Tag Archives: elite tennis coach Frank Giampaolo

Tennis Cognitive Ease

Posted on June 23, 2023 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The Psychology of Tennis Parenting
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Frank Giampaolo

Cognitive Ease

As humans, the more we see, feel or repeat something, the more we view it as correct. By repeating anything over and over, it gets easier to accept. Being familiar feels good, even when it isn’t good for maximizing tennis potential at the quickest rate. A teaching myth dispelled decades ago was the saying, “Practice makes perfect.” Now we know that practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect. Practice makes permanent.

For example, Mr. Jeffry books the club’s ball machine weekly. He unknowingly solidifies his biomechanically flawed backhand over and over again. While Mr. Jeffry is getting a cardio workout, his practice is not correcting the defect. It is systematically ingraining the deficient backhand. To him, what he repeats feels like an improvement. As some readers know, repetition, even bad reps, starts to feel comfortable. It’s cognitive ease.

Solution: So, what stunts cognitive ease? It’s tackling anything unknown. This threat causes cognitive (mental) strain. Athletes looking to improve need this uncomfortable strain. Practicing what you’ve not already mastered is essential for growth. As I’ve mentioned, it is exposure to improving the weakness, not avoiding the weakness, that matters.

Run Toward the Fire

Posted on May 29, 2023 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The Psychology of Tennis Parenting
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Run Toward the Fire

Tennis players that rise to the occasion in those pressure-packed finals have courage and confidence in themselves and their training. These athletes tackle problems head-on and cope with the hardships of the sport in an unstressed fashion. Developing mental and emotional strength is essential for long-term tennis goals. Share with your athlete this analogy.

Ask them to think of themselves as a firefighter. Firefighters walk into the fire versus running away from it. Regarding your athlete’s fears, I recommend asking them to do the same. It’s human nature to avoid scary situations, so you’ll have to show your athlete how to face fears. If your child avoids difficult moments like closing out a set versus a better player, they’ll crumble in those moments unless they are trained to regulate their emotional state. Does this require exposure to the stressor or avoidance?

Solution: Athletes who thrive under pressure replace their mechanical thoughts like how they are hitting their forehand, backhand, serve and volley with focusing on emotional essentials such as managing momentum, maintaining intensity, focusing on the here and now, and retaining their positive mindset.

While solid strokes get the athlete into the events, the additional software skills enable them to hold up another trophy.

Teaching Emotional Health

Posted on May 5, 2023 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The Psychology of Tennis Parenting
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Teaching Emotional Health

Coaches typically teach physical health, but who is teaching emotional health? It’s a given that a physically healthy athlete is needed to pursue high-performance sports. Athleticism and a solid tool belt of strokes are the hardware required to play the game. But the software’s needed actually to win the game.

Mental health is the ability to think, understand self-awareness, opponent awareness, and generally make good decisions in competitive play. The key to the mental game is having the level-headedness to hit the shot the moment demands.

Emotional health is the ability to manage emotions under stress. This involves mastering performance anxieties common to the game.

The most common cause of our athlete’s painful losses is due to emotional self-destruction. It is often easier to blame a loss on poor mechanics and sloppy footwork, but performance anxiety is the most painful cause of a loss to accept.

To the uneducated tennis parent, this means there’s something broken deep inside our child, and it’s likely our fault. I’m here to tell you that they are not broken; they are normal. It just takes digging deeper to find solutions to emotional problems. Here’s a start.

Solutions:

  • Emotional healthy athletes have parents who identify the true causes of their losses. They observe competition and listen to their children. In quiet moments, such as before bed, the real cause of a loss is found in the athlete’s words, facial expressions, and body language.
  • Tennis coaches typically teach the hardware and don’t attend tennis matches. So, it’s the parent’s job to understand the common performance anxieties found in competition. These include fear, nervousness, choking, panicking, loss of focus, and inability to close out leads.
  • Parents should teach athletes that their thoughts and feelings aren’t always reality. Emotional speculations shouldn’t control the athlete; the athlete should control them.
  • Parents want their athletes to perform the way they’d love to perform. We get annoyed when our children don’t mirror our self-image. After all, they should be perfect because they came from our gene pool.


The core of most emotional issues stems from the athlete thinking that their outcome goals matter more than their performance goals. As any good coach will tell you, the ability to control one’s performance under pressure secures the outcome goals we all seek.

The Pain of Changing

Posted on April 12, 2023 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The Psychology of Tennis Parenting

The Pain of Changing

Improving stems from changing; to some junior athletes, change is more painful than losing. That’s correct. The pain of making needed changes is more agonizing than losing tennis matches. Use the dieting industry as an example. We know that exercise and eating healthy are the answer, but that agony is more painful than not fitting into our skinny jeans. So, we don’t change.

For some, change only happens when the athlete is tired of not getting the results, they are capable of reaching. When that pain is greater than the pain of hard work, they’ll choose the hard work because it’s less painful. If improving is of the utmost importance, I suggest a quarterly reboot. Here’s how:

Solution: To maximize potential, routinely take your athlete out of the tournament cycle for a couple of weeks every quarter. This scheduled time off will kick start the freedom change demands for improvement. After all, if they don’t continually improve, their results will disappear.

Opponents around the globe are training with sports science efficiency. If your athlete wants better results, they must become better athletes. This desire takes a parent who can organize the athlete’s enhancement schedule and an athlete mature enough to focus on making the changes required. You first have to develop a better competitive athlete to achieve those better results.

Comfort Is Where Dreams Go to Die

Posted on April 7, 2023 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential

The Psychology of Tennis Parenting
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Comfort Is Where Dreams Go to Die

Let’s use an archer’s bullseye target as an analogy to illustrate the growth cycle of an athlete. The target rings have several colors. The black outer ring represents your child’s comfort zone. The inner blue rings represent the fear zone. The red-colored ring represents your athlete’s mastery zone. The inner circle or bullseye is yellow, representing the management zone. Top athletes have to manage the tools they’ve mastered. Common issues occur when the athlete would rather remain moderately uncomfortable yet safe instead of dealing with the uncertainties that would make a real change in their life. I recommend asking your athlete to repeat this saying:

“If I Keep on Doing What I’ve Always Done…I’m Gonna Keep Getting What I Always Got”

Solution: Improving your athlete’s performance starts by understanding the growth cycle. Athletes must be ready and willing to leave their Comfort Zone and step into their Fear Zone. Only by passing through the Fear Zone can Mastery be attained. After skills are mastered, managing those skills takes place. The pathway:

“Comfort Zone … Fear Zone …Mastery Zone …Management Zone”

My mentor, the late Vic Braden, said this a thousand times: “Once the pain of losing to another inferior opponent overrides the pain of change, the prognosis is good for quick improvement.” If change is still more painful, growth is stalled.

More Expert Industry Testimonials

Posted on January 24, 2023 by in The Psychology of Tennis Parenting

Released on January 28, 2023

The Psychology of Tennis Parenting

To Pre-order your eBook copy for only 0.99 Cents on Amazon

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EXPERT INDUSTRY TESTIMONIALS

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In our ever-changing world, raising an exceptional athlete seems to have more and more challenges. Frank paints a beautiful roadmap that navigates the difficult relationships between player, parent, and coach. He gives parents some tremendous ideas on how they can best help their child reach their potential. Frank has done a number of camps with our high-performance juniors and their families, and we receive nothing but rave reviews. I highly recommend this book for all families with young athletes.

Bob Hochstadter, President USTA Southern California

 

“Frank is a big asset to the Southern California Tennis Association in the world of player development and The Psychology of Tennis. Our parents, players, and coaches are lucky to have his knowledge, drive and passion front and center. Those that work with his philosophy and understanding of the game; instantaneously become better. I have seen it over and over. There are very few coaches that capture your attention and make the game easier to understand at any level. I wish that I would have had him with me as I pursued my dreams and aspirations. Simple and realistic concepts that will help you, the parent/player, navigate the game successfully. Take advantage of every opportunity you get to hear Frank speak or read his material. You will get better.”

Trevor Kronemann, Executive Director SCTA/USTA

 

The Psychology of Tennis Parenting is amazing! Every parent and coach need to read this book repeatedly and apply its lessons with their children and their students. Kudos to Frank for bringing his knowledge and wisdom to the world to help parents and their most prized possessions, their children. I highly recommend this book if you want to improve in all areas of life.

Jeff Salzenstein, Former Top 100 ATP Singles and Doubles Player, Stanford All-American, USTA High Performance Coach, Performance Coach, And Speaker

 

“This is a must-read for every tennis parent. Frank cuts right to the chase on navigating the tricky times ahead and creating a game plan as a supportive parent. He not only gives real-world examples but also backs them up with science. This will be my go-to recommendation to anyone looking to step up their role as a tennis parent.”

Danny Bryan, LSU Mens Head Coach, Louisiana

 

“For decades it has been abundantly clear that parents can play either a very positive or even a very negative role in the development of tennis playing juniors. Most fall in between but ALL can improve but most need help. Frank has stepped to the plate once again to assist. It is safe to say that any parent who reads and applies even a small part of this book will benefit for a lifetime.”

Joe Dinoffer, President, On Court Off Court, Texas

Parental Accountability – Part 2

Posted on December 12, 2022 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
Available through most online retailers!

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Actual 8-Week Developmental Blueprint

Improvement in Strokes

Serve:

  • Turn and Coil first- toss second.
  • Increase power (add 20 mph) with the “long bomb” drill and “smack down” drill.

 

Return of Serve:

  • Choose the correct position dictated by the quality of the opponent’s delivery.
  • Choose to match the ball speed & start the rally on 1st serves.
  • Apply a new position & manage the aggression with the score on 2nd serves.
  • On the 2nd serves, monitor the score before deciding on a strategic play.

 

Forehand:

  • Elbow up on the backswing/loop.
  • Elbow up high on the follow-through to activate the larger muscle groups.
  • Apply an aggressive hip rotation.
  • Apply a stationary platform (“You can’t shoot a cannon out of a canoe…”)

 

Backhand:

  • Consistency in slice to keep the ball out of the opponent’s primary strike zone.
  • Consistency in the high & heavy secondary strokes.

 

Volleys:

  • Focusing on spotting when the opponent is vulnerable.
  • Understanding how, when and why I will be approaching the net.
  • Develop the secondary drop volleys and swing/drive volley.

Overhead:

  • Utilize the two-part swing versus a whole service motion.
  • Apply a stationary platform.
  • Focus on consistency and placement over power.

 

Improvement in Emotional/Focus

  • Maintaining a consistent intensity throughout competition.
  • Playing controlled aggression during “tipping points.”
  • Stick with controlled aggression after gaining a lead.
  • Stop the wandering eyes and mind.
  • Apply proper routines & rituals (pre-match, during the match, post-match)
  • Manage the score (Spotting positive mega points versus negative mega points.)
  • Remaining an impenetrable confident fighter.
  • Stop any negative self-talk, negative body language or facial expressions.
  • Love the battle.

Improvements in the Mental Factors

  • Monitor errors that are “over cooked” versus “under cooked.”
  • Stick to the A game plan if it’s working. Being bored is not a valid reason to change.
  • Spot the style of opponent & anticipate a shift in style.
  • Pre-set your short ball range and relentlessly attack balls that fall in front of it.
  • Apply the proper short ball option dictated by the situation.

Improvements in Movement/Physical Fitness

  • Focus on being a world -class athlete instead of a tennis player.
  • Increase aerobic capacity.
  • Increase anaerobic capacity.
  • Beef up the core with medicine ball training.
  • Beef up upper body strength with weight training.
  • Remember that rest & recovery are part of the equation.
  • Apply periodization to peak at the right times throughout the year.
  • About 50% of my weekly training should be off-court tennis specific training.
  • Regain the proper nutrition & hydration requirements.

Improvement starts with preparation and preparation starts with an action plan. Sadly, many athletes design a deliberate customized developmental plan then a few short weeks later, simply choose to go back to their half-hearted yet easier routines. Proper preparation prevents future poor performances.

 

“Your child’s results three months from now will be determined by their actions today.”

 

 

 

 

 

Parental Accountability – Part 1

Posted on December 6, 2022 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
Available through most online retailers!

 Click Here to Order

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PARENTAL ACCOUNTABILITY

 

The old story goes, back in the day, if a kid lost to a toad, his folks would setup a meeting with the coach and apologize for the child’s poor performance and together they would organize solutions. Today, if a kid losses to a lesser quality player, the parents set up a meeting with the coach demanding that the coach explain how their little super star could possibly lose to such a crummy player…

It is the role of the parents to teach accountability.  Remember, champions are accountable- they’ve learned life lessons through the natural consequences of their behavior.

 


 

QUESTION: What is a developmental blueprint?

 

Frank: Becoming a champion starts with a deliberate, customized developmental blueprint. It consists of developing and rehearsing every physical, mental and emotional tool necessary in elite sports. To maximize potential, it is essential to have an individualized plan.

Step One: Utilize The Tennis Parent’s Bible’s Customized Player Evaluation (Found in Part VII) to assess your athlete’s actual knowledge and ability.

Step Two: Organize and implement a weekly plan to begin strengthening weaknesses.

 

“Just because they are ‘practicing’ does not mean they are ‘progressing’ …”

 

Progression takes more than on-court stroke repetition. Achieving elite stature in tennis requires the development of the complete package. To help your child and their coaches understand a developmental blueprint, a NCAA All-American has agreed to share hers. (Below is an actual 8-week developmental blueprint from one of my college students.)

How can we assist our son in decreasing his unforced errors? Part 2

Posted on November 14, 2022 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
Available through most online retailers!

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Situation #3: The opponent hits a deep cross-court ball.

Jason: Hits a neutral building shot 4 feet over the net and back cross court.

Jack: Tries for a screaming net skimming half volley winner down the line and creams the ball into the bottom of the net.

 

Situation #4: The brothers are in a vulnerable position running fifteen feet behind the baseline, retrieving the opponent’s terrific shot.

Jason: Throws up a deep, high, defensive lob to push the opponent back and gain valuable recovery time.

Jack: Goes for an offensive, down-the-line pass that lands near the back fence…Then screams…AAAHHHH!

 

Situation #5: Our player gets to the ball late. He is off balance and ends up striking the ball down by his socks.

Jason: Quickly dials his offensive shot selection down to neutral and elects to simply keep the opponent from taking an offensive position.

Jack: He is still in full flight and goes for a topspin rip-off of his shoelaces. The ball rips into the net.

 

Situation #6: Our player is winning comfortably 6-3, 4- 1.

Jason: Continues to do the exact same boring shot selections. He closes out the match in a routine fashion. He realizes the importance of saving physical and emotional energy for the next round.

Jack: Gets bored with such a lead. He begins throwing in a bunch of exciting yet low-percentage new things. In essence, Jack has changed the shot selections that have gained him a comfortable lead. Now the set is 5-5, and Jack is so angry that he is acting like a Crazy Person, throwing his racquet and yelling, “I Hate Tennis.” His situation is a result of his wandering mind.

How to Close Out A Match- Part 3

Posted on September 19, 2022 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
Available through most online retailers!

 Click Here to Order

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Scenario Number Three:

Mr. Johnson sends me another 4 page text Saturday afternoon. Essentially claiming that his little Kristin, the best athlete in the tournament, has choked away another match… She was up 5-1 and missed two shots and went off! “She was killing her opponent and then… I don’t know?”

Here is how he described his daughter’s mindless play: fast anger walking, choking, then more choking, racquet cracking, hitting harder and harder and then screaming at herself game after game as the opponent is handed the set 7-5. He writes, “Kristin didn’t even sit during changeovers!”

Solution Three:

First, let’s review choking versus panicking because it is confusing. It’s important to recognize that choking is caused by over-thinking. Dozens of irrelevant contaminants jumble the brain. These include outcome thoughts like: “Who will I play next?”, “What’s my ranking going to jump to?” and “I wonder if I’ll qualify for the Easter bowl after I beat this seed?”

Choking is entertaining irrelevant thoughts during the match instead of the task at hand. What Mr. Johnson described wasn’t over thinking (choking), it’s choking’s evil twin- panicking.

Panicking is the opposite of choking. It’s under thinking. As Kristin’s frustration tolerance level reached its peak, she didn’t think at all. She rushed mindlessly through the rough patch hoping that the quicker she played the quicker she would get out of this bad situation. Unfortunately, the opposite holds true.

 

An analogy to panicking is attempting to get off an iced over road as quick as possible. The faster you move, the more you fall. Slowing down is required…the same goes for panicking in a tennis match.

 

In this panicked state of mind, slowing down to a crawl is the answer. It would serve Kristin to develop pre-set protocols to slow down play and establish her very own between point rituals and changeover rituals. After all, the negative behavior Mr. Johnson described was happening in-between points. Panicking is an easy fix if Kristin is willing to re-focus her attention on the practice court. If your child occasionally goes brain dead and panics in matches, I suggest meeting with their coach and organizing practice sets where your child’s only focus is on their between point rituals and changeover rituals. The art of closing out matches requires players to stop avoiding head to head competition on the practice court. Closing out sets and matches is a learned behavior. It requires dedicated practice. Remember the old saying “Practice doesn’t make perfect…practice makes permanent.”  So, if you want your youngster to be permanently excellent at closing out matches- customize their training accordingly.