Tag Archives: tennis

Tennis Anxiety Issues- Part 2

Posted on December 27, 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 don’t want to play, what if I lose?”

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“Devalue the event to deflate the anxiety.”

A common outcome-oriented mindset is that each tournament is a life or death crisis. This negative frame of mind is counterproductive and incredibly stressful. It would be wise to educate the athlete and their entourage that tournament play is only an information-gathering mission. Each match should be analyzed to determine why they won points or lost points as a result of their competitive decisions. The objective is simple, quantify the data and learn from it.

Competition should be seen as a fun challenge, not intensely difficult or dangerous.

 

Destress the situation by decompressing the athlete.

 

Tennis Anxiety Issues- Part 1

Posted on December 23, 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

 

PERFORMANCE ANXIETIES

Preparing final cover 3D

Most athletes experience performance anxiety. It’s only natural when being judged. Performance Anxieties Insights were written as a guide to problem-solving real-life fears through exposure versus avoidance. Exposing an athlete in practice to match-day stressors helps to desensitize the athlete to their anxieties.

Each player’s genetic predisposition and upbringing play critical roles in the amount of stress they choose to suffer.

Often at tournaments, I witness role models (parents and coaches) who are far too focused on the outcome. When this occurs, the athlete is sure to follow with timid play, which is a sign of an outcome-oriented athlete on the verge of self-destruction.

On a deeper level, we as parents and coaches want our athletes to experience consistent, daily satisfaction. This type of long term happiness doesn’t come from winning tennis trophies. Instead, it stems from constant, daily growth. Confidence skyrockets only when the athlete’s effort and parental praise is placed on improvement versus winning. By focusing on the effort versus the outcome, performance anxieties are diminished. Let’s look at a few common performance anxieties.

 

 

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.

Strive for Tennis Improvement

Posted on December 19, 2020 by in Preparing for Pressure, The Second Edition of The Tennis Parent's Bible

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

 Click Here To Order through Amazon

 

 

True Happiness Stems From ProgressFrank Giampaolo

 

“Seek daily progress versus daily perfection.”

As crazy as it sounds, true happiness doesn’t always come from winning. It comes from performing at one’s peak potential under pressure.

Did you ever win a match against a player whose ability was levels below yours? It wasn’t truly satisfying, was it? Did you ever compete against a player whose ability was several levels above yours and you played amazingly, only to lose in a tightly contested battle? Remember walking away proud of your performance?

Choosing to feel passionate about performance as opposed to the outcome opens the doors to progress. Only with constant progress is consistent victory insight.

Let’s do a comparative analysis: 32 girls play a weekend soccer match and 16 players go home losers, and 16 go home winners. The same weekend 32 girls play a junior tennis tournament and one player wins, and 31 go home losers.

 

Tennis families that are only happy if they win the whole event are not likely enjoying the journey.

 

Teaching Tennis Life Skills

Posted on December 16, 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

 

 

 

Teach the Value of Keeping Promises with YourselfPreparing final cover 3D

 

“False promises are a form of self-sabotage.”

Confidence is built when athletes know they can rely on themselves. The top contenders that I’ve had the privilege of working with routinely matched their intentions and their actions on a daily basis. Procrastination and excuses are left to the weaker players. The fragile athletes avoid keeping promises.

Improvement typically stems from changing behavior. And changing behavior requires a commitment to training. Athletes choosing not to keep their commitments with themselves are destined to suffer when the pressure begins.

Athletes who have problems with matching their words with their actions would be wise to commit to a simple 30-day challenge. The task is to complete a 5-minute nightly journal. Listing five of their tennis related daily accomplishments that will significantly assist them in staying on track.

Often junior players say, I want to be a top player. But their actions say I want to be a normal kid. It is important to remind athletes that they cannot be a Champion and a normal kid.  They have to pick one because the pathway to becoming a Champion is far different than the path for normal kids.

 

Keeping promises makes the athlete … Breaking promises breaks the athlete.


 

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?

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 6

Posted on December 12, 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

Parents, Avoid discussing outcome goalsPreparing final cover 3D

 

“On match day, to reach outcome goals, avoid talking about them.”

Many athletes add stress before competition by discussing outcome goals. Such conversations include, “I should beat Zoe 1 & 1, she’s only ranked an 8 UTR”, “I’m going to prove to my coaches and friends that I’m better than Mathew,” “I should easily reach the finals in this tournament!” The focus on these unnecessary outcome goals only adds unwanted stress to a stressful environment.

Similarly, parents are also to blame for destroying the calm mindset athletes seek. Parents often unknowingly add their own outcome-oriented stress as they routinely talk about “you should easily be hitting 2 aces a game with the service lessons I paid for this week!”, “This opponent is a pusher. You should win easy.”, “Once you win this tournament the USTA will have to invite us to the National Campus to train!”

These topics hurt the athlete’s chances of reaching their desired outcome. Instead, leave the speculations at home and choose to focus on the strategic performance goals customized for the upcoming match.

 

Desired outcomes are found when the entourage manages the performance.

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 5

Posted on December 9, 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

 

Understanding Internal PressurePreparing final cover 3D

 

“Thriving under pressure requires exposure, not avoidance.”

Teaching a junior competitor to handle internal pressure is a complicated affair. It greatly depends on their genetic predisposition. Some personality profiles are wired to overthink, worry, and stress, while others are natural-born competitors. If your athlete wilts under pressure, this is for you!

A solution that will help athletes to become comfortable in match play is replacing the mindless grooving of strokes in the academy with actually competing in real practice matches. Organize your athlete’s training sessions to focus on competitive, simulated stressful situations on a daily basis.

After a solid foundation is built, redundant technical training is counter-productive. Preparing for pressure demands exposing the athlete to more live ball flexible skills training. This allows them to make the software mistakes and learn from them on the practice court long before tournament play occurs.

A second solution in preparing for pressure is to avoid always enrolling your athlete in events above their actual match play level. I recommend also registering your athlete into lower level, winnable tournaments. This will allow them to gain the much-needed experience of playing longer at their peak performance level six matches in a row. Athletes need to routinely experience what it’s like to compete in the semis and finals of events.

Athletes need to become accustomed to the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms and cures found in real match play. Only with experience will they learn how to perform under pressure.

 

Parents, it’s your job to fluctuate your athlete’s exposure to the different levels of competition at the correct time. Their tournament scheduling should be customized to their current needs.

 

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 4

Posted on December 6, 2020 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, 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

 

 

Keep Your Athlete On-Script before CompetitionPreparing final cover 3D

 

“Your athlete’s script is their repeatable dominant patterns.”

Let’s go a step deeper into how parents can assist their athletes in preparing for pressure. When your athletes are uncertain, they play confused and fearful. Fear is the enemy of peak performance. When your athletes and their coaches design scripts (with clear physical, mental, emotional protocols), these intentions breed confidence. Focusing on their script of pre-set patterns and solutions serves two purposes for the athlete.

The first benefit is that a proper headspace distracts the athletes from the onslaught of contaminating outcome thoughts. Worrying about the possible upcoming catastrophe gets most athletes into a horrible mindset. While they can’t really stop themselves from thinking, you can purposely distract them from outcome dreams and nightmares. It’s important to note that often, the parents are the instigators of the contamination.

The second benefit is strategic- pre-setting rehearsed patterns and plays prior to competition. This is accomplished by asking your athlete to review their current performance goals, strategies, and contingency plans. Mental rehearsals through visualization is a terrific way to assist the athletes to adhere to their script mentally and emotionally before competition.

 

Great performances begin with an optimistic organized mindset.


 

Tennis From The Parent’s View- Part 3

Posted on December 4, 2020 by in Maximizing Tennis Potential, 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

Is The Parent a Source of External Pressure?Preparing final cover 3D

 

“It’s no secret that a large portion of pressure comes unknowingly from tennis parents.”

The tennis parent is the second most important entity in the athlete’s entourage (The athlete being the most important.)

The parents are the CEO, the manager of the entourage of coaches, and the facilitator of the player’s customized developmental plan. With responsibility comes pressure. This is especially true when the parent is bankrolling the journey. All too often, tennis parents become overbearing yet don’t see themselves as the leading source of frustration.

Communicating with an adolescent competitive athlete isn’t easy. A relaxed demeanor versus a stressed appearance matters deeply. In fact, current studies show that approximately 7% of communication is verbal, while 93% is made up of tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language.

While it’s natural for parents to be on high alert for any possible signs of danger, it’s essential to understand that the athlete needs a calming influence.

 

Parental pressure can be both real and imagined. In the end, it’s the perception of the athlete that matters.