Compete Like a Champion

Jimmy Arias, former #5 in the world, television commentator, and IMG Director of Player Development joined us to discuss the modern forehand and how he was the original manifestation of it. We also dive into the confidence of a player and how the story we have in our head drives that confidence. We also talk about how to have confidence when you are not winning as much and the different times when Jimmy had the confidence and how it affected him. Transcript. Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/?

Athletes are often told to get over losing and failure. However, this may not be the best coaching approach when there are very painful losses. The CLC team discusses why it is ok for losing to be painful, how to honor those feelings, and also how to learn from it and become better. See the Tim Grover video that sparked this episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38j-IgZH5I4 Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/? Transcript

Next in our series on how cognitive distortions influence performance, we examine the assumptions that we make in tennis. When are players most likely to jump to conclusions or have a leap of inference? How do you help players be aware and overcome it? We tackle these questions and more, including the Ladder of Inference (https://synergycommons.net/resources/the-ladder-of-inference/ and https://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/The%20Ladder%20of%20Inference.pdf). Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/? Transcript

Time to warm up your brain! Coach Johnny and Dr. Larry offer 5 highly effective pre-match strategies that are used by professional tennis players. Some of these strategies are well known and often used, others are a bit outside the box. We discuss the idea of preparation as a funnel and how the body and mind work together. We also discuss mistakes juniors often make relative to match preparation. Have an open mind and give these 5 strategies a shot. Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/? Transcript

IMG Academy Head of Female Tennis Margie Zesinger joins the CLC podcast to discuss her philosophy of developing people and then players. She describes in detail how she relates to the individual considering personality and cultural differences. We also dive into how we create an environment of respect while competing in stressful situations in training. Margie also addresses what separates those that reach their goals and those that don't. Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/? Transcript

Naomi Osaka, grand slam champion and a young star on the Women's tour, has been open about her struggles with anxiety and depression. At the French Open she decided against attending press conferences and eventually withdrew from the tournament. We talk about the importance of taking care of one's mental health, getting help just as you would a physical concern, and how vulnerability is strength. Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/? Transcript

In this episode CLC covers 3 essential topics about skill acquistion. First, how practice is more than repetition. Second, context is king in transferring learning. Third, know if the goal is to learn or to perform and communicate it. We examine each one of these topics in depth and provide examples for how to apply them in practice. Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/? Transcript

Want to improve your coaching today? CLC is back after a short hiatus to talk about 5 practices coaches can use to better relate to players and create behavior change. These practices are often overlooked, employed inconsistently, and misunderstood. Coach Johnny and Dr. Larry examine how to use communication practices to improve our coaching including the need for looking at mistakes differently. Employing these practices consistently will improve athlete engagement and learning. Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/? Transcript

Is winning and losing life or death in sport? Nah, but that is often how we feel in the moment. Humans often catastrophize the consequences of a performance and it creates much stress and anxiety. Why is that? We discuss it in sport in general and as a rampant condition in tennis post-COVID tournament shutdown. If it's such a part of our thinking how do we move away from it? We cover how to reframe and refocus so that we can minmize the consequences of winning and losing, and help players best prepare to perform with composure, confidence and resilience. Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/?

In this episode, we dive into why players are not able to transfer performance from practice to matches, and it is not always anxiety (or at least that is not the core issue needing change). How we practice determines in large part how we will perform. We discuss the differences in blocked, random, and serial practice and make a case for when and why to use each of these teaching practices. We give you specific tennis examples for each and emphasize the need to use each of these teaching practices wisely. Follow Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on Twitter: @LarryLauer / @johnnyparkes1 Instagram: @johnny_parkes USTA PD Website: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/podcasts/?