Tag Archives: Brain typing and tennis

Coaching Brain Type Performance- Part 8

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book, The Soft Science of Tennis.

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Soft Science of Tennis_3D_Cover_version5

ENFJ: Extrovert Intuitive Feeler Judger

 

Challenge: ENFJ’s are often a bit naive and idealistic. They struggle when the competition gets tense, and confrontation arises. This brain design enjoys the socialization and athleticism of the game but gets disillusioned when unnecessary emotional drama comes into play. They can shut down and disassociate themselves under pressure.

Solution: Since confrontation is at the heart of competition, it’s wise to educate the ENFJ students to get comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Role play formulas to assist your athletes in making peace with nurturing the alpha competitor inside. Practice sessions should include rehearsing protocols against opponents who hook, flip the score, stall or intimidate these athletes.

 

Challenge: Due to their EF traits, ENFJ brain designs are emotional competitors. On the upside, these charismatic leaders are typically witnessed cheering for their friends and teammates. However, in their own competition, ENFJ’s can quickly turn negative.

Solution: This design also needs more than their fair share of encouragement. Coaches in tune with the emotional components of athletes should realize that this squeaky wheel NEEDS the grease. Meaning, it’s often the givers who need the parents and teaching pro’s approval, praise and positive affirmations just as much as the more demanding, pessimistic students.

 

 

Challenge: When coaching FJ’s, it’s important to note that they’re often highly sensitive to disapproval. Being proven wrong in their decisions doesn’t sit lightly for J types.

Solution: To maintain their high level of self-esteem, a trick of the trade is to use reverse psychology in your teaching. For example, if the ENFJ’s still tossing the ball too high on their serve, replace “Geez Joey, I’ve told you 100 times… toss slightly above the peak of your reach!” with “Nice Joey!  You’re starting to get the apex of the toss right above your strike zone. You must have lowered your toss 3 feet!” Of course, Joey didn’t lower his toss yet but guess who’s more likely to improve his toss and whose ego won’t plummet by being proven wrong?

 

Challenge: While this J type is usually keenly organized, under match day stress, they perform primarily within their NF functions. I’ve witnessed countless times that ENFJ’s play from the gut. NF’s who abort their preset script of proactive patterns and choose to go off script usually end up making reckless shot selections.

Solution: Educate the athlete to understand that winning stems from practicing in the manner in which they are expected to perform and then to perform in the manner in which they have been practicing. Remaining on script is critical because it provides them with opportunities to do what they do best at crunch time.

Coaching Brain Type Performance- Part 7

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book, The Soft Science of Tennis.

Click Here to Order through Amazon

The Match Chart Collection 2D

 

 

INFJ: Introvert Intuitive Feeler Judger

 

Challenge: Unfamiliarity is a sensitive topic for the INFJ’s. Adaptability isn’t their strong suit.

Solution: Entering competition, arrive at the new tournament site early to hit. Allow this athlete a bit more time to get comfortable with the elements, the court speed, club, and other environmental differences. Also, scouting of future opponents is comforting to this cerebral design. While profiling the next opponent, it is wise to discuss their style of play, their “go-to patterns,” their stroke and movement efficiencies and deficiencies, and their shot tolerance.

 

Challenge: INFJ’s prefer quiet, calm training environments with little interruptions. Too much socialization in group scenarios is distracting and illogical to this IJ typography.

Solution: If they believe that the practice environment is unproductive, they begin to feel fragmented and disconnected to their developmental plan. Coaches would be wise to begin sessions with a short preview of the day’s focal points, analyses, and evaluate throughout the session. And then later review with the athletes their thoughts in regards to their success rate accomplishing their daily goals.

 

Challenge: INFJ’s have vivid imaginations, which they use to, pre-set their ideal perfect conditions and solutions. Lawyers call this “speculation.” When reality doesn’t conform to their pre-set version, their imagined perfection is lost, and their will to fight is shattered.

Solution: Ask them a philosophical question: “Is this world perfect? Their obvious answer is no.” Then offer: “If God couldn’t make a perfect world …why do you think you should be perfect?” The competitive game of tennis is messy and imperfect. It’s best to encourage your athletes to shoot for near excellent performances on a consistent basis instead of perfection and let go of their pre-match speculations.

 

Challenge: INFJ tennis players are feelers who can be overly sensitive to criticism. When coaches challenge their logical decision-making, they’re likely to get an aggressive comeback. Rigid IJ’s actively dislike being proven wrong. After a high percentage shot selection tip from the coach, they’ll likely seek the exception to the rule and throw out a “Yeah but …” response.

Solution: Explain winning percentages on the tennis court is merely 2 out of 3. Winning 66% of the points is excellent. No one should be expected to win 100% of the points in any given situation. Also, teaching pros should gently remind athletes that exceptions follow every rule in life. In high-percentage tennis, seek to follow the rules approximately eighty percent of the time, while seeking the exception to the rule approximately twenty percent of the time.

Personality Based Training- Part 1

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s newest book, The Soft Science of Tennis.

Click Here to Order through Amazon

soft science

 

Personality Based Training

 

“Personality profiling assists coaches, athletes, and parents in understanding how individuals gather information and make decisions. It’s how we are wired. It’s what makes us tick.”

 

Personality Based Training (PBT) is a training method that focuses the attention on the athlete’s unique brain design as opposed to the educator. When applying PBT, tennis pros and parents welcome and respect the athlete’s unique preferred styles of learning, behaving, and playing the game.  The athletes feel empowered because their views and needs are recognized. And once understood, students are more motivated and inspired to learn and improve. An inspired student is more likely to take the leadership role in achieving their goals.

 

“Athletes would benefit from understanding the advantages and disadvantages of their unique brain design. It’s why they are naturally good at some things and uncomfortable with others.”

 

It’s important to note that while I’ve studied sports psychology for the past 30 years, I am a veteran, “In the Trenches” practical application tennis coach, not an “Academia” psychologist. But neither were Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers, authors of the famous Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI- A psychological questionnaire used to understand individual mental preferences.) published in the United States in 1943. Together Myers-Briggs noticed that individuals have different temperaments and unique ways of seeing the world.

While some scientists say the MBTI doesn’t stand up to scientific reliability, I can say with all honesty that it has helped me coach over 100 National Champions and several Pro tour athletes. More importantly, personality profiling benefits my athletes and their entourage of parents, coaches, and trainers at a much deeper level. A study conducted by Psychology Today, reports that approximately 80% of Fortune 500 companies use various personality tests to hire future employees, assess progress, and maximize efficiency and harmony through team-building events. The time has come to broaden the role of personality profiling into the athletic realm, as I have outlined in The Soft Science of Tennis.