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: Why do some athletes thrive under extreme pressure and some meltdown?
Frank: Here’s my understanding of how the brain functions under stress. Nobel Prize-winning Neuro-Scientist Julius Axelrod found that some people crack under pressure more than others because they process slower and become overwhelmed in time-sensitive stressful environments.
In the brain, this is seen as an over-flow of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex (Where quick decision-making and conflict resolution take place.) Stress floods the synapses of the prefrontal cortex with too much dopamine. After the flood, the gene called COMT (catechol-O-methyltransferase) is stimulated to come to the rescue…
Scientists have found that this gene actually comes in two types: fact-acting and slow acting. Those athletes with fast-acting COMT enzymes clear the excess dopamine quickly, allowing the athlete, not to overload. Those with slow-moving enzymes cause some folks to overload and shut down under stress.
The good news for these natural-born worry warts is that if they rehearse being comfortable with the feelings of being uncomfortable, their dopamine doesn’t overflow the prefrontal cortex. Meaning performing under pressure isn’t felt as such intense pressure any longer. You see, what becomes a habit, isn’t as scary. So if your child melts down under stress, ask their team of coaches to add stress simulations to their daily drills and watch your child become “clutch.”
QUESTION: Why do some juniors see a performance review as character assassination?
Frank: Successfully navigating the world requires continual analysis and review. An effective developmental plan needs to be tweaked and enhanced for continued growth. The art of becoming athletic royalty demands the player, coach, and parent communicate about the developmental direction. Players that thrive in the college world have nurtured their communication skills as well as their athletic skills.
Unfortunately, some juniors view performance reviews as lengthy rants pointing out all of their failures. Of course, in the eyes of an experienced coach or parent, performances are actually seen as information-gathering missions- not as life or death or win-or-lose affairs.
Performance reviews are a beautiful chance to discuss issues (successes and failures) so successes continue to increase, and failures decrease in the future. Ignoring successes or failures and assuming they all happen by chance is delusional.
Juniors who don’t bother to learn from their shortcomings are destined to repeat them. I challenge the coaches/parents to communicate with their child about the event. Dig deeper, learn from the facts and review the stats, charts, and video analysis. Juniors, try your best to understand why you’re not getting the results you’re capable of getting.
