ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

As of the taping of this week's podcast, there are 4 former college players in the Top 100 of the ATP and 2 former college players in the Top 100 of the WTA. It begs the question: is college tennis really a pathway to the pros?  In this week's podcast, Todd Widom discusses how juniors should use college as a step in their overall development process. He also talks about the Junior ITF pathway and...

With the new recruiting rules announced by the NCAA (click here ), making sure your child is properly prepared for the process is crucial to his/her success.  In this week's episode, we talk about how junior players can increase their exposure to college coaches, especially if they are not among the top-ranked players in their recruiting class. We also discuss several recruiting myths that seem to...

Last week I published an article on the new partnerships between Universal Tennis Ratings and the two major coaching certification organizations, USPTA and PTR ( click here to read the article). And this week UTR announced another new partnership with Chinese Tennis organization Love Sports. Now, you have the opportunity to hear from UTR's CEO, Mark Leschly, about how UTR works and what's in store...

Several months ago, Tennis Parent (and now, Podcaster!), Robert Garrett called and asked me if I would ever consider doing an episode where he could ask questions of a top junior player, parent, and coach. Of course, I said YES, and this week's episode is the outcome of that conversation. Coach Todd Widom, who y'all have heard from many times on ParentingAces, arranged for his young player, Ronnie...

Sports Made Easy , formerly known as My Game Solutions, is an online community that connects players, instructors, and facilities in real time. With the mobile app you can search for players using any preferred location and find a place to play. Participate in a friendly game or competition to help you improve your overall game.   Parents and junior players can use the app to schedule practice mat...

We rarely get to hear from Tennis Parents outside the US, so I was thrilled when UK Tennis Parent Sharon Gaskin agreed to come on the podcast! Sharon shares her son, Ryan's, entire tennis journey starting with his early junior years and moving to his training at  Soto Tennis Academy in Spain, eventually landing in the US to play college tennis. She talks about the difficulty of working with the LT...

Tami Matheny became a Mental Game Coach in 2008 and started Refuse2LoseCoaching, LLC . She knows the role the intangibles play in career success and longevity and has had experience with working on the mental skills at the collegiate level with tennis, basketball, softball, baseball, volleyball, golf, field hockey, cross country and soccer student-athletes.   Tami believes that while it’s importan...

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to run into my old friend, Craig Cignarelli, at the BNP Paribas Open last weekend! It's been quite a while since we've chatted, and I knew he had some incredible knowledge to share with all of us. Thankfully, he agreed to sit down with me and talk junior development pathways and how technology is impacting today's up and coming players (and their parents). He al...

Sixteen-year-old Ronnie Hohmann, who won the 2017 Eddie Herr 16s, recently had the unique opportunity to train with several players on the ATP tour. Both Ronnie - and his coach, Todd Widom - learned so much from these training sessions beyond just hitting forehands and backhands. All junior players and their coaches can learn a lot from studying how the pros train. With so many pro tournaments acr...

In order to further junior tennis development, it is crucial that coaches learn about and use the new technologies being developed. One of my favorites in terms of planning and communication is Tenicity. Harsh Mankad, the founder of Tenicity, is back with us to talk about the latest updates to his platform, including a new mobile app that parents, players, and coaches can use to track progress and...

I recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by the amazing talents behind the Great Shot Podcast, Alex Gruskin and Max Rothman. We did the interview as I was driving back to Atlanta from the Blue Gray Tennis Classic in Alabama, and I had a blast chatting with these guys! From their website: Welcome toooooo…. Another special edition of Hey, Great Shot!! In today’s episode, co-hosts Alex Gruski...

As an adjunct to this week's podcast with Tim Russell, I also had the opportunity to chat with Dave Miley who has written a very detailed article about the ITF Transition Tour ( https://www.facebook.com/davemileytennis/posts/987689468064829 ).  Dave Miley was the Executive Director of Tennis Development for the International Tennis Federation from 1991 until 2015 and in this role he lead the bigge...

On February 1, 2018, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) sent out a press release describing its effort to reduce the number of professional tennis players through the creation of a Transition Tour (see  http://parentingaces.com/repost-zootennis-itf-junior-rule-changes-2018/  and  http://www.itftennis.com/news/278962.aspx  for more info).  What's obviously missing from the ITF's announcement...

Just because you're an experienced coach yourself doesn't mean you can't learn from the Great Coaches who came before you. Former college player Chris Trieste has learned that lesson first hand as he researched then wrote his book,  14 Great Coaches: Learn Their Lessons, Improve Your Coaching, Have A Lasting Impact. In this week's podcast, Chris discusses his book and the invaluable lessons he lea...

Being sidelined by injury is never a good thing. In the short journey that is Junior Tennis, taking even a few weeks away from training and playing can wreak havoc on development, so it becomes that much more important to keep the body healthy. In this week's podcast, Dr. Erin Boynton, an orthopaedic surgeon who is also a Tennis Parent as well as a competitive tennis player herself, talks about th...

Wondering what your high school or college player should do this summer? USTA tournaments? ITA Summer Circuit? ITF Pro Circuit? Something else? Former USC Women's Assistant Coach West Nott has started a new summer tennis tour that takes male and female players who are currently in high school or college to a variety of tournaments along the Pacific Coast in California, Oregon, and Washington. What...

The college recruiting process can be overwhelming and confusing. This week's guest, Renee Lopez, works with prospective student athletes (PSAs) and their families to help them find the right  college programs then market themselves effectively to those programs. PSAs must find the right fit academically, athletically, and socially. The cost of the program has to come into play as well. Renee disc...

Siberia isn't really the first place I think of when I think "Tennis Hotbed." However, there have been some incredible players coming out of that ice-packed region of the world, including this week's guest, Aleksey Zharinov. Aleksey considers himself a product of the Russian System of tennis development, due in large part to the commitment of his father to ensure he had a solid base in "technika"...

This podcast is from 2013 but warrants a listen even now! Craig is still one of the most influential coaches in my son's Tennis Journey, and his wisdom about junior development needs to be shared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do you get when you cross a marketing whiz with a top-notch event planner/journalist? A new ATP tournament featuring black courts, a female-anchored exhibition, and a community event for players and fans of all ages! Memphis's loss is Long Island's gain as the long-standing Winter Indoor event makes its move and brings top-level professional tennis to hungry fans in the form of the New York O...

Family practicioner, Charlotte Alabaster, originally from the UK and now living and practicing in Calgary, Canada, grew up playing tennis only recreationally but fell in love with the sport.  As a family practice physician, Charlotte has encountered several elite youth athletes who are suffering from nutritional deficits. In this week's episode, she shares with us the specific nutritional needs of...

Happy New Year and welcome to our first podcast episode of 2018 with Patricia Hy-Boulais! Music by: STØNE - You can find more of Morgan Stone's original music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Part 3 of my series with Todd Widom, we discuss the importance of choosing a coach who has a long-term development plan for your child.  Unfortunately for us parents, there are many coaches and academies out there who just want to keep giving your child - and charging you! - private lessons week after week, year after year regardless of how your child is developing as an overall player. These c...

I had the opportunity to speak at the Middle States USPTA Conference in Philadelphia last weekend, presenting to a room full of coaches. What a treat!  This week's podcast is a slightly edited recording of my presentation. You will hear questions from the audience (please forgive the sound quality as I was recording the whole thing on my iPhone) and my attempts at helping these coaches understand...

When Tennis Parent Extraordinaire, Steve Johnson, passed away unexpectedly in May, the tennis world was in shock. Steve was a man who devoted his life to his family and his sport, coaching not only his own son to the highest level of the game but also committing himself to helping all young players who wanted to learn and succeed in tennis. Dennis Claus was a good friend of Steve's and decided to...