ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

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 written numerous article on parenting for LI/NY tennis and USTA parenting columns and talks, coached Zonals 16’s for 4 years, and has been quoted/featured in national publications like ESPN, NY Times, Sports Illustrated and others. To watch the video version of this podcast, go to https://www.youtube.com/ Rob can be reached at 973-723-0314, [email protected], www.insidethezone.com, Facebook and Instagram @InsideTheZone. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 to get on the coaches' radar. Colin McAtee, a former college soccer player at the University of Michigan, has created an app for that! Productive Recruit is a tool to help PSAs better organize and personalize the recruiting process. Incorporating college and coach search tools, contact forms, and task scheduling - all things Colin wishes he had for his own recruiting efforts - Productive Recruit is a better way to take charge of this stage of the Junior Tennis Journey. Click here to watch a short video demo of the app. Colin has set up two payment options for PSAs: you can pay a flat fee of $199 to use the app indefinitely OR you can pay $29.99 for a month-to-month subscription. He is offering a discount of $50 through July 31, 2020 - the ParentingAces Community will have its own discount offer beginning August 1, 2020, so check back for the code! To see a video of what the Productive Recruit app can do, click here. You can follow Productive Recruit on social media as follows: Twitter: https://twitter.com/prodrecruit Instagram: http://instagram.com/prodrecruit Facebook: http://facebook.com/productiverecruit To reach out to Colin with any questions, email him at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 as those used in tennis itself, Spec can be used by junior coaches to work on specific shots and tactics in a way that is much less frustrating than using a regular racquet and yellow ball. For more information on how to play Spec or to order supplies, click here. To see Spec in action, click here. To reach Nate for more information, email him at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – which we are relaunching July 1 – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Franz's biggest passion. He has worked with many top international players helping them find college placement in the US. Now living in Charleston, SC, he is organizing tennis tournaments as well. His latest is a junior UTR event with strict Covid-19 restrictions on June 19-21. Sandy will help us understand the landscape of international college recruiting and discuss his new tournament circuit.For more information on the Charleston Tennis Circuit, click here. To reach Sandy, you can email him at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – which we are relaunching July 1 – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 started coaching the Miami women's team where she was the Assistant for 3 years and the Associate Head Coach for 3 more. In her role at Miami, she guided Estela Perez-Somarriba to the 2019 NCAA singles title. At the end of 2019, Laura made a choice to leave college tennis and return to coaching in a private academy setting while pursuing her passion to bring the various parties in tennis together. She is currently working on the launch of Tennis Between Lines, an online platform to collect tennis stories from "Tennis Lifers" around the world. You can find Laura and Tennis Between Lines on Instagram (@tennisbetweenlines) and Twitter (@tennisBTWNlines) or reach her via email at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – which we are relaunching June 15 – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 development, college tennis experience, and relationship with my husband and me. If you are the parent of a young player, you may want to watch first before letting your child view this one. As I said, Morgan gives an honest – and sometimes bitter – assessment of growing up as an elite tennis player and playing in college. He owns that experience and makes no assumption that others will or have had similar ones. I have struggled for a while about providing a place for Morgan to share his story with the ParentingAces community because it’s not all flowers and butterflies (as will be evident as you watch). However, I know from talking with several of you that he’s not alone in feeling the way he does. I am very interested to hear from you after viewing the conversation, so please do add your Comments below or feel free to contact me directly. Several comments came in as we were doing the livestream on Facebook. Here are a few of them: “I think this interview is authentic and very honest. Performance tennis as a sport has many sad stories including frustrations, divorces, financial woes etc. Most 1st time tennis parents do not understand till they have already spend a lot of time and money and can’t pivot.” “Healthy conversation.” “This is sad…” “I watched the podcast with your son and found it so authentic. For a 23 year old, he truly has a sense of himself.” “I think every single parent that considers getting into tennis for their kids needs to watch that video.” I want to say, though, that this is a Tennis Story with a happy ending. Although he is no longer playing tennis, and although our Parent-Child relationship went through some very rocky periods, Morgan has found his passion in the form of producing music and performing as a DJ, and our relationship is stronger than ever. Morgan is also having great success in his first post-college job, working in Business Development for an education tech startup in San Jose. It is extremely satisfying for my husband and me to see all three of our children thriving in their careers. For those curious about Morgan’s music, you can listen here and watch his recent livestream here. During our conversation, I reference another podcast Morgan did prior to ours. You can find that episode online by clicking here. He speaks in much more detail about his college recruiting and playing experience in his D1 Only Podcast interview. To follow Morgan or to contact him, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. To watch this week’s video podcast, click below: As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – relaunching June 15 – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, resilience, respect, toughness to his coaching. From 1992-2003, Andy was the Head Coach at Edinboro University of PA where he was the men's PSAC Coach-of-the-Year in 2000 & '03. Also, Andy serves as co-Head Coach at the USTA Sectional Training Center (STC) in Pittsburgh and has attended 50 USTA national workshops. From 1997-2013, he coached the USTA MS Boys' 18s at national championship events in Champaign, IL and Kalamazoo, MI. Since 2012, Andy has performed National Coaching for the USTA at the L1 National Spring Team Championships in Mobile, AL and RTCs in NY, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Andy has been in meetings with tennis leaders around the US to devise a safe way to re-open tennis to junior instruction and competition. In this episode, he shares what he's learned and what he's implemented at his own tennis facility. For the resources Andy mentions, go to our COVID-19 Resources page on ParentingAces.com (click here). If you'd like an emailed copy of Andy's Waiver, please contact [email protected]. To watch the video version of the podcast, click here. As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 since COVID-19 shut everything down. Hear his thoughts on how we can restart tennis at the professional and junior levels - what worked in his event and what he needs to tweak for the next one. For more info on Ruben's events, visit https://exo-tennis.com/. As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 other questions in this episode. As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 development. According to Scott, there will be a new equilibrium in college athletics and it will not look anything like what we are used to. For tennis, there will be big changes coming. Those that continue the collegiate sport will look for new conferences to reduce travel costs or reduce the amount of scholarships offered by the programs. You may see NCAA Division I programs having to do the fundraising that small DII and DIII schools have to do to provide uniforms for players. As a positive, there will be fewer international players coming to the U.S. to play collegiate tennis. With the current immigration hold and the reduced staffing producing visas for international student-athletes, anyone who does not already have a visa to attend college this fall will not get one for the foreseeable future. This fall season will be a great opportunity for American junior tennis players to have opportunities to play collegiate tennis that they may not have had prior. Whatever ends up happening, the landscape of college athletics will be significantly different in the future. How quickly those changes occur - only time will tell. What will the long-term impact be? No one knows....yet. As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 viable for the 2020-21 school year and beyond.Tim and I plan to have further conversations in a public forum as new information becomes available. In the meantime, please take Tim's advice and follow the ITA, ParentingAces, ZooTennis, and other social media accounts to keep college tennis front and center as some big decisions are being made by the NCAA and others.To read the article on simultaneous format referenced in our conversation, click here. For a follow-up piece, click here. To read the article that triggered our conversation, click here. For Tim's response to that article, click here.As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here.As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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, children are inspired by the champions they see on tv. And, especially in an individual sport such as tennis, it's important to teach our kids that the sport is about more than just their own participation in it. Knowing who came before them and understanding their contributions is so valuable. While we're all still on stay at home orders, now is the perfect time to read Cecil's book as a family then open the proverbial door to some discussions about it! To order DIFFERENT STROKES through BookShop.org, click here. You can also find it in our Amazon Shop here. As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 into its content and discuss how the lessons can apply to tennis coaches and parents.John is committed to a philosophy of athlete-centered coaching. He devotes whatever time he has - outside his own soccer coaching commitments - educating coaches, national governing bodies, and others on specific tactics to give youth sports back to the kids. During this time of sheltering at home, John is living that philosophy on a daily basis by holding virtual practices with his young athletes which he details in our conversation.To learn more about John and Changing The Game Project, click here. He is available via email at [email protected] the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here.As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Instagram or email him at [email protected]. As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 episode, David and I discuss what it means to be an effective Tennis Parent and the common pitfalls we all face as we try to do what's best and right for our child(ren). Since we're all at home anyway, why not use this time to practice some of the techniques David offers up to do better, to be better? Please do visit David's website at https://www.growingchampionsforlife.com/ and be sure to get on his email list so you're alerted to upcoming webinars and other events. David is a true gem of a human and has a lot of wisdom to share! As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Missouri Valley Champions, to ITF titleholders and players competing at the Professional level. He has been a USTA Regional Training Center Director, National Prince Plugged In Director and proudly represents the Heart of America as the VP of Junior Competition. Before working in junior development he was a collegiate coach at Saddleback College, Baker University and the University of Kansas. A source of great pride for Elliott is the number of players that he’s trained who have moved on to compete at the NCAA Division I college level. Over 50 players in the past 10 years have gone on to play at the highest level of NCAA competition. Elliott believes that being a student-athlete in college makes for a much more fulfilling overall experience. There is a college out there that is perfect for everyone to pursue their education and tennis goals! To listen to my 2015 podcast with Elliott, click here. To reach Elliott via email, click [email protected] As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 singles lineup. What, exactly, is the junior coach's role in helping players and their families choose a college tennis program? How much influence and input should the junior coach have? These are the questions we tackle in this week's show. To reach Todd Widom, visit his website here or email him at [email protected]. You can also find him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 unique perspective to today's discussion. Kayla is a sports physical therapist and strength and conditioning coach. She recently started her own practice in the Chicago Western suburbs so she could work more closely with athletes. She is especially passionate about working with youth athletes and tennis players as she was a competitive junior player and played in college at Indiana University. Having battled many overuse injuries in her junior and collegiate career, Kayla feels that tennis specific injury prevention programming and education is so important. She shares her experiences and advice with the ParentingAces Community in this episode of our podcast. To read the Series, Navigating the Sidelines: Perspectives from an Injured Athlete, click here (Part 1), here (Part 2), and here (Part 3). For more information on the specifics of Kayla's practice, visit https://www.theathleteconnectionpt.com. ParentingAces Premium Members can click here for Kayla's FREE Tennis Insider Rotator Cuff and Scapular Stability Guide and accompanying videos. You can reach Kayla through her website, www.theathleteconnectionpt.com or by phone at 630-525-1129. She is also reachable by email at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 this week's episode, all 3 Dents share their coaching philosophy in terms of both on-court and off-court work, and their commitment to producing not only great tennis players but also great humans. I first met Taylor at the US Open several years ago when he was working with Jared Donaldson. I couldn't help but be impressed with his no-nonsense approach to sport and his humility when talking about his own accomplishments. A few months ago, the director of The Birch Racquet and Lawn Club reached out to me asking if I'd like to interview Taylor, Phil, and Jenny. Of course, I said YES! In case you aren't familiar with this very impressive family, here are some facts taken from their academy website: Taylor Formerly Ranked #21 in the world Served 149mph at the French Open, 148mph at Wimbledon and 147mph at the US Open — all in 2010, and all serve speed records at these Grand Slams Won 4 ATP singles titles in Newport (2002), Bangkok (2003), Memphis (2003) and Moscow (2003) Coached Jared Donaldson (2013-2017) to the top 100 in the world and 2016 US Open 3rd rd Placed 4th in the 2004 Olympics in Athens Captured wins over Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin during his ATP career Recorded in the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Taylor and Phil are the only father-son duo to have won ATP titles in the Open Era Phil Known as the Serve Doctor throughout the ATP and WTA tours Reached #12 in the world in 1977, finishing the year at #19 Coached Michael Chang and Maria Sharapova Doubles Grand Slam Champion at both the US and Australian Open Claimed mixed-doubles champion at the US Open in 1976 (with teammate Billie Jean King) Captured wins over Rod Laver, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors during professional tennis career Helped lead his native country of Australia to victories at both the Davis Cup in 1977 and the World Team Cup in 1979 Jenny Reached #52 in the WTA world rankings Competed on the WTA tour for 7 years and accumulated 6 International Tennis Federation Women's Singles titles Won the 2005 World Team Tennis Championships with Martina Hingis as her doubles partner Competed against Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati during her professional tennis career Captured The Missouri State Tennis Title in 1996 Mother of 4 children and CEO of the Birch Racquet and Lawn Club For more information the Dent Tennis Academy in Keller, Texas, click here. You can reach out to Jenny by email at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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-certified tennis coach, but he and his twin brother also hold 2 Guinness Book of World Records in tennis! As you can imagine, earning a world record requires tremendous focus and training and tenacity. To earn TWO of them is a feat not achieved by many. Angelo shares his story growing up with obstacles in our sport and how he used those obstacles to develop incredible stick-to-it-iveness. He now uses those life lessons to teach others how to be stronger and better on and off the court. To read Angelo's article on sportsmanship, click here. To purchase Angelo's book, click here. As a special treat for the ParentingAces Community, you will receive a complimentary expanded Mental Skills Audit Analysis ($100 value!). Simply email [email protected] with msa-parentingaces in the subject line with how many copies you purchased of the book and where you purchased the book. To watch a brief video about Angelo's and Ettore's journey, click https://youtu.be/S6mzVk7Etwc. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 level. In Allon's words, "I have made it my mission to share some of the world’s best mental toughness strategies with ambitious young tennis players like you, who want to develop the mindset and thinking of real champions so that they can take their game to the next level and still feel the joy of what they do." Find Allon and his free e-book on his website at https://mentalgameoftennis.com/ or email him at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 marketing yourself to college coaches to understanding what it means to be a walk-on. I cannot recommend this book enough! And, lucky for the ParentingAces Community, Renee is offering FREE SHIPPING to the first 15 people to order using code PA2020! You can purchase the book directly through Renee's website here. To contact Renee Lopez directly, visit her website, rlopezcoaching.com or email her at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Roddick, John Isner, the Bryan Brothers and more. Trevor also founded the Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs in partnership with the USTA which ran from 2009-2011. While still running T&S Events, he became the General Manager of the Racquet Club of the South where he and Remington Reynolds met and co-founded Premier Live. Trevor’s 12 plus years in the tennis event industry continues to drive Premier Live into new heights on a daily basis. As the President of the Company, he oversees both the Necker Cup & Necker Open with Sir Richard Branson along with driving the company’s sales and player/celebrity relationships. In 2009, Trevor partnered with Rem Reynolds and Steve Garelek to form the National Tennis Foundation. The NTF is committed to the development and advancement of under-served student athletes by providing opportunities through tennis and project-based educational and leadership programs. These programs are devised to promote academic excellence, healthy living, personal responsibility and character development. THE NTF SEEKS TO EDUCATE OUR STUDENT ATHLETES ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND COEXISTENCE OF IDEAS AND VIEWS BOTH DOMESTICALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY. Trevor and Premier Live are working with Rafael Nadal and his foundation to put on two very special events in Atlanta March 1-2, 2020 to benefit NTF! You can learn more about the events by listening to our chat and by clicking on the photo of Rafa on the sidebar of ParentingAces.com. For the National Tennis Foundation website, click here. To reach Trevor directly, email him at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 3, of the ParentingAces Podcast! With the Australian Open underway, what better time to talk about hydration and cramping? This week, we hear from Andy Blow, the founder of Precision Hydration, about why it's important to understand the content of sweat so we can hydrate properly to maximize performance. I will be writing a more extensive article on ParentingAces.com about my experience with Precision Hydration's sweat testing. In the meantime, please check out the articles below from Andy's website. They will give you a ton of insight into why it's so important to understand cramping and sweating as well as ways to help your junior and college players avoid being waylaid as a result of improper hydration. We also have a special discount for ParentingAces Premium Members at https://parentingaces.com/member-discounts/ so be sure to join (if you haven't already!) then check it out! - Why do athletes suffer from cramp - Does having clear pee really mean you're well hydrated? - How to measure your sweat rate - How much dehydration can you tolerate before your performance suffers? As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 2, of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, we are discussing how to help junior players with the all-important mental and emotional side of tennis. Our guest is long-time high school coach and author Peter Scales. Teaching a young player how to hit forehands and backhands is something many great coaches can do. However, also teaching them how to problem-solve and stay calm and focused is a bit tougher. Peter Scales seems to have found a successful approach to helping his players develop these skills while enjoying the journey. One his biggest messages to his players is giving your all every time you set foot on the tennis court. Peter discusses how he reinforces that lesson and how he explains its value as a bigger Life Lesson.He also shares tips on how we parents can help our children in this area. Peter mentions a couple of great books in this episode. Click the titles below to go to the ParentingAces Shop on Amazon: Jeff Greenwald's The Best Tennis of your Life Jim Loehr's The Only Way to Win To purchase Peter's book, Mental and Emotion Training for Tennis, order it from CoachesChoice.com Our Premium Members and Patreon Patrons get a 25% discount on the Coaches Choice website by using the code shared here. To learn more about Peter and to contact him, visit his website at coachpetescales.usptapro.com. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 9 Episode 1 of the ParentingAces Podcast! Happy New Year! In our first podcast of 2020, we welcome professional tennis player, Danielle Lao, back to the show! Danielle has been on tour for over 6 years after graduating from USC in 2013, so she has had time to fine-tune her limited off-season training block to best suit her needs. Danielle talks about the importance of cross-training to staying healthy throughout the long pro calendar and shares her new-found love of running as a way to keep her mind and body strong. As most of us know, tennis is a marathon not a sprint, and Danielle feels this holds true even at the professional level. She takes the long-road approach to her training on and off the court and sets small as well as large goals for herself. She is so grounded in how she looks at her profession and how she balances it with her friends and family. This episode is a great listen for juniors who aspire to play on the tour! Be sure to follow Danielle on Facebook here and on Twitter here. And join me in wishing her all the best in the upcoming season! As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to our Final Episode of 2019 - Season 8, Episode 49! We end this year with a BANG! with this interview with Coach Morgan Shepherd! A long-time podcast listener from Northern California recently emailed me to suggest I invite Morgan on the show. This Tennis Parent could not say enough positive things about Morgan's approach to coaching and the impact he's had on the children with whom he works. Naturally, I reached out to Coach Shepherd and, thankfully, he agreed to be on the pod! As it turns out, Morgan and I have some things in common. Not only does he have the same first name as my son, but he also has a Boise State Tennis connection and lives pretty near to where my son now lives as well. This great coach comes from a psychology background in addition to his tennis upbringing, something that really helps him help his young charges develop fully as both Tennis Players and as Human Beings. I think you'll enjoy hearing his approach to bringing up players and helping them grow to their full potential. To reach Morgan Shepherd, you can email him at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere, including exclusive content recorded at the recent WTCA Conference in New York. Thank you! Sending you lots of love and heartfelt thanks for another great year of the ParentingAces Podcast! Have a wonderful holiday season, whatever you celebrate, and I'll see you in 2020! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 48 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, we are discussing the importance of point construction and how to teach it to developing junior players. If you've been listening to our podcast for a while, you are already very familiar with Coach Todd Widom and his non-academy approach to helping junior tennis players reach their full potential. In this episode, Todd delves into the idea of point construction - its importance in overall tennis success and the lack of organized instruction around this aspect of the sport. Todd shares specific drills to help young players learn and understand the geometry and physics of a tennis court and tennis ball. This is Must-Listen stuff! If you would like to contact Todd Widom, you can find him on Facebook and Instagram or email him at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere, including exclusive content recorded at the recent WTCA Conference in New York. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 47 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, you will learn about a new app that brings Artificial Intelligence to the tennis court, allowing not only for score-keeping and match stats but also in-depth analysis, coaching, and social networking. Swupnil Sahai started playing tennis with his younger brother at an early age. He went on to play for his high school team then played recreationally throughout college and graduate school, always maintaining a great love of the sport both as a player and as a fan. As a side project during college, Swupnil and a buddy developed an app for the newly-emerging Apple Watch to keep score and capture stats while playing tennis. Their little side project has now morphed into Swing Tennis, a highly-intelligent app for IOS devices that does what Hawkeye does . . . and more! Both James Blake and Andy Roddick were so impressed by this new technology that they became not only investors but also consultants as new features are developed and added to the app. To get more information on the Swing app, visit their website here. To download the app and start your free 2-week trial, click here or simply search Swing Tennis in the App Store. If you are a ParentingAces Premium Member and/or Patreon Patron, we have a phenomenal discount for you to save 50% off the first year's service. You can find the code on our website here (for Premium Members) and on our Patreon page here. If you'd like to reach out to the app developers, contact them on Twitter (click here), Instagram (click here), or via email at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere as well as other benefits – go to our Patreon Page for more info. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 46 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week we are talking nutrition, but not in the way you might think! Andrew Golub is a founding and managing member of ArrowBar. Andrew earned his Bachelor of Science Degree with a focus on Business Management from the University of Miami. Following graduation Andrew started Golub Tennis, which is now one of the most successful tennis academies in Florida. Andrew gained invaluable skills through his experiences as a highly ranked junior tennis player and scholarship athlete, as well as a four year letterman at The University of Miami, which lead him to be voted a two-time team captain. In twelve years of business, Golub Tennis has impacted the lives of hundreds of children who have come through the program, more than 120 of whom have received college scholarships to universities across the country. Andrew, along with a few of his tennis compatriots, has used his experience as a player to help develop ArrowBar. In this week's episode, he shares the ArrowBar story, one filled with u-turns and detours, and how he is using the lessons he learned through Tennis to persevere and grow the ArrowBar brand. Our conversation also takes a slight detour to discuss Andrew's experience as a Golf Parent. He shares some personal stories about what he learned from his parents now that he is a parent himself. I think you will find our conversation very enlightening! To get more information on how your Junior Player can become an ArrowBar Ambassador, simply Direct Message (DM) Andrew on Instagram @arrowbarenergy. You can also email [email protected]. To read the article I reference regarding Junior Golf, click here. To listen to my previous podcast with Michael Russell discussing his involvement in ArrowBar, click here. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere as well as other benefits – go to our Patreon Page for more info. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8 Episode 45 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's show, I chat with Matt Manasse, former Purdue standout and current Tennis Coach. Matt has a unique perspective on the role of the Player, Parent, and Coach. Having now coached at the college, professional, and junior levels, Matt shares his insights on the similarities and differences in coaching at the different levels. I think you'll find his approach interesting and thought-provoking! Matt is now co-hosting his own tennis-themed podcast called Double Fault which you can find on Spotify here. If you'd like to email him, his address is [email protected]. You can find him on Twitter and Instagram @Matt_Manasse. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere as well as other benefits – go to our Patreon Page for more info. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carlos Silva joined World TeamTennis (WTT) as CEO in Jan of 2019 to lead the organization forward. He led expansion team efforts in Las Vegas and Orlando. He also led the efforts to partner with CBS Sports and ESPN to broadcast the WTT in 2019. A veteran media and digital executive, Silva has built and sold companies in the TV and Media convergence space over the last 25 years. He has also raised more than $250M for the startups that he has operated. Prior to WTT, Silva served as CEO for the World Series of Fighting for three years, beginning in August of 2015. He led the sale of the MMA property to new investors, staying on as President of the newly named Professional Fighters League (PFL) until Jan. 2018, following the success of season one of the PFL MMA season format. PFL is one of the top three MMA properties. Silva served as President of Back9Network beginning in an Jan. 2013, where he led day to day operations of the golf-lifestyle focused network as it grew its digital audience, launched on DirecTV, and acquired the leading GPS app Swing by Swing. Silva was a Senior Advisor in 2011-2012 to various sports clients from leagues to media startups while serving as an Executive in Residence at Park Lane Investment Bank. Prior to that, Silva led the programming and operations of Universal Sports Network until Dec. 2010. He was the President & COO and was recruited by the original investors in April 2006. He built and operated the digital and TV network and ran day to day operations. He was also the co-Executive Producer of Universal Sports coverage of the Vancouver Olympic Games. Prior to Universal Sports, Silva ran some of the largest Web destinations in the World: AOL Sports, AOL News and AOL Money. Silva joined AOL when the company purchased NetChannel and was the senior onboarding executive. Silva holds a B.S. from Boston College and M.S. degree from George Washington University. Silva played Tennis at Boston College as well as the pro satellite tour after college.You can find everything you need to know about World Team Tennis on its website: wtt.com.Follow WTT on social media: @WorldTeamTennisAs always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here.We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere as well as other benefits – go to our Patreon Page for more info. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 43 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's guest is Jack Newman, founder of the Austin Tennis Academy in Austin, Texas.Not only is the ATA turning out excellent tennis players, but it is also turning out excellent Human Beings. The academy was founded with the idea of using tennis to teach children how to be good World Citizens, and Jack and his staff impart those lessons each day through work on and off the court. You will hear Jack talk about the community service efforts he and ATA are committed to on a daily basis as well as how the academy provides opportunities for the junior players and their families to learn and grow together. For more information on the Austin Tennis Academy, visit its website here and follow on Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram.As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here.We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere as well as other benefits – go to our Patreon Page for more info. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 42 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week I chat with Dave Mullins about his recent Masters Thesis research around which players improve as tennis players during college and what specific qualities they possess. I will likely be driving across the US as you listen to this week's episode! Dave is a former top college tennis player himself who moved into college coaching after a brief run in the World of Finance. He coached on both the men's and women's sides and brings incredible knowledge and experience to his latest role as the Managing Director of Community Engagement and Coach Empowerment at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). In this week's episode, Dave shares with us some of what's on tap for the ITA in the coming months in terms of recruiting information, coach support, player support, and even parent support. He also shares the insights he gleaned from his research into what attributes are common among those college tennis players who improve the most during their college years. Dave interviewed several experienced college coaches about players they had coached who had achieved the most over their time on a college tennis team. If you would like to reach out to Dave, you can email him at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter @DaveMullins_ITA. He has graciously offered to share his research with the ParentingAces Community, so please reach out to him if you'd like to read it. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere as well as other benefits – go to our Patreon Page for more info. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 41 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's show, I chat with Bella Heidenreich, a former Division I college tennis player who experienced a career-ending injury during her first semester at James Madison University. Note: There are a few 4-letter words in this week's episode which I chose to leave in, so please use care when sharing with young children. Any time a young athlete is side-lined due to injury, it is emotionally stressful on top of being physically painful. When the injured athlete falls under the jurisdiction of a college coach and trainer, there are additional factors that may come into play. Bella went through a series of challenges and obstacles while trying to recover from a fluke foot injury that happened her first month in college. Being far away from home, she dealt with the incident in the best way she knew how and shares that experience with us this week. My conversation with Bella is the first in an effort to bring Truth to Tennis. We often try to sugar-coat the Junior Development Process and College Recruiting in hopes of keeping players and their families invested in the sport long-term. However, as I learned through my own journey with my son, things aren't always as they seem on the surface. Bella's story isn't unusual. The way her injury was handled by the JMU athletic trainer and coach isn't unusual. It is crucial that parents understand what can happen when their child leaves home to play College Tennis and are armed with information if their child becomes injured. My hope is that this episode with Bella leads you to ask more questions during the Recruiting Process and leads your player to become a good self-advocate once he/she is on campus. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere as well as other benefits - go to our Patreon Page for more info. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 40 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week is all about Tennis Technology, specifically, AccuTennis, and how collecting data can help our junior players develop more fully. AccuTennis is a new on-court automated camera and player analysis technology that enables game-based play for all players. It can be used by clubs and other facilities to call lines, run drills, keep score, livestream matches, scout opponents, and review play. Building trust in the system has been one of AccuTennis's biggest challenges to date, and getting organizations - like the ITF and USTA - to approve its use in official tournaments is a work in progress. In terms of Junior Development and how AccuTennis can help, the technology "chunks" matches into usable video that can be sorted by stroke, spin, score, etc. For coaches, this makes watching a student's match video doable in terms of time commitment and takes the onus off the player or parent to edit a full match before seeking input from the coach. For players, having the ability to sort a match based on specific elements being worked on in practice is invaluable. There are also many cost-savings implications for parents with AccuTennis. For example, juniors could play a practice match on an AccuTennis-powered court which captures video and data. Then, the coach could evaluate the practice match for a fee that may be much less than the cost of a lesson. For more information on AccuTennis and bringing it to your facility, you can reach Adam Sher at 215-989-4312 or via email at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere as well as other benefits – go to our Patreon Page for more info. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 39 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, we're talking Team Tennis and how our Junior players can benefit from it. My guest is Tammy Anderson, a long-time tennis player and tennis coach who, most recently, coached a team at the U12 Southern Cup (click here to go to the tournament page). She is also the chief financial officer and executive board member of the Women's Tennis Coaching Association (WTCA). Tammy shares her thoughts on what makes these top-level team events so great for developing Juniors and how they can help grow the sport through engaging the players with their peers of both genders. For more information on the Southern Cup across all age divisions, click here. You can reach Tammy Anderson via email at [email protected] or [email protected] or via text at 859-409-0554. For more information on the Top Gun Academy at the Springhurst Tennis Club, click here. To find your sectional USTA TSA and Junior Competition Manager, go to our Guide to the USTA Website here. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere as well as other benefits - go to our Patreon Page for more info. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8 Episode 38 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, I sit down with veteran tennis journalist Joel Drucker to talk about this year's US Open Junior players and his thoughts on their future prospects in the college and pro game. According to his profile on the Tennis Channel website, Joel Drucker has been writing about tennis since 1982 for a variety of magazines and broadcast outlets. He has been part of Tennis Channel's team since the network stared airing in 2003, including work as story editor at all of the Grand Slam events, as well with various documentaries and special projects. Most recently, he was story editor-researcher for the network's "Barnstormers" documentary. In 2016, Joel was named a historian-at-large by the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Drucker’s tennis work spans the worlds of professional and recreational tennis – history, news, player profiles, psychology, instruction, travel, humor and participatory experiences. On the court, he has been berated by John McEnroe, hit with a ball by Jimmy Connors and beaten left-handed by Andy Roddick. I met Joel in 2007 during my first visit to the US Open. As we quickly discovered, Joel and my husband grew up together in Los Angeles and even attended the same junior high school! Joel and I have stayed in contact ever since, and he always has valuable insights to share when we see one another in New York each year. You can find Joel online here. If you have a direct question, you can email him at [email protected]. To view the video version of this week's podcast, filmed during the 2019 US Open, click here. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 37 of the ParentingAces Podcast! My guest this week is Coach Todd Widom discussing how he helped his player, Ronnie Hohmann, prepare for the US Open Juniors. A big thank-you to Colette Lewis of ZooTennis for the photo! Of course, it's "just another junior tournament". However, winning the US Open Juniors is often a stepping stone to a successful collegiate and professional career, so preparing properly can be key. For Ronnie, this is literally his Home Slam since he grew up very close to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and there might be some added pressure on him as local friends and family come out to see him play. Handling that pressure, according to Todd, will be one of the keys to Ronnie's success this week. As promised in the podcast, here are links to the ITF and USTA Pro Circuit Tournament pages: USTA Pro Circuit Events ITF Events - Men ITF Events - Women If you would like to contact Todd Widom, you can find him on Facebook and Instagram or email him at [email protected]. As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere, including exclusive content recorded at the recent WTCA Conference in New York. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 36 of the ParentingAces Podcast. In this week's episode, we hear from the 2019 ITA Division I Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award Winner Isaac Perez and his college coach Dan Oosterhous. Apologies for the poor sound quality - we recorded this episode while sitting outside during Arthur Ashe Kids Day and it was just a little noisy out there! Coming from a military family, it wasn't so far-fetched that Isaac Perez would look to the military academies to further his education and tennis career. While he was a solid 4-star recruit according to TennisRecruiting.net, he knew he wanted to fly jets once he completed his college degree. Air Force Academy Men's Coach Dan Oosterhous said he could tell right away that Isaac would be a great fit for his academy and his team. He noticed leadership qualities in Isaac from the first time they met and was thrilled to nominate Isaac for the prestigious ITA award. You will hear from both Isaac and Coach Oosterhous about what's involved in recruiting at one of the military academies and how it differs from "civilian" programs. If you would like more information on how the military academies work, both in terms of academics and tennis, we will be doing a follow-up podcast with Coach Oosterhous very soon. In the meantime, you can contact Dan Oosterhous at [email protected]. I know you all join me in wishing Isaac all the best as he pursues his dream of flying jets and defending our country. If he is indicative of all the men and women in our armed forces, we should all feel very well-protected! As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season and congratulations to him on his latest performance in San Francisco! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. In exchange, you will have access to extra audio and video recordings not available elsewhere, including exclusive content recorded at the recent WTCA Conference in New York. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 35 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, Creator Lisa Stone, gives a brief update on what's happening at ParentingAces and what's coming on the website and podcast during the 2019 US Open.If you are going to be in New York for either Lisa's Tennis Parent Recruiting Session (click here for more info) or the US Open, please let her know so you can connect. You can reach her via email at [email protected]. You can also message her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. For those of you in the San Francisco area, he is performing August 23rd at 1015 Folsom starting at 10pm. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here.We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8 Episode 34 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, we hear from Todd Widom about the work he's been doing this summer with juniors from all across the US and the developmental shortfalls he's had to work on with them. It turns out, several of you ParentingAces Listeners have reached out to Todd over the past couple of years. Several of you have even sent your kids down to Florida to work with him either short-term or long-term. In this week's episode, Todd talks about some of the things he sees when he gets a new player, what he does to help players improve, and how he works with their full-time coach to keep things moving in the right direction. You can reach Todd via email at [email protected] or via phone at 854-296-5610. Be sure to follow him on both Facebook and Instagram. As always, a big thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. For those of you in the San Francisco area, he is performing August 23rd at 1015 Folsom starting at 10pm. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here.Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8 Episode 33 of the ParentingAces Podcast! Jimmy Bendeck started playing tennis at a young age after growing up watching his parents play at the local courts in South Florida. After having early success as a Junior Player, he developed a serious injury that kept him out of the game for over 4 years. In this week's episode, Jimmy talks about overcoming injury and working to restore his tennis level so he could fulfill his dream of playing high level Division I tennis. After competing for four years at Baylor, Jimmy is finishing his degree this summer then embarking on a professional tennis career. To that end, Jimmy is using his college degree in finance to creatively fund his first year on tour. To read more about Jimmy's plan, you can find his Make A Champ website here: https://makeachamp.com/jimmybendeck. If you are interested in making a donation, click here. Don't miss your chance to participate in our upcoming Tennis Parent Recruiting Panel at the WTCA Conference in New York August 23, 2019 . . . Our Premium Members receive a $20 discount off the $49 registration fee, so please join the site and take advantage of that great offer! For more information on the Conference and to register for our Panel, click here. As always, a big thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here.Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8 Episode 32 of the ParentingAces Podcast! Before embarking on a professional tennis career, Danielle Lao had an outstanding 4 years as part of the women's tennis team at USC. She was an All-American in Singles and won multiple doubles titles throughout her time in college. She wrote a book about her experiences entitled THE INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE. Since graduating in 2013, Danielle has been out on tour, working her way up the rankings as she confronts and conquers the various challenges that entails. In this week's episode, Danielle shares her junior tennis development, her experiences at USC, and how she has been managing as a professional athlete. There is a lot of wisdom in her words both for parents and for players themselves. You can follow Danielle on the various social media outlets: Twitter: @TheLittleGiant Facebook: facebook.com/danielle.lao Instagram: instagram.com/thelittlegiant A quick reminder about our upcoming Tennis Parent Recruiting Panel at the WTCA Conference in New York August 23, 2019 . . . Our Premium Members receive a $20 discount off the $49 registration fee, so please join the site and take advantage of that great offer! For more information on the Conference and to register for our Panel, click here. As always, a big thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. We have also started a Patreon page for those of you not ready to take the plunge as a Premium Member. You can make a donation of any size to support our podcast by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8 Episode 31 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week we are discussing Division III recruiting with Jordan Brown. Jordan Brown is Assistant Dean of Admission & Coordinator of Student-Athlete Recruitment at Occidental College. In his role he works with both coaches and prospective student-athletes as they navigate the college admission and recruitment process. Jordan is also a tennis enthusiast, who played for both Fordham University and Occidental College. He holds a bachelor's degree from Occidental College and a master's degree in education policy from Columbia. Jordan shares his experience and insights about what sets Division III apart and why recruiting at this level may be different from Division I. He talks about the academic and athletic requirements to gain admission to a DIII university as well as funding options available. If you have further questions for Jordan about Occidental or about DIII recruiting in general, you can reach him via email at [email protected]. A quick reminder about our upcoming Tennis Parent Recruiting Panel at the WTCA Conference in New York August 23, 2019 . . . Our Premium Members receive a $20 discount off the $49 registration fee, so please join the site and take advantage of that great offer! For more information on the Conference and to register for our Panel, click here. As always, a big thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 30 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, I chat with Jeff Puhan about how junior players can best prepare to play at the National Clay Court Tournament. Coach Jeff Puhan has been in the tennis business for over 25 years and has worked alongside of some of the best coaches, fitness trainers, mental coaches, and players in the tennis world. Throughout his years in the Coaching Business, he has coached 9 different National USTA Champions, 4 Top 20 ITF ranked players, 4 NCAA All- Americans, 2 NCAA National Champions, and many who have gone on to play on the WTA and ATP tour. All of which is to say, he knows of which he speaks! Jeff gives us details about what it takes for a junior player to prepare, both mentally and physically, to compete on the clay. Specifically, he talks about how he gets players ready for the USTA National Clay Court Tournament going on now in various locations in the Southeastern US. He will also be training players for Kalamazoo, just FYI! If you are interested in having your junior train with Jeff, or if you simply have questions for him, you can reach him in a variety of ways: Email: [email protected] Phone: 215-205-3725 Facebook: Puhan Personalized Tennis Programs Also, just a quick reminder about our upcoming Tennis Parent Recruiting Panel at the WTCA Conference in New York August 23, 2019. Our Premium Members receive a $20 discount off the $49 registration fee, so please join the site and take advantage of that great offer! For more information on the Conference and to register for our Panel, click here. As always, a big thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 29, of the ParentingAces Podcast! My guest this week is Coach Bill Patton, and we discuss the concept of the athlete-centered coach. Most Tennis Parents struggle with identifying the "right" coach for their child and may make several "wrong" choices along the way. In this week's episode, Bill talks with us about what an athlete-centered coach is, why these coaches may be preferable to others in the field, and how parents can recognize the difference. Bill has written several books over the past few years, even co-authoring one with Yours Truly. Most of them are available on the ParentingAces shop at Amazon.com. But, to order his latest, The Athlete-Centered Coach, click here. To buy an autographed copy of Bill's latest book, email him directly at [email protected]. Subscribe to Bill's YouTube Channel here. For those interested in learning more about the Omni Athlete concept, Bill will be at its upcoming event July 19-21, 2019. Find out more here. Bill mentions the Sports, Energy, and Consciousness Group. To find out more about them, click here. And to read Reno Manne's Facebook post which Bill and I reference in our discussion, click here. As always, a big thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 28, of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, my guest is Marianne Werdel. Several weeks ago, I read an article on Marianne's website discussing Toni Nadal aka Uncle Toni and his approach to developing his nephew's tennis game. Marianne had shared her article on the ParentingAces Facebook Group, and it sparked several communications between the two of us regarding junior tennis development and the parents' role in the process. Marianne is a former junior champion and collegiate player (Stanford University) who went on to have a very long - and very successful - professional tennis career. She is now a certified coach and works closely with the USTA to help educate parents on the junior development pathway. Marianne draws on her personal experiences in the sport as well as her personal experiences as a parent to inform her work with USTA and her own website. In this week's podcast, Marianne and I dig a little deeper into what it means to raise a champion human, not just a champion tennis player. She shares her own stories with her parents and sons to help us better understand what's required of us as Tennis Parents in this journey. To read the above-referenced article from Marianne's website, click here. To listen to Toni Nadal's TedX Talk, click here. To learn more about the book Range that Marianne mentions, click here. If you have questions or issues you'd like to discuss with Marianne, you can contact her directly through her website here. Thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 27, of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, things get personal! My father, Carl Goodman, started playing tennis in New Orleans when he was a kid. He has continued playing throughout his life with a short hiatus from the sport while he was in medical school in the early 1960s. He has seen the game change and develop over many decades and has some very definite opinions on what's good - and what's not! - regarding those changes. In this week's episode, he shares his own Tennis History as well as his thoughts on what we need to do as a community to give the sport back to the kids. Thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 26 of the ParentingAces Podcast! I have been traveling - A LOT! - and have not been able to schedule podcast recording sessions the past few weeks. So, in this week’s show, we throw it back to my conversation with former World #1 and current Tennis Parent, Tracy Austin. Please note: this episode hails from my days broadcasting on BlogTalkRadio, so you will hear a different intro than you're used to! Tracy Austin shares her incredible tennis story and how she has used the lessons learned from her parents and siblings with her own children in this episode of the ParentingAces podcast, originally recorded and released in February 2015. As you may know, Tracy's son, Brandon Holt, just finished his 4-year stint as a USC Trojan where he played at the top of the lineup starting his Freshman year. I last had the chance to see him play at the 2019 NCAA Division I Championships in May, and his game has continued to grow and develop during his time under the tutelage of coach Peter Smith. Thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices