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GOAL Setting

Posted on August 28, 2017 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, Raising Athletic Royalty

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 Frank Giampaolo

GOAL SETTING

 

“Achieving goals requires flexibility and compromise.”

 

“GOALS SHOULD BE BEYOND YOUR CURRENT REACH YET REALISTIC AND UNDER A TIMELINE.”

 

“Goals should be put in writing to serve as an organizational blue print and as a daily reminder of the group’s mission.”

 

“DO SOMETHING EVERY DAY THAT PUSHES YOU CLOSER TO YOUR GOALS.”

 

“Sadly, many great physical athletes believe they don’t need a developmental plan because they’re more gifted than their neighbors down the street.”

 

“DON’T LET SHORT TERM JUNIOR GOALS CLOUD YOUR PLAYER’S LONG TERM DEVELOPMENT.”

 

“Parents, remember that goals and dreams come with mistakes, setbacks, hardships and tears. It is part of the ride.”

 

“TO ATTAIN LONG TERM GOALS, ONE MUST LOSE A FEW BATTLES IN ORDER TO WIN THE WAR.”

 

FUNDAMENTALS

Posted on August 25, 2017 by in Raising Athletic Royalty

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Raising Athletic Royalty Cover-3 FINAL

FUNDAMENTALS

 

“SOLID FUNDAMENTALS GET YOU INTO THE GAME, PHYSICAL FITNESS TAKES YOU DEEPER, BUT IT’S THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HIDDEN MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS THAT TAKES YOU OVER THE TOP.”

 

“Fundamentals in sports are like the foundation of a sky scraper- essential to stability but worthless without the development of the rest of the building.”

 

“REPETITION ISN’T ALWAYS GOOD. GROOVING POOR FUNDAMENTALS DEVELOPS UNRELIABLE TECHNIQUE AND CAUSES INJURIES.”

 

“Fundamentals will never truly be tamed because the game is always evolving.”

 

“MOST PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT CORRECTING AND DEVELOPING REQUIRE ADDING MORE. IMPROVING USUALLY INVOLVES ‘TRIMMING THE FAT’. CLEANER FUNDAMENTALS INCREASE THEIR DEPENDABILITY.”

Executing Game Plans

Posted on August 21, 2017 by in Emotional Tennis, Raising Athletic Royalty

The following post is an excerpt from Raising Athletic Royalty NOW available through most online retailers!

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EXECUTING GAME PLANS

 

 

“A GREAT GAME PLAN IS TO FOCUS ON ELIMINATING UNFORCED ERRORS.  CONSISTENCY IS A POWERFUL WEAPON.”

 

“Shutting down your opponent’s primary game plan forces them to shift to a less comfortable, less successful style of play.”

 

“THE ABILITY TO EXECUTE THE SAME OLD BORING WINNING PLAYS OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS BRILLIANT.”

 

“Knowing how to apply strategy and actually executing it depends greatly on emotional control.”

 

“TO EXECUTE WHAT THE MOMENT DEMANDS SEPARATES THE GOOD FROM THE GREAT.”

 

“Overthinking usually ruins execution.”

 

 

 

Dedication to Improve

Posted on August 14, 2017 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

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DEDICATION

“DEDICATING ONE’S SELF TO A SPORT IS A LIFESTYLE CHOICE. CHAMPIONS ARE NOT PART TIME HOBBYISTS.”

 

“Apply the school methodology to dedicated training.  Just as school children attend a variety of classes daily, athletes should train a variety of customized components daily.”

 

“Being dedicated to your sport requires taking the 20 hours a week you spend on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and devote that time to training instead.”

 

“DEDICATE YOURSELF TO DELIBERATE CUSTOMIZED TRAINING VERSUS RELYING SOLELY ON GROUP TRAINING.”

 

“Your athlete gets 168 hours each week.  Deduct the hours spent for sleep, school, homework, and meals. Training to become athletic royalty requires approximately 20 hours a week.  Does your athlete have the time?”

CHARACTER BUILDING

Posted on August 12, 2017 by in Emotional Tennis, Raising Athletic Royalty

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 sarah

CHARACTER BUILDING

 

“CHAMPIONS TRAIN LIKE CHAMPIONS YEARS BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY BECOME A CHAMPION.”

 

“Your reputation and character precede you wherever you go.”

 

“POSITIVE CHARACTER BUILDING IS A FAMILY CHOICE.”

 

“Strength of character appears during adversity.”

 

“ATTITUDE DETERMINES CHARACTER. YOU CAN CHOOSE TO SWITCH EVERY NEGATIVE THOUGHT AND ACTION TO A POSITIVE ONE.”

 

“You must leave your comfort zone to build character.”

 

“IN TRAINING, YOU MUST LEARN TO BE COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE.”

 

“Strong character comes from choosing to learn from every setback.”

Building Belief

Posted on August 9, 2017 by in Emotional Tennis, Raising Athletic Royalty

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 Raising Athletic Royalty Cover-3 FINAL

BELIEF

“Once the parent and the player are mature enough to let go of the outcome of competition (winning or losing), the player is then free to focus on preparing and performing to the best of their ability (peak level).”

 

“TEACH BELIEF EVEN MORE THAN TECHNIQUE.”

 

“Belief comes from success. Always playing your child up may get them comfortable losing.”

 

“YOUR PLAYER WILL BELIEVE WHAT YOU PREACH- BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE. IF YOU ARE ALWAYS SHARING WHAT’S WRONG, YOUR PLAYER WILL DEEPLY BELIEVE THAT THEY’RE ALWAYS…. WRONG.”

 

“The most important life skill to foster every day is belief.”

 

“BELIEVE IN WORKING HARDER AND SMARTER AND CONFIDENCE WILL ENSUE.”

 

Playing With Anger

Posted on August 7, 2017 by in Emotional Tennis, Raising Athletic Royalty

The following post is an excerpt from Raising Athletic Royalty NOW available through most online retailers!
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 Raising Athletic Royalty Cover-3 FINAL

ANGER

 

“PLAYING ANGRY ALMOST ALWAYS GUARANTEES FOUR UNPLEASANTRIES: LACK OF A GAME PLAN, THE INABILITY TO STAY IN THE MOMENT, INEFFICIENT MOTOR PROGRAMS, AND THAT YOU WILL LOSE AT A FASTER RATE.”

 

“Playing angry is a sign of being underprepared for competition.”

 

“TO STOP PERFORMING ANGRILY, BOLDLY DO WHAT THE MOMENT DEMANDS AND LET GO OF THE OUTCOME.”

 

“If your child has trouble accepting that they have anger management issues, review the following steps.  Step one is admitting that anger is affecting their performance.  Step two is taking the time to organize an action plan to fix the issues.  Step three is rehearsing the pre-set protocols until they are wired.  Without acceptance, there is no recovery.”

 

“PERFORMING WITH ANGER IS A PHASE CHAMPIONS BRIEFLY PASS THROUGH AND THE AVERAGE ATHLETE CHOOSES TO HANG ON TO…”

 

ADVERSITY

Posted on August 5, 2017 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

https://www.amazon.com/Raising-Athletic-Royalty-Insights-Lifetime/dp/1505374359

The following post is an excerpt from Raising Athletic Royalty NOW available through most online retailers!
Click Here to Order

 Raising Athletic Royalty Cover-3 FINAL

ADVERSITY QUOTES

 

“The parental role should be one of gratitude and optimism versus stress and pessimism.”

 

“RECOGNIZE THAT ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT IS OFTEN THREE STEPS FORWARD & TWO STEPS BACK.”

 

“Under game day adversity, champions choose to stay on script. This is performing in the manner in which they have been trained.”

 

“YOU AND YOUR CHILD MAY NOT REALIZE IT AT THE TIME, BUT ADVERSITY MOTIVATES IMPROVEMENT.”

 

“The ability to handle adversity is a learned behavior. Simulate times of controversy in practice and rehearse how your child should handle it.”

 

Emotional Toughness

Posted on July 31, 2017 by in Emotional Aptitude in Sports, Emotional Tennis

 

The following post is an excerpt from Emotional Aptitude In Sports NOW available through most online retailers!  Click Here to Order

 

ea-in-sports4a_finalSolutions to Emotional Toughness

Emotional aptitude isn’t typically identifiable until after competition begins. What separates the elite competitors from the emotionally fragile athletes is their ability to thrive under perceived stress. Emotional aptitude is the ability to overcome hardships and to de-stress situations rather than magnify stressful situations. Athletes struggling with poor emotional aptitude lack confidence, composure, suffer bouts of self-doubt and possess an overwhelming fear of being judged by others. These performance meltdowns often go unseen in practice but shine in all their glory on game day.

Elite competitors are confident that their superior emotional strength will override any hardships and physical limitations. The emotionally weak athletes are convinced that the unfair hardships and their perceived limitations will override their peak performance and catastrophe will once again occur.

An old school word used to describe emotional aptitude is Grit. In regards to high achievers, researchers have come to the conclusion that successful individuals possess traits deeper than the mastery of athletic ability.  Grit is persistent courage, resolve, and strength of character. Grit is the learned ability to have “nerves of steel,” fortitude and determination. Interestingly, some athletes are pre-wired to have these essential components and some are not. For those athletes who are not natural combatants, developing emotional aptitude is critical.

Sadly, emotionally weak competitors often ignore the development of such skills.  Cultivating these character traits is what propels the few into the winner’s circle. If you believe that your emotions are holding you hostage on game day and keeping you from the success you deserve, I suggest focusing your attention on the below list of solutions. (Five solutions of fifteen are listed.)

 Solutions to Foster Emotional Strength (5 of 15 listed )

  • Nurture the Love of Competition
    Studies show that experiences bring more joy than possessions. The energy of the event is contagious. Athletes should enjoy competing against their past, fatigue, opponents and against time.
  • Commit to Improving
    Being the best of the best (even in your town) doesn’t come without extreme effort. Improve your performance by understanding emotional aptitude.
  • Recognize That You Can’t Be Normal …and a Champion
    Champions lead very different lives than normal people. Being an athletic champion is a daily life style.
  • Customize Your Training
    Realize that diligent customized training trumps social, group learning. Research shows, on average, group training takes up to six times longer than quality private training.
  • Adopt a Growth Mindset
    Great skills are cultivated through continuous effort more so than initial talent or IQ. Without effort…you fail by default. Understand that success starts with the effort of optimism and a growth mindset.

College Athletics

Posted on July 28, 2017 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

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

sarah

College Athletics

If college athletics is your child’s goal, it is in your best interest to begin preparing early. Putting off serious training until your child is in high school is most often too late.

“The ultimate goal for a high school age athlete is to be in the “Buyer’s Market.”

 

The Buyers’ Market versus the Sellers’ Market:

The buyers’ market means your child has focused on developing their skills and achieving athletic royalty (Top National or ITF ranking) and the top college coaches are not only aware of them, they are heavily recruiting them in a bidding war.

It is important to understand that if you and your child have waited to get serious about their sport until high school age, you will most likely be in the “Seller’s Market.” In essence, as a parent, your job will be to “sell” your child’s possible value to the coach. Your child is now one of the thousands of talented but unproven athletes vying for the leftover scraps of scholarship funds. If you think the task of “selling” your child’s skills is tough, wait until you have to write those dreaded big checks for their education. If you build a champion the coaches will come to you!

“Get ahead of the crowd early by applying a deliberate, customized development plan. Successful college athletic careers are preceded by years and years of successful preparation.”

 

Preparing for college early will not only bring the college scholarship offers to you, it may even help you open a door that may have otherwise been closed. For example, Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships but your child’s tennis may give them the admittance edge over other students with similar or even higher academic profiles.

For more details regarding the college search process, please visit my dedicated eBook: How to Attract a College Athletic Scholarship.  It has everything you didn’t even know…you needed to know! www.maximizingtennispotential.com