BALANCING ACT

1. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader BALANCING ACT PARENTING YOUR GCTC TENNIS PLAYER Version 3.0

2. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader ROLES Support Triangle • CHILD • ROLE: • Train & perform to the best of their ability • Adopt & apply successful values TRUST • PARENT • ROLE: • Provide safe environment • Provide financial support • Provide training/competition scheduling and transportation • Reinforce appropriate values • COACH • ROLE: • Provide Development pathway & training • Tactical • Technical • Psychological • Physical • Reinforce values: • Respect • Excellence • Discipline

3. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader COACHING ROLE WHY TRUST US? • Highest Certified Staff in Western Canada • Designated a Tennis Canada Tennis Development Centre (one of 4 in BC) • Rated in the top 12 TDC’s in Canada • 2005 Canadian Facility of the year for program excellence

4. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader COACHING ROLE LONG-TERM ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY (LTAD) • At GCTC, we take the long-term view. • 10 years/10,000 hours rule • The LTAD is specific stages of Development that dictate the appropriate amount of training and competition. • Active Start • FUNdamentals • Developing • Consolidating • Learning to Perform • Learning to be a Pro • Living as a Pro • Tennis for Life

5. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader CAREER PATH INFORMATION • 1:300,000 become top 150 world-ranked players (Compared to 1:70,000 NHL players) .000003% • Canadian International “Super-Star” Player Performance indicators: • Boys: Successfully competing (semi-finals or better) in National Championships one age division above. • Girls: Successfully competing (semi-finals or better) in National Championships two age divisions above. • Primary path for top Canadian players = US Division 1 Scholarship (11 players from GCTC since 1999) • The Dream is the Driver: Reality will become evident by itself. Don’t kill the dream!

6. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader COACHING ROLE • Benefits of Group Training: • Economical (GCTC 40-60% less expensive than comparable programs in BC) • Training ‘synergy’ • Top/bottom of group challenge • Key: “What you do is far more important than who you train with” • Level Advancement Based on: • Competencies • “Professional Coaches eye”

7. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader COACHING ROLE PRIVILEGES FOR THE PROVINCIAL & NATIONAL PROGRAMS: • Walk-on Privileges • Scholarships: • 25-75%

8. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader COACHING ROLE GUIDELINES FOR FUNDAMENTALS STAGE: • 3/4 Court Competitive • Full Court Transition • Champ • 80% Practice to 20% Competition • Tournament Matches per year: 21-36 • Appropriate Level = 2:1-3:1 win/loss ratio • 4-9 on-court hrs/week (private & group) • Every weekend = ‘practice tournament’

9. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader COACHING ROLE GUIDELINES FOR DEVELOPING STAGE: • Provincial • National (U12/U14) • 60% Practice to 40% Competition • Tournament Matches per year: 24-45 singles/16-20 doubles • Appropriate Level = 2:1-3:1 win/loss ratio • 8-10 on-court hrs/week (private & group)

10. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader COACHING ROLE GUIDELINES FOR CONSOLODATING STAGE: • National (U16) • 50% Practice to 50% Competition • Tournament Matches per year: 45-60 singles/20-30 doubles • Appropriate Level = 2:1-3:1 win/loss ratio • 12-14 on-court hrs/week (private & group) • Every weekend = ‘practice tournament’

11. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader COACHING ROLE GCTC COACHING PHILOSOPHY Tennis training = Training for life VALUES: • Excellence • Discipline • Respect • ATTITUDES • Process over results • ”What you do and who you are after a mistake shapes your life.” • “Who you become because of competition is far more valuable than winning or losing.”

12. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader COACHING ROLE KEY QUALITY: Being a Self-Aware Athlete • Self aware athlete are able to correct errors in body movement, skill execution, emotional responses, concentration and mental attitude more quickly and effectively.Self awareness coaching leads to athletes that are self motivated, self-reliant, learn faster, react quicker, adapt to varying conditions and opponents more easily, have less injuries, and ultimately to improved sports (and life) performances. • The opposite of a self-aware athlete is a coach/parent dependant athlete. • Imparted through a “Cooperative” coaching process

13. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader PARENT ROLE TOP 7 SUCCESSFUL PARENTING ATTITUDES TO ADOPT: • Constant Improvement vs Comparison • It is their journey, don’t make it about yours • In practice, what theydo is always more important than who they are with • Process over results • Reinforce that their attitude determines their altitude • Understand the real ROI (return on Investment) • Remember, this whole thing is about kids playing with a ball

14. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader PARENT ROLE TRAPS PARENTS CAN FALL INTO IN THEIR CHILD’S DEVELOPMENT TAKING THEM OUTSIDE A HEALTHY ROLE: • “Looking for the Magic Syndrome”: • Usually starts after a small taste of success (Winning a tournaments, Provincial Champion, etc.) • “They need way more now” frenzy (Supplementing lessons at other Academies, multiple coaches around the city, etc.) • “Over-involvement” Behaviors • The trap is to be blown by every wind of advice rather than leaving the development to the experts. Even if their child is ‘successful’, always take advice with discernment (especially at tournaments). Listening will nearly always lead to trust-eroding mind-sets.

15. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader PARENT ROLE “OVER-INVOLVEMENT” BEHAVIORS: • Encroaching on ‘coaching’ decisions • Which groups the players are in • If/when they should advance to higher groups • Who they are with in training • The drills they do and order of skills developed • Engaging in this behavior exhibits ‘over-involvement syndrome” and a lack of trust in the expertise of the coaching staff • Our response to parents engaging in these kinds of conversations will be gently ‘re-framed’: “Thank you for your input however, these are coaching staff decision and we need to all stay within our roles for your child’s maximum benefit.”In other words, please trust us! • Development experts should make these development decisions.

16. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader PARENT ROLE ATTITUDES/BEHAVIOUR AROUND TRAINING: • If at the session, support rather than distract. • After the session, provide a supportive, “Emotionally Safe” environment (Stop “Shoulding” on them). • Help them to practice. (coaching is risky but management & reinforcement is good)

17. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader PARENT ROLE ATTITUDES/BEHAVIOUR AROUND COMPETITION: • How you react to difficult situations is critical (“More is caught than taught”). • Provide a supportive, “Emotionally Safe” environment (e.g. What is the first question you ask your child after a tournament match?) • Competitions are ‘pop-quizzes’ on indicators of applying what is learned in practice (emphasize process over results) • Have you identified your best location at events (if at all)? If in sight, temper your reactions. • Have you identified when is the best time for feedback (if at all)?

18. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader THE GOAL • Emotionally and physically healthy human being with solid values, work ethic and problem-solving abilities

19. P.E.P Parent Education Program Be your child's cheerleader RESOURCES www.gctcacademy.blogspot.com • Links to videos • Articles • Parent Education Materials • Open Door Policy