Emotional Aptitude In Sports

By Frank Giampaolo

In the world of high performance sports, successful athletes need both customized hardware (Mechanics & Athleticism) as well as pre-set software (Mental & Emotional) skills to thrive in competition. Emotional Aptitude in Sports takes a deeper look into the emotional dominance every athlete seeks. Under developed emotional skill sets impede athletic progression, regardless of technical, mental or athletic skill sets. This book is an “In the trenches” guide to achieving the internal calmness during the heat of battle that’s found inside champions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank Giampaolo
• Release date: Dec 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370384396

Frank Giampaolo

Frank Giampaolo is a veteran author whose acclaimed book, The Tennis Parent’s Bible (www.thetennisparentsbible.com), is being used by ITF leaders, academy directors, parents, and coaches worldwide. Giampaolo’s innovative approach has earned him numerous honors, including being named the 2001 USPTA Southern California Tennis Director of the Year and being voted a top teaching professional in consecutive years by Southern California Tennis & Golf magazine. Giampaolo founded the Mental–Emotional Tennis Workshop in 2002; since then, participants in the program have gone on to win more than 77 U.S. national titles. His students have won ATP and WTA Tour singles and doubles titles. Giampaolo pioneered the Tennis Parents Workshop in 1998 and has conducted seminars throughout the United States, Mexico, Israel, Spain,New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. Additionally, he hosts a blog site, www.tennisparentsolutions.com. Frank is a popular international speaker. He has appeared on NBC’s TODAY Show, Fox Sports, OCN World Team Tennis, Tennis Canada, and Tennis Australia. His instructional articles have appeared in Tennis View magazine, USPTA Coaching Publications, The Active Network, Parenting Aces, Tennis One, Tennis Australia, and Tennis New Zealand. He currently runs workshops at his high-performance training facility in Southern California.

Book preview

EMOTIONAL APTITUDE IN SPORTS

Stop Choking In Competition

By

Frank Giampaolo

Published by Frank Giampaolo at Smashwords

Copyright 2016

Available By Frank Giampaolo

Championship Tennis

Human Kinetics Worldwide Publishing Copyright 2014

The Tennis Parent’s Bible Second Edition

Second Edition 2016

The Tennis Parent’s Bible First Edition

A Comprehensive Survival Guide to

Becoming a World Class Tennis Parent (or Coach)

First Edition 2010

Raising Athletic Royalty:

Insights to Inspire for a Lifetime

Copyright 2015

International Player Evaluation

Revised Edition 2013

The Mental Emotional Tennis Work Books Series:

Blunders and Cures

Match Chart Collection

Match Day Preparation

How to Attract a College Scholarship

Websites:

http://www.MaximizingTennisPotential.com

http://www.RaisingAthleticRoyalty.com

Cover Photograph:

camerawork usa, inc., Fred and Susan Mullane

All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission from the author.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to the Beren Family

Adam, Ellen, Sophia, Samuel and Esther

CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

SECTION 1: Optimism, Mindsets and Life Skills

SECTION 2: The Importance of Emotional Development

SECTION 3: Common Performance Anxieties and Their Solutions

SECTION 4: Proper Preparation Rewards Emotional Aptitude

SECTION 5: The Emotional Science of Handling Adversity

SECTION 6: Responsibility and Accountability

SECTION 7: Managing Thoughts and Emotions

SECTION 8: Stop Worrying About What Others Think

SECTION 9: Rethinking Stress

SECTION 10: The Real Talent Is Emotional Toughness

CONCLUSION

SOLUTIONS REVIEW

TESTIMONIALS

A must read for anyone interested in a child's success.

Jon Wertheim, Executive Editor Sports Illustrated

To enjoy your peak performance level it takes more than technical skill. A performer needs emotional aptitude. This book shows you how to rock under pressure.

James Valentine, Guitarist/Songwriter, Maroon 5

Frank Giampaolo is the best natural-born, intuitive psychologist I know. His understanding of competitive environments is excellent and his focus on emotional aptitude is much needed. This book is filled with deep insights and solutions to assist athletes to thrive under game day pressure.

Clinton W. McLemore, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Writing this book has truly been an exercise in learning. I am grateful to all of those with whom I have had the pleasure to work with throughout this journey. I don't know whether to thank or blame my students for forcing me to dig deeper to find solutions to inspire growth and strengthen emotional aptitude.

A special thank you is in order to Samuel Beren, Craig Cignarrelli and Ron Cohen for taking the time to preview the manuscript and share their insights which surely enhanced its content. And to Dr. Clinton W. McLemore, for repeatedly affirming the psychological validity of my insights.

Above all, I would like to thank my loving and supporting wife, Linda, who provided unending encouragement and support.

Lastly, I'd like to acknowledge you, the athlete, parent or coach whom I have yet to meet. Developing strong emotional aptitude will not only improve athletic success, but improve personal success. Please feel free to share this information and help others when you can.

PREFACE

Competitive athletes are found in almost every corner of the globe. It is common to see National Championships in every age division from 9 years old to 90 years young and in almost every sport imaginable. In today’s competitive athletic arena, emotional aptitude is essential. Most players enter the game intently focused on improving technical (fundamentals), mental (strategic) and athletic components. Unfortunately, emotional control supersedes athletic, mental and fundamental development during competition. Under-developed emotional skill sets debilitate an athlete’s developed strengths- just when they are needed the most... Remember the quote?

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. Mark Twain

My bet is that Mark Twain was referring to emotional aptitude. Emotional Aptitude in Sports delves into why athletes with seemingly solid games continue to lose … and lose often as a result of choking and/or panicking under stress. My fascination with this common athletic obstacle led me to research the science of emotional intelligence. It was the work of Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer in 1980’s that inspired NY Times writer Daniel Goleman to write the groundbreaking book, Emotional Intelligence. Goleman collaborated with David McClelland, who was among a group of Harvard researchers interested in cognitive intelligence versus emotional intelligence. Goleman argued that it was not cognitive intelligence that guaranteed business success but emotional intelligence.

Given the importance of emotional intelligence in business success, I began to see the similarity emotional intelligence had on athletes- separating the successful athlete from the unsuccessful athletes. I found that unsuccessful athletes don’t necessarily lack technique, but lack emotional aptitude- which often holds them hostage. Decades of observation has proven to me that strong emotional aptitude is far more important than perfect form in athletic competition. At the higher levels of sports, every athlete has solid fundamentals. Despite being incredibly talented individuals, in the heat of battle, tremendous athletic assets abandon those that lack developed emotional skill sets.

In competitive sports, the parameters in which players are expected to perform are far different than repetitive non stressful practice environments. Athletes expecting to perform identical series of movements/skills mastered in practice are often disappointed in actual competition.

Competition inherently involves uncontrollable variables that requires the adjustment of form. Examples include:

The Athlete’s Physical, Mental or Emotional State on the Day of Competition

Different Speeds, Spins, Angles and Trajectories of Incoming Balls

Different Speeds, Spins, Angles and Trajectories of Outgoing