ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 28, of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's show, Lisa Stone chats with Coach Bill Patton about his new course for junior tennis players and their parents. It's vital for beginners to learn Visual Training so Tennis can retain more players. If you're interested in learning more about Visual Training, you can contact Bill Patton directly at 720degreecoaching@gmail....

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 27, of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's episode is all about high school tennis and technology. Our guest, Keanen McCarthy, has been working for several years to develop an app to help high school tennis coaches and players get organized and improve communication. The Mobile Match App is the perfect solution! Keanen shares his motivation behind the app and what h...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 26, of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we're talking about the mental side of tennis. But NOT for the juniors! For the Tennis Parents! Lisa Stone and Rob Polishook chat about the mental side of returning to junior competition, both from the player's and the parent's side of things. Rob is a mental training coach who works with tournament players, has...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 25, of the ParentingAces Podcast! Even though we're still in a recruiting "dead period" through the end of August 2020, that doesn't mean Prospective Student Athletes (PSAs) should put their recruiting efforts on hold. In fact, quite the opposite it true: this is a great time for PSAs to ramp up their efforts to reach out to college tennis coaches and market themselves...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 24 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's episode features a new racquet sport that can be used as a training tool for - and a gateway to - junior tennis. It's called Spec Tennis and is the brainchild of Nate Gross. Using a perforated paddle and a orange dot or foam ball, Spec Tennis is played on a smaller court. Because the strokes used in Spec Tennis look the same...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 23 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's episode is the audio version of a Facebook Live chat (you can watch the video version here ) I had with Coach Sandy Franz discussing his work in recruiting international players to US college tennis programs as well as his newly-founded Charleston Tennis Circuit. For the last 10 years college tennis recruiting has been Sandy...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 22, of the ParentingAces Podcast!  Laura Vallverdu, sister to ATP coach Dani Vallverdu, found herself in the WTA top 450 before making the decision to play college tennis at the University of Miami. She was the top collegiate player in the US, making the NCAA singles final in 2009 and the semifinals in 2010. After graduating and getting her Master's Degree, Laura start...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 21, of the ParentingAces Podcast! My guest for this special Video Episode is my son, Morgan Stone. For those of you who follow the  ParentingAces Facebook Page , you may have seen our conversation when it aired live last week. However, for those who missed it, this is a very raw, very honest – and, at times, very uncomfortable – account of Morgan’s junior tennis develo...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 20, of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's episode is once again an audio replay of a Facebook Live interview I did last week, this time with Coach Andy Findlay of Erie, PA. As the Intense Tennis Camps' 26th-year director and with over 49 years of tennis experience, Andy Findlay brings confidence, determination, engagement, professionalism, imagination, intensity, r...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 19, of the ParentingAces Podcast. As with last week's episode, this week's podcast is a recording of a Facebook Live interview I did with Coach Ruben Herrera. If you'd prefer to see the video version, click here to go to our YouTube Channel. Ruben Herrera runs BaseTennis in Germany, the organization behind the Tennis-Point Exhibition series, the first live tennis event...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 18, of the ParentingAces Podcast! Tennis is opening up in various spots around the world (tomorrow I'll be chatting with Ruben Herrera about his Tennis-Point pro event in Germany). What's it going to take for you to feel comfortable getting back out there or sending your junior player back to lessons, drills, and match play? Coach Matt Manasse and I discuss these and o...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 17, of the ParentingAces Podcast! Our conversations around college tennis and COVID-19 continue this week with guest Scott Handback. Lawrence "Scott" Handback is a junior tennis coach, junior tennis official, and tennis director in North Carolina. He has developed over 70 players who have gone on to play college tennis and understands the unique nature of junior tennis...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 16, of the ParentingAces Podcast. This week's episode is a replay of the Facebook Live chat I had with ITA CEO Tim Russell last week. In that discussion, Tim and I talked about COVID-19's potential impact on college tennis, what's in store for both entering and returning college tennis players, and what we can all do to help ensure college tennis remains vital and viab...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 15, of the ParentingAces Podcast. In this week's episode, my guest, sports journalist Cecil Harris, shares some Tennis History with us in conjunction with the release of his new book, DIFFERENT STROKES: SERENA, VENUS, AND THE UNFINISHED BLACK TENNIS REVOLUTION. Why should you care about tennis history? Well, as Cecil explains very eloquently in our conversation, childr...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 14, of the ParentingAces Podcast. I hope you're all staying well and continuing to stay home. In this week's show, I have the pleasure of speaking again with John O'Sullivan, soccer coach and the mastermind behind Changing the Game Project. John has recently released his latest book, EVERY MOMENT MATTERS ( click here to purchase through our Amazon Shop), and we dive in...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 13 of the ParentingAces Podcast. I hope this week finds you and your loved ones healthy and well. Coach Todd Widom and I wanted to take the opportunity to talk a little more about what junior tennis players - and coaches - can do during this time of isolation to stay on track with their development and goals.  To get in touch with Coach Todd, follow him on Facebook and...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 12, of the ParentingAces Podcast. Boy, is this a strange time for all of us. We are sheltering at home, with our kids, trying to figure out this New Normal.  Rather than release a brand new episode this week, I thought I would go back to our Archives and re-release a conversation I had with David Benzel, creator of Growing Champions for Life, from August 2012. In this...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 11 of the ParentingAces Podcast! Elliott is one of the owners at Overland Park Racquet Club . He spends the majority of his time deeply involved with their top junior players. He is a long time Kansas City tennis coach, player and figurehead with now 21 years of tennis coaching experience. Elliott’s players have earned success at every playing level, from more than 50...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 10, of the ParentingAces Podcast! We finally have Coach Todd Widom back to discuss the junior coach's role in the college recruiting process. As Todd has discussed previously on the pod, several of his players have gone on to play very high level college tennis. One of his recent students, Ronnie Hohmann, is in his freshman year at LSU and playing at the top of the sin...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 9, of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, we are discussing how to prevent injury in our junior players and what to do if/when they do become injured. My guest, Kayla Epperson, has trained with Dr. Neeru Jayanthi (who has been on this podcast several times) and is now in practice herself. As a former college tennis player and injured athlete herself, Kayla brings a u...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 8, of the ParentingAces Podcast! You are in for a treat this week as we chat with the Dent family: Phil, Taylor, and Jenny! Taylor Dent, formerly ranked #21 on the ATP Tour, is a past guest on our podcast. He has coached several top players since retiring from professional tennis, and is now running a very successful program in Texas alongside his father and wife. In t...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 7 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's episode is once again centered around the mental side of tennis, this time from the perspective of overcoming obstacles. I think you'll find my conversation with Angelo Rossetti enlightening as well as inspiring. This episode is a great one to share with your Junior Tennis Player(s)! Angelo Rossetti is not only a USPTA-certif...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 6 of the ParentingAces Podcast! The topic of the week is Mental Toughness. Allon Khakshouri has been in the tennis business for many years, managing World #1 players including Novak Djokovic, organizing tennis events, and sitting on the ATP Council. His most recent foray involves helping junior players develop the mental acuity to train and compete at their highest lev...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 5 of the ParentingAces Podcast! It's time for another college recruiting conversation with Renee Lopez! Renee has just published her latest book, LOOKING FOR A FULL RIDE? It is the most thorough book on college athletic recruiting and scholarships that I've read to date. In it, Renee offers concrete on everything to signing up with the NCAA Eligibility Center to market...

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 4 of the ParentingAces Podcast!  This week's guest, Trevor Short, went from a top 20 nationally ranked junior tennis player to a NCAA Division 1 nationally ranked player at Middle Tennessee State University. Following his tennis career, Trevor founded T&S Events where he produced over 10 professional tennis events with some of the world’s top players including Andy...