Chris Russell on How To Use The Warmup To Get Better Everyday (Ep. 18)

University of Washington Associate Head Coach Chris Russell joins the pod to discuss how to use your warmup - something we do every single time we step on the court - to make big improvements in your game. The warmup is an extremely valuable 10-20 minutes that we often times don't put much thought into, but with some simple goals, drills and things to focus on you can use that time to get better every single time you play.

Chris Russell is one of the best and most experienced assistant coaches in NCAA Division I college tennis! He's currently in his 15th season at the University of Washington where the Huskies have reached the NCAA Tournament 10 times during his tenure. In 2016, Chris was named the Northwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year by the ITA. Prior to his time at UW, he served as the head coach at the University of Oregon and was named the Pac-10 Head Coach of the Year in 2000. Prior to that he was the head coach at UC Santa Barbara (his alma mater)for five seasons. Throughout his coaching career he's worked with multiple NCAA Div. 1 All-Americans and professional players on both the ATP and WTA tours.

Chris and I's connection is very unique and special. Not only did he serve as my coach at the University of Washington for the first two years of my college career, but he also coached Kip Brady (another podcast guest) who was my coach when I was growing up as a junior. I've been fortunate to have a number of great coaching mentors in my life but Chris might have to be considered the Godfather of my "coaching mentor tree". Much of what I teach and believe in today I either learned directly from him or indirectly through different people that he's also influenced. It was a real treat to have Chris on the podcast and pick his brain about coaching. I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!