The following post is an excerpt from
Frank’s newest book,
THE SOFT SCIENCE OF TENNIS
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This chapter will uncover how brain design affects tennis performances. The following brain design categories can be used as an informal observation as you first profile yourself. However, I suggest going online to the dozens of more in-depth questionnaires. Choose the accuracy and depth of the personality profiling questionnaire that is right for you. After a bit of research, you will recognize learning preferences that best describe your brain design.
Let’s review the basics from earlier in this book. There are 16 configurations of personality profiles found around the world. By completing your chosen questionnaire, you will discover your association – a 4-letter acronym nicknaming your personality profile. Once comfortable with the terminology, you will be able to categorize your athletes into their unique design. Following is a list of commonalities I’ve uncovered on-court with my high-performance students.
Thinkers (T) versus Feelers (F)
- Thinker Students
- Impersonalize tennis matches in a business fashion.
- Continually analyze the pros and cons of each situation.
- Thrive in private lessons versus group activities.
- In discussions, they are frank and often void of tactfulness.
- Aware of coaching inconsistencies.
- In competition, they are less influenced by emotions than other brain designs.
- Prefer logical explanations versus hunches.
- Relate to technical skills training over mental or emotional skills training.
- Less concerned about personal interaction and group harmony.
- Prefer work before play even in practice.
- Value fairness and good sportsmanship.
- Often seen as uncaring or indifferent to others.
Feeler Students
- Enjoy group sessions with their peers.
- Often put others needs ahead of their own.
- Strong need for optimism and harmony on-court.
- Struggle with match play cheating and gamesmanship.
- Usually outcome-oriented versus process-oriented.
- Perform with their heart versus their head.
- Often miss the details and facts in problem-solving.
- Sometimes too empathetic to struggling opponents.
- Need frequent process reminders to regain focus.
“A gender stereotype myth is that females are feelers and males are thinkers. While the exact percentages vary widely from study to study, it’s clear that brain function doesn’t necessarily correlate with gender. Nature versus nurture falls into play.
Though societal bias may nurture females to be more nurturing and caring and males to be more tough problem-solvers, females can be genetically wired to be thinkers just as males can be wired to be feelers.”
