COACHES AND PARENTS PLAY A BIG
ROLE IN A TENNIS PLAYER’S SUCCESS
Mentally strong tweens first. Tennis players second.
Confidential and proprietary - no part of this presentation may be modified, printed, or presented without the author’s permission.
ABOUT DR. MICHELLE
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Former athlete
Former coach and trainer
PhD Clinical Psychology
Masters in Sport Psychology
Proven results for elite tennis players
Creator of Beating the Tennis Demons™
WTCA Advisory Board
F E A T U R E D
I N
IS SPORTS
OUT OF CONTROL?
~ the current situation ~
WHAT WE SEE HAPPENING
 Temper tantrums
 Out of control parents
 Burnt out tweens
 Youth sport dropouts
 Bad sportsmanship
HOW WE GOT HERE
 Rise of youth sports programs in the US
 Pay to play sports
 The importance of sports
HOW KIDS GET INTO A SPORT
 An unconscious process
 Other children are doing it
 What’s popular – on broadcast sports, TV
shows, or movies
 Influence of parents
WHY TWEENS PLAY SPORTS
1. To have fun
2. To be social
3. To learn a new skill
SWITCH FROM FUN TO SERIOUS
 Happens quickly
 11 or 12 years old
 Turns into bigger commitment
• More hours with practice and games
• More competitive as get stronger and better
• Pay to play - travel teams, club teams
 Parents and coaches expectations change
WHY SPECIALIZE
 Comfortable - played since they were young
 Exclusive - many haven’t explored other sports
 Guilt – parents have spent time and money
 Scared – what if not as good at another sport
 Dream of Glory – parents & coaches
SPECIALIZATION CHANGES PERFORMANCE
 Now conscious that having fun and being social
aren’t the reason they play
 Instead, they are playing:
 Because it’s who they are
 Because it’s what they’ve done
 To make parents & coaches proud
 To get a college scholarship
 To win
THE IMPACT TO TWEENS
 Pressure
 Anxiety
 Fears
 Doubts
 Worries
 Stress
HOW CAN COACHES & PARENTS
WORK TOGETHER?
~ a more effective approach ~
WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW
 What do tweens want from a sport?
 What should we develop at this early stage?
 How can we help parents support their kids?
 How much impact do we have in coaching tweens?
SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT OF ATHLETE
 Exploration – up to age 12
 Voluntary commitment
 Proficiency in sport that enjoy
PARENT’S ROLE
 Make travel arrangements
 Submit tournament entries
 Restring rackets
 Order tennis balls
 Prepare nutritious meals for match day
NON PARENTAL ROLE
 Set tournament schedule – parents only
involvement is for logistics and budgeting
 Scout opponents
 Act as an assistant coach
 Analyse technique or movement patterns
 Give pre-match tactical advice
 Do post-match talks
COACH’S ROLE - EDUCATE PARENTS
 Set boundaries
 Role model appropriate behaviors
 Help parents understand their tennis player
 Ask children what support they need
 No yelling (AT ANYONE)
 No swearing
 No cheating
WHAT IS YOUR
COACHING PHILOSOPHY?
WHAT KIND OF COACH DO YOU WANT TO BE?
 Think about a great coach you had as a kid
 What qualities did they possess?
 What made this person great?
 Think about a bad coach you had as a kid
 What qualities did they possess?
 What made this person bad?
COACH MOTIVATION SURVEY
 Why do I coach?
 Am I coaching for the right reasons?
 Is winning the most important thing? Why?
 How do I relate to my athletes?
 Am I a good coach? Why?
 What would make me a better coach?
 What are my goals as a coach?
IMPROVING VS. WINNING
EGO
MASTERY
Win at all cost
Emphasize progress not results
Rewards winning
Rewards skill improvement
Yells and demoralizes tweens
Motivate and encourage youth
In it to win it
Teach process and skills
Do as I say attitude
Coach critical self-observation
“Tennis coaches build great mastery.
Elite performance experts build great competitors.”
THE IMPACT OF AN EGO ORIENTATION
 Pressure
 Anxiety
 Fears
 Doubts
 Worries
 Stress
Around 70% of kids in the US
stop playing organized sports by
the age of 13 because…
“it’s just not fun anymore.”
PEAK PERFORMANCE: MIND + BODY
ELITE PERFORMANCE EXPERT
~ the most optimal strategy ~
Develop the body to work with the mind,
and train the mind to work with the body.
DEVELOPING MASTERY SKILLS
 Resilience: turns around a losing streak
 Confidence: plays in “the zone”
 Positive thinking: combats negative self-talk
 Focus: directs attention to the right things
 Self regulation: manages energy and emotions
WHAT COACHES SEE
SITUATION
MENTAL DEFICIT
Choking
Lack of resilience
Not playing like practice
Lack of confidence
Thinking too much
Lack of positive thinking
Too many errors
Lack of focus
Getting tight
Lack of self-regulation
LACK OF RESILIENCE
 Frustration and fear stimulate the sympathetic
nervous system’s freeze response
 Result:
 Cuts off energy supply
 Stops you dead in your tracks
 You get emotional
 Thinking is all over the place
 Can’t focus
RESILIENCE DEVELOPMENT
 Learn to:
 Stay present
 Reset after every ball
 Let go of mistakes
 Channel the amount of energy needed before, during
and throughout a match
LACK OF CONFIDENCE
 Doubts pull players out of their zone and into
their head.
 Results:
 Dream: Confuse what is with what they wish
 Negative spiral: Self doubt causes it to be true
 Catastrophize: Mistakes devastate competence
 Underachieve: Obsessive focus on shortcomings
CONFIDENCE DEVELOPMENT
 Learn to:
 (Re)define success
 Define success by process vs outcome
 Identify what’s going well
 Learn to control emotions on the court
NEGATIVE SELF TALK
 Spirals athletes into continued negativity
 Result:
 Clogs the brain; thinking is all over the place
 Athletes get emotional
 Muscles lose range of motion
 Can prompt dropout
 Produces outcomes that are ‘less than’
POSITIVE THINKING DEVELOPMENT
 Learn to:
 Direct focus to where it should be vs. where it is
 Understand impact of negative thinking
 Let go of negative thinking – reframe into something
positive
LACK OF FOCUS
 Creates too many unforced errors and lost
points
 Results:
 Unsure of where to be on the court
 Unsure of expectations
 Unsure of where to focus
 Pulls athletes out of the “game”
 Thinking about the outcome
FOCUS DEVELOPMENT
 Learn to:
 Stay present
 Be clear about their own goals and expectations
 Realize where focus should be
 Realize when lost focus and how to refocus
 Practice mindfulness
LACK OF REGULATION
 Lack of emotional and energetic regulation create
inconsistent performance
 Results:
 Wrong amount of energy when start playing
 Inability to maintain energy throughout the match
 Too much energy, “I’m anxious”
 Too little energy, “I’m tired”
REGULATION COACHING
 Learn to:
 Get the energy they need before and during the match
 Understand energy is physical and mental
 Develop performance routines
BUILD HEALTHY TWEENS FIRST
 Tweens who know how to deal with:
pressure, anxiety, doubts, worries, and stress
 Tweens who know how to control their game
 Tweens who know how to still have fun
 Tweens who know how to balance life
 Tweens who know how to PLAY THEIR BEST!
THE POSITIVE OUTCOME :
WELL ROUNDED TENNIS PLAYERS
 Builds character
 Builds life skills
 Teaches to deal with losing
 Builds self esteem
 Develops good health
 Promotes a mastery orientation
LET’S MAKE A DIFFERENCE
And change this crisis
that is trending in youth sports.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP
Dr. Michelle Cleere
www.drmichellecleere.com
Contact me to set up your
FREE 30-minute Strategy Session!
Q&A
Dr. Michelle: 415.860.9517 -- drmichellecleere.com