Dissecting High Performance In Tennis

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Ruben Neyens.

Ruben is a researcher and a tennis coach trying to bridge the gap between science and the practice court. 

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 The 4F Method
07:30 Developing your own method
08:50 Soft skills as a tennis coach
11:05 Making an impact as a tennis coach
12:30 The pyramid of development
27:05 You can’t study experience
27:50 Ask for mentorship
30:10 Coaches education 2.0
32:30 How Corona has helped development
33:30 The packaging of content
34:30 Be careful of thinking you know a topic
35:20 Make sure your professional life is not all of your life
36:20 Sharing is caring
36:45 You can’t own a drill
37:45 From Good to Gold
40:45 Have a destination

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Philipp Born.

Phillipp is a researcher and a tennis coach trying to bridge the gap between science and the practice court. 

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 How the presentation came about
01:45 The background of the PhD-study
04:30 The big V
07:45 Serving patterns explained
11:20 The most effective serving pattern
13:30 The Top 3 findings in PHD
20:00 Misconceptions on the practice court
23:15 Listen to older coaches
24:00 Technology in tennis is still in its infancy
25:45 The importance of parents in tennis
27:00 Don’t play points without serve and If a junior forget about winners
28:12 What you should focus on as a junior
28:50 Tennis is a great life teacher
30:00 The 2nd serve 
31:50 Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert
33:15 Philipp Borns advice for tennis players
35:40 Stay updated on Philipp Born

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Patrick McEnroe. 

Patrick was ranked as high as #28 in Singles and #3 in doubles as a player himself. He has been the General Manager of Player Development at the USTA and have had the longest stint in history as the 38th Davis Cup Captain of the United States which included the overall victory in 2007. Currently Patrick is working at the McEnroe Academy in New York, he is broadcasting for ESPN and recently started his own Tennis Podcast called “Holding Court”

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:

01:00 What Patrick was the proudest of doing at USTA
02:50 Jose Higueras in the USTA Player Development
05:00 The principles at USTA Player Development
07:20 Why slower surfaces are better for Player Development
09:05 How Patrick McEnroe approached his role as Davis Cup Captain
11:15 What made Davis Cup Special
12:15 Look for what you can learn from the great players
14:30 Becoming a father improved my coaching
15:45 What Patrick McEnroe is excited about during Corona
16:35 Implementing e-learning post corona
17:20 Mixing feeding drills and playing points in practice
19:05 Why hitting against the wall might be a good idea
20:10 Adapting to the necessity of your player
21:50 You have to learn to deal with failure
22:55 A great player is often happy and well rounded
24:30 Treat everyone fairly, but not necessarily the same
26:20 Listen and acknowledge
27:35 How to stay updated on Patrick McEnroe

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Rohan Goetzke .

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 Being consistent as a coach 
03:05 Don’t be too strict on your philosophy 
05:40 Getting the federation and private coaches to work together
07:00 Some of my best coaching have been with players who never made it
09:40 You have got to trust your team for period of time before you judge
12:00 How to approach contracting with tennis players
13:40 It’s a long journey don’t rush it
16:15 Getting good at Tennis is tough
18:30 How to interpret data
20:05 Serve and volley in tennis 
23:10 Galloway, Wooden and Knight
23:45 Take care that you are not creating creating more harm than good
27:45 Get to know more about Rohan Goetzke

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Li Pingwei.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:

01:00 Why look into the relation between junior success and future success
03:30 Grade A ITF results compared to Senior Ranking
06:30 From what age does ranking benchmarks predict senior success
09:00 Don’t give up because of poor junior results
10:45 The 60 % curve
13:30 The opinion of 34 National Coaches on transitioning
16:40 Outliers
18:25 Becoming a better coach
19:00 Always have a goal in practice
19:30 No one size fits all  
20:00 Being a good tennis coach is like being a good chef
20:50 Li Pingwei’s inspirations
21:50 Li Pingwei’s advice

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you’re going to listen to Sven Groeneveld.

You’ll get to know:

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Timestamps:
01:00 The 8 Coaching principles of Sven Gröeneveld
03:20 The desire to succed
04:25 Responsibility
06:00 Overcoming resistance
07:35 Adaptability
08:30 Observation and analysis
10:00 Hard and soft skills
11:30 Why tennis is a Service industry
13:00 Honesty is your biggest asset 
15:00 Stubbornness vs stupidity
16:45 How Sven decides on coaching relations
19:00 Coaching Taro Daniel
20:40 What we can learn from wheelchair tennis players
24:10 How Sven got motivated by working with Esther Vergeer
25:00 Sports coaches that inspire Sven Groeneveld
27:00 Managing my ego
28:15 I want to go back to my roots
28:45 Patience and consistency
29:15 Tennis is a service industry
29:30 Sven’s favorite Books
30:00 Sven’s favorite Books
30:30 Sven Groeneveld’s advice for parents
31:30 How to stay updated on Sven

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Dario Novak.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 The studies on the Split Step  
05:10 The reason to pay attention to the Split Step
07:45 The differences in Split Steps in tennis
11:30 Tools to practice the spilt step
14:30 Basketball, jumping rope and music
16:00 How to use a basketball to better the Split Step
18:15 Using a jumping rope to improve the Split Step
19:30 Practicing the Split Step on after the serve
20:45 Practicing the Split Step during ground strokes
23:00 Using video and imitating the pro’s
24:40 The example of Caroline Garcia
26:40 Believe in your instinct
27:00 Defining a proper workload
28:10 Little steps, watch the ball
30:20 How pro players and recreational players watch the ball
32:00 The power of single words
33:30 You have got to have a long-term plan

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Freddie Nielsen. Freddie turned pro in 2001 and is still an active player on the doubles circuit. At the same time, he is coaching Swedish youngster Mikael Ymer and stepped in as Davis Cup Captain for Denmark at the end of 2019.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 Freddie’s value set
05:45 Collaboration with coaches
08:15 Finding a good coaching collaboration
10:45 How to Coach Freddie Nielsen
13:00 The importance of communication skills as a Tennis Coach
14:10 Why Freddie decided to pursue a professional career in tennis
16:00 Being a tennis coach
17:00 How Freddie got involved as a Tennis Coach with Mikael Ymer
18:15 The biggest lesson of beginning to Coach for Freddie
21:00 Overcommunicate in the start of a coaching relation
22:00 The importance of a philosophy as tennis player
24:45 Why ranking goals don’t make sense
26:30 Let’s not all be the same
28:10 Freddie’s decision to accept the position as DC Captain
30:40 Be in a more professional environment
33:40 I’m an over achiever
35:20 Stubbornness
37:00 The process is the best way to be results-oriented
42:00 Find a way
43:30 The danger of short-term ranking goals
48:30 Freddie’s excitement about tennis
49:30 The importance of diet
50:15 Work right > work hard (Feeling the ball)
52:20 Doing is more important than being motivated
55:30 What quality of life is
56:20 Decisions are not motivated by money
56:45 Mom, dad and Christian Engell
59:15 The results can’t make up for compromised values
61:30 Freddie Nielsen’s advice to players, Parents and Coaches

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Nick Saviano. Nick has more than 35 years of experience as a coach working with ATP and WTA players including Grand Slam Winners and World Number 1’s. He was the Director of Coaching at the USTA for 14 years before setting up his Academy, the Saviano High Performance Tennis, which he is still running to this day

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:00 A sacred trust
05:30 Guaranteeing success
08:20 What to focus on during a match
11:30 The difference between nerves and fear
13:00 From Vision to personalized tactics
16:45 Build around the on-court personality
19:00 Tennis specific athleticism
21:30 Movement patterns and overloading
24:15 Clarifying “Stealing candy from babies” quote
26:00 Patience and perseverance
27:45 The journey is the reward
29:00 No excellence without letting go of the fear of mistakes
30:00 Making the most out of the journey 
32:00 Tomorrow will be your today
34:00 I understand that I’m not going to be perfect
35:00 The biggest waste of time is to not seize the moment
35:40 Nobody is “just” a natural tennis player
38:00 You’re not a tennis player you’re whole life
38:45 Nick Saviano’s goal with every player
40:50 On Serena Williams’s greatness
43:00 Dick Gould, John Wooden & Stephen Covey
44:10 Nick Saviano’s advice to tennis players
47:15 Nick Saviano’s advice to tennis coaches

Enjoy your listen! 

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Beni Linder. Beni has been the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the Swiss Tennis Federation for more than 15 years and worked with everyone from grassroots to the very top players of tennis.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:00 The Airplane project
03:40 Winning through intensity
06:50 Building on strengths
09:30 Integrating parents
11:30 Having players walk away with soft skills
14:00 We adapt to the present
18:30 Guiding players in their long-term development
20:00 Managing the 15 % strength gain
23:30 The race for points
25:00 Tennis is like formula 1
29:00 Beni’s advice to himself 
30:00 Softskills in high performance
30:45 Grit and Growth Mindset
31:30 Too much volume with no intensity
32:30 It’s about the player, not the coach
33:00 Are we getting the practice court right?
33:30 Awareness
34:00 Beni Linder’s advice for coaches

Enjoy your listen!