The Adam Blicher Show: Dissecting High Performance In Tennis

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Rohan Goetzke . Rohan has been working at the Dutch Federation, been on the tour with the likes of Mario Ancic and Richard Krijcek, he was director of Tennis at IMG and is currently holding the same position at Court Sense Tennis.

You’ll get to know:

• How to be consistent as a Tennis Coach
• What tennis players Rohan did his best work with
• How to not cause harm

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 Being consistent as a coach 
03:05 Don’t be too strict on your philosophy 
05:40 Getting the federation and private coaches to work together
07:00 Some of my best coaching have been with players who never made it
09:40 You have got to trust your team for period of time before you judge
12:00 How to approach contracting with tennis players
13:40 It’s a long journey don’t rush it
16:15 Getting good at Tennis is tough
18:30 How to interpret data
20:05 Serve and volley in tennis 
23:10 Galloway, Wooden and Knight
23:45 Take care that you are not creating creating more harm than good
27:45 Get to know more about Rohan Goetzke

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Li Pingwei. Pingwei is a tennis coach and doctoral researcher in elite sports focusing on tennis. Her research provides evidence-based facts for coaches, parents and federations regarding talent selection, prediction and development. She is the founder of the China-Europe Tennis Platform, which aims to promote the exchange of coach education, high performance training and scientific research between China and European Countries

You’ll get to know:

• The correlation between Grade A Wins & Senior Ranking
• From What age Ranking Benchmarks become relevant
• The 60 % Curve

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:

01:00 Why look into the relation between junior success and future success
03:30 Grade A ITF results compared to Senior Ranking
06:30 From what age does ranking benchmarks predict senior success
09:00 Don’t give up because of poor junior results
10:45 The 60 % curve
13:30 The opinion of 34 National Coaches on transitioning
16:40 Outliers
18:25 Becoming a better coach
19:00 Always have a goal in practice
19:30 No one size fits all  
20:00 Being a good tennis coach is like being a good chef
20:50 Li Pingwei’s inspirations
21:50 Li Pingwei’s advice

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you’re going to listen to Sven Groeneveld. Sven has been a coach on the ATP and the WTA Tour for the past 30 years coaching players such as Monica Seles, Mary Pierce, Michael Stich, Greg Rusedski, Anna Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki and the tennis player with the longest winning streak in tennis Esther Vergeer

You’ll get to know:

• Why Tennis is a service industry
• The difference on Stubbornness and Stupidity
• Why honesty is your biggest asset

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 The 8 Coaching principles of Sven Gröeneveld
03:20 The desire to succed
04:25 Responsibility
06:00 Overcoming resistance
07:35 Adaptability
08:30 Observation and analysis
10:00 Hard and soft skills
11:30 Why tennis is a Service industry
13:00 Honesty is your biggest asset 
15:00 Stubbornness vs stupidity
16:45 How Sven decides on coaching relations
19:00 Coaching Taro Daniel
20:40 What we can learn from wheelchair tennis players
24:10 How Sven got motivated by working with Esther Vergeer
25:00 Sports coaches that inspire Sven Groeneveld
27:00 Managing my ego
28:15 I want to go back to my roots
28:45 Patience and consistency
29:15 Tennis is a service industry
29:30 Sven’s favorite Books
30:00 Sven’s favorite Books
30:30 Sven Groeneveld’s advice for parents
31:30 How to stay updated on Sven

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Dario Novak. Dario has for the past 15 years attempted to translate scientific findings into practical advice and have worked with the likes of Christina McHale, Marta Kostyuk, Donna Vekic and Borna Coric.

You’ll get to know:

• Why the split step is important
• 3 different types of Split Step
• How to practice the Split Step

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 The studies on the Split Step  
05:10 The reason to pay attention to the Split Step
07:45 The differences in Split Steps in tennis
11:30 Tools to practice the spilt step
14:30 Basketball, jumping rope and music
16:00 How to use a basketball to better the Split Step
18:15 Using a jumping rope to improve the Split Step
19:30 Practicing the Split Step on after the serve
20:45 Practicing the Split Step during ground strokes
23:00 Using video and imitating the pro’s
24:40 The example of Caroline Garcia
26:40 Believe in your instinct
27:00 Defining a proper workload
28:10 Little steps, watch the ball
30:20 How pro players and recreational players watch the ball
32:00 The power of single words
33:30 You have got to have a long-term plan

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Freddie Nielsen. Freddie turned pro in 2001 and is still an active player on the doubles circuit. At the same time, he is coaching Swedish youngster Mikael Ymer and stepped in as Davis Cup Captain for Denmark at the end of 2019.

 

You’ll get to know:

• The importance of a Playing Philosophy
• The danger of short-term Ranking Goals
• Why “Work Hard” might be a misleading advice

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 Freddie’s value set
05:45 Collaboration with coaches
08:15 Finding a good coaching collaboration
10:45 How to Coach Freddie Nielsen
13:00 The importance of communication skills as a Tennis Coach
14:10 Why Freddie decided to pursue a professional career in tennis
16:00 Being a tennis coach
17:00 How Freddie got involved as a Tennis Coach with Mikael Ymer
18:15 The biggest lesson of beginning to Coach for Freddie
21:00 Overcommunicate in the start of a coaching relation
22:00 The importance of a philosophy as tennis player
24:45 Why ranking goals don’t make sense
26:30 Let’s not all be the same
28:10 Freddie’s decision to accept the position as DC Captain
30:40 Be in a more professional environment
33:40 I’m an over achiever
35:20 Stubbornness
37:00 The process is the best way to be results-oriented
42:00 Find a way
43:30 The danger of short-term ranking goals
48:30 Freddie’s excitement about tennis
49:30 The importance of diet
50:15 Work right > work hard (Feeling the ball)
52:20 Doing is more important than being motivated
55:30 What quality of life is
56:20 Decisions are not motivated by money
56:45 Mom, dad and Christian Engell
59:15 The results can’t make up for compromised values
61:30 Freddie Nielsen’s advice to players, Parents and Coaches

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Nick Saviano. Nick has more than 35 years of experience as a coach working with ATP and WTA players including Grand Slam Winners and World Number 1’s. He was the Director of Coaching at the USTA for 14 years before setting up his Academy, the Saviano High Performance Tennis, which he is still running to this day

You’ll get to know:

• How to guarantee success
• How nobody is a natural Tennis Player
• How to build around on-court personality

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 A sacred trust
05:30 Guaranteeing success
08:20 What to focus on during a match
11:30 The difference between nerves and fear
13:00 From Vision to personalized tactics
16:45 Build around the on-court personality
19:00 Tennis specific athleticism
21:30 Movement patterns and overloading
24:15 Clarifying “Stealing candy from babies” quote
26:00 Patience and perseverance
27:45 The journey is the reward
29:00 No excellence without letting go of the fear of mistakes
30:00 Making the most out of the journey 
32:00 Tomorrow will be your today
34:00 I understand that I’m not going to be perfect
35:00 The biggest waste of time is to not seize the moment
35:40 Nobody is “just” a natural tennis player
38:00 You’re not a tennis player you’re whole life
38:45 Nick Saviano’s goal with every player
40:50 On Serena Williams’s greatness
43:00 Dick Gould, John Wooden & Stephen Covey
44:10 Nick Saviano’s advice to tennis players
47:15 Nick Saviano’s advice to tennis coaches

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Beni Linder. Beni has been the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Swiss Tennis Federation for more than 15 years and worked with everyone from grassroots to the very top players of tennis.

You’ll get to know:

• How to build on strengths
• How to adapt to the present
• Why Tennis is like Formula 1

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:00 The Airplane project
03:40 Winning through intensity
06:50 Building on strengths
09:30 Integrating parents
11:30 Having players walk away with soft skills
14:00 We adapt to the present
18:30 Guiding players in their long-term development
20:00 Managing the 15 % strength gain
23:30 The race for points
25:00 Tennis is like formula 1
29:00 Beni’s advice to himself 
30:00 Softskills in high performance
30:45 Grit and Growth Mindset
31:30 Too much volume with no intensity
32:30 It’s about the player, not the coach
33:00 Are we getting the practice court right?
33:30 Awareness
34:00 Beni Linder’s advice for coaches

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, this time around you will get to listen to Brad Gilbert. Brad probably doesn’t need a whole lot of introduction, but in brief highlight he was ranked as high as number 4 in the ATP Rankings. After his playing career he has among others coached Kei Nishikori, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick while he won his sole Grand Slam and reached number 1 in the world as well as Andre Agassi during 6 of his 8 Grand Slam titles. 

Brad has further written one of the most well-known tennis books “Winning Ugly” and “I’ve got your back”. Currently Brad is commentating on ESPN, coaching local juniors and makes sure to have a hit on the wall several times a week. 

You’ll get to know:

• What we can learn from Nadal & Medvedev 
• Why Djokovic is the new Lendl 
• Why you need to be even keel as a Coach

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 Using Nicknames
02:30 The best coaching over dinner
04:00 How players process information
05:30 How the idea of Winning Ugly arose
07:30 What we can learn from Medvedev and Nadal
08:55 How Djokovic is the new Lendl
10:50 How to learn from losses
12:25 The surprising coaching advice from Allan Fox
14:05 Even keel Chivington
15:15 Taking losses harder as a coach than player
16:15 Amazed at the game of tennis
17:45 The luxury of seeing the 3 best ever competing against each other
19:00 Short term memory loss
21:00 Think about today and tomorrow
22:00 Nothing is a given
22:30 Life is like a tennis match
23:30 The match should be the easy part 
24:30 John Wooden25:30 How to learn from other sports
26:15 How to stay updated on Brad Gilbert

Hi guys, this time around you will get to listen to Craig O’Shannessy. Craig analyses tennis strategy and teaches players, coaches and fans patterns of play and the winning percentages that dominate tennis. Craig has among others coached the likes of Amer Delic, Rajeev Ram, Marcel Ilhan and Kevin Anderson. He was a part of Team Djokovic from 2017-2019 and is currently a part of the team around Jan Lennart Struff.

You’ll get to know:

• The misconception of 0-4
• What U12-U18 Junior Tennis Data looks like
• Why a higher 1st serve % is not always better 

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:20 The History of Data in tennis
06:30 The old and new mantra for tennis coaches
09:05 Why 0-4 is so important
11:50 Switzerland vs Tuscany
13:50 It’s not ONLY about 0-4
15:20 Why a higher 1^st serve percentage is not always better
18:50 3 shot rallies and approaching the net
22:50 Data in Junior Tennis U12-U18
24:50 Like a radio wave opposed to a shockwave
27:10 Permission to miss
31:35 The misconception about 0-4
32:50 Bridging the gap between the mental and the strategy
33:50 Work on patterns rather than shots in isolation
35:00 The longer the rally goes the more even the outcome will be
36:20 Novak loosing 9+ rallies when he won Australian Open 2018
37:05 The first 2 touches are everything
37:50 Anytime you can upgrade a backhand to a forehand you do it
38:50 We gave up on serve and volley, serve and volley never gave up on us
40:20 Winning percentages at the baseline, net + serve and volley
42:35 The run around forehand effect
44:50 Open by Agassi, Rafa by Rafa
45:20 Serving wide in deuce side
47:10 Craig O’Shannessy’s advice for Tennis Coaches
47:55 Craig O’Shannessy’s advice for Tennis Players
48:50 Craig O’Shannessy’s advice for Tennis Parents
49:50 Where to stay updated on Craig O’Shannesy

Hi guys, hope you are all continuously safe, healthy and happy! This time around you will get an insight into the thoughts of Wim Fissette. Wim started his coaching journey on the tour with Kim Clijsters and have for the past decade been coaching the likes of Sabine Lisicki, Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, Johanna Konta, Angelique Kerber and is currently the coach of 2 time Grand Slam Champion Naomi Osaka.

You’ll get to know:

• How he applies Data in his Coaching
• Why Technical execution comes 3rd 
• Why Women’s Tennis is getting more vertical

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:00 SAP Tennis Analytics
03:20 How Wim use statistics as a Tennis Coach
04:11 What the practice court looks like with Wim Fissette
05:20 Balancing working on a tennis players strengths and weaknesses
06:46 How Wim overinformed Kerber
08:00 Wim Fissette’s learnings from on court coaching
11:10  When it’s time to make a change with a player
12:53 Do you follow the data or do you follow your feeling
14:40 It’s about details with the best tennis players in the world
16:12 Mentality, feet and technical execution
17:45 How Wim Helped Simona understand that she was a top 10 player
19:44 It’s the players responsibility
21:09 You don’t control how well your opponent will play
22:54 What the Coach Program Advisory Committee is all about
25:05 Exciting time for WTA Tennis Ahead
26:05 Women’s tennis is getting more vertical because of slow courts
27:00 How to approach getting players to play more vertically
29:10 Don’t do spectacular drills – Keep it simple
29:50 Separate your professional and personal life
30:40 How Victoria Azarenka got Wim back on the Tour
33:45 Wim Fissette’s advice for Tennis Coaches
34:40 Wim Fissette’s advice for Players
35:30 How to keep updated on Wim

Hi guys, during these Corona Times I have been fortunate to get the opportunity to listen and learn from some very clever and experienced Coaches. This time around you will get an insight into the thoughts of Dirk Hordorff. Dirk has coached a multitude of players but to name a few he coached Rainer Schuettler during all of his career. He has coached both Lars Burgsmüller and Yen-Hsun Lu for 10 years and was with Janko Tipsarevic in the 2 years where he finished inside the top 10. Besides his strides as a tennis coach Dirk owns 2 real estate companies as well as a Sports Management Company and is the Vice President of the Global Tennis Coaches Association. Currently Dirk is coaching Richardas Berankis.

You’ll get to know:

• How Trust is a prerequisite for honesty
• The Steps of managing a top 100 ATP Player
• How Data is a part of the equation

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:20 The Steps of Creating a long-term Coaching relation
04:20 Balancing being respectful and honest
05:10 Trust as a prerequisite to being honest
06:25 Advantages for top 100 players sharing a Coach
09:30 Why top 10 players need their own coach
10:25 The first part of Dirk’s life
11:05 How business and tennis are the same
11:50 How tennis players should go about hiring Coaches
13:20 Why Dirk started a management company
14:40 The steps of managing an ATP Player
16:10 Why Dirk quit his office job and became a Tennis Coach
17:45 Rafa’s Character at 16 Years old
21:05 How Dirk didn’t do his job well enough
23:10 How Data is a part of the equation
24:50 What excites Dirk within tennis
26:15 Novak hasn’t got the respect he deserves
27:40 Dirk’s thoughts on the Corona virus situation
31:25 How Rafa tried to help Janko
33:35 People who are successful can better tell you what to do
34:30 Dirk Hordorff’s advice to tennis coaches
35:35 Dirk Hordofrf’s advice for Tennis Players
36:37 Dirk Hordofrf’s advice for Tennis Parents

Hi guys, another Corona special that I hope you’ll enjoy. On this episode I talk to Carlos Rodriquez all the way from Bejing, China and due to the government restrictions, the only way that we were able to reach each other were by phone and the sound quality is therefore not amazing. The episode is going out anyway and it’s my hope that the quality of Carlos’ answers make up for the poor sound quality. You’ll get to know:

• The steps of Creating a Coaching Relation
• Why Players need to Play their game
• How Tennis Players are a Reflection of Society

Enjoy the show! Timestamps 01:11 The steps of creating a good Coaching Relation 06:22 How a player shows Commitment 08:00 Similarities and differences in values 09:30 Play your game 11:45 Tennis Players are a reflection of society 15:30 What teaching in China taught Carlos 17:40 Catch fish 19:30 Balancing being a tour coach with being a father 22:10 Sharing knowledge with Tennis Coaches 22:45 Patience and listening 23:20 A lot of wasted talent 24:50 You never know what will happen 25:55 Understanding your players feelings 27:15 The inner Athlete by Dan Millman 28:20 Carlos’s advice to Coaches 30:00 Special Corona Message

It’s Corona-time globally and I wish all of you and your families happiness and health through these times. Robert Davis asked me half a year ago who was on the top of my Wishlist for a Podcast interview. I promptly answered Magnus Norman, and that is exactly who you guys will get to listen to in this episode.

You’ll get to know:

• Balancing being a good listener and at the same time telling the truth
• How Magnus keeps a match journal for Stan
• Magnus’ thoughts on coaches longevity

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:07 Corona Virus
02:34 Reasoning for the Good to Great name
04:12 Inspiration from Jim Collins
05:13 Choosing the coaches for the academy
07:16 The brutal facts of running a Tennis Academy
08:24 Being a good listener and telling the truth
11:09 It’s the player who makes the coach
12:37 Match Journal for Stan Wawrinka
15:18 Coaching Stan Wawrinka the 2nd time around
17:00 Lessons from Triathlon
19:10 Longevity as a Tennis Coach
21:40 You can’t accept random mistakes
23:40 Movement patterns
24:30 Difference on tennis now and then
25:07 Tennis has a great future
26:05 New Grand Slam winner in 2020?
27:00 I thought I knew everything 10 years ago
27:25 Principles over method
28:30 Create a team
29:02 Pep Guardiola and John Wooden
30:23 Magnus Norman’s advice for coaches
31:25 Magnus Norman’s advice for players

An increasing amount of data is becoming available within tennis. As coaches we need to navigate through the jungle of  information. How do we interpret the data? What stats are true, but not relevant? and ultimately how can stats help player development, scouting of opponents as well as inform us about winning patterns of play?

Mike James helps us do exactly that. He is a strategy analyst, which means that he interprets data combined with video of matches to help players and their teams with game development, scouting reports and preseason content based on the previous years matches.

In this interview Mike explains how Djokovic is fooling us, how the best players in the world have a BELOW 50 winning percentage from the baseline and helps us understand how data can inform us about what to do on the practice court

You’ll get to know:

• How Djokovic is fooling us
• The surprising winning percentage from the baseline
• How to change the practice court

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:40 The 3 ways Mike uses video
06:15 The first 4 shots
07:24 The misinterpretation of stats
07:57 What about big points?
09:12 Analyzing the servers role
11:09 Patterns of play
12:50 Key statistics
14:00 How Djokovic is fooling us
15:14 How to approach Junior development
17:38 How Height Correlate to ranking
19:12 Why data needs video
22:23 Scouting vs data on yourself
24:30 Focus on the 0-4 zone
27:15 The Practice Court is broken
29:54 How can we improve the practice court
32:12 Tennis is game of errors
34:07 Claudio Pistolesi
35:28 Favorite Books
35:52: World number 1’s at 40
37:50 Don’t crowd please
38:40 Tennis has trends
39:50 Expose yourself to different players and cultures

In this episode I’m delighted to welcome back Frank Giampaolo for his 2nd visit on the podcast. In the last episode with Frank, which was number 40, he discussed how to best be a tennis parent and support your children in their tennis journey. This time around Frank is digging even deeper into what he calls ”The soft science of tennis” which is also the title of his new book that recently got released. I had the honor of getting an early copy of the book and was so excited about the way that Frank is able to make soft skills very concrete and easy understandable that I reached out to Frank to get him back on the Podcast and elaborate on his findings and the reasoning behind the new book.

You’ll get to know:
– How to use personality profiling
– How to develop character and nurture life skills
– How to manage fear and risk

Before we dive into the interview Frank has been so kind to offer free e-books for the first 20 people who email me on [email protected] – so don’t hesitate to reach out if you wish to secure yourself a copy of the brand new “Soft Science of tennis

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 The computer analogy
03:40 Project oxygen
05:11 The 4 sides model
08:30 Succesfull communication
10:00 Personality profiling
11:10 Pre- and post match talks
14:00 Verbal vs nonverbal communication
14:50 Conscious and unconscious mind
19:30 Myers Briggs
22:30 Introvert vs extrovert
27:30 Sensate vs intuitive
30:30 Thinkers vs feelers
33:00 Judgers vs perceivers
39:30 Developing character
41:30 Nurturing life skills
43:00 The 168 hour rule
46:40 Managing fear and risk

Whether you are a player, coach or a parent the whole world of American College Tennis can seem overwhelming – Here is an interview with Dave Mullins who recently retired as a College Coach, but went through the process himself of figuring everything out even before the internet back in the day when he was deciding on what college to attend as an aspiring irish player. He then got so into College Tennis that he stayed after playing college himself and have coached DePaul’s Men’s team, then went onto Northwestern University’s Women’s team where he was awarded ITA National Assistant coach of the Year. At last he was named Head Coach at University of Oklahoma at the age of 28 making him the youngest coach at the BCS level at that time.

You’ll get to know:

– What questions to ask yourself
– The Academic side of College Tennis
– How to make the final Decision on College

Timestamps
01:30 Initial Questions to ask yourself on College Tennis
02:45 How do you figure out the level you qualify to play in College Tennis
04:05 The Academic side of American College Tennis
06:30 Finding the right fit in a tennis college
08:40 Official visitis
11:05 The final decision – The relation to the coach
13:30 Introductory letter + video clip
18:00 Tennis dies if it doesn’t evolve
23:30 Coaching Tennis Chuck Kriese
24:10 Learning
25:10 Meditating as mental training

Have you ever experienced your players going for a week or two to a foreign country on a fancy tennis academy and you find your player coming back with a changed grip, awkvard looking technique or what you just used month trying to build comepletely colapsed – Here is an interview with a guy who built a secondary camp and touring academy around NOT changing technique. Dave Bandelin, is a former division one coach of Texas El Paso and was awarded New coach of the year back in 1986. He then moved to Scadinavia and spent 10 years coaching in Hölviken tennis before starting EuroElite that has now got close to 200 players signed up for camps and travels every year.

You’ll get to know:

– How Dave teaches guidelines for life
– The Concepts of Euroelite
– How tennis is not always fun

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Why EuroElite was started
03:12 Where is EuroElite Now
07:37 The screening process
19:10 The Match paper
24:50 Taking risks
32:08 5 basic patterns of play
34:15 What Euroelite doesn’t do
37:23 The short game + fitness
43:15 Don’t get too excited
44:30 Breathing
48:32 Neutral to neutral
53:00 Freedom to older players
57:00 Curtesy and respect
62:15 Tennis isn’t always fun

Do you ever wonder how you compare to the best players in the world? Well now you can find out – thanks to Universal Tennis Rating – the UTR. Mark Leschly, Universal Tennis CEO is with me to talk about the rating that is unifying tennis worldwide. Mark combines both an in depth knowledge and experience in sports and tennis with nearly 25 years of entrepreneurial management and investment in technology led businesses as a venture capitalist and start up CEO. He is a former ATP ranked player selected to the Danish Davis Cup Team, two time Captain and #1 player for Harvard Men’s Tennis and a member of the USTA Foundation Advisory Board and USTA Player Development Council just to name a few of Mark’s achivements.

You’ll get to know:
– How UTR works
– How UTR predicted Hyeon Chungs big year
– What inefficient practices consists of

Enjoy the show

Timestamps
01:30 The story of UTR
02:10 How does UTR work
03:05 Getting a UTR
06:15 UTR predicting Hyeon Chung’s success
08:00 Pablo Careno Busto
09:10 Breaking down barriers
11:35 Opportunity for change
12:40 Learning to rely on yourself
13:40 Unify tennis.
14:15 No applicability to competition
15:45 Inefficient practice
17:10 Variety in styles
18:15 Get to know more about UTR

Today you are going to listen to Carlos Kirmayr. Carlos is a former professional player himself with a career high of #37 in singles and #6 in doubles, ATP. He has coached such renowned players as Gabriella Sabatini, Conchita Martinez, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and has been the Davis Cup Captain of his home country Brazil for several years. Further more Carlos has served at the ATP Board of Directors from 1983-1987 and today spents the majority of his time managing the Kirmayr Tennis Experience which we touch upon during the podcast.

In this episode you’ll learn:

– Why No Trust means No Opportunity
– How and why to accept craziness
– How being a tennis coach is like being a doctor

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Coaching Philosophy
02:25 How you “feel” a player
03:20 Orienters
04:30 No trust, no opportunity
06:15 Thoughts on technique
08:40 Biomechanical principles
10:10 The slice
11:10 Sabatini
13:06 Taking risks
15:00 Learnings from Sabatini
16:30 Sabatinis learnings
17:30 Conchita Martinez
20:05 How to use Squash as conditioning
21:05 Nicolas Pereira
23:05 Kirmayr Tennis Experience
27:00 Brazil as a culture
30:10 Federer and Nadal
33:20 How Carlos gets better
37:15 Patience
38:30 Accepting craziness
41:10 Lack of intensity and focus
43:50 Carlos’ advice

Chris Trieste (@CTrieste2), is a veteran educator with extensive experience in coaching, teaching, and educational leadership. He has been the Head Men’s Tennis Coach at Mount Saint Mary College where he was twice named Coach of the Year & the team won its first conference championship in program history. Further more Chris released a book called ”14 great coaches” last year which is also to a great extent the basis of this interview.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– The lessons of 14 great Coaches
– How to Recognize & Reward
– How to learn from more & less experienced coaches

Enjoy the show!

This is a round 2 with Allistair McCaw which many of you have requested. Allistair barely needs another introduction on the podcast, but shortly he is a Sports Performance Specialist with more than 20 years of experience. He has trained a host of world champion athletes including Grand Slam Tennis champions, PGA Golfers and Olympians. Further more Allistair has written the book called “7 keys to being a great coach” and on this very date October the 7th his latest book “Championminded” is published world wide.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– What Champion Minded means
– How Kevin Anderson changed his self talk
– Why you need to seek out though leaders not cheer leaders

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Championminded
04:00 Communication of the young generation
06:05 Average- vs champion minded
14:40 How Kevin Anderson changed his self-talk
18:20 Confident or cocky?
20:00 How to act on Social Media as a tennis player
22:40 Being comfortable being uncomfortable
24:15 Though leaders not cheerleaders
26:30 Being Championminded is a choice

Dave Miley has an incredible amount of experience within high performance in tennis having been the Owner of Record tennis for 10 years before joining the ITF for 24 years where 18 of those were as the Executive Director of Development

You’ll get to know:

– The difference between succesful an unsuccesful associations

– What professional tennis could do better

– Which contries that will rise to the top in the future

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 3 biggest wins while serving as technical director
04:12 Why doubles is important
05:30 Why ATP/WTA is not simulating
06:45 How professional tennis could be better
09:23 The Advances Coaches Manual
11:11 What Dave would add/remove from the manual
12:11 The reasoning for Play & Stay
14:06 Greatest challenges as Technical Director
17:18 What Dave would have loved to do
22:02 Most common mistakes of National Associations
26:03 National Associations that got it right
33:45 Concerns regarding GPTCA
38:23 What Dave would like to do going forwards
43:30 How Dave would teach coaches in 3 easy steps
46:53 The countries rising to the top in the future
49:35 The Grand Slam Development Funds
52:15 The importance of the serve
53:50 How Dave gets better
58:15 The books that have inspired Dave
60:30 Your reputation is everything
61:40 Using time effectively
67:00 Dave’s advice

Jonny Fraser (@scienceintennis) has a wealth of experience in tennis having been a strength and conditioning coach for more than 7 years working with players from mini tennis to full-time professionals. He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and a Master Tennis Performance specialist certified by the iTPA. Further he has partnered with Claudio Pistolesi Enterprise. Academically Jonny holds a MSc in Sports and Exercise Science from Sheffield Hallam University.

You’ll get to know:

– The science behind grunting
– How to implement sports science in tennis
– Why the advice of “be on you toes” boggles his mind

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 The Science behind grunting
05:50 Teaching tennis players how to grunt
07:50 Breathing vs noise
08:30 Differences in age groups, genders & levels
11:00 When & how
13:30 Implementing sports science in tennis
26:45 Sleep hygiene
28:10 Wearable technology
29:45 Don’t be afraid to reach out
31:35 Mark Kovacs & Claudio Pistolesi
33:30 Adaptability
34:30 Cleaning helps you form ideas
35:15 You’re never on your toes in tennis
35:45 Stability & mobility
38:05 Recharge your battery
39:30 Race your own race

David Sammel is a tennis coach, sports consultant and writer. Since 2010, David has been the Head Coach at Team-Bath MCTA and is also the author of the book Locker Room Power: Building an Athlete’s Mind.David has coached players including Liam Broady, Arvind Parmar, Barry Cowan, Wesley Moodie, Martin Lee and Andrew Richardson.

You’ll get to know:
– What RIOT is
– The building blocks of trust
– How being mentally strong starts with proper technique

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Leadership
03:50 RIOT
12:50 The one thing
24:45 Sum up of RIOT
36:20 Building blocks of trust
37:20 Mentally strong starts with good technique
41:30 Round 3

Alon Moritz is what he himself calls a high performance advisor to CEO’s of Tennis & CEO’s of businesses. He has previously been a national coach for Israel & helped players such as Marinko Matosevic & Marcel Granollers develop strategies in life & on the court. Currently Alon is working with Ivan Dodig.

You’ll get to know:
– The steps of creating a Match Strategy
– How & why to train Defined Concentration
– Why Bresnik & Cahill are such good coaches

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Wimbledon Final: Cilic vs Federer
03:50 Creating a strategy
05:46 Business to tennis
07:20 Developing a match strategy with a tennis player
09:30 Defined Concentration
12:00 Calming yourself down in high pressure situations
14:15 Mikael Tilström & Magnus Norman
15:50 Gunther Bresnik & Darren Cahill
17:40 No model fits all
18:30 If you stop playing you stop tinkering
21:15 Ice baths doesn’t work
22:15 Minimize injuries, optimize power
23:30 Be who you are
24:35 Alon’s Advice

Jo Ward is a former player herself with a career high of #150 WTA. She has been a National Coach for the LTA, traveled on the WTA Tour as a coach & started back in January 2006 a Tennis Academy in the UK called WimX. Currently Jo is writing a workshop for the LTA with the purpose of educating & empowering coaches to better coach girls & women.

You’ll get to know:

– How we don’t realize how little we know about women
– How women are different, but not limited
– How coaches are not to blame, it’s the environment

Timestamps
01:30 The steps from professional to pH.d about female tennis
06:30 Challenges as a coaching team solved among friends
09:05 Facilitating a great coaching environment
11:30 How current Coach Education is based on men
14:15 Practical consequences for coaches
16:55 Biggest myth encountered in coaching female tennis players
19:00 Differences not limitations
21:30 Women’ Tennis Players are not less skillful
22:45 A move towards a more scientific robust & metrics based analysis of tennis
23:30 How Jo tries to get better
24:10 Billie Jean King & Bounce
29:20 Please don’t label anyone a talent
30:35 Why resilience is crucial
32:45 We don’t understand how little we know about women
33:38 The coaches haven’t gotten it wrong it’s the environment
35:10 Only do things that are pragmatic to the match court
37:37 Coach the player, not the model
39:10 Jo’s favourite metrics
44:00 Know yourself & your goals

Sarah Stone is a former player herself with a career high of #600 in singles & #131 in doubles. She has been coaching on the WTA Tour for more than 10 years working with Anastasia Rodinova, Romina Oprandi, Vasillisa Bardina & Samantha Stosur. Currently Sarah is the CEO of the WTCA (Women’s Tennis Coaches Association) & she is coaching American Fed Cup Player Alexa Glatch

You’ll get to know:
– How WTCA can make you a better coach
– How to build trust
– How to handle yourself when coaching relations end

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 The story of WTCA
03:00 The relation to male vs female players
04:22 Creating trust with a player
07:00 How to talk about weight with tennis players
08:30 How WTCA is contributing with education
11:40 How to educate yourself through GPTCA
15:41 How Sarah Stone improves as a tennis coach
17.30 How to leave a coaching relationship
18:45 How to handle yourself as a coach when relations end
20:30 What are the things that you believe that everyone else think is crazy?
21:30 How following online videos is the biggest waste of time
24:00 Being a self-promoter as a tennis coach is not bad
25:00 Why you shouldn’t care about what other’s think about you
26:00 Sarah’s advice to coaches, parents & players

Hugo has been traveling on the professional circuit ever since 1987 and has worked with a multitude of top 100 players including Miriam Oremans, Martin Verkerk, Peter Wessels, Thiemo De Bakker & Raemon Sluiter. From 2003-2006 he was Davis Cup Coach for the Netherlands & worked as the National coach for the Dutch Tennis Federation from 2007-2012. Currently Hugo is a consultant for players, coaches & tennis organisations

You’ll get to know:

– How to prepare a Junior for the Pro Circuit
– How Win/loss ratio affects self-confidence
– Why Coco Vandewedge has a great serve

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Preparing a junior for the pro circuit
05:20 The developmental plan at KNLTB
07:20 The last 20 % technically
09:20 Late change in technique
11:37 Character & game identity
13:50 Gameidentity
15:50 Preferred win/loss ratio
18:40 Scheduling & confidence
19:45 Main lessons learned on the tour
23:10 The ones that didn’t look good
24:30 Raemon Sluiter
29:00 Peter Wessels
32:00 The serve of American Women
33:55 Why the American women are serving better
34:35 How Hugo gets better
37:30 Hugo’s inspirations
40:00 The plumber with the hammer
41:30 Academy programs like a menu
43:00 Don’t get too fancy
44:30 Has to be the player’s process
46:10 The lifestyle of a player
48:20 Hugo’s advice

Liam Smith has experience from working as the National Head Coach at Tennis Australia as well as various Tennis Academies. He is a former coach of Zarina Diyas & Richard Berankis & was a part of the coaching team bringing back Justine Henin for her comeback in 2010. Currently Liam is coaching moldavian Radu Albot

You’ll get to know:

– How to manage succesfull Junior Players
– How to go about over & under respecting your opponents
– What Liam’s definition of luck is

Timestamps
01:30 Managing the transition from successful junior going into seniors
05:20 Managing the schedule
08:30 Scheduling & self-confidence
09:40 Doing a roadmap
11:00 Over & under respecting opponents
13:15 What’s going on within the score
16:00 Justine Henin & Carlos Rodriques
18:45 Why Carlos Rodriques is a great coach
20:30 Different academies, different strategies
23:00 Patience & process
26:00 What Liam is excited about
28:15 Nextgen
30:55 How Liam gets better
33:10 Liam’s inspirations
37:10 The realities of tennis
39:30 Anything is possible.
41:30 Practicing without a purpose
43:15 How you judge how a player works
44:30 Holistic approach
46:30 Build the person & the player
47:00 Definition of luck

Today you are going to listen to Kris Soutar, Kris has worked as a full time professional for the past 25 years. He has coached everything from Scottish & British National Champions to Tennis Europe, ITF ATP & WTA Ranked Players. He has worked as a consultant in USA, presented at UK national Coaches Conference & won multiple awards for his coaching & furthermore been working with Judy Murray to build bigger & better coaching workforce in Scotland & surrounding areas.

You’ll get to know:

– The difference between a High Performance Coach & being high Performing as a coach
– How to foster smart players who love tennis
– The effectiveness of giving tips

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Genius game
03:30 Davis Cup
07:52 What makes people tick
09:37 Remote coaching
11:16 What true high performance is
14:13 High performance vs high performing
15:40 Personality test
18:15 Values
20:40 Remote coaching
24:30 Goal setting
29:00 High level without good coaching
32:05 Smart players who love tennis
36:30 It all starts at the match court
41:00 The importance of working with someone
45:30 Needs vs Wants
49:00 Play sight
51:15 Playing always comes first
55:00 Get uncomfortable as a coach
58:20 The people not the tennis
59:30 Ban Coaching for a year
1:03:00 Volunteers managing professionals
1:09:36 Giving tips
1:09:35 + 5 min
1:11:15 Changed my mind about
1:12:16 Givning tips
1:15:15 Working with likeminded people
1:17:16 Start with the competiton program
1:25:00 Get to know more about Kris

Today you are going to listen to Juan Reque, Juan spent 6 years on the Professional Tour as a trainer before joining Maria Sharapova’s Team for a period of 5 years within which she won the French Open. During his work with Sharapova Juan moved from Spain to the states to work with her & has stayed there ever since. He is currently running his own Clinique out of San Diego.

You’ll get to know:

– The difference between junior development in USA & Spain
– What invincible training is & how to do it
– How Maria Sharapova changed her diet

Timestamps
01:30 Spain vs USA
02:40 Team vs individual
05:00 Why team is better
06:41 When the individualistic approach works
08:00 The Spanish system
11:18 Find your training group
18:20 Why SLITES
20:00 Doing injury prevention is not really fun
21:45 What you need to look out for
22:45 Where to start
25:46 Why the top players are staying on top longer
26:25 Nutrition
27:45 From sandwich to full meals
29:45 Traveling the tour
30:06 Working on the Tennis Tour is NOT glamorous
33:40 Get to know more about Juan

Today you are going to listen to Cassiano Costa, Cassiano has a master’s degree in sports injury prevention from the University of Galicia, & has further more done his ph.d Thesis in biomechanics on the Tennis Serve. Before joining IMG Academy, Cassiano was a strength and conditioning coach for a number of professional players on the ATP and WTA Tours, including Gasto Elias, Jamea Jackson, Thomas Bellucci & Vera Zvonareva. Currently Cassiano is working with Canadian Eugenie Bouchard.

You’ll get to know:

– How the hip has become the new tennis elbow
– When to use what type of stance
– How fatigue is a state of mind

Timestamps
01:30 Hips are becoming the new tennis elbow
06:00 Avoiding hip injuries
09:30 The open stance
14:15 What great footwork is
18:00 Brining the outer leg around
20:20 The importance of the hip
22:00 Quantity over quality
27:10 Patience
28:15 Don’t be afraid to ask
30:05 See things in perspective
31:05 Fatigue is a state of mind
32:30 Using soccer drills for tennis players
36:00 Don’t bike & stretch after match
37:10 Proper Cool down
39:00 Mobility vs Flexibility
39:20 Importance of recovery
40:00 Cassiano’s advice

Enjoy the show!

Today you are going to listen to Michael Joyce, Michael was a professional player himself reaching a career high of #64 in singles. He then went on to coach Maria Sharapova from 2004-2011 in which she won 2 Grand Slam titles & rose to #1 in the world. Since 2011 Michael has worked with Jessica Pegula who rose from #900 to #120 WTA within the first 2 years of their partnership before suffering from a serious injury which she is now trying to get back from.

You’ll get to know:

– About Maria’s Mentality
– The exact winning strategies of Maria
– About the short hop test

Timestamps
01:30 Get the personality
04:10 Cultural differences
07:30 Maria’s mentality
11:30 Confidence
13:00 Looking at the bigger perspective
15:15 The importance of preparation
19:30 Scouting
24:45 Playing up an age group
31:45 Using doubles as practice for singles
36:10 Better people
41:00 The Phil Jackson story
47:30 Rubbing people the right way
49:00 Getting the players to feel good about themselves vs being honest
54:00 The fakeness of the tennis world
56:30 Eye-hand coordination
58:45 Landorph’s short hop test
1:02:15

Today you are going to listen to David Sammel. David is a tennis coach, sports consultant and writer. Since 2010, David has been the Head Coach at Team-Bath MCTA and is also the author of the book Locker Room Power: Building an Athlete’s Mind. David has coached players including Liam Broady, Arvind Parmar,Barry Cowan, Wesley Moodie, Martin Lee & Andrew Richardson.

You’ll get to know:

– How to train Locker Room power
– What the difference is between confidence & belief
– How slow is smooth & smooth is fast

Timestamps
01:30 The inferiority complex
05:30 Locker Room Power
08:45 BAD Locker Room Power
11:00 Social media presence
12:00 Developmental Pathways for tennis players
14:15 When to go to college
15:15 Most common misconception trying to go pro
17:15 How to know when you are ready to turn pro
19:15 The story about Vince Spadea
24:35 The perfect set up for tennis
31:30 How Andy wasn’t ready for Jez Green
34:15 The change of training blocks
38:55 The baker
42:00 How to avoid the “Baker effect”
44:15 At all levels it is all about the mind
47:50 Same shit different level
49:55 The definition of Locker Room Power
52:20 Winning matches
55:00 Tennis is a sport of loosing
56:30 Painting the picture for the player
58:00 Find a mentor
59:00 David’s inspirations
1:01:30 Put trust in the journey
1:03:30 Pro Tennis is really starting at 300
1:07:30 The crazier the better
1:08:30 Myth: You can learn to stay in the zone
1:11:00 Myth: Being a perfectionist is good
1:13:45 Tennis has a way of giving back
1:16:00 Tennis is a vehicle to give what you have
1:18:25 Slow is smooth

In this episode you’re going to listen to Takura Happy, Takura was born in Zimbabwe & trained at the ITF Developmental center from the age of 13-17 before eventually going to the states to play Division 1 tennis. After College Takura went on tour with Takanyi Garanganga. Currently Takura is based out of Florida working with various junior players.

You’ll get to know:

– What it’s like growing up playing Tennis in Africa
– Why you shouldn’t say “Watch the ball”
– The importance of consistent commitment

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:30 Growing up as a Tennis player in Africa
03:55 Get comfortable outside the court
06:30 More challenges = stronger mindset
09:15 Mental training for tennis
11:20 Self-assesment
16:35 Tournament scheduling
20:00 An education for life
22:00 Get uncomfortable
23:03 The relationship
26:00 Think like a Champion
28:00 Consistent change
28:30 Don’t look at the ball
30:00 Consistent commitment

In this episode you’re going to listen to Mark Tennant, Mark has been a Coaches educator for as many years as I haved lived. He has worked with the LTA, Tennis Europe & the International Tennis. Mark was further more listed by the New Zealand sports organisation CoachSeek as one of the top 50 most influential coaches in the world.

You’ll get to know:

– How to navigate through the jungle of information
– The importance of mentoring
– The best Tennis Book you have never heard about before

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:30 Have we become too well educated?
04:20 The piano
06:00 How to play the piano
07:50 How being a Tennis Coach has evolved
16:00 The myth of the ATP or the WTA Forehand
18:40 Drill vs Live ball
21:15 Integrity
23:10 Mentoring
30:30 Extremely privileged
31:30 The want of a player & a coach
35:30 Legacy
38:30 Book recommendation
40:30 The most important person
41:30 No purpose
42:34 Coach should work equally hard as the player
47:46 A lot of listening
47:37 Get in contact with Mark

In this episode you’re going to listen to Juan Viloca. Juan was a professional player himself for more than a decade with a career high in singles of #47. After his own career Juan had coaching stints with Flavia Panetta & Svetlana Kuznetsova & helped out Pato with players such as Gilles Mueller & Grigor Dimitrov.

You’ll get to know:

– Pato’s training methods
– What cleaning the games means & how to do it
– How Juan felt a lack of competencies & what he then did

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 The Team Juan was a part of
05:30 What we can apply from Pato
11:32 Cleaning the game
12:05 How being tough can help
15:54 The 3 different areas
19:53 Would Pato still do the same?
22:12 Have we as Tennis Coaches become too soft?
26:12 20’s & 21’s
29:00 Lack of competencies
40:30 Communication skills
42:50 The Relation
44:44 Why Mats Wilander os not coaching on the tour
51:03 Top players are extremely intelligent

In this episode you’re going to listen to Oliver Jeunehomme. Olivier has among others worked with the likes of: Sofya Zhuk, Irina Kromacheva & Elina Svitolina & has previously been a part of Justine Henin’s Coaching team along side Carlos Rodriques. Since 2011 Olivier has been the director of the Justine Henin Tennis Academy located close to Bruxelles, Belgium.

You’ll get to know:

– What Olivier learned from working along side Carlos Rodriques

– How adaptability is the most important ability

– What looking for the lead domino means

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Carlos Rodriques
03:15 See the player as a person
04:50 Oliver’s Role at Team Henin
07:00 The difference between working private & for a federation
10:15 What Oliver is looking for in players
12:52 Adaptability
15:30 No Judgments
16:50 The transition
22:00 Autonomy
25:20 Habits on & off the court
28:34 Not emotionally ready
30:00 Emotional intelligens
31:30 The human relation
39:05 The lead domino

In this episode you are going to listen to Milo Quiroz, Milo has previously been a Coach at Claremount Country Club, the Galindo & Saddlebrook Tennis Academies as well as the private coach for American Ernesto Escobedo for 6 years.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How to become professional on a budget

– How sleep is often overlooked

– What’s it like to coach Mr. Bill Gates for 2 years

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 How to become pro without money
09:30 Each of the lessons summarized
09:30 Sleep
13:50 Imagniation
17:30 How to train imagination
20:20 How to train Responsibility
25:30 Starting a tennis academy
28:56 True love for the sport
31:10 Mr. Bill Gates
35:30 The questions that we ask ourselves
37:30 Tennis as medicin
38:30 Discipline & Character
39:30 How to foster discipline
42:20 Compassion
43:15 Erwin Dannverg
45:45 Milo’s Book recommendation
46:45 Alphabet
50:40 Don’t measure talent
55:00 Time management
57:37 Get out of the comfort zone

In this episode you are going to listen to David Wilson, David is a Performance Coach from Ireland and is a Ph.D graduate from Trinity College Dublin, in the field of Education. David has spoken at several conferences, including Tennis Coach Ireland National events as well the Tennis Europe & the ITF Worldwide Conference.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– The marginal gains tennis coaches can adapt from outside of our sport

– The importance of having an emergency plan

– The difference between being a Tennis Expert & being a Great tennis coach

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Emergency plan
03:25 Identify what might go wrong
04:21 Marginal Gains
05:53 The Importance of Stability in teams
07:14 The Transition period
08:30 Pareto’s principle
10:00 Discpline & standards
11:15 Ownership & responsibility
13:10 Tennis Expert vs a Great Coach
13:40 Scope for improvement
14:51 Overcomplicated communication
16:30 Accountability
19:10 The grey area
20:26 The constant questioning of our selves
23:30 Building Relationships
24:25 Getting feedback as a Tennis Coach
26:36 An open mind
29:35 The players perspective
30:00 Watch matches
33:00 David’s Inspirations
39:00 Inefficient coaches education
42:15 Be adventures

In this episode you are going to listen to Diego Moyano, Diego was a professional player himself with a career high of #130 in Singles. He has previously coached players such as Guillermo Coria, Fernando Gonzalez, Paul Capdeville & Carlos Berlocq. In 2010 Diego joined the USTA player development & is currently the Lead National Coach.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– About USTA Player Development

– How they challenge the players & develop responsibility

– How to develop problem solving

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 The Development program at USTA
06:20 What the USTA are looking at
09:33 Challenging the players
15:43 You have to earn it
19:40 It’s a marathon
22:30 Responsibility
26:54 Problem solving
31:30 How fast the best players pick up things
33:30 You have to earn it
34:33 Keep moving
42:52 When parents loose the ability to be parents

In this episode you are going to listen to Christian Ruud, Christian was a professional player himself with a career high of #39 in Singles in 1995. He represented Norway in 3 consecutive Olympics, he has been the National Coach of Norway & is currently Coaching at the 104 Tennis Academy in Norway alongside being a dad & a part of the coaching team of his Son, Casper Ruud.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– What the Team around Casper looks like

– The importance of social skills

– The importance of simplicity as a Tennis Coach

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:30 The steps from a player to a Coach
03:45 Blaming the federation
04:36 Seperating from Casper
09:49 What Casper’s team look like
11:15 Video Analysis
14:12 The importance of social skills
15:39 Social media
16:30 Tennis Parents
17:39 The unfairness of who can earn a living playing tennis
19:45 The motivational factor
21:20 Thomas Högstedt
22:51 How the game had changed
24:30 The basics are still the same
25:19 Don’t make it too difficult
26:00 The serve & return

In this episode you’re going to listen to Mehdi Daouki, Mehdi has worked under the guidance of Patrick Mouratoglou for 6 years & has worked with the likes of Sachia Vickery, Aravane Rezai, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Marcos Baghdatis. In 2013 he founded the D-Tennis Academy based out of Marroco with the quest to create a Grand Slam winning African Player

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How we as coaches always need to remember to inform the parents

– When and how character reveals it self

– What Mehdi believe is the biggest waste of time in the game of tennis

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:30 Patrick Mouratoglou
03:24 If you want to be one of the best
03:57 Jeun-Paul Damit
06:38 If you get results…
07:45 Eplaining to the parents
10:20 Ons Jabeur
12:04 Red flags
12:36 Everything is possible
13:11 Every player can make it on tour
13:48 How character reveals it self
15:56 The peaceful warrior
16:30 Mehdi’s Advice
16:46 An African Player can win a Grand Slam

In this episode you are going to listen to Edgar Giffenig, Edgar has been a National Coach in Mexico, Germany & the States. In 2013 he published the book “Developing High Performance Tennis Players” & he is currently the partner of the online Tennis Education platform Tennisgate.com.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– What stroke flexibility is & how to develop it

– How Women oftentimes hit harder than they run

– The story of the Magic Wand

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Lessons from 3 different National Federations
06:59 Biggest takeaway with a small budget
09:11 Capitalizing on great players
12:23 The downside of having large funds
13:43 Stroke flexibility
20:14 Dealing with competitive pressure
22:39 Process vs resultorientation
24:47 How Edgar organized his thoughts
29:42 How women hit faster than they run
33:02 Why Edgar would never go fulltime on tour as a coach
35:10 Teach yourself
37:42 Antroprometric streotypes in tennis
40:32 Every coach is not good for every player
42:01 Why you learn a lot from newly started coaches
43:33 Edgar’s favourite books
45:10 Different players, different approaches
46:10 Why Edgar is NOT huge on statistics
47:32 The truth is always in the middle
51:07 How the culture has changed
53:26 Over organized practice schedules
56:37 It’s all about the player
57:35 The Magic Wand story
58:21 Get to know more about Edgar

In this episode you are going to listen to Frank Giampaolo, Frank founded The Tennis Parents Workshops in 1998, conducting workshops across the United States, Mexico, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Spain. He then instituted The Mental/Emotional Tennis Workshops in the spring of 2002. Frank’s has developed 77 National Champions, hundreds of NCAA athletes, numerous NCAA All-Americans and several professional athletes. Frank is currently the Vice Chair of the USTA/SCTA Coaches Commission.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How it is easy to be a Tennis Coach compared to being a Tennis Parent

– The do’s & the don’ts of pre- & post match communication with a tennis player

– How do you close the gap between performance in practice & matches, How to deal with slumps & How to deal with gamesmanship

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:30 Being a Tennis Parent is tough
03:10 Balancing being a coach & a father
04:21 A game of keep away
06:23 Utilizing multiple Tennis Coaches
07:30 Negative scoring
09:15 Creating a Tennis Family Philosophy
11:23 Fixed mindset vs growth mindset
12:57 Do’s & Don’ts of pre & post match communication
15:48 Practice the way you are expected to compete
17:51 Get out of Perfectionism
19:30 Dealing with Gamesmanship
24:05 Dealing with slumps
26:54 How you can benefit from Charting
28:30 The Spiral
32:13 Parents workshop
36:22 Don’t apply your knowledge right away
38:40 Player profiling
42:08 Hardware & Software
43:57 A recipe of disaster
45:16 What you share is what you learn
46:20 Vic Braden
52:37 The whole entourage on thet same page

In this episode you are going to listen to Marc Sophoulis, Marc has among others coached ATP & WTA players like: Victor Hanescu, Karan Rastogi, Anastasia & Arina Rodionova & Sabine Lisicki. He has conducted a 40 week TV Tennis Series on ESPN Asia & In 2011 he was awarded “Rising Star Coach of the year” in Australia. Currently Marc works at the Melbourne International Tennis School

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– The philosophy at MITS & the previous ones that failed

– The importance of person, athlete & then the Tennis Player

– The boundaries you must set to keep respect

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:30 Shared characteristics of top players
03:30 Nature vs nurture
05:03 The environment created from the parents
06:18 MITS Philosophy
07:54 What philosophy that didn’t work
09:19 What Marc tells the players he work with
11:18 Why coaches need to be selfless
14:04 Person, athlete, player
15:15 Go outside of your own country as a coach
17:58 The importance of honesty
18:28 Integrity
20:19 A brutal industry
22:46 Boundaries
25:40 Persistence
26:20 Resilience
27:03 Act upon your learnings
29:00 Look outside of tennis
31:30 Biggest lesson from AFL
32:42 Relationships
34:01 24 hour coach
36:20 Practice doesn’t make perfect
37:10 Specificity
38:40 No trust, no development
40:03 Marc’s advice

Today you are going to listen to Stephan Medem, Stepan played professionally himself & reached a career high of #216 in singles & #146 in doubles. He has been coaching several players on the WTA-tour including the following top 50 players Claudia Porwik, Anca Barna, Meike Babel, Laura Gildemeister, Karina Habsudova & Babara Rittner. Further more he has written 2 books, “PlayGirl” & “Ich will nach Wimbledon”. Currently Stephan is the Head Coach of Junior Development at NHTC Nuremberg.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How all of us are born mentally tough

– How to reprogramming mental toughness

– Which 2 World Number 1’s that Stephan completely misjudged

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 How we are born mentally tough
07:04 The parent’s & Coach’s role
09:23 Reprogramming kids to mental toughness
11:37 Help the kids with a different perspective
18:46 The red flags
20:55 World numner 1’s that Stephan misjudged
27:50 Talk the same language
29:53 Harry Hopmann
35:25 The system in junior tennis
37:47 Thiem & Bresnik
39:45 Tennis Associations
44:18 The importance of patience
47:16 Stephan’s advice

Jose Antonio Fernandez played on the ATP Tour for 12 years reaching a career-high ranking of 202 in 1991. He represented Chile in Davis Cup from 1986-1992. He coached Steffi Graf & has been the coach of a winning German Bundesliga team. At last Jose was recently selected to act as Official Agent for the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How Jose became the coach of Steffi Graff

– The core values of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy

– Why it is essential to always develop potential before you start thinking about results

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 How Jose became the coach of Steffi Graff
03:52 From Graff to playing on the ATP Tour
05:21 BASAF TC
08:35 Developing the spirit at the club team
10:46 Main Cultural differences
12:06 The Job of a Tennis Agent
Going to tournaments
Spreading the words & the values
13:23 The values of Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy
14:55 What made Jose write his first book
18:41 The reason Jose wrote his first book
20:03 Why you should build your identity around strenghts
21:30 The importance of awareness
25:51 The importance of belief
27:27 José’s advice to his younger self
31:25 The real objective in tennis
33:11 The most important characteristic in a tennis player
34:54 Why we as coaches needs to take a look in the mirror
36:22 Jose’s influencers
38:46 Pato Alvares
40:26 Cultural differences from South America to Europe
41:59 The balance between internal & external goals
43:40 Why you need always need a purpose
44:47 The tour picks you
45:55 Develop potential before you start thinking about results
46:24 Jose’s Advice
52:41 How to get in contact with Jose

In this episode you are going to listen to Simon Wheathley, Simon has been a Performance Coach for more than 10 years working in Great Britain. He has written 3 resources on mini tennis, authored the ‘Developing the serve resource for 10 & under’. Further more “The biomechanics of the serve” with age and gender guidelines for the LTA

In this conversation you’ll get to know:

– How the development pathway at the LTA works including the Tennis Passport

– Common mistakes in the serve & how to correct them

– How & why Simon often uses the phrase “Just find 10 percent more”

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 The development pathway in the LTA
05:30 The need for a tennis passport
08:02 The passport
09:54 Why LTA seperates boys & girls
11:00 Why having more female coaches in tennis is important
13:06 Female Coaching Community
15:20 National Camps at LTA
17:03 The tennis serve
21:40 Common problems in the tennis serve
24:13 Developing the tennis serve
25:23 What to do before using video
29:03 Coaching Feedback
31:42 Why supervision is essential for every tennis coach
32:52 What players remember you for
34:12 What is a successful Tennis Coach
35:14 The opportunity of a tennis coach
36:23 Commitment more important than motivation
38:40 Difference on younger & older players
40:25 Coaching the performer & then the player
41:48 Raise your level with 10 percent
42:52 Planning & reviewing
45:46 Louis Cayer
46:38 The power of coaching
48:01 Engaging the parents
51:27 Parent’s must not feel like being on the outside
53:09 The mental part is not 80 % of tennis
57:01 Coaching foot work
58:07 Rally, attack & defence
60:28 Don’t settle for mediocrity

In this episode you are going to listen to Andi Brandy, Andi briefly played on the professional circuit himself before going on the tour as a coach for the WTA top 10 players Kathy Rinaldi & Carlin Basset. He then served as the Executive Director at the Bolletieri Tennis Academy.

He has been the Head Coach at Florida University for 17 straight seasons then had a stint at the Evert Tennis Academy before eventually joining the USTA as a national Coach in 2010.

In this conversation you’ll get to know:

– Why Andy thinks that it is easier to coach female players

– Why Andy thinks that every tennis player could learn a lot from doing martial arts

– How tennis has developed & where he predicts that tennis will go in the future

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

02:12 (42) University of Florida Head Coach
03:33 Working with professionals
05:23 Why it is easier to coach women players
06:49 Most influential persons for Andi
07:57 Hopman
08:49 Von Horn
10:36 Why Andi always takes the youngest age group at USTA
11:27 Most common adjustments in juniors
12:44 Good citizen & great champions
13:49 How USTA develop character
14:34 Most important tennis player characteristic
15:11Tennis is changing
16:14 How the game has developed the last 12 months
17:16 Where the game is going in the future
17:42 Martial Arts
19:43 What we as coaches tend to forget
21:21 High Intensity
24:46 You need to have a purpose
25:30 Speaking less
26:44 The best thing about being a coach
27:18 What is less/more important for Andy
27:58 Andi’s advice
29:43 Get to know more about Andy

In this episode you are going to listen to Jeff Coetzee, Jeff is a former professional player himself reaching a career high of #12 in doubles & #184 in singles. He represented South Africa in Davis Cup for 10 years & participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Jeff has worked at the Schuetler-Waske Tennis University & has coached singles players like Andrea Petkovic, Cedric Marcel Stebe & Angelique Kerber. Jeff is currently the coach of the two doubles teams consisting of Cabal & Farah and Klaasen & Ram.

In this conversation you’ll get to know:

– The difference on a Good doubles player & a Great one

– How players often neglect the basics of doubles & what the basics are

– What makes the Bryan Brothers the best Doubles Team ever.

Enjoy the show!

In this episode you are going to listen to Antonio Van Grichen, Antonio is a former player himself representing Portugal in Davis Cup. He then went to the Harry Hopmann Tennis Academy as a Coach & has worked his way up ever since.

Antonio has been the coach of players such as Jarmila Wolfe former Gajdošová Tamira Paszek, Vera Zvonereva, Ana Ivanovic, Monica Puig, Marcos Baghdatis & was the Coach of Victoria Azarenka from when she was 15 & World Number 1 Junior all the way to Top 10 WTA singles & Doubles when she was 20.

In this Episode you’ll get to know:

– About the journey he had together with Azarenka

– The dialogue going on in his head when he is considering to start working with a new player

– Why you need to be a little bit crazy to succeed within tennis

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 How Antonio got into coaching
03:38 How Antonio only picked up a racquet to coach from 16-19
04:46 Going to the Harry Hopman Tennis Academy
07:52 The Initiating a coaching relation with a player
10:13 Long term projects
11:04 Some coaches just want to go on the tour
12:05 Delusional players
20 she was 6 in singles (7 in doubles)
15:34 What correction that was made to Azarenka’s forehand
17:33 The changes Azarenka made on her forehand
19:03 Coaching Marcos Baghdatis
22:06 Why Antonio is not on the tour at the moment
23:20 Being selfish kept me sain
24:26 Ultimately it is about human beings
26:32 Willingness to suffer
27:48 Importance of being a great communicator
29:00 Common sense
30:21 Observation
31:40 The monk that sold his Ferrari
33:01 Most important values
34:00 The fine line bewteen succes & failure
35:18 You need to be little bit crazy to succed
37:27 Health & time
38:34 Every player is a different person
40:33 Get in contact with Antonio

In this episode you are going to listen to Jaime Fernandez-Fernandez. Jaime has been working as a S&C Coach since 2000. For the Spanish Tennis Federation as a consultant since 2006, he assisted in developing the test battery that the German Tennis Federation uses & is currently developing & implementing a Long Term Athlete Development system for the Norwegian Tennis Federation

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How tennis is a professional sport filled with amateur coaches

– How it is possible to close the gap between science & practice

– How tennis is an individual sport, but how essential it is to have a good team

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 The story of how Jaime got to work for the Spanish Tennis Federation
04:43 A professional sport full of amateurs
08:03 Unlicenced Tennis Coaches
10:22 What can be done to help coaches
14:47 Closing the gap between science & practice
24:01 Long term Player Development Norway
34:26 Lack of agreement across federations
40:19 How much influence does the coaches actually have
41:46 Training using names
45:00 Individual sport, but essential to have a good team
47:12 Traveling days are not restdays
48:38 Imbalances created by tennis
52:10 Jaime’s advice

In this episode you are going to listen to Mikael Tilström, Mikael was a professional player himself reaching a career high of #39 in singles & #15 in doubles.

Mikael has been the Coach of Thomas Enqvist, Magnus Norman & Andreas Vinciguerra & in 2011 he co founded the Good To Great Tennis Academy with fellow Swedes Magnus Norman & Nicklas Kulti. Since then he has been the lead Coach of Grigor Dimitrov & is currently coaching Gael Monfils.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How Good To Great determine whether to accept a new player into their program or not

– The difference on coaching an established professional player like Monfils & the up & coming junior players from Good To Great

– The blessing & the curse of having Roger Federer at the top of tennis for so many years

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 Story of Good To Great
04:10 What Nicklas learned outside of tennis
05:40 How Mikael came to work with Monfils
08:30 How Mikael keeps a good relation with his family while on tour
10:53 The acceptance process at Good To Great
14:05 Getting to know your players
15:46 Why you should not play tennis for money & fame
30-40 to put away money
19:39 Why tennis players need to be stubborn
20:36 The person before the player
21:53 Allistair Mccaw
22:38 Shared philosophy with Allistair
25:10 Why all Tour Tennis Coaches are a bit crazy
26:30 The blessing & course of Roger Federer
28:30 Why Monfils shook his head at Mikael
31:01 The best part about being a Tennis Coach
31:30 How Mikael gets better
33:20 What Mikael has changed his mind about
34:16 Mikael’s advice

In this episode you are going to listen to Alberto Castellani, Alberto has been on the Professional Circuit for more than 30 years coaching a bunch of top 100 players & to name a few he has coached: Janko Tipsarevic, Rainer Schuettler, Ivo Karlovic, Marc Rosset & Hicham Arazi.

Alberto is recoqnized by the ATP as one of the only 50 coaches World Wide as an international Tennis Coach where the conditions to be accepted is to continously bring or work with players in the top 100 on the ATP-Tour. Further more Alberto is the president of the GPTCA (The Global Professional Tennis Coaches Association) which has the only ATP Certified Coaches Education in the world.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– What the Tennis Paradox is

– How Coaches & players often do not know what concentration is

– Why training the Mental aspect of tennis is like training the Technical one.

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 The tennis Paradox
04:14 Why a lot of players are mentally weak
05:56 What does concentration mean
07:58 How to train concentration
13:34 Bioenergetica
16:10 Level of activation
19:36 Mental aspect when coming back from injury
26:38 No guarantee for success
28:22 Human > tennis player
34:18 Autoritarian coaching
37:18 Empathy & intelligence
39:04 Learning
40:48 The story of a former top 30 ATP Player
43:39 Why Alberto doesn’t like the “Australian”
45:16 Lack of time spent on mental training
45:44 To rest well is as important as to practice well
47:14 Alberto’s advise

Today you are going to listen to Jaro Levinksy, Jaro was a professional player himself reaching a career high of #239 in singles & #24 in doubles. Immediately after retiring as a pro he went into coaching & has been at the Schuettler-Waske Tennis University & the private coach for Schuettler himself. He has had coaching stints with Sergiy Stakhovsky, Yen-Hsun Lu & the junior player Olga Fridman. Jaro has been a consultant for the Turkish Tennis Federation & is currently the coach of Anna Karolina Schmiedlova

In this conversation you’ll get to know:

– How Jaro goes about traveling full time on the tour while having a wife & a small child

– The difference on coaching an established professional player & an up and coming junior

– Why it’s essential to set limits as a coach & how to do it

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

02:00 Own playing career – why coaching
03:11 The steps that took Jaro into professional Coaching
06:20 The most important lesson learned at Schuetler-Waske
08:05 Coaching Rainer Schuetler
11:45 Similarities & differences on coaching a young & an older guy on tour
13:03 Traveling as a tennis coach while having a kid
15:05 How to balance traveling that much away from your family
16:37 Difference in working with an established player & a junior player
19:08 Differences in working on ATP & WTA Tour
20:37 The Turkish Federation
24:31 How Hrbarty would describe Jaro’s look on tennis
26:38 How the players on tour have changed
28:17 Setting limits as a tennis coach
30:59 Why you need to push players outside of their comfort zone
32:15 How to get players outside of their comfort zone in practices
33:20 Nothing tastes better than winning
33:46 Most important characteristics in a tennis player
34:24 Decision making skills
36:17 Efficient practices
39:40 Playing Pokemon is biggest waste of time on tour

In this episode you are going to listen to Robert Davis, Robert has been on the ATP Tour for 24 years. He has served as either a Technical Director & National Coach for Peru, Panama, Thailand, Indonesia & the list goes on an on. Robert is further more a writer who regularly contributes to ATP’s DEUCE magazine, ITF publications, and TENNIS Magazine Australia.

Currently he is the Technical Advisor of Strategic Operations of tennis for Sport Singapore & the coach of Matsui from Japan.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– What Robert calls the “non-negotiables” in a coaching relation

– How Larry Stefanki had different approaches with Gonzalez & Roddick

– The difference between tennis coaches & tennis teachers

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 Creating a long term coach-player relationship
02:52 The non negotiables
05:03 The difference on Technical Director & National Coach
08:20 Milos Ranonic example
09:56 Players from developing countries
11:03 Sock, Johnson, Fernando Gonzalez, Andy Roddick
13:53 What common trait the best coaches in the world share
17:45 Super Coaches
18:59 Who gets to call themselves Tour Coaches
21:18 Do apprenticeships if you are a young coach
23:15 The difference between tennis teachers & tennis coaches
26:10 What coaches deserves the credit?
28:10 The French Coaches System
29:42 How tennis coaches are left behind coaches from other sports
32:19 The chart system David Robert uses
33:30 Best part about being a touring coach
34:56 Why Robert finds the competitive nature of a player the most important
36:51 The care factor
38:17 Reading, talking, observing
40:46 Process over product
41:31 Why Robert could never coach Kyrgios
42:05 The old school fitness
43:55 Too much analytics
47:01 Specialty shots
50:02 Quality time
51:39 Robert’s advice

In this episode you are going to listen to Christian Groh, Christian was an ATP ranked player himself & then went directly into coaching after pulling the plug as a player. Christian has worked with the likes of Michael Berrer & Bradley Klahn & was the Coach who guided Taylor Fritz to the US Open Junior title & the number 1 spot in the junior rankings. Christian is currently the coach of German Veteran Tommy Haas & has been so since 2012.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– The steps Christian & Taylor Fritz worked on in order to successfully transition from a great junior into a professional senior player

– How the coaching relation with Tommy Hass came about despite the fact that Haas is actually older than Christian.

– The fine line between being self-confident & having to big of an ego

Christian is based in San Diego, Rancho Santa Fe where it is possible to play outdoors all year. Make sure to say hi to Christian on Social & tell him what parts of the interview you liked!

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 How Christian started working with Tommy Haas
03:05 How it works for a coach while a player is injuried
04:43 Christians considerations before starting to work with Tommy
06:06 Being younger than your player
07:15 What Haas would say about Christian
08:15 How to balance the on & off court life on tour
09:29 How Christian nurtures his mind when on the tour
10:09 The difference in working with Haas & Fritz
12:03 What made Fritz decide to fully focus on tennis
13:44 The steps that lead Fritz into the top 100
15:03 The off-court transiton steps for Fritz into the top 100
16:25 Taylor Fritz’s biggest room for improvement
17:18 How Fritz being married will affect his career
18:26 It’s really not that glamorous
20:37 The biggest challenges when traveling on tour
22:36 How to go about communicating with your boss who also happens to be the player you are working with
24:15 No regrets
25:37 Being surrounded by the best athletes in the world
26:27 Persistence
28:06 Stress tolerance
30:26 Integrity
33:27 How Christian gets better as a coach
36:02 The value of time
37:08 The way Haas practices
38:30 How to deal with fiery guys
38:23 How Christian would go about training Haas if he had been 14 years old
41:23 How the level has changed
42:11 Ego vs self confidence
44:58 Christian’s advice

In this episode you are going to listen to Karan Rastogi, Karan was a very promising Indian Junior player that was scouted & signed by IMG as a 14 year old, he was 4 in the ITF ranking & had a career high of 284 in singles & 221 in doubles. Karan has worked with top 100 ATP Doubles specialist Purav Raja & is currently the National Coach of Hong Coach which also includes being a coach for both the Davis Cup & the Fed Cup Team

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How Karan helps the players he is working with avoiding the same mistakes as he did

– The most valuable lesson he learned being at the IMG Tennis Academy for 11 years

– How to gain trust from the parents of the players you are coaching

Get to know more about Karan by going to his profile at either GPTCA or OrangeCoach.

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 The steps that lead Karan to go from a professional player to a coach
03:17 What Karan learned at the GPTCA Courses
04:30 What Karan is doing in Hong Kong
06:03 Karan’s mistakes
11:36 What makes Nishikori so special
14:26 Karan’s first meeting with Maria Sharapova
16:25 Biggest lesson from the IMG Tennis Academy
19:10 How to educate tennis parents
20:21 How to handle unwanted parent behaviour as a coach
21:32 The steps of gaining trust of the parents
23:35 How to navigate in the jungle of technology
24:20 The very best about being a tennis coach
25:06 How to spot desire
26:19 Why you need adaptability & flexibility as a tennis coach
27:30 Karan’s book recommendation
29:45 Why you will learn how to persevere
31:46 The positives of getting seriously injured
37:48 How to do smart practices
40:43 Why you need to take care of yourself

In this episode you are going to listen to Federico Ricci, Federico was the director at the Evert Tennis Academy where he worked with the likes of Lauren Davis, Jesse Levine, Madison Keys & Ajla Tomljanovic. Since 2011 he has been the director of the Jarkko Nieminen Tennis Academy which is one of the few non-profit Tennis Academies in the world

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– The similarities & differences on the Jarko Nieminen & Evert Tennis Academy

– How it’s possible to develop a players stress tolerance

– The most important lesson he learned under the guidance of Andy Brandi

Get to know more about Federico by going to the official Jarkko Nieminen Tennis Academy homepage.

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 Non profit academy
4:20 The specific actions of commitment
06:12 The benefits of having a small environment
09:50 The collaboration with the finish tennis association
11:42 The story of the Estonian Tennis Federation
12:34 Similarities & differences on Jarko Nieminen & Evert Tennis Academy
16:45 How the quality of the facility influences the players
19:45 How some parents from Scandinavia perceive sport
22:58 The best thing about being an academy director
24:34 Something he has not talked about before
24:50 The stress level a player can sustain
26:42 Daily actions to develop stress tolerance
30:26 Resilience
32:49 Empathy
38:20 Most important lesson learned from Andy Brandi
40:14 Biggest myth
43:14 How tennis has become more complicated
45:30 The complexity of traveling
The physical aspect while traveling has become more important
49:30 Federico’s advice

In this episode you are going to listen to Dusan Vemic, Dusan was on the tour as a player for nearly 20 years & represented Serbia in Davis Cup. He assisted Petar Popovic in guiding Andrea Petkovic to the top 10, He was a part of Novak Djokovic’s team for 1 & a half years & accompanied him by himself in 2012 when Novak won the World Tour Finals. Since 2013 he has been a part of the Serbian Davis Cup Coaching Staff & is currently the coach of Filip Krajinovic.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How it’s possible to create an environment that is too difficult for the opponent to handle

– Why Dusan thinks that you are pretty much able to handle every job after a tennis playing career

– Why Dusan puts more importance on the technical aspect of tennis than he did earlier, and YES I did say MORE IMPORTANCE

Get to know more about Dusan by going to the official GPTCA homepage & check out his bio.

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30: How Dusan became part of the Serbian Davis cup team
03:32 The reason Dusan wanted to become a coach
04:22: What Petar Popovic would say about Dusan
05:40 Working with the mental aspect in tennis
08:10 How to be present in high pressure situations on the tennis court
09:40 The strategic part of tennis
11:46 The difference between males & female tennis players
13:49 Why presence is important
15:25 Every tennis player has the same challenges
18:42 The most important characteristic in a tennis player
20:30 What person or books has inspired you the most
23:41 Most valuable lesson learned from tennis
23:32 Different than others
29:18 Biggest waste of time
32:45 How tennis coaches can educate tennis parents
35:53 What made Dusan change his mind about the importance of technique
38:32 More important / less important
40:44 Dusan’s advice

In this episode you are going to listen to Roberto Brogin. Roberto was on the tour for more than 20 years as a coach & has coached several top 100 ATP & WTA players. He has been the coach of the Uzbekistan Davis Cup Team leading them into the World Group, In 2006 he worked for the Chinese Tennis Federation with players as Li Na & Zheng Jie & in 2009 he was specially assigned to work with Eugine Bouchard at the National Tennis Centre in Canada,

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– Why Brogan thinks that you should never judge the future of a tennis player at the age of 18

– Why he especially likes Australian & Spanish coaches

– Why you should watch Rafael Nadal’s volley practices

Get to know more about Roberto by going to the official GPTCA homepage & check out his bio.

Enjoy the show!

In this episode you are going to listen to Claudio Pistolesi. Claudio (@cpistolesi) is a former Junior World Champion & top 100 singles player. He has brought 10 players from the outside of top 100 to the inside & worked with players like Söderling, Hantuchova & Bolleli

In this episode you’ll get to know:

The mentality of a professional tennis player

When it’s time to move on from a coaching relation

How Claudio keeps updated every year

Get to know more about Claudio by visiting www.claudiopistolesienterprise.com, give a shout out on Twitter @cpistolesi or be one of more than a thousand people to follow Claudio Pistolesi Enterprise on Facebook.

Enjoy the show!

In this episode you are going to listen to Bob Brett. Bob (@bobbretttennis) has been on the professional tour as a coach for more than 35 years, he has coached players like Becker, Ivanisevic, Cilic, Ancic & Sania Mirza

In this episode you’ll get to know:

What’s going on inside of Bob’s head when deciding to initiate a coaching realtion with a player or not

The difference between top 20 & the rest

Why the most valuable lesson Bob learned was getting fired

And at last hang in there because Bob gives some very concrete and actionable advice for parents, players & coaches at the end of the interview.

Get to know more about Bob by visiting Bob Brett School of tennis on facebook or follow @bobbretttennis on twitter

Enjoy the show!

In this episode you are going to listen to Johan Hedsberg. Johan has tried pretty much everything as a tennis coach & is currently the main coach of Swedish junior Mikael Ymer.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

How to develop the player from the personality

When to use point play vs basket drills

What you need to do 1 day a month

Get to know more about Johan by going to www.goodtogreatworld.com

Enjoy the show!

In this episode you are going to listen to Merlin Van De Braam. Merlin is excellent at demystifying Sport Psychology. He is currenty working for the LTA, has earlier been traveling as a coach on the ITF International Touring Team & as he holds a Masters Degree in Sports & Exercise Psychology Merlin is not just guessing when he guides us through the mental part of tennis.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

Where you start as a coach when you want to work on a players mental toughness

The Four C’s of Sportpsychology (control of emotions, confidence, commitment, concentration)

Merlin’s opinion on doing outbursts

Get to know more about Merlin by going to TennisIcoach where you can read the published articles he has made.

Enjoy the show!

Hi guys.

Decided to do a little mix of the stuff that is usually cut out from each & every episode.

Stay tuned & listen to the edited version of Merlin Van De Braam demystifying Mental Toughness released on tuesday the 19th of January!

Enjoy your weekend

Jeff Rothschild is a registered dietitian currently helping out well established players on the ATP-tour like Mike & Bob Bryan as well as rising stars like Stefan Kozlov

In this episode you’ll get to know:

How to beat Jetlag

What causes dehydration & cramps & how to prevent it

What to have in your bag as a competitive tennis player

Get to know more about Jeff by going to www.eatsleep.fit or follow him in Instagram @eatsleep.fit

Enjoy the show!

Peter Smith (@coachpetersmith) has led The USC Trojans to 5 NCAA Team Championships within the last 7 Years as the The Head Coach & he goes into great depth with the Competitive Environment that he is trying to create.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

What the term Serious Fun means

What 50 % of USC’s Conditioning work look like

How Peter manages to be a partner, coach & dad to his sons

Get to know more about Peter by going to www.sctennisacademy.com, check out his great Championships Videos at www.championshipproductions.com or have a sneak peak at www.usctrojans.com

Enjoy the show!

Mark Kovacs (@mkovacsphd)

Mark is the Michael Jordan of Sport Science & World Class at translating very complex science into applied information that coaches, players & parents can use.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

How to conduct training sessions simulating match situations

Why you should always look at groundstrokes & the serve from the ground up

How you can learn from everyone if they meet 2 criteria

Get to know more about Mark at wwww.mark-kovacs.com & the iTPA at www.itpa-tennis.org

Enjoy the show!

Jared is finishing 2015 as the top ranked American Teenager on the ATP Rankings & in this episode you’ll get to know:

Why he choose to go to Argentina at the age of 14

What it was like training with Roger Federer

How Jared cope with the up’s & down’s as a tennis player

Follow Jared’s progress on Instagram @jared_donaldson

Enjoy the show!

Chris is Head of Women’s Tennis at Penn State University. He has coached players to 3 out of the 4 Junior Slams & 2 players to Senior Slams. He has coached both men’s & women’s teams in Division 1 College Tennis & in 2009 he became the No. 1 ranked 30 year old singles player in America despite the fact that he wasn’t able to qualify for a single nationals as a junior.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

Why he choose to go into college tennis as a volunteer coach

What’s it like to be on a team in an individual sport + the 4 core values at Penn State

The differences between working with a men’s & a women’s college team

Follow pennstate on Instagram or go check out http://www.gopsusports.com to learn more about the men’s & the women’s program.

Enjoy the show!

David is an S&C Coach who earlier in his career worked alongside legendary Pat Etcheberry at the Harry Hopman Tennis Academy, Tampa. Among other players David has worked with Victoria Azaranka, Justine Henin, Martina Hingis, James Blake & Mardy Fish.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

What smoking the money maker means

Why Chest & biceps might be a secret weapon in tennis

Why Tennis specific exercises might not be ideal

Follow David on Facebook or go check out www.gtsgermany.com & sign up for his amazing weekly newsletter which DOESN’T try to sell you anything!

Enjoy the show!

In this episode you’ll get to know:

Why recovery isn’t just taking time off

What Bouchard’s recovery routine looks like

Why you might learn more as a coach by teaching reg kids than high level ones

Follow Dean on Twitter (Deaner99) or got check out www.deanhollingworth.com to get to know more about current coaching opportunities.

Enjoy the show!

03:42 World Team Tennis

05:26 Traveling on the Tour as an S&C Coach

07:05 What Dean learned

08:01 Most important skills as an S&C Coach

09:15 The rubber floor

10:48 How tennis is different

12:33 Keeping Eugenie healthy

14:07 Dynamic Warm ups

14:54 Not overtrained just under recovered

16:15 Recovery – Traning vs tournament

17:02 Comming off the court

22:15 Biggest waste of time/myth

23:20 How to know when athletes have mastered a drill

25:05 Books/persons

26:46 Talking less/coaching less

27:44 Example of specic cue

32:46 Testing

33.48 Testbattery

36:48 Advice

38:15 Caring for your athlete

In this episode you’ll get to know:
– How to set standards in warm up, cool down & regeneration
– How to manage dissapointments
– How & when to evaluate performance

Follow Allistair on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram or go visit www.themccawmethod.com to get to know more about Allistair & current coaching opportunities.

Enjoy the show!

01:40 Setting the standards
5:10 Warm up properly
09:00 Proper Cool down
10:30 Biking as recovery
13:25 Getting your athletes to do what you are woing on when you are not there
14:50 Regeneration part
16:15 The 1 percent’s
19:10 Opportunity time
21:40 What books to read for athletes
23:30 Moving on from mistakes
27:25 Timing of the evaluation of a match
29:00 The length of an evaluation
30:37 Confidence
32:05 Ranking’s U12
37:53 What to do with a nearly burned out player
39:35 Building the character
41:00 Reverse running
43:57: Tiebreak in the 5th set
45:15 Simplicity & people
46:24 Likeability, adaptability, accountability
47:30 Creating accountability
50:40 Inspiration
53:40 Nick Bollitieri
56:00 More & less important
58:10 Advices

In this episode you’ll get to know:
– The exact physical demands of tennis
– When to specialize
– What the truths are about kids & resistance training

Make sure to visit www.maximiseathleticperformance.com to get to know more about Dom & current coaching opportunities.

Enjoy the show!

01:30 Physical Demands of tennis

05:10 Most common tennis injuries

07:00 How to reduce likelihood

09:25 Mobility work

13:25 Cooling down

15:05 Good rolling

16:50 Cultural leader

20:00 Periodization

23:15 Where does the periodization start

24:05 Adjusting periodization

28:45 What to do at tournaments

31:40 Doing something at tournaments or not?

32:00 If there is no gym at cite

35:37 Spezialisation

39:37 When to Spezialize

41:59 Kids & physical training

48:36 Which Exercises to start with

54:06 Transfor to the court

55:45 Conditioning

1:00:45 Monitoring

1:06:15 Combat Sport & tennis

1:12:43 Number one skill set

1:12:26 Most valuable lesson learned

1:15:45 Biggest myth / waste of time

1:18:19 Biggest inspiration

1:21:20 What Dom has changed his mind about

1:24:00 Advice to coaches & players

In this episode you’ll get to know:
How a football is an essential part of learning the serve
Why staying in college was the most difficult thing for Steve Johnson Jr. to do
What being the “Big dog” means & how to do it

Make sure to visit www.sjtennis.com to get to know more about Steve & current coaching opportunities.

Enjoy the show!

01:30 Being a Parent & Coach
4:10 College
5:30 What Steve got out of college
07:15 What it takes to be on the Tour
08:30 How tennis builds character
10:30 How a football teaches the serve
11:30 How Steve Sr’s role changed when Jr was 16
13:30 Peter Smith
17:36 Being a big dog
26:10 Tennis must go in the calendar first
29:30 What do you need to sacrifice as a family
32:15 The importance of loosing
35:30 How to manage the disappointment of losses
39:15 Number 1 skillset for a parent
40:50 Defining roles
42:15 Most valuable lesson learned
44:30 How it is dealig with losses today for Steve Sr
47:40 How things would change if rankings was like in golf
49:10 What Steve believes that everyone else think is crazy
49:45 Quality over quantity
50:45 How hard it is to be on tour
52:45 The reasons of the many routines
56:15 Advice to the coaches

• 01:37 Reason to start cleaning the lines
• 04:07 The clutch index
• 08:07 Isner, Raonic & Karlovic
• 08:52 Bautista Agut
• 09:52 Fognini
• 11:07 Berdych
• 13:37 How you can use the clutch index
• 15:22 Mistaken close with lucky
• 21:27 Break through age
• 28:07 Allocation of prize money
• 32:07 Grand Slam seedings
• 37:27 What needs to change in order for the trend to change
• 40:32 Does it benefit the sport with the big stars?
• 43:07 What Andrew has changed his mind about in the last couple of years
• 44:57 IPTL
• 47:27 What has become more important for Andrew
• 50:51 What needs to change in order for more data to be available

Website
Cleaning the lines blog

• 00:30: From Medical Services team until Tomas Berdych
• 07:30 Team Azarenka
• 15:10 Team Berdych
• 21:10 Typical training day
• 28:00 Typical Match Day
• 32:40 Neuro warm up
• 37:00 The game has changed
• 39:00 Gluten free diet
• 42:10 Advice on Gluten Free diet
• 44:15 Person & books inspired the most
• 46:30 What has become more/less important
• 48:55 Per’s advice
• 53:10 KT-Tape

Get in touch with Per:

Homepage: http://www.kttapeeurope.com
Facebook: KT Tape Europe
Twitter: @KTTapeEurope

• How is life on tour?
• What is the most vital skill as a player on the professional tour
• When did you know about your strengths & weaknesses
• What it was like being 3 in the world as a junior approaching senior tennis
• How do you learn to handle the pressure
• Davis cup & Fed Cup Captain
• Preparation for ties
• Building a tradion
• Biggest myth in tennis
• Supercoaches why is that a trend?
• Most Valuable skill as a coach
• Coaches who are not able to play themselves
• Kenneth’s advice
• Players will break through earlier