ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 2 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, the discussion focuses on the nuances of Division III Recruiting and how it differs from Division I. For example, did you know many DIII schools no longer require Prospective Student Athletes to take the SAT or ACT? And according to the NCSA website , for DIII schools, official visits begin  January 1  of junior year, and they...

It's hard to believe another season of the ParentingAces Podcast has come to a close! Over the past 7 years, I've had the opportunity to chat with some amazing Parents, Coaches, Players, and Industry Folks who have been incredibly generous with their knowledge and offers to help. It seems only fitting to close this season with one last conversation with Coach Todd Widom. In this episode, Todd addr...

Patricia Hy-Boulais has worn many hats in the tennis world: junior player, professional player, coach, parent. Her latest hat is that of blogger as she recently entered the online world to share her thoughts on the Junior Tennis Journey from the perspective of both a parent and a coach. When I saw Patricia's announcement of her new blog, I couldn't wait to read it! After interviewing her earlier t...

Like many young kids, Jordan Belga played several sports, but it was tennis that lit a spark in him. The sport seemed to come easy to him. He was the #1 ranked player in the US in the 12-and-unders, seemingly on an upward trajectory toward his dream job of playing professional tennis.  However, an injury at age 14 meant significant time away from the sport for young Jordan. And he wasn't sure he h...

When you're a 10-and-Under Faculty Coach for the USTA, you have access to the latest information on junior development and the best way to navigate the process. When you're also the parent of a college tennis player, you have something even better: first-hand experience! Coach/Parent Ellen Miller has seen the process unfold not only with her young players but also in her own family. She is the mot...

While I was in New York for the WTCA Conference and the US Open, I had the opportunity to learn from some incredible coaches and parents. One of the most unique learning opportunities came on the final day of the Conference when I heard Jure Ko and Anja Prislan explain how they use numerology to help coaches understand the mindset of their players. I know this sounds kind of "woo-woo" when you fir...

What happens when 3 brothers, all alums of the Yale Men's Tennis program, are inspired by an Aristotle quote to create an online space to offer coaching from some of the best in the business? Rhabit! Repetitive actions, becoming habits, leading to excellence - that is the impetus behind this new platform that brings video instruction from top ATP/WTA coaches, current and former tour players, curre...

In our last episode , we discussed the youth tennis progression in terms of the Red, Orange, Green, and Yellow balls. This week we will discuss the youth tennis progression in terms of tactics. Coach Todd Widom joins us once again to talk about the importance of integrating lessons on tactics alongside the technical training our kids typically receive. He gets into the details of how kids should l...

In our last episode, you heard from Coach Todd Widom about the role of the Tennis Parent throughout the Junior Development process. In this week's podcast, you'll hear from Todd again, this time about the different types of coaches and which one is appropriate at which stage. Coach Todd discusses the differences between a technical coach, a tactical coach, and a teacher. He explains when a child w...

The role of the Tennis Parent is crucial in the Junior Development Process. But, if we don't have a clear understanding of exactly WHAT our role is, it's much easier to make mistakes along the way. In this week's episode, Coach Todd Widom shares his thoughts on what we parents should be doing at each stage of the game. He starts with the early years, moving into the middle school then high school...

For years I have been asking junior coaches to do a better job of communicating with families. Everything from which tournaments to play to whether the child is progressing to how a child compares to his/her peers are questions most Tennis Parents have. Furqan Iqbal, the CEO of Tennis Locker, is a Tennis Parent himself who had similar questions for his son's coach. That coupled with his software d...

A few weeks ago I received an email from a member of the ParentingAces community. It said, "We have a limited budget for tennis and you know personally how expensive it can be with all the costs adding up. I would love to hear a program on how to get the most bang for your buck. That is, ways to help your child become a great tennis player when you don't have a large income to draw on." Ask and ye...

Withdrawal from the backdraw of our biggest national tournaments has reached a ridiculous level. At last week's Kalamazoo Tournament (Boys 16s & 18s National Hardcourts), backdraw walkovers were at 16.89% up from 5.88% only fifteen years ago.  Why are so many players pulling out once they lose in the main draw? What can coaches and parents do about it? What SHOULD coaches and parents do about...

Imagine being outside on a summer day surrounded by people who all share a love of the same thing. The only sounds are of feet skidding on green "clay", the contact of ball and string, and the occasional outburst of applause. You are hot and sweaty, but it doesn't matter because you are in your Happy Place doing what you love. Ten years ago, a long-standing tennis tradition in my hometown of Shrev...

What happens when 3 tennis-playing brothers get together and start a website? Get the answer in this week's episode (apologies for the poor sound quality in the intro - it gets way better after that!) with Vanderbilt Men's Tennis Assistant Coach, Ryan Lipman, and his mom, Lisa. Ryan and his brothers, Maxx and Marshall, all played college tennis and all still love the sport. They followed very diff...

In our last episode, we talked to you about how you can manage your college recruiting in the palm of your hand with the newest feature on the Match! Tennis App . This week, we discuss college scholarships and how best to get them. Marisa Meddin worked in marketing after a very successful college career at the University of Michigan. She found her greatest satisfaction, however, in volunteering to...

Last year, we were all introduced to the Match! Tennis App , a one-stop-shop for all your junior tournament needs - a calendar, rankings, ratings, medical release, weather updates, doubles partner search, and more. When I used the app during the 2017 Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournaments, I was blown away by all it could do from the Tournament Director side, too.  And now the app has...

Barry Fulcher grew up in a Tennis Family. His parents and his siblings were avid players, so it was only fitting that Barry start honing his racquet and court skills as a toddler in the UK. His love of the game and of competition led him to a very successful junior tennis career such that he decided to go the professional route rather than come to the US to try his hand in our college tennis syste...

How lucky are we to have both Coach Todd Widom and Tennis Parent George Opelka together in one podcast?!?!?! These two gentleman offer their wisdom on everything from the different developmental pathways to college vs. pro tennis and everything in between. They have spent many hours talking to each other courtside while watching their respective player's practice and compete and share those conver...

June is prime recruiting season for many college coaches. That said, what better time to do a podcast about Division III and how it differs from DI? Coach Matt Brisotti leads both the men's and women's tennis teams at Hamilton College, a Division III school in New York that is part of the NESCAC, one of the stronger conferences in DIII. He played college tennis at Drew University (also DIII) and f...

A few weeks ago, I posted on our Facebook page that I would be doing an interview with a USTA official and asked you for questions to ask him. You did not disappoint!  In this week's episode of the ParentingAces Podcast, recorded in person at Goldberg's Deli (!), I chat with Gary Link, an amazing official based in South Carolina who has committed the past 21 years to helping junior tennis players...

I know. No one likes talking about periods and puberty. But, it's a reality of life and a topic that we need to discuss if we're going to help our young players maintain a healthy body image and feel comfortable asking for help whenever and wherever they may need it. In this week's episode, Katie Malinski and I get pretty candid and raw in our conversation about how to talk to our children about t...

Jackie Slomin is a sports dietitian who helps high school athletes get recruited to top tier colleges on scholarship with her Fuel Your Full Ride program.  Having previously worked with hundreds of division I and II athletes from all different sports and holding a master's degree in sports nutrition and exercise science, Jackie is an expert at helping athlete's discover how to improve their perfor...

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could find a teaching pro who actually had a college degree in Tennis? What if she had an in-depth knowledge not only of teaching forehands and backhands but also sport psychology, injury prevention, nutrition, and communication? Well, thanks to several hard-working and forward-thinking folks, the Professional Tennis Management (PTM) Certificate is now a reality! Coac...

If you're a Tennis Parent or Coach, you know how frustrating it is to travel to a tournament only to find out the Tournament Director has decided to use short scoring due to weather or other impediments to play. This week's podcast guest, Mark Milne, has a great solution to present. Thirty30 Tennis presents a format where players start each game at the score 30-all then play out the game from ther...