Tag Archives: tennis

CONTENTS of the Soft Science of Tennis

Posted on June 11, 2018 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Soft Science of Tennis

THE SOFT SCIENCE OF TENNISSOFT SCIENCE COVER2 COPY

CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Creating an Exceptional Culture
Chapter 2:  Sharpening Healthier Communication
Chapter 3:  Effective Listening
Chapter 4:  Nonverbal Communication
Chapter 5:  Personality Based Training
Chapter 6:  Benefits of Personality Profiling
Chapter 7:  How the Brain Affects Performance
Chapter 8:  Assisting the 4 SP Typographies
Chapter 9:  Assisting the 4 NF Typographies
Chapter 10: Assisting the 4 NT Typographies
Chapter 11: Assisting the 4 SJ Typographies
Chapter 12: Physical Skills Versus Life Skills
Chapter 13: Why Character Building Matters
Chapter 14: Life Skills Maximize Athletic Development
Chapter 15: The Importance of Nurturing
Chapter 16: Overriding Negative Past Belief Systems
Chapter 17: Building Coachable Athletes
Chapter 18: Eliminating Internal Judgment
Chapter 19: Changing Fixed Mindsets
Chapter 20: Managing Fear and Risk
Chapter 21: Developing Confidence & Self Esteem
Conclusion

Responsibility and Accountability

Posted on June 8, 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

 

 Responsibility and Accountabilityea-in-sports4a_final

 

 

In athletic competition, accountability is twofold.
It’s not only what we choose to do but what we choose not to do.

 

Coaching an athlete isn’t only about teaching the techniques of the sport. It also involves motivating athletes to drop their “conditions.”  These are their creative excuses for not training the way they should be training. It’s their escape mechanism. Competitors of all ages use the excuse of injury, time restraints or simple arrogance for not training properly. It’s their way of liberating themselves from responsibilities.

In our continuing observational study, I asked Evan and Jarrod about some of the creative excuses they’ve used for not training properly. Here’s what they came up with:

  • “I would go for my run today but it’s raining outside.”
  • “I would train but my friends are coming over tonight.”
  • “I can’t work out before school because there’s no time.”

Another common creative excuse is blaming others. Here’s what the twins have to say about the blame game:

  • “My teacher gave me too much homework this week and so I can’t train today.”
  • “It’s not my fault I can’t train, my trainer worked me too hard and now I’m injured.”
  • “I can’t play points again today after practice because I’m hanging out with my friends.”

 

SOLUTION #10: Stop Defending Old Bad Habits

When athletes stop avoiding the work and begin to rise to the occasion an emotional breakthrough takes place and confidence is born. Daily accountability separates the dreamers from the doors. I’ve found that some athletes have to be trained to stop defending their old comfortable bad habits. If they’re still defending them, they have no motivation to quit them. It takes honesty and courage to walk away from self-destructive, unproductive behavior. What is stopping most of us from incredible success is the unwillingness to drop the old, bad habits.

Personality Based Training

Posted on June 6, 2018 by in The Soft Science of Tennis

The following post is an excerpt from The Soft Science of Tennis SOON to be released!

Personality Based Training

“Personality profiling assists coaches, athletes, and parents in understanding how individuals gather information and make decisions. It’s how we are wired. It’s what makes us tick.”

Personality Based Training (PBT) is a training method that focuses the attention on the athlete’s unique brain design as opposed to the educator. When applying PBT, tennis pros and parents welcome and respect the athlete’s unique preferred styles of learning, behaving and playing the game.  The athletes feel empowered because their views and needs are recognized. And once understood, students are more motivated and inspired to learn and improve. An inspired student is more likely to take the leadership role in achieving their goals.

“Athletes would benefit from understanding the advantages and disadvantages of their unique brain design. It’s why they are naturally good at some things and uncomfortable with others.”

It’s important to note that while I’ve studied sports psychology for the past 30 years, I am a veteran, “In the Trenches” practical application tennis coach, not an “Academia” psychologist. But neither were Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers, authors of the famous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI- A psychological questionnaire used to understand individuals mental preferences.) published in the United States in 1943. Together Myers-Briggs noticed that individuals have different temperaments and unique ways of seeing the world.

While some scientists say the MBTI doesn’t stand up to scientific reliability, I can say with all honesty that it has helped me coach over 100 National Champions and several Pro tour athletes. More importantly, personality profiling benefits my athletes and their entourage of parents, coaches, and trainers at a much deeper level. A study conducted by Psychology Today, reports that approximately 80% of Fortune 500 companies use various personality tests to hire future employees, to assess progress, and to maximize efficiency and harmony through team building events. The time has come to broaden the role of personality profiling into the athletic realm, as I have outlined in The Soft Science of Tennis. 

Getting to know the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
The MBTI is the most popular psychometric questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions. It is my intention to bring to light the usefulness of brain preference identification in the tennis industry. Each student has a preferred way of seeing the world. The basic MBTI theory categorizes preferences into four groups from which individuals identify their dominant cerebral preference.

The Typographies Include:

  • Extraversion (“E”)-  People/Places
  • Introversion (“I”)- Theories/ Information
  • Sensing (“S”)- Facts/Reality
  • Intuition (“N”) Possibilities/Potential
  • Thinking (“T”)- Logic/Truthfulness
  • Feeling (“F”)- Harmony/Relationships
  • Judgment (“J”)- Orderly/Structured
  • Perception (“P”)- Flexible/Adaptable

For each of the above pairings, your athletes typically have a preference for one system above the other. The combination of their four preferences gives them their initial assessment in a four-letter acronym. An example is personality profile: ISTP (Introvert Sensate Thinker Perceiver)

“View your athlete’s brain design (dominant and auxiliary) the same way you would view right handed versus left handed body type functions. Each athlete has an inborn preferred system.”

In my experience, personality profiling is a soft science, meaning other factors such as nurturing and environments skew the data. With that said, I believe that athletes have specific preferences in the way they experience the world and these choices affect their actions, values, and motivational needs on and off the tennis court.

 

Handling Adversity- Part Four

Posted on June 1, 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

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Hardships in sports prepare you for the Real World

There is no success in high-performance sport without hardships. Hardships are actually the lessons needed to prepare athletes for success in the real world.

Strength doesn’t come from winning, it comes from the battle.

 

A study published in The Journal of Personal & Social Psychology reported that individuals who experience normal adverse events have better overall mental health than individuals with no real history of misfortune. I’ve found this same scenario to be true with athletes. Many talented athletes who are coddled and pampered by parents and coaches in their youth have difficulty in handling adversity in their teens. These junior athletes are sheltered from the exact problem-solving skills they need in order to thrive at the higher levels. This lack of resiliency is an especially important life skill needed for success. In a sense, resiliency is like a “psychological immune system” which aids athletes in coping with the hardships that come with competing at the higher levels of sports.

 

“What doesn’t Kill you… makes you stronger”

                                                         Friedrich Nietzsche

 

Coaches and parents of athletes should be fostering resiliency on a daily basis. I suggest that you re-visit your test scores in section one and customize your developmental pathway.

 

Life skills Transcend Sports

My daughter, Sarah was a top tennis player in her teens.  She won ten National titles, was ranked #1 in the US and played the US Open by age 15. One of her emotional skills developed through sports was perseverance. Fast forward 10 years and she calls me, “Dad, I just closed a half a million dollar deal- in my new sales position.  OMG, this is so much easier than pro tennis! I just called the CEO every Tuesday for two months and BINGO! ”

Handling Adversity- Part Three

Posted on May 26, 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

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Question: Why do athletes need to experience gamesmanship?

Evan: Well, gamesmanship tactics teach you that if you don’t stay in your performance side of your brain, you’ll get sucked into your opponent’s drama. Not all gamesmanship is cheating. Legal gamesmanship is part of the art of winning.

Jarrod: OMG, I get cheated almost every tournament. I get to the point where I don’t care about the game… I just want to punch’em in the face! Remember that time I got into it with Lorenzo?

 

Question: How do you spot an athlete struggling with adversity?

Evan: Well, I look for nonverbal communication… You know, body language and facial expressions. A dominating opponent with positive body language is inflating their energy and systematically deflating yours. In competition, I work hard on presenting myself as the alpha male.

Jarrod: Dude, he asked about spotting emotionally weak opponents… Geez! I’m good at spotting those meek kids. I’m the intimidator, not the intimidated! Often against emotionally weaker guys, the outcome is decided before the game even starts. I love it when the other dude has slumped shoulders, looks down, talking to the floor, as we prepare for the match. You can see and feel their look of surrender a mile away.

 

Question: Why is emotional aptitude important in high-performance sports?

Evan: Your opponent isn’t always just the other competitors. It’s between the ears. It’s battling your own demons. Sometimes half of me is saying “Keep Fighting” but the other half is saying “Forget it… They’re too good.”

Jarrod: My old coach taught me that if your fundamentals are better and if you’re the stronger athlete… You’ll win. I used to believe him but now… I’m not so sure. Does needing emotional training from a coach means I’m weak?

 

Handling Adversity- Part Two

Posted on May 20, 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

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Champions view handling adversity in a different light. They understand that winners have taken the time to develop their emotional muscles. They’ve been through the fires and have come out stronger. Hardships must not be avoided but embraced.  Please realize that athletes who seek greatness need bitter rivals, demanding coaches, bad referees, and even those cheating opponents because they all require the athlete to push beyond their comfort zones. These experiences help them later perform at a higher level under intense pressure.

With distance comes clarity. After a difficult experience, athletes discover that their seemingly horrific experience actually motivated them to improve by training and preparing more efficiently. Handling hardships stoke the competitive fire. That is why this section is important in regards to emotional aptitude.

 

Becoming comfortable handling conflict is emotional aptitude.

 

So I sat down again with my students, Evan and Jarrod. We discussed unfair hardships and here’s what they had to say.

 

Question: Why do athletes need rivals?

Evan: Rivals are actually secret partners in a different uniform. They’re the motivational force every athlete needs. My rival’s improvements push me towards my own improvement.

Jarrod: That’s stupid! Dude, I’d have so many trophies, if it weren’t for you. Besides, I think life would be easier if all my opponents were horrible.

Question: Why do athletes need demanding coaches?

Evan: Demanding coaches push you further than you think you can go. They have a vision of who you can be. They teach respect … respect for yourself, the equipment and others. Demanding coaches can be positive, fun loving … BTW- A screaming, abusive coach does not motivate me!

Jarrod: Hum… I’ve got no respect for those old fashion, drill sergeant negatrons. My old coach only pointed out the problems. Every training session was him telling me why I stink. I don’t remember him offering solutions… Only pointing out mistakes and why I’m a loser.

Handling Adversity

Posted on May 17, 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_finalThe Emotional Science of Handling Adversity

 

On Any Given Weekend

Friday night, as a favor to a friend, I met with a family to discuss their daughter’s NCAA golf experience. I listened politely as these very frustrated and mystified parents spoke about their daughter’s lack of play time. “Karen’s the best athlete on the squad, yet she’s riding the bench for the second straight year. Why won’t the coach play her? We’re paying over $50 grand a year for her to play and incoming freshman are playing ahead of her!”

I asked Karen about her preparation. Specifically her pre-season summer training regimen. Sadly, her developmental plan resembled that of a part-time hobbyist and not an elite college athlete. Most college level athletes are spending the summer playing tournaments and putting in about 20 hours a week of deliberate, customized training, Karen clocked in a whopping ZERO tournaments and 3-4 hours a week on the driving range over the entire summer. When I ask her why she didn’t feel she needed to train over the summer, she responded, “I’m better than my teammates already… I can out drive all of them…why bother?”

On closer inspection, Karen and her parents believe Karen’s superior fundamentals should place her in the starting lineup. But fundamentals are only part of the equation. Fast forward to the start of the golf season and Karen is missing routine 4-foot putts, her wedges are erratic, she can’t hit off a moderate 10-degree slope or out of the sand effectively. To make matters worse, her frustration tolerance is next to zero, so every round she finds a convenient excuse for her poor competitive performances and systematically implodes. Her toxic match day behavior is a result of a poor developmental plan resulting in emotional mayhem. This negative combination is pushing her college coaches to simply wash their hands of her and quietly hope she quits. Unfortunately, neither Karen nor her parents were aware of the importance of developing emotional aptitude in addition to her solid fundamental development.

Come Saturday morning, I found myself at a client’s little league baseball game. Mikey is a talented ball player. He’s a strong hitter with a .400 batting average. He’s also a fluid pitcher with a cannonball like fastball, a wicked curveball, and a lethal slider. Unfortunately, for the third time this season, Mikey got tossed out of the game by the fifth inning. You see Mikey, at age 12, confronts both adult authority figures and teammates, curses at them and telling them they’re clueless. All Mikey hears is how he’s light years ahead of everyone and his dad routinely belittles anyone that says otherwise, including the umpires! Mikey could be a high school baseball superstar and even enjoy an NCAA career if only he was taught how to handle adversity and emotional aptitude.

Sunday rolls around, and I’m at the girls 18’s Southern California sectional tennis tournament. On Court #1 Sammy is so fearful of confrontation that she played 12 out balls losing a close battle 4-5, 6-7. It’s not that Sammy needs glasses. Sammy’s emotional issue is that she’s scared of confrontation. She wants everyone to like her and so she gifted away the match.

Court #2 was another tightly contested match. Kayla was up in each set 5-2 and on both occasions traded in her offensive “playing to win” style and attitude for a super careful “playing not to lose-just don’t blow it” style of play. Sadly, Kayla lost another close winnable match 5-7, 5-7. Kayla’s emotional issue is that she doesn’t trust herself. Her lack of confidence and self-belief caused her to abandon her beautiful winning style if play – just when she needs it the most.

Court # 3 wasn’t much different. Michelle is probably the most physically talented gals in this top tier event. She possesses every tool in a world-class tennis player’s tool belt. Unfortunately for Michelle, she also has a toxic condition called perfectionism. By performing absolutely excellent, Michelle earns a comfortable 4-1 lead. Michelle spots her opponent’s vulnerable court position and defensive strike zone and bolts forward for a routine swing volley. Unfortunately, her shot catches the net tape as she loses a winnable point. Michelle proceeds to slam her racket to the cement and let out a blood-curdling scream “AAHHH … I SUCK!!!… WHY??” After dropping this singular point, Michelle is crushed because, in her mind, she has now blown a perfect day and only perfection is acceptable. Now Michelle is in full meltdown mode and drops the next 3 games in under 9 minutes. The match was completely in her control but because of her false belief system, she not only gifted her opponent back into the match, but she also rekindled the opponent’s self-belief. Thanks to Michelle’s emotional flaw, instead of a routine 6-2 win, she was battling a 4-4 dogfight.

The key for these solid athletes is to understand that it’s not their athleticism that’s letting them down. It’s their lack of emotional aptitude. Emotional aptitude is the learned behavior that athletes need to nurture in hopes of overcoming the onslaught of hardships that come along with the glory of greatness. Solid athletes seeking to maximize potential need to design coping skills customized to their own personal inner demons.

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.