The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible NOW available through most online retailers! Click Here to Order
THE THREE PHASES OF ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT
Once you’ve discovered which type of tennis parent you want to be, the next step is to identify which phase of development best categorizes your child’s current level. All too often, parents have an unrealistic view of their child’s current phase of development. This is a result of the parent’s lack of awareness of the developmental process.
Due to personality profiles, growth development schedules, and maturity levels, I don’t like to pigeon-hole athletes based on their age. At each level, customization is encouraged. It is very common to find mature 9-year-olds in phase 3 and immature 17-year-olds in phase 1. Customization is the key.
The Introductory Phase:
In this stage of the game, children are sampling many sports. The primary objective is enjoyment while developing sound fundamentals.
Special Note: I’m a firm believer that proper motor programming is essential. Allowing a child to groove poor mechanics only to spend thousands of wasted dollars, hours, and tears fixing them later doesn’t make sense. You can still laugh and have fun while developing world-class strokes.
The Developmental Phase:
Also known as the intermediate phase. In this stage, tennis is the main hobby. Social clinics are the norm. Specialized training has begun and juniors are experiencing sectional tournament play.
Special Note: This is when the parents, uneducated in the process unintentionally push talented athletes away from the sport by allowing them to train like a hobbyist and then expect the child to be getting championship results.
The Break-Through Phase:
In this stage, athletes are dedicated to the sport and are engaged in full-time training. Each component of the game is developed as the athlete begins to invest in the future. Players begin to look towards National level or ITF level events to secure a college tennis scholarship at a major university.
Special Note: This is when a shift from hardware development (strokes and athleticism) to software development (mental and emotional) is most often needed.
