The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!
PLAYER ACCOUNTABILITY
Player accountability stems from a champion’s mindset- which includes a positive moral compass, core values, and a high standard of behavior. Teach your children that even though the hardest path is often the road less traveled- it is also the quickest way to the top!
QUESTION: What are the hidden skill sets of champions?
Frank: Evan Wilson has the Babolat Pure Drive, strung with natural gut on the crosses and polly on the mains… just like the pros. He sports the latest “Nadal” Nike shirts, shorts, and shoes. His 12-pack racquet bag even says “TOUR TEAM” on it. Man, he even goes to an $ 80,000-a-year tennis academy. At first glance, he looks like a sure bet for the pros.
Now let’s look at Evan’s regiment a little deeper as it pertains to player accountability. Evan loses early almost every event in an implosion of negative behavior. There is nothing more common than young, talented athletes that are weak competitors. This is a prime-time example of player accountability. After reading the below Ten Essential Hidden Skills of a Champion, ask yourself, are there any similarities between Evan and your little tennis phenom?
Ten Essential Hidden Skills of a Champion
1) Champions face their fears versus avoiding them.
If you ask Evan to play a practice set against a younger retriever, he has 100 excuses why he can’t and won’t play.
2) Champions have swagger, which is truly different than fake and empty confidence.
Evan willingly practices his primary stroke production and then routinely SKIPS his weekly regime of off-court training sessions, rehearsing closing out sets, match play video analysis and his required mental/emotional classroom sessions. His empty confidence shatters under the slightest bit of pressure.
3) Champions are strong competitors, not just good athletes.
Set up a great sparring session for Evan, and he’ll tell you, “No thanks…I’m good! …I already rallied with Kenny today.”
4) Champions do everything to prepare properly.
Evan often stays out late the night before a big event, leaves no time in the morning for a real breakfast, neglects to organize his tournament bag, hits for 10 minutes before the match, and actually believes he is ready to compete.
5) Champions know that they will lose more than they will win.
Evan and his parents believe that he should win every match he plays.
6) Champions develop problem-solving skills, confidence, perseverance, determination and work ethic.
Evan chooses to focus on stationary strokes, week in and week out.
7) Champions have self-belief and a positive outlook.
Evan wears his ball cap backward and twirls his racquet confidently at the start of each tournament until the umpire yells, “2-minutes, gentlemen.” Then like clockwork, he loses focus and morphs into an “Emotional Basket Case” every weekend. Evan only has one game style- hard-hitting baseliner.
8) Champions develop several game plans, emotional solutions to common problems, agility, and brain speed.
Evan is brainwashed into believing that he will go pro if he perfects his primary strokes every day.
9) Champions understand that controlling their adrenaline and concentration wins matches.
Evan believes that he is the one and only gifted, athlete out there, and that should be enough to skyrocket him to success. When his opponents begin to challenge his game, he folds emotionally.
10) Champions spot tendencies and control the energy of the match.
Evan simply hits the shots that feel good to him versus hitting the shots that feel uncomfortable to the opponent.
In conclusion, it’s important to understand that there is nothing more common than extremely athletic individuals with weak competitive skills. This is why, to the untrained eye, it appears that the better “looking” athlete should win. As you all know, it is often not the case.
Although it is essential to develop solid fundamentals, once fundamentals are developed, the art of winning stems from developing these hidden skill sets.
