The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
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THE TOURNAMENT PLAYER’S CYCLE
Periodization training requires factoring in these 10 essential phases to insure growth as well as optimal performance during competition. Educated coaches and parents not only know what to focus on, but even more importantly; when to focus on them.
To customize your athlete’s formula for success, be sure to apply these 10 very different phases to your tournament player’s cycle.
The 10 Essential Phases of Tournament Play
Phase 1: Post tournament recovery -Insist they completely detach from the sport. Allow them to recover and heal their physical body, emotional wounds and the pressure of cognitive processing under stress.
Phase 2: Slowly restart the fitness component – re-introduce the athlete’s endurance, speed, agility and stretching requirements.
Phase 3: Begin match chart reviews and essential Match Play video analysis.
Topics include: Performance assessments, opponent profiling- styles of play/shifts in styles, favorite go-to patterns ( top 7), movement strengths & weaknesses, focus issues/lapses in concentration, anger/ emotional management, athletes problem solving skills, between point and changeover rituals, fundamental and secondary stroke efficiencies and deficiencies.
Phase 4: Devise an agreed upon action plan based on phase 3’s findings. This included on-court as well as off court physical, mental or emotional development. Seek weekly improvement versus the need to always win. Focus on improving aka -fixing weaknesses.
Phase 5: Re-introduce on-court basic stroke production with dead ball- grooving/ motor programming of the new, improved strokes. Add fundamental on-court movement, spacing and footwork essentials.
Phase 6: Drill with negative scoring to re-introduce the essential emotional/ focus component. (Deduct a point for each error.) Error awareness in practice is a missing link in the art of developing the emotional muscle.
Phase 7: Introduce secondary strokes and the athlete’s customized offense, neutral, defensive patterns of play. These shot sequencing patterns are strokes with purpose and are essential pre-set protocols.
Phase 8: Begin practicing in the manner they’re expected to perform. Introduce live ball serve games, return games, rally games and approach shot versus passing shot games.
Phase 9: Introduce the essential multi-tasking requirements required in match play. Begin playing sets starting at 2-2. This adaptation allows the competitors to arrive at the important pressure packed, “money”, part of each set faster and more frequently.
Phase 10: Ask the athletes to play set-Tie Breakers (first to 7) and Championship Tie Breakers (first to 10) to insure the athlete is comfortable with the process. Before each breaker, remind the athletes to mentally revisit the set. Apply match charting to organize your game plan and opponent profiling to assess their probable strategic options.
