach’s corner.
  1. The player quickly slides back to the base-line, this time to the deuce-side corner. The coach again repeats the sequence of deep ball followed by short ball. The player’s target remains the coach’s corner of the court.

 

After the player hits from all stations, repeat the stations with the coach drilling to the back- hand wing. Next, repeat the drill for both the forehand and backhand with the coach standing behind the deuce-side doubles alley. This corner of the court now becomes the player’s target area.

Five Solutions to Foster Emotional Strength

Posted on March 2, 2017 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

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

ea-in-sports4a_final

 

Five Solutions to Foster Emotional Strength:

Apply Positive Visualization
Winners use positive visualization by imagining themselves executing their best patterns and plays without hesitation. Less successful athletes are overcome with negative visualization, which of course overwhelms their thought processes with visions of failure.

Train Under Game Day Stress
Athletes need to train much more than just their physical techniques and athleticism in practice. They have to get comfortable… being uncomfortable.

Rehearse Tolerance
Overcome hardships and pain in practice. Simulating stress in practice provides you with the opportunity to conquer your emotional demons. By doing so, reoccurring game day negative thoughts are replaced by positive thoughts such as: “I’ve done this before, I’ve conquered this several times and I know I can overcome this again because I have done it often.”

Learn to Compartmentalize Emotions
Great athletes stay in their optimal performance frame of mind during discomfort by staying on script (pre-set protocol). This entails choosing to mentally focus on the job at hand by overriding the emotional contaminants, thus not letting emotions control the show.

Stop Feeding Negative Emotions

Flip constantly feeding the problems, worries and fears with customized protocols which feed optimism, courage, resiliency and fortitude. Athletes should have pre-set triggers (words and actions) that help them focus on positive plays and patterns.