ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 25 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's show, the topic is High School Tennis. Corey Aldridge and Troy Simonek both grew up playing junior tennis then college tennis, and went into coaching after getting their degrees. Their commitment to growing High School Tennis in Texas has been nothing short of phenomenal. As you'll hear, they have worked alongside Universal Tennis to ensure the majority of high school teams throughout the state are now reporting scores to UTR. In addition, they have each created UTR tournaments for high school players in their respective cities, ensuring the kids have events to play when they're not in season. Check out last week's Tweet from UTR: — MyUTR (@MyUTR) June 4, 2019 For more information on what these two guys have accomplished, be sure to check out their Facebook group here. For information on the UTR National High School Team Tennis Tournament, click here. To find out how UTR works with high school tennis, click here. To read the ParentingAces article discussing UTR Fit, click here. And, finally, to contact Corey and/or Troy via email: Corey: [email protected] Troy: [email protected] 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 24 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's conversation, I chat with Sid Newcomb, lead tester for the USPTA. For those unfamiliar with USPTA, it is one of the most highly-regarded certifying organizations for tennis coaches, and its offices are located directly across the street from the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida. The organization was founded in September of 1927 in New York and has grown to over 15,000 members in its 92 years. Member coaches must go through an education and testing process before receiving their official certification. That's where Sid Newcomb comes in! Sid is a USPTA Elite Professional and USPTA National Head Tester. Sid loves coaching and teaching tennis to all ages and levels. He has been in the industry as a teaching pro and coach for almost 30 years. The first seven years of his career were with the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. He was the European Academy Director in Belgium, Germany, France and England. While with the NBTA, he had the opportunity to coach numerous professional and collegiate players. Prior to joining the USPTA in 2015, Sid was the Director of Tennis at a private club in Northern California. In his current role at the USPTA, he works to set the standards and elevate the game of tennis for current and future teaching professionals. He is an integral part of the USPTA staff, and his passion and love of the tennis shines through in all that he does. Sid played collegiately at NAIA tennis power, John Brown University in Arkansas. He was nationally ranked in both doubles and singles. He had a short stint on the professional tour before he began his coaching career in 1990. Sid and I discuss what's involved in become a certified teaching pro and how the process could improve. We also discuss some of the changes coming in the next couple of years, including more extensive education around junior development and college recruiting. 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 23 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this episode, I discuss the NCAAs with coach - and former University of Miami standout - Todd Widom. If you follow ParentingAces on any social media, you are well aware the NCAA Division I Championships just concluded down in Orlando at the USTA National Campus. I was fortunate enough to be there for the team finals as well as the first day of the individual singles competition. While Todd Widom wasn't able to be there in person, he did watch countless matches online and on Tennis Channel. He and I both have several observations to report and discuss. Tennis parents and junior coaches may learn some things to help their own players reach this highest level of College Tennis! 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 22 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, I chat with Cory Brooks, the ITA Senior Director of Championships, Rankings and Membership about the 2019 ITA Summer Circuit. The Summer Circuit is one of my favorite series for junior players as well as incoming college freshmen and other college players looking for quality competition during their time off from school. These tournaments are held on college campuses across the US and offer the opportunity to play both singles and doubles for a relatively low entry fee. You can read more about the Summer Circuit and find all necessary links in my recent article at https://parentingaces.com/ita-summer-circuit-2019/. If you have more questions about the ITA Summer Circuit in general, you can reach Cory at [email protected] or visit the ITA website. Otherwise, Cory suggests reaching out to the Tournament Directors for questions regarding specific events. You can find that contact information on the UTR event page for the particular tournament. In the podcast, you will hear Cory reference a new aspect to this year's Summer Circuit. For more information on the NCAA rule regarding prize money for college tennis players, see this excerpt from the NCAA website: Can a student-athlete accept prize money? In all sports except tennis, a student-athlete or prospective student-athlete may accept prize money as long as the amount of the prize is less than or equal to his or her expenses for participating in the competition, such as meals or lodging. The prize money may not pay for expenses of parents or coaches. In tennis, a prospective student-athlete may accept up to $10,000 per year in prize money. Once he or she has accepted $10,000 in prize money in a particular year, he or she may accept additional prize money on a per-event basis as long as the amount of the prize does not exceed his or her expenses. A current tennis student-athlete may accept prize money as long as the amount of the prize is less than or equal to his or her expenses for participating in the competition. 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 21 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this episode, we chat once again with Coach Todd Widom as a follow-up to last week's episode with the parents of 2 of Todd's players. The focus of this week's conversation is the importance of following a step-by-step plan in junior development. Todd discusses the dangers when coaches and players try to rush the process, oftentimes leaving the player with shortcomings that are very difficult to fix down the line. Whether it's the type of ball being used or the level of tournament being played, there is a logical progression that needs to be followed in order to wind up with a player who can compete with his or her peers throughout the juniors and into college and even the professional tour. Todd has had many young players come to him who were not taught proper technique or proper footwork or who aren't physically fit enough to withstand the rigors of junior tennis competition. As he says, it's much easier to teach those things properly from the beginning than to try to make up for deficiencies later on. 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 20 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode we hear from two Tennis Dads who have seen their sons rise to the highest levels of junior and college tennis.Ron Hohmann lives in New York. He grew up playing both tennis and volleyball then played Division I volleyball in college. His son, Ronnie, is choosing the tennis path instead. You may remember my podcast with Ron and Ronnie and Ronnie's coach, Todd Widom, from a few months ago (click here to listen). Since that episode, Ronnie has had a tremendous year, winning the 2019 Easter Bowl just last month and earning a full scholarship to play tennis at LSU. Throughout his junior tennis career, Ronnie has been at the top of the national rankings, finishing as the Number 1 recruit in the 2019 class on TennisRecruiting.net.Eric Mautner grew up playing tennis, among other sports, and played at Boston University during his college years. His son, Kyle, is graduating next month from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business where he played all four years in the top spot on Penn's tennis team. Kyle was a Blue Chip recruit on TennisRecruiting.net in the 2015 class.Both Ron and Eric chose to send their sons to train with Todd Widom down in Florida at relatively young ages. Hear from these two dads about what went into their decision, what they feel their sons gained from the experience, and what they might do differently.These two dads have generously offered to answer any questions you might have. To reach Ron, you can email him at [email protected]. To reach Eric, you can email him at [email protected]. As I mention in the podcast, our first online webinar is coming up on May 9 for our Premium Members. For more information, click 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 19 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we talk about the NCAA rule regarding a grace period between high school graduation and the start of college. Ken is a San Diego-based coach who works with many top-level junior players, including his own niece who has committed to play her college tennis at University of California, Berkeley, starting Fall 2019. He travels the world with his players and has engaged in conversations with both US and international men and women about the struggle this NCAA rule can cause. You will hear from Ken his thoughts on why the rule is problematic and his suggestions for how it should be modified. For those of you with junior players who aspire to play college tennis at a high level, this episode is a must-listen! You can reach Ken via his website here. He is available via email at [email protected]. Thank you to my son, 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: 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 3 options for you - by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 18 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we discuss summer tennis camps with Ohio State Men's Assistant Coach and founder of Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps, David Schilling. If you've been following ParentingAces for a while, you know what a huge fan I am of sending your child to tennis camp in the summer. Not only is it a fantastic break from their regular grind of drills and tournaments, but it also fosters independence and gives them a chance to meet and play against kids they may not know. If the camp is held on a college campus, as are the Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps, then they also get the added benefit of spending time on a campus, getting a feel for dorm life, and meeting and playing with some of the current team members. In my opinion, there's no better way to inspire a young player to aim for playing college tennis! David Schilling has a rich background in tennis with the added benefit of having a father who was a coach and who mentored David throughout his childhood. David has used the lessons he learned from his dad in his own recruiting, coaching, and management of the camps and shares all of that with us this week. He talks about UTR, Tennis Recruiting, and the various rankings and how he and Ty Tucker use them in their recruiting efforts at Ohio State. If you're interested in Wilson Collegiate Tennis Camps for your kids, click here. Wilson Tennis does a great job of supporting the camps with equipment and prizes for the kids! To contact David directly, you can do so via this contact form or via email at [email protected]. Thank you to my son, 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: 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 3 options for you - by clicking here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8 Episode 17 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we hear from two families who have chosen two very different pathways for their junior players, both with the same coach. Over the past couple of years, I have interviewed coach Todd Widom many times. Instead of talking to the coach this week, though, I chose to speak with two sets of parents whose children are coached by Todd. You will hear from Lila and Frank Kim, who have a son and a daughter working with Todd, as well as Lisa Hendricks, who has 2 daughters working with Todd. The Kims and the Hendricks have chosen to approach their children's tennis differently. One family chose to relocate to Florida, the other to travel there periodically for training. It is very interesting to hear the reasons for their choices as well as how their decisions are working for their children and their families overall. Both Lila and Lisa have offered to answer any questions listeners may have. You can contact either of them via text message: Lila Kim 310-560-1287 Lisa Hendricks 913-461-5765 As you've probably heard by now, ParentingAces.com has gone to a Membership platform. The good news is it's FREE to join! Find out more here: https://parentingaces.com/exciting-changes-ahead/ and make sure to sign up for one of our membership options so you don't miss anything on ParentingAces.com. 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. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 16 of the ParentingAces Podcast! I hope you've used the last couple of weeks to catch up on any episodes you may have missed! Matt Knoll had an incredible career as the Head Coach of Men's Tennis at Baylor University. A 2008 Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Matt was the Bears' head coach since their first season of Big 12 Conference competition in 1997. Before retiring at the end of the 2018 season, Matt Knoll amassed a 510-150 record as Baylor's Director of Men's Tennis. His teams captured 13 Big 12 Conference regular season titles, including eight consecutive from 2002 through 2009, and they added eight Big 12 Tournament championships. Coach Knoll brought Baylor University its first team national championship when he led the Bears to a 4-0 sweep of UCLA in the 2004 National Championship title match. He also guided BU to the 2005 National Team Indoor Championship and four additional runs to the NCAA semifinals, including a runner-up finish in 2005. A three-time National Coach of the Year, Matt was also honored as Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year six times. His teams finished seasons ranked top-four nationally six times and top-10 nationally in 13 of 22 years. Baylor joined UCLA as the nation's only programs ranked top-10 in the final national rankings every year from 2002 through 2011. Since leaving Baylor, Matt decided to move into the other side of college tennis, helping Prospective Student Athletes (PSAs) find their best fit. He started American College Placement in order to help players and their families during the recruiting process. You will hear more about how Matt and his staff work with families and what sets his service apart from the other recruiting companies out there. This June, Matt will be putting on a college tennis showcase at SMU in Dallas, Texas. The showcase is open to any tennis player currently in 8th, 9th, 10th, or 11th grade. It will take place June 22-23, 2019 with Saturday reserved for boys and Sunday reserved for girls. I will be there as well, talking to the players and parents as part of a panel discussion, and I hope to see you! For more information and to register, click here. Thank you to my son, 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: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. To join the ParentingAces Community and have full access to all content, including discounts on a variety of products, services, webinars, and camps, click 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. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 15 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week’s episode, we chat with Cindy Brinker and Carol Weyman of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Foundation and Little Mo series of junior tennis events. Not only will you hear about one of my favorite junior tennis events, but you will also learn some Tennis History! Maureen Connolly, or Little Mo as she was fondly dubbed by a journalist early in her tennis career, was the only woman to win tennis's Grand Slam. Sadly, her life was cut short by ovarian cancer but not before she established the Maureen Connolly Foundation in 1968 to give back to the sport she loved. Now, the MCB Foundation runs several events throughout the year, including the Little Mo series of tournaments for players age 8-12 and the Big Mo tournaments for players age 13-16. These are some of my favorite tournaments in all of junior tennis, so I hope you will listen to the podcast then consider adding one or more of them to your player's schedule! Grants are available to those in need. 2019 BNP Paribas Open Champ Dominic Thiem in Little Mo/Smrikva Bowl 2003 If you have a business or company that is looking for sponsorship opportunities, the MCB Foundation is very interested in talking with you! It uses the sponsorship money to put on events as well as to fund its various grant programs. Contact Carol Weyman at the email address below for more information. You can find out more at mcbtennis.org - click on the Tournaments link at the top of the page. To apply for a grant, contact Carol Weyman at [email protected] and ask for an application to be sent to you. To learn more about the Little Mo postage stamp, pictured so beautifully above, click here. You will be able to buy the stamp through the US Postal Service at your local post office or online here beginning April 23, 2019. FYI we won't be releasing Episode 16 until April 9th, so please use the next 2 weeks to catch up on any episodes you may have missed! Thank you to my son, 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: 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. This podcast – and all of the work ParentingAces does – is supported by donations from our audience. If you are getting value from these podcasts, please consider making a donation – any size is much appreciated! – through PayPal here. You can also support ParentingAces by clicking on the ads on the right sidebar at ParentingAces.com. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 14 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we take a detailed look at hydration and nutrition for junior tennis players. My guest is Certified Sports Nutritionist and Sports Nutritionist for the Boston Bruins, Julie Nicoletti. Julie also now works with CrossCourt Consulting to help junior tennis players maximize their performance both on and off the court.Julie provides DETAILED information on what our young players should be eating and drinking before, during, and after practices as well as before, during, and after tournaments. She mentions several products throughout the podcast, and I've provided links to each one below (NOTE: ParentingAces may receive a commission if you purchase the products through these links; however, ParentingAces does not endorse these products to the exclusion of other similar products on the market).Julie also mentions The Clean Label Project (click here to visit its website) as a reliable resource for clean and healthy products and foods. To reach Julie, click here for her website, email her here, or call her in Boston at 617-921-4237.I will be at the Miami Open for one day on Thursday, March 21. If you're going to be there, too, please let me know so we can connect!Thank you to my son, 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: 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. This podcast – and all of the work ParentingAces does – is supported by donations from our audience. If you are getting value from these podcasts, please consider making a donation – any size is much appreciated! – through PayPal here. Thank you!Hydration & Nutrition ProductsClick the product name to open a new window and go to it in the ParentingAces Amazon Store:Nuun TabletsSkratch PowderFuel For FireMunk PackClif Shot BloksHoney Stinger ChewsHoney Stinger WafflesNordic Naturals Omega3 & Vitamin D supplementBarlean's Omega3 supplementSol Raiz Organic Maca PowderVital Proteins Collage Protein PowderVega Clean Protein Powder Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 13 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, I chat with coach Matt Manasse, the women's Associate Coach at 4th ranked Duke University, about college tennis recruiting. Matt is a former college tennis player himself and offers incredible insights into recruiting and playing at the college level. What questions should your junior ask the college coaches during recruiting visits? How do you choose a college? What should prospective student athletes look for during college visits? What's the best way to transition from college to pro? These are all questions Matt addresses in this episode of the podcast this week. Matt also shares his own college tennis experience and his decision to transfer. As he says, transferring is something that happens more often than we may know. It's very tough for a 17- or 18-year-old to know what he/she doesn't know when making that college tennis decision, so it's no surprise that the initial decision doesn't always work out as expected. I love getting an inside look at the life of a college tennis coach as well as recruiting, and Matt does a great job of letting us inside his world. You can reach Matt via email here and find him on Twitter @Matt_Manasse. Thank you to my son, 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: 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. This podcast – and all of the work ParentingAces does – is supported by donations from our audience. If you are getting value from these podcasts, please consider making a donation – any size is much appreciated! – through PayPal here. You can also support ParentingAces by clicking on the ads on the right sidebar at ParentingAces.com. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 12 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, I chat with Mark Kovacs, PhD, founder of the International Tennis Performance Association (iTPA) and fellow Atlanta resident, about the concept of Periodization and how best to use it with our junior tennis players. This conversation came about after I received an email from a ParentingAces listener asking for more information about what periodization really is and how she can incorporate it into her child's training and competition schedule. After sending her a few articles to read, it occurred to me that Mark Kovacs would be the best person to address this topic on the podcast. Dr. Mark Kovacs is a renowned performance physiologist, researcher, university professor, author, speaker and coach with an extensive background training and researching athletes at all levels. He serves the iTPA membership as its Executive Director. He formally directed the Sport Science, Strength & Conditioning and Coaching Education departments for the United States Tennis Association (USTA). He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the ITPA. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles and abstracts in top journals including the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine, Sports Health, International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance, Strength & Conditioning Journal, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine among many others. He is currently the Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Strength & Conditioning Journal and is on the editorial board for multiple other journals including the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. He has presented workshops and keynote addresses on four continents and well over 100 presentations. Along with his academic and scientific background Dr. Kovacs is also a coach and former professional athlete. He was an All-American and NCAA doubles champion in tennis at Auburn University. After playing professionally, he completed his graduate work at Auburn University and earned his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from The University of Alabama. Dr. Kovacs is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a certified Health/Fitness Specialist through the American College of Sports Medicine, a United States Track and Field Level II Sprints Coach and Certified Tennis Coach. In other words, Mark knows whereof he speaks! As he mentions in the podcast, Mark was scheduled to host a Tennis Fitness Combine on March 9 in Atlanta. Unfortunately, he had to cancel that event and offers his apologies. To contact Mark via his website, click here. To find Mark on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), search @MKovacsPhd. Thank you to my son, 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: 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. This podcast – and all of the work ParentingAces does – is supported by donations from our audience. If you are getting value from these podcasts, please consider making a donation – any size is much appreciated! – through PayPal here. You can also support ParentingAces by clicking on the ads on the right sidebar at ParentingAces.com. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to another Bonus Episode of Season 8 of the ParentingAces Podcast. In this one, I chat with former University of Iowa and current professional player, Shelby Talcott, regarding the possible underlying reason for the ITF's new World Tennis Tour which is implemented beginning January 1, 2019. My conversation with Shelby was prompted by an article she posted on her blog entitled THE ITF'S DEAL WITH THE DEVIL. You can reach Shelby via her blog here or via email at [email protected]. Please go to ParentingAces.com for more details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Welcome to this Bonus Episode of the ParentingAces Podcast! Growing the game of tennis is the mission of many organizations and individuals out there, including Yours Truly. However, there seems to be a disconnect between the marketing experts and those on the ground, and we aren't seeing the increases in players and fans that we hope and work for. One young professional player is working to change that.Noah Rubin, whose mom, Melanie, you've heard on this podcast in the past (click here, here, and here for my conversations with her), realized that in order to grow the sport, there needed to be a way to get the individual players' stories out to a large audience. He decided to use his large social media presence to create a new Instagram account and do the story-telling himself.Behind the Racquet has only been in existence about a month, but Noah has already amassed a following of almost 5000 people. There are other professional players, coaches, parents, and fans who have found these stories to be inspirational and a real way to connect with players and the game. As you'll hear in our podcast, Noah is getting messages from people all around the world who are moved by the honesty and rawness of what he's presenting via Instagram.You can find Noah's Behind the Racquet on Instagram here and on Facebook here. He is also on Twitter here. I hope you'll share his platform with your young players, too, so they get a better understanding of the challenges faced by pros that may not look any different from what they're going through themselves.Thank you to my son, 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: 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. This podcast – and all of the work ParentingAces does – is supported by donations from our audience. If you are getting value from these podcasts, please consider making a donation – any size is much appreciated! – through PayPal here. You can also support ParentingAces by clicking on the ads on our right sidebar. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 8 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, former college coach, Dave Mullins, joins us from Ireland to talk about what we should really be looking at in terms of player development. Dave recently wrote a 2-part article on this topic (see http://www.davemullinstennis.com/news/2018/11/2/shaky-foundation-part-1 and http://www.davemullinstennis.com/news/2019/1/8/shaky-foundation-part-2) which also appeared on the Tennis Recruiting website. Dave lived in the US for many years, coaching at several different schools, before returning to Ireland to raise his family. He is now working with the Irish Tennis Federation as well as coaching individual players and playing a bit himself. Dave provides the ParentingAces Community with an honest look at player development, college recruiting, and life beyond tennis. We are lucky to have access to his vast experience and in-depth knowledge of our sport! Thank you to my son, 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: 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. This podcast – and all of the work ParentingAces does – is supported by donations from our audience. If you are getting value from these podcasts, please consider making a donation – any size is much appreciated! – through PayPal here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 7 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's show, the focus is on level-based play. That is, playing tennis against opponents of a similar skill level regardless of age or gender. My guest, Greg Chambers, is the Director of Tennis at the Ensworth School in Nashville, TN. He has a long history in our sport and is bringing his experience and passion to players of all ages through the tournaments and events he runs at the school. Ensworth has an amazing tennis facility, made possible through funding by a very generous sponsor. The facility rivals that of top Division I colleges with both indoor and outdoor courts, a covered viewing area, and ample parking for players and fans. Greg was one of the Early Adopters of UTR, putting on one-day events and multi-day tournaments over the past 4 years. We discuss the pros and cons of these events and how they compare to those sanctioned through our governing body. We also discuss how parents and coaches can use UTR to help their junior players reach their highest potential in the sport. You can find out more about the Ensworth School here. To contact Greg Chambers directly, email him at [email protected]. Thank you to my son, 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: 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. This podcast – and all of the work ParentingAces does – is supported by donations from our audience. If you are getting value from these podcasts, please consider making a donation – any size is much appreciated! – through PayPal here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 6 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, we chat with Jeff Bearup, Tim Donovan, and David Benzel who founded CrossCourt Consulting in the New England area. Between them, these three gentlemen have extensive experience working with not only Tennis Parents, but all sorts of Sports Parents, to help their children have a more positive experience. Realizing there was a gap in the tennis space, Jeff and Tim joined forces to help families better navigate the junior development process to maximize their child's tennis experience. Crosscourt Consulting provides families with the knowledge and framework necessary to help them design a master plan that includes key benchmarks in the player’s tennis development through proper goal setting, tournament planning, periodization schedule and developmental planning. They work with the child's personal coach to ensure the best process and outcome for all involved. Crosscourt Consulting and Parenting Aces are teaming up to give one lucky junior tennis player a Crosscourt Consulting Gold Plan Consulting Package. The 12-month Package Includes: Developmental Planning Tournament Planning Periodization Schedule Phone Meetings Coordination with your Private Coach To get more information and to enter, click https://crosscourtconsulting.com/crosscourt-consulting-and-parenting-aces-2019-drawing/. Entry deadline is May 12, 2019. They are also offering a 10% discount to ParentingAces Families on any package through May 12, 2019. For more information on CrossCourt Consulting and/or to contact them, be sure to visit their website here. The Contact form that Jeff mentions is located online here. I hope to have other members of the CrossCourt Consulting Performance Team on the podcast in the near future. As promised, for Tim Donovan's site, click here. For David Benzel's site, click here. Thank you to my son, 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: 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. This podcast - and all of the work ParentingAces does - is supported by donations from our audience. If you are getting value from these podcasts, please consider making a donation - any size is much appreciated! - through PayPal here. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a member of the ParentingAces Community asking if ANY coach can develop a champion if the family has enough time and money to invest in the child's tennis. I posed that question to one of my favorite coaches, Todd Widom, and in this week's episode we discuss the query in depth. There is so much more to high-level junior development than simply time and money. The proper mindset, the proper work ethic, the proper attitude . . . all these things are contributing factors that affect how far a player can take his/her tennis skills. And do not underestimate the impact the right - or even the wrong! - coach can have. Yes, it helps to have a player with unlimited financial resources. Yes, it helps to have a player who isn't bound by traditional school hours (however, please note, there are so many benefits to attending traditional school!). However, there are some players who are born with skills that can't be taught, regardless of time or money. There are some players who don't have the internal drive to succeed, and that can't be bought or taught. It is crucial that parents understand the factors that go into high-level tennis development and make decisions impacting the family accordingly. This week's episode helps to shed light on many of those factors. Thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our 2019 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Several months ago, I had the pleasure of talking with Dave Miley, the Executive Director of Tennis Development for the International Tennis Federation (ITF) from 1991 until 2015 who was responsible for the non professional activities of the ITF including junior tennis, senior tennis, wheelchair tennis, technical and anti-doping as well as the ITF’s Development Programme. Dave has been very vocal about the ITF's World Tennis Tour and its possible ramifications for our sport. In Season 8, Episode 4, Dave and I delve deeper into the World Tennis Tour and how it's impacting tennis so far. Dave shares his thoughts on why this is important to Tennis Parents in the US and around the world, especially as it affects College Tennis. Dave also discusses his candidacy for President of the ITF and what it could mean for tennis as a whole. He explains the election process and details of his campaign platform. As he will likely be running against current ITF President - and former USTA President - David Haggarty, Dave is not betting on the support of our governing body this year. That said, if you are interested in learning how YOU can support Dave Miley, please contact me for more information. NOTE: We recorded this episode using a new (for me!) platform since Dave was in Abu Dhabi, so please excuse any wonky sound quality! To listen to my previous podcast with Dave on the Transition Tour, click here. To read the series of Dave's articles on the State of the Game, click here. To read Dave's latest article on the ITF World Tennis Tour, click here. To access the ITF website, click here. To sign up for the ITF Newsletter, scroll to the bottom of their homepage and enter your email address. Thank you to my son, 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: 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jeff Salzenstein has been involved in tennis pretty much his entire life. In Season 8 Episode 3, Jeff shares his tumultuous junior career, going from #1 in the 12's to #69 in the 16's, eventually making his way to the Stanford Men's Tennis Team playing for the inimitable Dick Gould. After giving the pro tour a go then getting side-lined by multiple injuries, Jeff moved into coaching, developing a variety of online platforms to reach players around the world. Today, his focus is the power of language and the power of communication and how to help others improve. How you talk to yourself, how you communicate as an influencer, and how we're being "programmed" by our larger community are all aspects of Jeff's work as a coach. Simply becoming aware of how you speak with your child is Step One of improving communication. Not just the words but also the tone of voice can impact how your junior interprets what you're saying. As parents and coaches, we have to model good communication for our children so they will grow and develop into better communicators as adults. Jeff offers some concrete advice on how we can hone our skills in this arena. Thank you to my son, 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: 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 8, Episode 2 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week, the discussion focuses on the nuances of Division III Recruiting and how it differs from Division I. For example, did you know many DIII schools no longer require Prospective Student Athletes to take the SAT or ACT? And according to the NCSA website, for DIII schools, official visits begin January 1 of junior year, and they are unlimited? These are two very important things to know! Lauren Egna and Leslie Schleimer have each gone through the DIII recruiting process with their own children, Lauren in tennis and Leslie in soccer. After discovering how complicated and convoluted the process can be, they decided to go into business together to help other families avoid the pitfalls and maximize the opportunities available. College Athlete Consultants was born! Thank you to Lauren and Leslie for shedding some light on how rewarding the DIII athletic experience can be and helping the ParentingAces audience learn more about how to get started with recruiting. To connect with Lauren and Leslie via their College Athlete Consultants website, click here. You can find them on Facebook here. You can reach them via email here. For a free phone consultation, call Lauren at 917-887-8930. **Mention ParentingAces to receive a 20% discount off College Athlete Consultants recruiting services!** You may notice we have new music in our intro and outro this season. That’s thanks to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's hard to believe another season of the ParentingAces Podcast has come to a close! Over the past 7 years, I've had the opportunity to chat with some amazing Parents, Coaches, Players, and Industry Folks who have been incredibly generous with their knowledge and offers to help.It seems only fitting to close this season with one last conversation with Coach Todd Widom. In this episode, Todd addresses the Millennial Player and how best to coach them to their highest potential. You will hear Todd (and me) reference a video we both watched a few months ago. You can watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/100000013386147/posts/2186232288053863/. It's only 16 minutes long, and I promise you it's worth your time!While I won't be releasing any new episodes between now and the end of the year, rest assured I will be RECORDING new ones in anticipation of 2019 and Season 8! I urge you to use these next few weeks to catch up on any episodes you may have missed, to re-listen to those that sparked something in you, and to share our podcast and website with anyone you think will benefit from their content. Also be sure to subscribe to ParentingAces here so you don't miss a thing!Please enjoy the holidays with your family and other loved ones. Let's all come back together the first week of January to jump-start another great year of learning and sharing. Happy holidays!As always, a big thank you to STØNE for our music! I'll be seeing him perform live in San Francisco this week! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzicIf you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Patricia Hy-Boulais has worn many hats in the tennis world: junior player, professional player, coach, parent. Her latest hat is that of blogger as she recently entered the online world to share her thoughts on the Junior Tennis Journey from the perspective of both a parent and a coach. When I saw Patricia's announcement of her new blog, I couldn't wait to read it! After interviewing her earlier this year for ParentingAces, I knew she had a lot of wisdom to share. As you'll hear in this newest episode, her goal is to speak to Tennis Parents from the coach's perspective as well as to Tennis Coaches from the parent's perspective. I am looking forward to learning from her and sharing it with all of you. You can find Patricia's blog here: https://www.patriciahy.com/ To listen to my earlier podcast with her, go to https://parentingaces.com/from-pro-to-parent-with-patricia-hy-boulais/ And you can contact Patricia through her website at https://www.patriciahy.com/p/contact-me_4.html. She has graciously offered to answer any questions you may have about your own child's journey. As always, a big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many young kids, Jordan Belga played several sports, but it was tennis that lit a spark in him. The sport seemed to come easy to him. He was the #1 ranked player in the US in the 12-and-unders, seemingly on an upward trajectory toward his dream job of playing professional tennis. However, an injury at age 14 meant significant time away from the sport for young Jordan. And he wasn't sure he had what it would take to make his way back to the top of the game. In this week's episode, Jordan Belga shares his tumultuous journey along the junior and college tennis pathway with brutal honesty. Never fear, though: the story does have a happy ending! This episode is a bit longer than usual, but please do stick with it to the end. Jordan's story is a common one, sadly, and it's an important one for parents, players, and coaches to hear and understand. If you'd like to contact Jordan Belga, you can do so via his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/jordan.belga and via his Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jordan_belga/. To read Jordan's account of his experience with the USTA Player Development Coaching Fellowship, click here. To learn more about the Fellowship and how to apply, click here. As always, a big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you're a 10-and-Under Faculty Coach for the USTA, you have access to the latest information on junior development and the best way to navigate the process. When you're also the parent of a college tennis player, you have something even better: first-hand experience! Coach/Parent Ellen Miller has seen the process unfold not only with her young players but also in her own family. She is the mother of 4 children, two of whom played or are playing college sports, all of whom grew up participating in multiple sports. Ellen competed in multiple sports as well, finally choosing to play college tennis at Rice University in Houston and now competing as a Senior Master Swimmer. I'm sharing all this with you so that you understand this woman knows her stuff when it comes to youth sports development and college recruiting! She has been through it herself. She has parented her children through it. And now she is guiding families as they enter the Junior Tennis Journey. I encourage you to listen closely to Ellen's advice. This episode is full of good stuff that will help all parents and coaches do a better job. Ellen has graciously offered to help anyone needing some guidance through the Junior Development Pathway. You can reach her at [email protected]. To get information on the Houston NJTL and how you can get involved or donate, click here. To get information on your local NJTL chapter, click here. As always, a big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I was in New York for the WTCA Conference and the US Open, I had the opportunity to learn from some incredible coaches and parents. One of the most unique learning opportunities came on the final day of the Conference when I heard Jure Ko and Anja Prislan explain how they use numerology to help coaches understand the mindset of their players. I know this sounds kind of "woo-woo" when you first hear it, but please give this week's episode a full listen and click on the links below. I think you will be as surprised as I was to learn what this ancient methodology can teach us! According to Jure and Anja, the majority of coaches are closed to accepting new ways of doing things because they are comfortable with the conventional and familiar. This makes them feel secure. So a lot of the coaches and players are simply doing the same old same old and are not risking anything with a new approach. But why not try something new because what is old and proven now was new not so long ago. Why not open yourself to a new horizon and broaden your approach to coaching, to the understanding of your players, and enjoying the tennis game? Numerology is not for everyone but something that might just change the way you work with a player that you previously really couldn’t understand! These same skills apply to your relationship with your child and can help you communicate more effectively. So, check out these links to learn more and to connect with Jure and Anja: https://www.trainyourvibration.com/ https://www.facebook.com/puntacanatcnow/ https://www.instagram.com/puntacanatcnow/ To see how Anja and Jure used their method to evaluate Serena Williams's performance in the 2018 US Open Final, click here. A big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on our website and on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when 3 brothers, all alums of the Yale Men's Tennis program, are inspired by an Aristotle quote to create an online space to offer coaching from some of the best in the business? Rhabit! Repetitive actions, becoming habits, leading to excellence - that is the impetus behind this new platform that brings video instruction from top ATP/WTA coaches, current and former tour players, current and former college players, and others directly to you. Rhabit’s instructional videos teach proven skill and strategy development techniques in a unique vlog like style—delivering a fun learning experience. Jeff and his brothers, Connor and Kyle, traveled around the US in an RV - The Rhabitat - meeting with and recording video sessions on the strokes, tactics, and other issues that make up the entire tennis development journey. In this week's episode, you will hear Jeff talk about what Rhabit.com offers, some of his favorite experiences on the road, and how best to use the site to enhance or supplement a player's existing coaching situation. Graciously, Rhabit is offering a 15% discount to the ParentingAces community. Simply use code Parentingaces1 when registering. Of course, you can also test out the site with a free trial to make sure it suits your needs. To learn more, visit Rhabit.com. You can reach Jeff at [email protected]. The article Jeff mentions pertaining to extended life expectancy is here. As always, a big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our last episode, we discussed the youth tennis progression in terms of the Red, Orange, Green, and Yellow balls. This week we will discuss the youth tennis progression in terms of tactics. Coach Todd Widom joins us once again to talk about the importance of integrating lessons on tactics alongside the technical training our kids typically receive. He gets into the details of how kids should learn the X's and O's of the game and how to tell when they are ready for a higher level of instruction. If you have a child just starting out in tennis, do yourself a favor and listen to both Episode 43 and 44 to gain a more thorough understanding of the developmental process. And be sure to go back and read the Show Notes from Episode 43 as well. To contact Todd, you can visit his website at twtennis.com. You can also email him at [email protected] or find him on Facebook or Twitter. Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our last episode, you heard from Coach Todd Widom about the role of the Tennis Parent throughout the Junior Development process. In this week's podcast, you'll hear from Todd again, this time about the different types of coaches and which one is appropriate at which stage. Coach Todd discusses the differences between a technical coach, a tactical coach, and a teacher. He explains when a child would need each of these and how parents can determine when it's time to move to a new coaching situation. To contact Todd, you can visit his website at twtennis.com. You can also email him at [email protected] or find him on Facebook or Twitter. Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The role of the Tennis Parent is crucial in the Junior Development Process. But, if we don't have a clear understanding of exactly WHAT our role is, it's much easier to make mistakes along the way. In this week's episode, Coach Todd Widom shares his thoughts on what we parents should be doing at each stage of the game. He starts with the early years, moving into the middle school then high school years, explaining how our role changes but also how it stays the same. As always, you can reach Todd Widom via his website at twtennis.com or email at [email protected]. A big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic If you’re so inclined, please share this - and all our episodes! - with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on our website and on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For years I have been asking junior coaches to do a better job of communicating with families. Everything from which tournaments to play to whether the child is progressing to how a child compares to his/her peers are questions most Tennis Parents have. Furqan Iqbal, the CEO of Tennis Locker, is a Tennis Parent himself who had similar questions for his son's coach. That coupled with his software development background led Furqan to create an app that would allow coaches to plan for and monitor player development while giving them a simple means of communicating with players and parents. I had the chance to meet Furqan and hear his presentation at the recent WTCA Conference in New York. Once seeing how the app actually works and how simple it is for everyone to use, I wanted to share it with the ParentingAces audience. I love that Tennis Locker solves the problem of coach to parent communication. I love that it includes a variety of pricing options to suit a variety of coaching situations. And I love that it can be used by all three facets of the Junior Tennis Triangle: player, parent, and coach. After listening to this week's episode, I hope you'll go to the Tennis Locker website here and reach out to Furqan with any questions. You can contact him at [email protected]. A big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic If you're so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few weeks ago I received an email from a member of the ParentingAces community. It said, "We have a limited budget for tennis and you know personally how expensive it can be with all the costs adding up. I would love to hear a program on how to get the most bang for your buck. That is, ways to help your child become a great tennis player when you don't have a large income to draw on."Ask and ye shall receive! In this week's episode, we address the topic of developing a high-level junior tennis player on a tight budget.Coach Mike Belangia and parent/coach Will Segraves share their ideas and personal experience of how to Junior Tennis when you don't have six figures to spend.Mike runs a program in North Carolina called Greensboro Tennis Program. According to what I've learned, the group practices on public courts, and the rates for lessons/academy and traveling coaches is very affordable. They also offer financial aid.Will has raised his own son on a very limited budget and shares how he helped Gavin develop to such a high level that he was recruited by the Naval Academy to play tennis beginning Fall 2019.I posted the question on the ParentingAces Facebook Group and received some great comments and suggestions there, too. One in particular stood out: "I worked at the tennis club, running their summer camps for over 9 years. I never got paid a dime, but my kids received free year round lessons many days per week. Wasn’t easy but well worth it and it was wonderful to be a part of all that they were doing." That comment was posted by my dear friend, Melanie Rubin, mom to Noah Rubin (ATP 139) and Jessie Rubin who played at Binghamton University.Mike Belangia (pictured on the left) has been the City tennis director for Greensboro, NC for over 23 years. During that time his organization has run more than 600 tournaments including national and state championships. In 2001 he formed the Greensboro Tennis Program, one of the top junior training programs in the southeast. GTP is committed to providing opportunities for all kids in Greensboro to grow on and off the court. Mike has been fortunate enough to work with some the top pros in North Carolina history including Jim Winstead, Henry Hostetler and Jim Haslam. You can reach Mike at [email protected] Segraves (pictured on the right) is the Tournaments & Social Coordinator at Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, VA. Prior to his stint in Charlottesville, Will was the Tennis Director at PGA Tour in Duluth, GA. He has coached several elite junior players including his own children. You can reach Will at [email protected] big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzicIf you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Withdrawal from the backdraw of our biggest national tournaments has reached a ridiculous level. At last week's Kalamazoo Tournament (Boys 16s & 18s National Hardcourts), backdraw walkovers were at 16.89% up from 5.88% only fifteen years ago. Why are so many players pulling out once they lose in the main draw? What can coaches and parents do about it? What SHOULD coaches and parents do about it? That's the topic of this week's conversation with coach Marc Lucero. He feels very passionately about this issue and shares his thoughts on the reasons behind all the withdrawals and what can be done to curb the trend. After recording, I received a request via email from a parent: "Please discuss the summer schedule which contributes to fatigue and injuries. There are too many high level events too close together in my opinion." Marc's response: "I think it’s a valid concern. However I think it’s less to do with the schedule than the feeling that you need to play everything on the schedule, if that makes sense. I think there is an education component to this that the USTA can do better but also some culpability falls on the coaches of the kids to take a more proactive role with helping guide parents in the scheduling. Parents also would have to give up some control in this scenario and this is also assuming that coaches have experience in this area. For those that don’t have experience or for parents who do this on their own, a good way to think about optimum scheduling is to pick the one or two biggest events in the summer and put those on the calendar. Then work backwards from there. The health of the player always comes first in my mind. I want the player to be as fresh and healthy as possible (ready to go play) heading into the biggest events." You can find Marc at First Break Academy in Carson, CA. You can reach him on Twitter here and Instagram here. He is incredibly responsive, so please feel free to contact him with any questions! A big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic If you’re so inclined, please share this - and all our episodes! - with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on our website and on iTunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imagine being outside on a summer day surrounded by people who all share a love of the same thing. The only sounds are of feet skidding on green "clay", the contact of ball and string, and the occasional outburst of applause. You are hot and sweaty, but it doesn't matter because you are in your Happy Place doing what you love. Ten years ago, a long-standing tennis tradition in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, disappeared. Yes, this week's episode is personal. A few weeks ago, my brother, Jeffrey Goodman, came up with the idea of reviving the Shreveport City Tournament, one that had taken place on the public courts at Querbes Tennis Center dating back to 1933. In its prime, The City had every junior division in both singles and doubles, every adult division in both singles and doubles, a Men's Open, a Women's Open, plus mother-daughter and father-son doubles. Querbes was THE place to be if you had any interest whatsoever in the sport of tennis. You were guaranteed to see the area's best junior and adult players go at it for the ultimate title, City Champion. This week Jeffrey talks about the challenges of bringing the tournament back, why it is so important to preserve these types of events, and how others can take similar action in their local communities. Here is a bit more information: The City Championships The kickoff weekend to bring back one of the premiere sporting events in our area, The City Tennis Tournament, is coming. Dating back to at least 1933, it was the premiere annual gathering for all of the tennis players in our area. Dormant now for almost ten years, a group has banded together to bring back this truly special and key multi-generational event. The kickoff weekend tournament will take place from 8/17-8/19 at Bossier Tennis Center. In honor of the marquee event of the old "City", we are having a Men's Open Singles division. The other division will be Men's Open Doubles. Prize money will be given to the top three people in each event. Like the original City, the event will be a showcase for the best junior tennis players and the best adult tennis players in our area. Next month's tournament will feature the best high level tennis we've had for our local players in years. As part of this initiative, we also want to bring more attention to the current efforts underway to revitalize Querbes Tennis Center, the headquarters for many years for The City. At a time when Shreveport has two players (Ryan and Christian Harrison) in the top 250 of all players in the world, we are committed to preserving the extremely rich tennis history of our area. We are naming the event "The City Championships" with the idea that once Querbes completes its revitalization, we intend on holding the event twice a year, once at Bossier Tennis Center and once at Querbes. Although we are only starting with two events, the ultimate goal is to get back to the original City format of all age divisions, boys, girls, men and women, singles, doubles and adult mixed. We would also love to honor the event by bringing back the Father/Son and Mother/Daughter events. Also, we have decided to expand the event to allow any players north of Alexandria to participate. We would like the event to promote tennis for all of North Louisiana. To register for The City Championships, click here. To visit the Facebook Page, click here. To contact Jeffrey directly, email him at [email protected]. To read more about Jeffrey's film career, click here. A big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when 3 tennis-playing brothers get together and start a website? Get the answer in this week's episode (apologies for the poor sound quality in the intro - it gets way better after that!) with Vanderbilt Men's Tennis Assistant Coach, Ryan Lipman, and his mom, Lisa. Ryan and his brothers, Maxx and Marshall, all played college tennis and all still love the sport. They followed very different pathways in the junior, college, and even professional game, but have now come together to share their knowledge and connections with the rest of us via Tennis Takes. Ryan talks about the upcoming ITF Transition Tour and its potential impact on the college game (for more on that, read Colette Lewis's article here). Admittedly, he says no one really knows what's going to happen and that we should adopt a wait-and-see attitude for now. Mom, Lisa, shares her thoughts on what it takes to bring children up through the junior and college tennis journey as Ryan adds his insights. Playing multiple sports, choosing to focus solely on tennis, dealing with injuries, moving into coaching - these are all aspects of the game that many families encounter. Reflecting on all the lessons her 3 boys learned through tennis, Lisa realizes how much her entire family has benefited from our sport. Hindsight is a beautiful thing! You can find Tennis Takes here. Subscribe so you get an email whenever they post new content. Follow them on Facebook here and on Twitter here. For information on the Sean Karl Foundation, click here. You can read about Sean here. For information about the Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournaments, visit our Facebook page here. Register for the Baltimore event (August 11-12) here. A huge thank you to all of our sponsors! Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our last episode, we talked to you about how you can manage your college recruiting in the palm of your hand with the newest feature on the Match!Tennis App. This week, we discuss college scholarships and how best to get them. Marisa Meddin worked in marketing after a very successful college career at the University of Michigan. She found her greatest satisfaction, however, in volunteering to help high school students navigate the college application process, so she quit her corporate job to start Talk College To Me, a website devoted to guiding students through their applications and scholarship searches. In this week's episode, Marisa shares her tips for getting college scholarships in addition to - or maybe in lieu of - an athletic scholarship that may or may not be offered by the university's tennis coach. Marisa also offers an online admissions crash course FOR PARENTS which you can find here. ParentingAces listeners will receive a $50 discount off the registration fee when using code "parentingaces" (one word) during the checkout process. Link to view more info about the course: www.talkcollegetome.com/parents Link to download the scholarship guide: https://talkcollegetome.com/parentingaces Main website: www.talkcollegetome.com Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last year, we were all introduced to the Match!Tennis App, a one-stop-shop for all your junior tournament needs - a calendar, rankings, ratings, medical release, weather updates, doubles partner search, and more. When I used the app during the 2017 Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournaments, I was blown away by all it could do from the Tournament Director side, too. And now the app has gone one better. You can use it to manage your college recruiting process by searching schools by division, finding programs where your child's UTR, GPA, and standardized test scores will open the door, track visits and communications, plus get reminders of when applications are due or when it's time to follow up with a coach. You can watch a tutorial on Match U here. It's awesome! In this week's podcast, we hear from the app's creators once again, Heath and Lindsey Lee-Waters, Tennis Parents themselves who decided they'd had enough with traditional time-sucking junior tournament and college search responsibilities. Please give the episode a listen then run - don't walk! - to your computer to register at www.matchtennisapp.com/! ParentingAces listeners/readers get a nice discount through August 6, 2018. Just use the following codes when registering: Annual Discount code: acesyear Monthly Discount code: acesmonth To find the app, go to www.matchtennisapp.com/. If your child is playing in either of #theSol tournaments this summer, you can try the app for free (instructions are on the tourney websites here and here). Even if you decide NOT to purchase the app (which I'm not sure why you wouldn't at least try the 30-day-free option!), your junior can create a profile at this link that college coaches will see. For information about the Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournaments, visit our Facebook page here. Register for the Atlanta event here and the Baltimore event here. A huge thank you to all of our sponsors including Match!Tennis App! Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Barry Fulcher grew up in a Tennis Family. His parents and his siblings were avid players, so it was only fitting that Barry start honing his racquet and court skills as a toddler in the UK. His love of the game and of competition led him to a very successful junior tennis career such that he decided to go the professional route rather than come to the US to try his hand in our college tennis system (much to his mother's chagrin, I might add!). After realizing he couldn't sustain a pro career, Barry moved into coaching. However, his love of competition persisted and he sought out tournaments where he could continue to hone his game. He soon realized the lack of good level competitive opportunities in his home country, both for juniors and for adults. In 2017, Barry created The Progress Tour, a series of UTR-powered tournaments throughout the UK. He consulted with Sarah Borwell of TennisSmart to work out the details of his tour including sponsors who would help fund the prize money he wanted to offer. In addition to playing matches, participants (and their parents) in The Progress Tour have the opportunity to learn from experts in various aspects of tennis including college recruiting, coaching, and the mental game. The thing that jumped out at me during my conversation with Barry was the similarities of Tennis Parents and our concerns regardless of whether we're in the US, the UK, or anywhere else around the world. It helps keeps thing in perspective, I think, when we learn that other countries face the same tennis challenges as we do here in the States. This year, Barry celebrates 10 years of being cancer-free (after being diagnosed shortly after his wedding) and has decided to organize a tennis event to raise money for the Sussex Cancer Fund and The Cancer Research UK. He calls the Davis-Cup-like event British Tennis vs. The Big C, so please check it out at the link below. You can learn more about The Progress Tour here: https://www.facebook.com/TheProgressTour/ https://www3.lta.org.uk/in-your-area/Wales/news/2017/November-2017/-The-Progress-Tour-2018-/ https://youtu.be/BoeUJgh3Nrs You can learn more about Barry's fundraising event here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/barry-fulcher-britishtennisvsthebigc You can reach Barry Fulcher at [email protected]. For information about the Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournaments, visit our Facebook page here. Register for the Atlanta event here and the Baltimore event here. Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How lucky are we to have both Coach Todd Widom and Tennis Parent George Opelka together in one podcast?!?!?! These two gentleman offer their wisdom on everything from the different developmental pathways to college vs. pro tennis and everything in between. They have spent many hours talking to each other courtside while watching their respective player's practice and compete and share those conversations with us this week. You can find Todd Widom and his academy online at http://twtennis.com/ You can find out more about George's son, Reilly, at http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/reilly-opelka/o522/overview Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June is prime recruiting season for many college coaches. That said, what better time to do a podcast about Division III and how it differs from DI? Coach Matt Brisotti leads both the men's and women's tennis teams at Hamilton College, a Division III school in New York that is part of the NESCAC, one of the stronger conferences in DIII. He played college tennis at Drew University (also DIII) and finished his collegiate career as one of the top players in Drew men's tennis history with 55 career singles victories and 64 career doubles wins. After college, Matt was the head women's coach at College of Saint Elizabeth then went back to his alma mater to lead the tennis programs there. In this week's episode, Coach Brisotti discusses the ins and outs of both recruiting and coaching at the Division III level. He answers many questions about how DIII differs from the other collegiate divisions and why top juniors should look at DIII opportunities as they plan for their college tennis experience. We delve into how to fund a DIII education, too, and this is really important information for parents to have as their junior players go through the process. Just because there are no tennis scholarships does NOT mean there is no scholarship money available to interested student-athletes. While he is a relatively young coach, Matt has acquired so much wisdom and insight from his own experiences as a junior and college player as well as from the mentors who continue to play an important role in his personal and professional life. Enjoy! Coach Brisotti mentions several different showcases and recruiting camps. Here are some links for you to check out: Collegiate Exposure Camps: www.collegiateexposurecamps.com/ Ed Krass College Tennis Exposure Camps: collegetennis.com/ Donovan Tennis Showcase: www.donovantennis.com/showcases/ USTA All-American College Combine: events.universaltennis.com/tournaments/1488/ Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A few weeks ago, I posted on our Facebook page that I would be doing an interview with a USTA official and asked you for questions to ask him. You did not disappoint! In this week's episode of the ParentingAces Podcast, recorded in person at Goldberg's Deli (!), I chat with Gary Link, an amazing official based in South Carolina who has committed the past 21 years to helping junior tennis players learn while playing. I have known him since my son's junior tennis years, and I can vouch for his devotion to learning and teaching others the rules while always striving for fairness and equality.Gary addresses issues such as when officials should issue a warning versus a code violation. He talks about throwing racquets, foul language, and cheating, and how parents and officials should handle these occurrences. He talks about officials who may not be up to speed on the rules and why junior players should make sure they are prepared to question a ruling. Gary also addresses some of the myths about officials and their behind-the-scenes conversations.In addition, we spend quite a bit of time talking about the cheating problem in junior tennis and what we parents can do to help put a stop to it. You will hear us refer to Friend At Court. You can find the current document here. More on Gary Link:Gary Link is an ambassador for youth of all ages. He is a USTA Certified Referee entering his 23rd year of officiating junior and adult tennis. In addition to tennis Gary has officiated basketball for youth from ages 4 to 18 as well as adults. Gary currently serves as Chairman of the Adult Competition Committee and as member of both the Junior Competition Committee and Officials Committee for USTA South Carolina. Gary is a certified Life Coach and motivational speaker for the John Maxwell team. Gary is the founder of Upstate Junior Tennis which offers parents and junior players the opportunity to attend educational seminars on junior tennis and events featuring college coaches, inspirational speakers, and experts in the area of junior tennis. He is available to partner with your club or organization and speak on a variety of topics.You can reach Gary Link via email at [email protected]. Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzicIf 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I know. No one likes talking about periods and puberty. But, it's a reality of life and a topic that we need to discuss if we're going to help our young players maintain a healthy body image and feel comfortable asking for help whenever and wherever they may need it. In this week's episode, Katie Malinski and I get pretty candid and raw in our conversation about how to talk to our children about their bodily changes, what to do if our daughter or other female player gets her period while on our watch, and how to deal with body odor and the other wonders of puberty. Katie offers up some great ideas and actual phrases we can use to reduce the awkwardness in what is typically an inherently awkward situation. Katie Malinski is a licensed clinical social worker based in Austin, Texas, where she lives with her husband and two children. As a parenting coach and family therapist, she offers expert guidance to help families regain their balance and move forward together. Katie's top priority is preserving your parent-child relationship, and her greatest strength is the ability to see connections and patterns that are key to resolving your family’s difficulties and discord. You can find Katie online at http://www.katiemalinski.com/ and a list of her upcoming webinars at https://katiemalinski.com/upcoming-events/. You can find the absorbent underwear Katie referenced here. Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jackie Slomin is a sports dietitian who helps high school athletes get recruited to top tier colleges on scholarship with her Fuel Your Full Ride program. Having previously worked with hundreds of division I and II athletes from all different sports and holding a master's degree in sports nutrition and exercise science, Jackie is an expert at helping athlete's discover how to improve their performance, energy and recovery time by up to 50% with advanced sports nutrition principles that can be used by even the busiest of families. Jackie works with student-athletes, families, coaches and teams to help them discover how to gain a competitive edge through nutrition. When Jackie isn't working with athletes, she loves weight training, kayaking and trying new foods. In this week's episode, we discuss the specifics of what constitutes a healthy eating regimen for junior and college-bound tennis players and how and why a good diet can impact the recruiting process. Jackie shares her tips for what foods to eat to maximize training and competition as well as how to find the best foods for each individual player. She delves into the particular foods and drinks to eat before, during, and after competition to maximize performance and minimize the risk of fatigue and/or cramping. We also discuss the warning signs of eating disorders in our junior athletes and how we can recognize those signals in a timely fashion and get our athlete the appropriate help. Please remember that eating disorders occur in both males and females. Jackie is offering a free online nutrition training that teaches you how to put together a sports nutrition plan for your junior player. You can register at: FREE Sports nutrition training: https://training.jackieslomin.com/jit-sports/ You can find Jackie online at http://www.jackieslomin.com/. You can contact her via email at [email protected]. Jackie mentions BodyArmor Sports Drink which you can find here. She also mentions Clif Bars which you can find here. Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wouldn't it be awesome if you could find a teaching pro who actually had a college degree in Tennis? What if she had an in-depth knowledge not only of teaching forehands and backhands but also sport psychology, injury prevention, nutrition, and communication? Well, thanks to several hard-working and forward-thinking folks, the Professional Tennis Management (PTM) Certificate is now a reality! Coach Jorge Capestany, the Head Tennis Coach at Hope College, is leading the charge to create the PTM program at his school and chats with us this week about what that program will entail, how he is recruiting students to participate, and what will set these newly-educated professionals apart from their peers. USTA is working hard to expand the number of PTM programs around the US in order to raise the bar for those calling themselves Tennis Teaching Professionals. My hope is that we will see a big uptick in the quality of coaching in our country which will make the Tennis Parent's job easier when it comes to choosing a coach for his/her junior player and will grow the sport at the same time. Jorge is still developing the program and is actively seeking input on courses, curricula, and other aspects of the Certificate. If you have thoughts to share with him, you can reach him via email at [email protected]. Find Jorge online here. Read more about the Hope PTM Certificate at hope.edu/ptm Watch the Hope PTM PowerPoint presentation here. Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're a Tennis Parent or Coach, you know how frustrating it is to travel to a tournament only to find out the Tournament Director has decided to use short scoring due to weather or other impediments to play. This week's podcast guest, Mark Milne, has a great solution to present. Thirty30 Tennis presents a format where players start each game at the score 30-all then play out the game from there, deuces and all. This is not about no-ad scoring. It is not about sets played to 4. The only change is that each game now starts at 30-all. That's it. Everything else stays exactly the same. Since tennis seems to keep trying to shorten matches in order to maximize tv exposure and grow its fan base, maybe Mark's Thirty30 Tennis is just the solution everyone is looking for? Mark mentions Dave Miley in our conversation - you can listen to my podcast with Dave here. Mark's call to action for all of us is to give his format a try then report the results and our thoughts on Thirty30 Tennis to him so he can compile the results into a report for the ITF in hopes of getting this format approved for play across all levels. I hope you enjoy listening to Mark's beautiful Scottish Brogue as he explains Thirty30 Tennis to all of us! Please pardon the technical snafus - I am still searching for the perfect solution to doing podcasts with my guests who are based outside the US. You can find Mark and Thirty30 Tennis online at thirty30tennis.com and as @thirty30tennis so be sure to follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. You can email Mark at [email protected]. Read more about Thirty30 Tennis in Mark's article for The Tennis Review here. The ITF Rules of Tennis are online here. Be sure to check out Appendix 5 on Page 25! Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As of the taping of this week's podcast, there are 4 former college players in the Top 100 of the ATP and 2 former college players in the Top 100 of the WTA. It begs the question: is college tennis really a pathway to the pros? In this week's podcast, Todd Widom discusses how juniors should use college as a step in their overall development process. He also talks about the Junior ITF pathway and what a Junior ITF ranking may or may not mean in terms of college recruiting. As always, Todd tells it like it is, no holds barred! He shares his own college tennis experience and how it shaped him in preparation for a professional tennis career. He also shares conversations he's had with college coaches about how they view rankings and ratings. You can find Todd online at www.twtennis.com. Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic Thank you to Bill Kallenberg for sharing his photo of John Isner as a Georgia Bulldog. See more of Bill's photography at capturedinaction.com 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the new recruiting rules announced by the NCAA (click here), making sure your child is properly prepared for the process is crucial to his/her success. In this week's episode, we talk about how junior players can increase their exposure to college coaches, especially if they are not among the top-ranked players in their recruiting class. We also discuss several recruiting myths that seem to make the rounds among Prospective Student Athletes (PSAs) such as D1 has the best tennis and all other divisions are second-rate or that if your UTR fits within a team's top 6 then you'll automatically be offered a scholarship and play in the lineup. Tarek explains the different ratings and rankings, how college coaches utilize them during recruiting, and what junior players can do to maximize their opportunities during the recruiting process. In addition, Tarek also discusses his collegiate exposure camps and how they are different from college showcases or combines such as the one offered by USTA (click here to read about it). Tarek Merchant is the Founder and CEO of IMRecruitable. He has experienced all there is to offer in the college recruitment process which makes him a unique ally in your recruitment process. Tarek has more than 15 years experience in the college system, as a player from 2002-2006, conducting over 30 exposure events (showcases, exposure camps at colleges such as Yale and University of Pennsylvania) and assisting more than 5,000 high school athletes through the recruitment process in various sports. Originally from Kingston, ON Canada, Tarek grew up a multi sport athlete. He excelled in ice hockey, baseball, and tennis. At the age of 15 his family moved to Toronto. Tarek was offered multiple tennis scholarship that he refused until finally decided to take a full scholarship in 2002 to attend Western New Mexico University (division 2). In 2004 he transferred to Jacksonville University (division 1) on a partial scholarship. Since graduating in 2008 with a MBA, Tarek has been heavily active in helping high school athletes find the best college fit according to their athletic and academic abilities. In 2014 Tarek formed IMRecruitable to provide a platform to further educate students and parents on how to approach college recruitment and simplify the process from start to finish. Tarek has graciously offered a $100 discount for any of his camps using coupon code: PA. But hurry! The discount is only valid until May 15th, 2018. You can reach Tarek at [email protected] or find him online at www.imrecruitable.com. For more information on the collegiate exposure camps, go to www.collegiateexposurecamps.com/. Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices