Tag Archives: elite tennis coach Frank Giampaolo

Beating a Pusher- Part 3

Posted on February 24, 2021 by in The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible NOW available through most online retailers!

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HOW TO BEAT MOONBALL/RETRIEVERSIMG_080_R_WHITE

 

3) Movement, Fitness, and Strength

While lateral movement is important, the key to beating pushers lies in the forward and back directions. Here are two rhymes to help you attack moonball retrievers:

“When the ball is high (defensive moonball…Fly!”
Go (Fly) into the court for a swing volley.

“When the ball is slow (defensive slice)…Go!”
Run (Go) through the volley

Speed is broken down into anticipatory speed and foot speed. Combine cognitive processing speed with foot speed drills to maximize court coverage. What is anticipatory speed?

Anticipatory Speed

Anticipation is the act of expecting or predicting, which is a required skill at the higher levels of the game. Once anticipatory skills are developed, athletes begin to cover the court like a pro.

Foot Speed

Acceleration speed, deceleration speed, recovery speed, changing of directional speed and cardio fitness obviously play a critical role in a 3-hour moon ball match. Often in a national event, your child may have to play two retrievers back-to-back on the same day.

Core and Upper Body Strength

Upper Body Strength is required in the war against retrievers because your child must be able to hit balls above their primary stroke zone. The head-level strike zones require tremendous upper body conditioning and strength.

 

4) Emotional/Focus

So, as you can see, emotional breakdowns and lack of focus issues stem from various key areas. Players often fall apart because they honestly are not preparing properly. Lacking in just one of the four major tennis components/categories is enough to lose to a retriever. I have discovered that some talented athletes are lacking in all four areas.

“Emotional resilience is needed versus pushers.”

 

For both the parent and the athlete, it isn’t so painful to experience a beating by a superior competitor. The agony of defeat stems from self-destruction. The next section will uncover 10 unique self-destruction techniques that, when applied, will bail your athlete out when they’re losing to a toad.

Beating Pushers- Part 2

Posted on February 20, 2021 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

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

 

HOW TO BEAT MOONBALL/RETRIEVERSIMG_080_R_WHITE

Four Major Tennis Components:

1) Technical Strokes

Your child must develop world class “secondary” strokes. Patterns used to pull a retriever out of their comfort zone consist of secondary strokes such as: drop shots, short angle swing volleys…Etc.

Your child may have better “primary” strokes, but unfortunately, they are little use against a pusher. It is important to understand that often good primary strokes will only work in the pusher’s favor! A tool belt full of great secondary strokes needs to be developed.

Often your child’s loses are caused by their lack of secondary strokes. Each primary stroke has secondary stroke “relatives” that also need to be mastered. For example: A primary volley is the traditional punch volley. Secondary volleys are swing volleys, drop volleys and half volleys. These secondary volleys are needed in order to beat a retriever.

 

2) Tactics and Strategies

While the game continues to evolve, the foundation of strategy has not changed much over the past 100 years.

Jack Kramer taught this theory to Vic Braden, Vic Braden taught this to me and I am passing it on to you. “If your strengths are greater than your opponent’s strengths, then simply stick to your strengths. If your strengths are not as great, you must have well-rehearsed B and C plans to win the match!”

Example: If your child can out “steady” a world class moon ball pusher…simply pack a lunch for them and plan on a 3 hour “push-fest.” If your child can hit so hard that they simply blow the ball past retrievers …simply instruct them to hit a winners every point. If not, it may be in your youngster’s best interest to develop the secondary strokes and patterns used to take a retriever out of their game. Below are three patterns that work beautifully against pushers.

Best Patterns to Beat Retriever’s:

  1. Moonball approach to a swing volley.
  2. Short angle building shot to drive winner.
  3. Drop shot to dipping passing shots or lobs.

 

“Often the weakest ball a crafty retriever will give your athlete is their serve. I encourage your athlete to focus on the above three patterns while returning the retriever’s weak serve.”

 

 

Re-Commit to Tennis- Part 1

Posted on January 28, 2021 by in The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible NOW available through most online retailers!

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QUESTION: How do we help our daughter re-commit to her tennis?

 

Frank: It sounds like it’s time for you, the CEO, to formulate a fresh, deliberate, customized developmental plan for your athlete. It’s often too painful for a struggling athlete to jump wholeheartedly back into the never-ending old cycle of training during a losing streak. When struggling, baby steps are often required. So I suggest seeking a commitment to try a brand new one month challenge.

I recommend applying The Tennis Parent’s Bible’s self-evaluation chapter (Section VII CUSTOMIZED PLAYER EVALUATION) to assist your team in assessing your athlete’s efficiencies and deficiencies. Use the data to organize a fresh weekly developmental plan. Include all of the essential components found in this book. You and your athlete must make peace with your past then let it go, so it doesn’t impair your future.

This new found dedication starts with flipping a non-believer into a believer once again. To rekindle their belief system, ask your child to read and discuss the optimistic challenges listed below. This re-birth begins with shifting back to an optimistic, motivational state of mind.

Challenge your athlete to be fully engaged for a single month. The following common negative behaviors should be prohibited:

  • Blaming Others or Circumstances
  • Inventing Excuses
  • Complaining
  • Initiating Unnecessary Drama
  • Choosing a Pessimistic Attitude

Competitive Tennis Dramas – Anger Part 2

Posted on January 18, 2021 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!

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COMPETITIVE DRAMAS: INTERNAL STRUGGLESFrank Giampaolo

 

Champions Experience Failure

Discuss how most tennis champions have probably lost way more matches than your child has even played. Ambitious people experience many failures. One of my past students is Sam Querrey (ATP top player). He’s been playing full time on the ATP tour for ten years and has won 7 ATP singles titles and a handful of double events. That means, most of the time, Sam goes home losing week in and week out. Would you say he’s a loser? Not a chance- Sam is a top touring professional!

Never Outgrow Fun

You often see top professionals battle and still smile in the course of a match. Negative thoughts, stress, and anger clutter an athlete’s thought process and tighten muscle groups, both of which decrease the player’s ability to perform. Pessimism affects both an athlete’s physiology and psychology. Optimism is a coping skill used to combat the negatives that are found in one-on-one competition. Smile, laugh, and enjoy the competition.

Tennis Is a Gift Not a Right

Discuss how there are millions of natural-born athletes that are the same age as your child that will never get the opportunity to compete at a high level. Tennis isn’t fair, right?

But has your child thought about how lucky they are to be able to play tennis and have a family that wants to support their passion?

Good Judgment Comes from Experience

So where does experience come from? The ironic answer is bad judgment. Talk to your child about how it is far less painful to learn from other peoples’ failures. After a loss, stay at the tournament site and chart a top seed. Analyze their successes and model them and their pitfalls and learn how to avoid them.

Rehearse Focusing on the Solutions Not the Problems

Ask the athlete to allow you to videotape a few matches. As the athlete and coach watch the matches, ask them to spot unforced errors and then categorize them into their cause of error chart. Ask them to recognize negative thoughts, loss of concentration, or an emotional breakdown on the court. Now, remind the coach not to ask the athlete to think about NOT repeating the problem. That only draws deeper attention to the problem. Instead, discuss the development of the solution to the problem. Then simply focus on the rehearsal of the actual match solution.

A Genius Simplifies the Complex

In the higher levels, most lessons should be focused on “trimming the fat” off of strokes and/or off of the player’s thought control. Going from really good to great is not always about adding more. There are often hidden contaminants that bog down gifted athletes.

 

Maturing the mental and emotional components is a life skill.  Athletes need to manage anger and stress.  The old Buddha saying is “Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

Tennis Communication Skills

Posted on January 6, 2021 by in How To Attract A College Scholarship

 

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s updated release:  How to Attract a College Athletic Scholarship.

College standout Steve Johnson provides his view on college tennis. Special e-Book price is $1.99

To Order Click Here

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Tennis Anxiety Issues- Part 5

Posted on January 5, 2021 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

 Click Here To Order through Amazon

 

 

“Sectionals ARE next week. My coach wants me to change my forehand?”Frank Giampaolo

 

“Before competition gain confidence in your existing skills.”

Proper preparation begins weeks leading into the event. During this prep phase, avoid significant mechanical changes or adding brand new concepts. Why? It takes approximately 4-6 weeks for a new motor program to override an old one. If a stroke is dismantled at the wrong time (right before competition) the athlete’s old motor program is shattered, and their new one isn’t developed yet.

Remember when getting grooved used to be called muscle memory?  Be careful using the term “Muscle Memory” because nowadays even the 10 & under crowd know that memory isn’t stored in their muscles.

The bottom line is that the days leading into an event are not the correct time to introduce a new skill.  Starting a new routine may cause the athlete to become confused, sore, or injured, and the required recovery time is not available. Many coaches and parents are unknowingly guilty of poor periodization.

 

Five customized phases of development are recovery, analysis, general training, competitive training, and competition.


 

Tennis Anxiety Value- Part 4

Posted on January 3, 2021 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

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“Everyone says, ‘JUST PLAY YOUR GAME,’ but I don’t know what my game is?”Frank Giampaolo

 

“Top contenders have defined their global style & most proficient patterns of play.”

Upon arrival at a coaching gig in Spain, I noticed the coaches on all the red clay courts running the same drill. Player A hits a high & heavy ball deep to player B’s backhand. Player B retreats, contacting the ball above his/her shoulders, and produces a short reply. Player A moves into no-man’s land and screeches “AHH …HEEE” and drives a winner into the open court. I asked the famous director, “What’s the drill they’re all working on?” He laughed and said, we call it, “How to beat the Americans.”

Athletes should start each match with their global style of play. Whether they’re in Miami or Moscow, in the first round or finals, on hard or clay courts, starting matches by doing what they do best is an intelligent formula. Their global system is their most proficient style of play (not necessarily their favorite style). Styles include hard-hitting baseliners, counterpunchers, retrievers, and net rushers.

The athlete’s global system also includes their repeatable strategic plan – which is their most proficient patterns of play. These patterns need to be designed and developed. They include: serving and return patterns, rally patterns (like the above Spanish group), short ball options, and net rushing plays.

In competition, each athlete has to know what they do best and must routinely apply their global plan and hitting the same old, boring winners over and over.

 

Every player should know and have had rehearsed their strongest, repeatable patterns of play.
Then, choose to play those patterns in matches.

 

Tennis Anxiety Issues- Part 3

Posted on December 30, 2020 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

 Click Here To Order through Amazon

“I hit for 10 minutes … I’m ready!”Preparing final cover 3D

 

“Prepare both hardware & software components for battle!”

Preparing for pressure demands more than merely warming up one’s fundamental strokes. The week leading up to the event is a terrific time for the athlete to organize their clothes, equipment, and nutrition and hydration requirements. For example, early preparation allows leeway if the athlete unknowingly is out of his favorite strings or their lucky shorts are in the wash.

Come game day, I recommend athletes prepare their mental and emotional components by reviewing their pre-recorded audio tapes the morning of the match. Complete a dynamic stretch and warm-up their primary and secondary strokes with multitasking movement. (Hitting on the move instead of just standing still.) Prior to checking in, hydrate and go for a short run to reduce anxiety and warm-up the body.

 

Preparing for pressure requires the confidence that comes from complete preparation.

 


 

Tennis Training Should Be Enjoyed

Posted on December 21, 2020 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

 Click Here To Order through Amazon

 

Encourage Smiling, Laughing, and Having FunPreparing final cover 3D

 

“Adding ranking pressure is sure to add the exact performance anxieties, great coaches
work hard to avoid.”

Parents, if you make the junior ranking race too important, you’ll quickly see your athlete’s performance diminish. When rankings are seen as more important than fun, athletes suffer. Preparing for pressure involves creating a culture of gratitude and enjoyment. Athletes who perform at their peak level in competition are first and foremost having fun. Enjoyment is the secret ingredient that assists the athlete when they need it the most.

De-stressing the athlete comes from promoting growth and weekly progress over the outcomes of events. After events, routinely discuss 3 successful aspects of your athlete’s performance and 3 improvement goals. Win or lose, celebrate the performance goals hit, and then get to work on the development of the athlete. According to brain function analysis in sports, performing calm when it matters the most is a creative, right-brain dominant affair. Athletes pulled into their editing left-brain typically suffer due to overthinking under pressure.

 

Parents, coaches, or athletes who make a match too important witness the athlete’s ability disappear. When the outcome overshadows the enjoyment,
catastrophe strikes.

Pre-Match Sabotage

Posted on December 14, 2020 by in Preparing for Pressure

The following post is an excerpt from Frank’s Amazon #1 New Tennis Book Release, Preparing for Pressure.

 Click Here To Order through Amazon

Parental SabotageIMG_080_R_WHITE

 

Meet the Kolouski’s – A familiar Mother/Father duo who unintentionally sabotage any real chance of their daughter playing at her peak performance level.

Martha Kolouski’s Saturday Morning Pre-Match Routine:

  • Wakes up tightly wound.
  • Doesn’t like Kelly’s choice of outfit.
  • Upset about her chewing at breakfast.
  • Peeved about the poor directions.
  • Annoyed about catching every red light.

Martha’s at the end of her rope & Kelly’s match is still an hour away. Guess who is sabotaging any real chance of Kelly performing at her peak performance level?

After Saturday’s poor performance, Mark decides to take Kelly to the event on Sunday.

 

 

Mark Kolouski’s Sunday Morning Pre-Match Pep Talk:

  • Ok, Kelly…she’s ranked 98 spots ahead of us.
  • Our ranking will skyrocket into the top 20 – if you don’t blow it!
  • Remember, she cheats and will push- so focus!
  • This is the most important match of the year for us -by far!
  • We spent $2000.00 to get you here….so don’t expect us to keep on forking over hard-earned money if you lose!

 

Once again, guess who is sabotaging any real change of Kelly performing at her peak performance level?