Frank Giampaolo's 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

The Athlete’s Organizational Blueprint

Regardless of your child’s long term tennis goals, improving their chances of maximizing their potential begins with efficiency. A customized blueprint reduces stress, wasted time and, most importantly, money spend unwisely. In today’s era, even the most talented athlete has very little hope of reaching elite status without being properly organized.

Nurturing A Deliberate Customized Plan

“Junior tennis champions are born from great sacrifice. They are never the result of selfish parents.”

Outstanding parents are outstanding teachers. The parent is the most important adult figure that will define and shape a child. An experienced coach may assist in developing technical tools such as a topspin backhand. A trainer may assist in developing core strength. But, please never underestimate the power of your child’s greatest teacher…you!

The job description of a tennis parent is to provide a safe and loving environment. A tennis parent nurtures the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual growth of the child.  A gifted athlete with the desire, work ethic and character of a champion will never achieve his or her full potential without the loving support of a tennis parent/manager.

“A junior competitor without a tennis parent educated about the developmental process is like a ship without a rudder.”

Terrific children, wonderful adults and tennis champions aren’t born, they are developed. It’s not simply heredity. It’s an organized plan. No one becomes extraordinary on their own. “It takes a Village” is the age old saying. As you raise athletic royalty, your village will be your entourage of coaches, hitters, mental/emotional trainers, off-court tennis specific experts, physical therapists and sports medicine doctors.

The Williams sisters are an actual example of a parent with a vision.  The story goes: Richard Williams planned to have more children for the sole purpose of developing them into professional tennis players. Wayne Bryan also had a plan with his twin boys, the Bryan brothers. Without an actual plan, you’ll never know your child’s true potential.

Terrific children, wonderful adults and tennis champions aren’t born, they are developed. It’s not simply heredity. It’s an organized plan. No one becomes extraordinary on their own. “It takes a Village” is the age old saying. As you raise athletic royalty, your village will be your entourage of coaches, hitters, mental/emotional trainers, off-court tennis specific experts, physical therapists and sports medicine doctors.

The Williams sisters are an actual example of a parent with a vision.  The story goes: Richard Williams planned to have more children for the sole purpose of developing them into professional tennis players. Wayne Bryan also had a plan with his twin boys, the Bryan brothers. Without an actual plan, you’ll never know your child’s true potential.

Preparing an organizational blue print will save you thousands of dollars annually. It will also save your child thousands of wasted, unproductive hours, sweat and tears.

Your child was born with a unique genetic predisposition and is pre-wired with a specific brain and body type. Consider it carefully as you and your athlete’s coaches (your entourage) nurture your child’s talent and identify their genetic predisposition.  Individual brain and body type play a very influential role at all levels of the game (not to mention the lifelong benefits as well.)  Let’s have some fun right off the bat and jump into applying personality profiling.

So, what’s the key to maximizing success in the shortest period of time? Is it to purchase the latest equipment? Maybe it’s hiring a great local pro? What if I said… neither.

“The first and most important tool you will ever apply is discovering your child’s personality and brain design.”

Let’s look at the typical old school tennis teaching scenario. The local pro Jose Gonzales came to the United States from Chile. He was a terrific collegiate player earning a full scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth. Jose even played a few ATP pro challenger events. He found success by being extremely patient. He had a natural gift with his quick feet and he enjoyed running. He took delight in being a steady counter puncher 15 feet behind the baseline. Jose’s shot tolerance was a 20-ball rally!

As a teaching professional, he demands that each of his students abide by his playing style, disciplines and logic. Your thinking, boy that guy sounds pretty experienced, let’s hire him as our child’s coach. So, is this the right mentor for your child?

The answer is, not likely. Why? Because Jose demands that each student plays his style. The style of tennis that your child needs in order to thrive is based on his or hers own unique design. (AKA: brain and body type.)

“Asking your child to play tennis in a style that opposes their skill sets, beliefs and temperament is a recipe for disaster. This is especially true at the beginning levels of player development and is a major factor as to why so many of them leave this great game.”

One of the quickest ways to ensure that your child will quit the sport is to demand that they play a style that opposes their brain and body type. Understanding brain and body types is one of the first steps to becoming a world class parent and/or coach. Hold on tight because I am about to rock your world.