There is a sport out there that has grown 17% every year for the last 6 years. In addition, 54% of participants say it helps them connect with their friends, 67% of parents get to play it with their children, and 71% of parents say it has had a positive influence. Those statistics sound fantastic. Can you guess which sport? In this latest podcast, Kirk Anderson tells us what sport this is and what we need to do to create that same experience in other sports.

 

Show Notes

1:30 Where it all started for Kirk

4:30 How do we size the court to the child – Teaching children first, tennis second

15:30 The challenges of changing the coaching culture in tennis

22:30 Things USTA could have done better during their rebuilding

28:30 Some of the World’s best tennis players were multi-sport athletes

33:00 Advice to parents who feel forced to have their child specialize early

39:00 Biggest issues Kirk sees in youth sports

46:15 What books are on Kirk’s bookshelf?

About Kirk Anderson

Kirk Anderson is the former Director for Coach Education at the United States Tennis Association. Anderson is certified by the Professional Tennis Registry and the United States Professional Tennis Association, and he is one of nine people in the world to hold the Master Professional classification from both teaching organizations.

Anderson has a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and a master’s degree in Exercise Science from Western Michigan University. He is a graduate of the USTA High-Performance Coach program and is certified by the International Youth Conditioning Association as a Youth Fitness Specialist.

Anderson has published dozens of tennis-related articles in journals in the United States and internationally. He has served on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Tennis Participation Task Force since 2000 and is a member of the Special Olympics International Global Resource Tennis Team and the Special Olympics North America Tennis Development Committee. He is a member of the HEAD/Penn National Advisory Staff and the Adidas Tennis Advisory Staff.

In addition, Anderson has participated in three major "Let’s Move!" events with First Lady Michelle Obama, in Washington, D.C., New York City and London, England.

In 2003, Anderson received the International Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award, and he was named Person of the Year by Racquet Sports Industry magazine in 2006 and the Professional Tennis Registry Professional of the Year in 2012. In 2013, he was inducted into the Western Michigan University Department of Human Performance and Health Education Alumni Honor Academy.

Get in Touch

Email: [email protected]

Website: http://coachkirkanderson.com/

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Hosted by John O'Sullivan. Produced by Coach Reed Maltbie