Focus on Mastery

What is it that keeps some players improving and others plateau or fall behind? Is it that these players are more talented or do they expend more effort? How does a tennis player go from never being in the top 50 to being a Division I tennis player? 

These questions can be answered in one word: mindset. Your mindset, how you think about what you are doing will dictate much of your success. Those players that continue to get better often have a growth mindset. The growth mindset is based on an idea that you can improve your abilities through learning, experimentation, and training. By focusing on learning and effort, one believes they can accomplish anything through hard work. 

A person who thinks with a growth mindset is focused on mastery. In tennis the person will focus on taking personal ownership of their ability to improve their mental toughness, fitness level, technique, and tactics. They seek out assistance to help them achieve mastery in each area. The growth mindset is mastery oriented compared to a fixed mindset that is ego oriented.  What does mastery oriented mean? It means that over time a person will improve if they are focused on mastering skills. A great example is someone who starts out serving with a forehand grip and practices with a serve grip, over time they will be a completely different player. 

One thing we focus on in ten and under tennis lessons is mastery of a skill, no matter where the child is, their goal is to master part of the stroke until they get all of the stroke. It is also about them having early success. It is easier to learn something difficult if you have early success.  We believe everything is a teachable moment. We focus on what we can learn today because it is building a foundation for the future. 

Article review from TennisPro. Official Journal of the Professional Tennis Registry. (2014)

SAVE THE DATE Ten and Under Tennis Christmas Gathering

Christmas Gathering 

Monday December 22, 2014

5:30-6:30 pm 

Encanto Sports Complex

Stay tuned for more details

"Nice fall son! That's the way. You look so good!" Conclusion

The last several days we have been sharing ways parents can be supportive of their children as they play tennis in lessons, play days, or competition. We have already said it is important to be spectators instead of being a participant, teaching our children to solve problems on their own, being respectful of those we play against, and to be positive when we cheer but don't be like a Raiders or Green Bay fan.

The conclusion to the article from TennisPro Magazine, the journal publication of the Professional Tennis Registry, offer two points to make the lesson day, match day, or play day special and the let our children PLAY.

Make match day special, prepare and recover.

"Parents maynot be able to do much during a match, but there is a lot they can do to make match days special. Being involvedas a team parent-coach for away matches is a great way to show your kids that you are committed to their development in their activity and can help develop a sense of unity. Parents can make sure the child has everything they need on the day of the lesson or play day, shoes, water, racket, balls if needed, change of clothes, grips, strings, first aid, snacks, and electrolyte drink. Special meals or traditions before tennis can help each child get into a good routine. I don't recommend rewards for winning or if they do a good job during a lesson because then losing or having a bad day may feel even worse. 

Let the kids PLAY.

"Parents should remember that only 2% of the top 100 juniors actually make it to the professional level, followed by another 2% that actually make a living at it. So it is wise to focus on the other benefits, exercise, mastery of a skill, fun, and play.  If tennis becomes like school work it will become a tedious activity that no longer brings joy or purpose to the child. Parent's can help with the accountability aspect, but in the end, let them play."

Tennis Pro Magazine Nov-Dec 2014.  Professional Tennis Registry.

ACEing Autism Tennis Program

Autistic spectrum disorders can be a very difficult challenge for everyone involved. Many times these children are left out because they just cannot connect with the world. There is a program out there that is proving those with autistic spectrum disorders can over come their challenges. ACEing Autism is helping those with this disorder have an opportunity to exercise, improve eye-hand coordination, and develop skills that will help them to master goals later in life. 






http://www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/Adaptive-Tennis/aceing_autism_program_expands_across_the_country/

"Nice fall son! That's the way. You look so good!" Part 4

We have been talking about ways parents can help to make their child's experience in tennis positive and fulfilling. Our goal is to teach with purpose so that the child and parent can see growth. Seeing a child meet an expectation is really exciting. It is even more exciting when you see the child take what they learned and work towards mastery. The ability to be able to become a master as something, to become really good at something, gives the child credibility. That is something everyone wants, to be known for something, to be an expert at something. 

Another way parent's can help the child on the journey of mastery is to keep cheering positive and if you are watching your child play a tennis match or in a group lesson, keep the cheering to a minimum.

Many junior tennis leagues, such as Junior Team Tennis, allow for players and fans to cheer for the participants out on the court. The comments must be kept positive and cannot be seen as a "coaching moment."  One of the things to remember is the cheering sections can irritate the opposing player and other parents and may not be necessary. Tennis matches are not like the Friday high school football games, and it is best to keep cheering to a minimum to avoid conflicts.

Tennis Pro Magazine Nov-Dec 2014.  Professional Tennis Registry.

"Nice fall son! That's the way. You look so good!" Part 3

Be respectful of the opponent and their entourage.

"A large part of keeping junior tennis fun and productive is to be welcoming at home and gracious when away. Be welcoming of the opponents, treat them well, and be on time so you do not set the schedule back."

PTR 2014

"Nice fall son! That's the way. You look so good!" Part 2

Parents Should Teach Responsibility and Autonomy

-"Tennis is not like other sports where one or several officials can monitor all live action. Tennis players are required to know the rules of plaay and conduct all scoring and line calls on their own. Obviously, kids cannot learn all the rules of the game all at once, and their is a serious learning curve. Parents should review what coaches have taught them including focusing on how to solve conflicts on their own."

2014. Professional Tennis Registry

"Nice fall son! That's the way. You look so good!"

It is not a secret that parents love to cheer for their children. Just go to any youth football, baseball, or soccer game and you will see the crazy ones dressed out in their child's team colors and cheering for the child just because he fell down. "Nice fall son! That's the way. You look so good!" That is one of the best things about parents and children's activities. Many parents never see anything bad, they see the good moves in everything. Whether the child falls down or makes a great play. 

The same is true in tennis.  Over the next few days you will get some keys that will help you be stronger parents and your child be a stronger, more focused, and more excited tennis player. Taken from the latest tennis teaching journal by the Professional Tennis Registry, these are proven lessons that will work. 

During a match, be a spectator, not a participant. It is easy to try to play every point with your child through body language, emotions, or worse yet coach the child. This can add stress to the child as they are still learning how to focus on the task at hand and may often be looking to you for comfort, recognition, and praise.  Even though parents may think they might be able to diffuse a situation, it is best to let the coaches, referees, or the child handle it the best they know how. Each person here has special training or is learning how to handle conflict. In addition, the parent who acts as coach and tries to solve a conflict on the court may intimidate the other player, thus manipulating the match. You will never know how much your child learned from their practice sessions.  

*Tennis Pro Magazine Nov-Dec 2014.  Professional Tennis Registry. 

Blind Ambition

When I was in college I took a course called Therapeutic Recreation. The foundation of this class was to help us learn how to teach different subcultures of people how to recreate. A few examples of these subculture would be those in rehabilitation, stroke victims, prisoners, autism, and the blind. The last subculture is what I want to focus on today. The blind. I bet you did not know the blind can play baseball and tennis. They can. They use something called a "beep" ball.The blind tennis game consists of a foam ball that beeps as it goes through the air. A blind person will play on a shortened tennis court with raised lines.

How is all of this possible? Most of us have always heard keep your "eye on the ball" when learning tennis. You need to be able to track the ball with your eyes to see the pace, spin, and contact point. What allows blind people to play tennis through these adaptations, and now those of us with healthy vision, is the visual cortex of the brain can also process tactile and auditory information. In other words, you can use other senses to determine objects in space. I wonder how much better we would be if we would start training some of our other senses to help us play tennis? Interesting thought.

Lin, Thomas. Tennis Magazine. "Blind Ambition: Organizers working to grow the                                 remarkable sport of blind tennis."  Dec. 2014