ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 14 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we take a detailed look at hydration and nutrition for junior tennis players. My guest is Certified Sports Nutritionist and Sports Nutritionist for the Boston Bruins, Julie Nicoletti. Julie also now works with CrossCourt Consulting to help junior tennis players maximize their performance both on and off the court...

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 13 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, I chat with coach Matt Manasse, the women's Associate Coach at 4th ranked Duke University, about college tennis recruiting. Matt is a former college tennis player himself and offers incredible insights into recruiting and playing at the college level. What questions should your junior ask the college coaches duri...

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 12 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, I chat with Mark Kovacs, PhD, founder of the International Tennis Performance Association  (iTPA) and fellow Atlanta resident, about the concept of Periodization and how best to use it with our junior tennis players. This conversation came about after I received an email from a ParentingAces listener asking for m...

Welcome to another Bonus Episode of Season 8 of the ParentingAces Podcast. In this one, I chat with former University of Iowa and current professional player, Shelby Talcott, regarding the possible underlying reason for the ITF's new World Tennis Tour which is implemented beginning January 1, 2019. My conversation with Shelby was prompted by an article she posted on her blog entitled THE ITF'S DEA...

Welcome to another Bonus Episode of Season 8 of the ParentingAces Podcast. In this one, I chat with brothers Jared and Aron Hiltzik and their father, David, about how the new ITF World Tennis Tour is impacting their ability to pursue a professional tennis career. Please visit ParentingAces.com for more details.             Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to this Bonus Episode of the ParentingAces Podcast!  Growing the game of tennis is the mission of many organizations and individuals out there, including Yours Truly. However, there seems to be a disconnect between the marketing experts and those on the ground, and we aren't seeing the increases in players and fans that we hope and work for. One young professional player is working to chan...

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 8 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, former college coach, Dave Mullins, joins us from Ireland to talk about what we should really be looking at in terms of player development. Dave recently wrote a 2-part article on this topic (see  http://www.davemullinstennis.com/news/2018/11/2/shaky-foundation-part-1  and  http://www.davemullinstennis.com/news/20...

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 7 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's show, the focus is on level-based play. That is, playing tennis against opponents of a similar skill level regardless of age or gender. My guest, Greg Chambers, is the Director of Tennis at the Ensworth School in Nashville, TN. He has a long history in our sport and is bringing his experience and passion to players of all...

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 6 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, we chat with Jeff Bearup, Tim Donovan, and David Benzel who founded CrossCourt Consulting in the New England area. Between them, these three gentlemen have extensive experience working with not only Tennis Parents, but all sorts of Sports Parents, to help their children have a more positive experience. Realizing there was a ga...

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a member of the ParentingAces Community asking if ANY coach can develop a champion if the family has enough time and money to invest in the child's tennis. I posed that question to one of my favorite coaches, Todd Widom, and in this week's episode we discuss the query in depth. There is so much more to high-level junior development than simply time and mon...

Several months ago, I had the pleasure of talking with Dave Miley, the Executive Director of Tennis Development for the International Tennis Federation (ITF) from 1991 until 2015 who was responsible for the non professional activities of the ITF including junior tennis, senior tennis, wheelchair tennis, technical and anti-doping as well as the ITF’s Development Programme. Dave has been very vocal...

Jeff Salzenstein has been involved in tennis pretty much his entire life. In Season 8 Episode 3, Jeff shares his tumultuous junior career, going from #1 in the 12's to #69 in the 16's, eventually making his way to the Stanford Men's Tennis Team playing for the inimitable Dick Gould. After giving the pro tour a go then getting side-lined by multiple injuries, Jeff moved into coaching, developing a...

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...