Dissecting High Performance In Tennis

By Adam Blicher, Tennis CoachSports Tennis

Dissecting High Performance In Tennis episodes

June 20, 2017 #57: Hugo Ekker – Preparing a Junior for the Pro Circuit
Hugo has been traveling on the professional circuit ever since 1987 and has worked with a multitude of top 100 players including Miriam Oremans, Martin Verkerk, Peter Wessels, Thiemo De Bakker & Raemon Sluiter. From 2003-2006 he was Davis Cup Coach for the Netherlands & worked as the National coach for the Dutch Tennis Federation from 2007-2012. Currently Hugo is a consultant for players, coaches & tennis organisations
You’ll get to know:
– How to prepare a Junior for the Pro Circuit
– How Win/loss ratio affects self-confidence
– Why Coco Vandewedge has a great serve
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 Preparing a junior for the pro circuit
05:20 The developmental plan at KNLTB
07:20 The last 20 % technically
09:20 Late change in technique
11:37 Character & game identity
13:50 Gameidentity
15:50 Preferred win/loss ratio
18:40 Scheduling & confidence
19:45 Main lessons learned on the tour
23:10 The ones that didn’t look good
24:30 Raemon Sluiter
29:00 Peter Wessels
32:00 The serve of American Women
33:55 Why the American women are serving better
34:35 How Hugo gets better
37:30 Hugo’s inspirations
40:00 The plumber with the hammer
41:30 Academy programs like a menu
43:00 Don’t get too fancy
44:30 Has to be the player’s process
46:10 The lifestyle of a player
48:20 Hugo’s advice
54 min
June 06, 2017 #56: Liam Smith – Managing Successful Junior Players
Liam Smith has experience from working as the National Head Coach at Tennis Australia as well as various Tennis Academies. He is a former coach of Zarina Diyas & Richard Berankis & was a part of the coaching team bringing back Justine Henin for her comeback in 2010. Currently Liam is coaching moldavian Radu Albot
You’ll get to know:
– How to manage succesfull Junior Players
– How to go about over & under respecting your opponents
– What Liam’s definition of luck is
Timestamps
01:30 Managing the transition from successful junior going into seniors
05:20 Managing the schedule
08:30 Scheduling & self-confidence
09:40 Doing a roadmap
11:00 Over & under respecting opponents
13:15 What’s going on within the score
16:00 Justine Henin & Carlos Rodriques
18:45 Why Carlos Rodriques is a great coach
20:30 Different academies, different strategies
23:00 Patience & process
26:00 What Liam is excited about
28:15 Nextgen
30:55 How Liam gets better
33:10 Liam’s inspirations
37:10 The realities of tennis
39:30 Anything is possible.
41:30 Practicing without a purpose
43:15 How you judge how a player works
44:30 Holistic approach
46:30 Build the person & the player
47:00 Definition of luck
49 min
May 23, 2017 #55: Kris Soutar – Fostering Smart & Happy Players
Today you are going to listen to Kris Soutar, Kris has worked as a full time professional for the past 25 years. He has coached everything from Scottish & British National Champions to Tennis Europe, ITF ATP & WTA Ranked Players. He has worked as a consultant in USA, presented at UK national Coaches Conference & won multiple awards for his coaching & furthermore been working with Judy Murray to build bigger & better coaching workforce in Scotland & surrounding areas.
You’ll get to know:
– The difference between a High Performance Coach & being high Performing as a coach
– How to foster smart players who love tennis
– The effectiveness of giving tips
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 Genius game
03:30 Davis Cup
07:52 What makes people tick
09:37 Remote coaching
11:16 What true high performance is
14:13 High performance vs high performing
15:40 Personality test
18:15 Values
20:40 Remote coaching
24:30 Goal setting
29:00 High level without good coaching
32:05 Smart players who love tennis
36:30 It all starts at the match court
41:00 The importance of working with someone
45:30 Needs vs Wants
49:00 Play sight
51:15 Playing always comes first
55:00 Get uncomfortable as a coach
58:20 The people not the tennis
59:30 Ban Coaching for a year
1:03:00 Volunteers managing professionals
1:09:36 Giving tips
1:09:35 + 5 min
1:11:15 Changed my mind about
1:12:16 Givning tips
1:15:15 Working with likeminded people
1:17:16 Start with the competiton program
1:25:00 Get to know more about Kris
1 hr 40 min
May 09, 2017 #54: Juan Reque – Finding Your Training Group
Today you are going to listen to Juan Reque, Juan spent 6 years on the Professional Tour as a trainer before joining Maria Sharapova’s Team for a period of 5 years within which she won the French Open. During his work with Sharapova Juan moved from Spain to the states to work with her & has stayed there ever since. He is currently running his own Clinique out of San Diego.
You’ll get to know:
– The difference between junior development in USA & Spain
– What invincible training is & how to do it
– How Maria Sharapova changed her diet
Timestamps
01:30 Spain vs USA
02:40 Team vs individual
05:00 Why team is better
06:41 When the individualistic approach works
08:00 The Spanish system
11:18 Find your training group
18:20 Why SLITES
20:00 Doing injury prevention is not really fun
21:45 What you need to look out for
22:45 Where to start
25:46 Why the top players are staying on top longer
26:25 Nutrition
27:45 From sandwich to full meals
29:45 Traveling the tour
30:06 Working on the Tennis Tour is NOT glamorous
33:40 Get to know more about Juan
36 min
April 25, 2017 #53: Cassiano Costa – How the Hip has become the new Tennis Elbow
Today you are going to listen to Cassiano Costa, Cassiano has a master’s degree in sports injury prevention from the University of Galicia, & has further more done his ph.d Thesis in biomechanics on the Tennis Serve. Before joining IMG Academy, Cassiano was a strength and conditioning coach for a number of professional players on the ATP and WTA Tours, including Gasto Elias, Jamea Jackson, Thomas Bellucci & Vera Zvonareva. Currently Cassiano is working with Canadian Eugenie Bouchard.
You’ll get to know:
– How the hip has become the new tennis elbow
– When to use what type of stance
– How fatigue is a state of mind
Timestamps
01:30 Hips are becoming the new tennis elbow
06:00 Avoiding hip injuries
09:30 The open stance
14:15 What great footwork is
18:00 Brining the outer leg around
20:20 The importance of the hip
22:00 Quantity over quality
27:10 Patience
28:15 Don’t be afraid to ask
30:05 See things in perspective
31:05 Fatigue is a state of mind
32:30 Using soccer drills for tennis players
36:00 Don’t bike & stretch after match
37:10 Proper Cool down
39:00 Mobility vs Flexibility
39:20 Importance of recovery
40:00 Cassiano’s advice
Enjoy the show!
45 min
April 11, 2017 #52: Michael Joyce – The Winning Tactics of Maria Sharapova
Today you are going to listen to Michael Joyce, Michael was a professional player himself reaching a career high of #64 in singles. He then went on to coach Maria Sharapova from 2004-2011 in which she won 2 Grand Slam titles & rose to #1 in the world. Since 2011 Michael has worked with Jessica Pegula who rose from #900 to #120 WTA within the first 2 years of their partnership before suffering from a serious injury which she is now trying to get back from.
You’ll get to know:
– About Maria’s Mentality
– The exact winning strategies of Maria
– About the short hop test
Timestamps
01:30 Get the personality
04:10 Cultural differences
07:30 Maria’s mentality
11:30 Confidence
13:00 Looking at the bigger perspective
15:15 The importance of preparation
19:30 Scouting
24:45 Playing up an age group
31:45 Using doubles as practice for singles
36:10 Better people
41:00 The Phil Jackson story
47:30 Rubbing people the right way
49:00 Getting the players to feel good about themselves vs being honest
54:00 The fakeness of the tennis world
56:30 Eye-hand coordination
58:45 Landorph’s short hop test
1:02:15
1 hr 8 min
March 28, 2017 #51: David Sammel – Locker Room Power
Today you are going to listen to David Sammel. David is a tennis coach, sports consultant and writer. Since 2010, David has been the Head Coach at Team-Bath MCTA and is also the author of the book Locker Room Power: Building an Athlete’s Mind. David has coached players including Liam Broady, Arvind Parmar,Barry Cowan, Wesley Moodie, Martin Lee & Andrew Richardson.
You’ll get to know:
– How to train Locker Room power
– What the difference is between confidence & belief
– How slow is smooth & smooth is fast
Timestamps
01:30 The inferiority complex
05:30 Locker Room Power
08:45 BAD Locker Room Power
11:00 Social media presence
12:00 Developmental Pathways for tennis players
14:15 When to go to college
15:15 Most common misconception trying to go pro
17:15 How to know when you are ready to turn pro
19:15 The story about Vince Spadea
24:35 The perfect set up for tennis
31:30 How Andy wasn’t ready for Jez Green
34:15 The change of training blocks
38:55 The baker
42:00 How to avoid the “Baker effect”
44:15 At all levels it is all about the mind
47:50 Same shit different level
49:55 The definition of Locker Room Power
52:20 Winning matches
55:00 Tennis is a sport of loosing
56:30 Painting the picture for the player
58:00 Find a mentor
59:00 David’s inspirations
1:01:30 Put trust in the journey
1:03:30 Pro Tennis is really starting at 300
1:07:30 The crazier the better
1:08:30 Myth: You can learn to stay in the zone
1:11:00 Myth: Being a perfectionist is good
1:13:45 Tennis has a way of giving back
1:16:00 Tennis is a vehicle to give what you have
1:18:25 Slow is smooth
1 hr 28 min
March 14, 2017 #50: Takura Happy – Being an African Aspiring Tennis Player
In this episode you’re going to listen to Takura Happy, Takura was born in Zimbabwe & trained at the ITF Developmental center from the age of 13-17 before eventually going to the states to play Division 1 tennis. After College Takura went on tour with Takanyi Garanganga. Currently Takura is based out of Florida working with various junior players.
You’ll get to know:
– What it’s like growing up playing Tennis in Africa
– Why you shouldn’t say “Watch the ball”
– The importance of consistent commitment
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps:
01:30 Growing up as a Tennis player in Africa
03:55 Get comfortable outside the court
06:30 More challenges = stronger mindset
09:15 Mental training for tennis
11:20 Self-assesment
16:35 Tournament scheduling
20:00 An education for life
22:00 Get uncomfortable
23:03 The relationship
26:00 Think like a Champion
28:00 Consistent change
28:30 Don’t look at the ball
30:00 Consistent commitment
33 min
February 28, 2017 #49: Mark Tennant – Learning How to Play the Piano
In this episode you’re going to listen to Mark Tennant, Mark has been a Coaches educator for as many years as I haved lived. He has worked with the LTA, Tennis Europe & the International Tennis. Mark was further more listed by the New Zealand sports organisation CoachSeek as one of the top 50 most influential coaches in the world.
You’ll get to know:
– How to navigate through the jungle of information
– The importance of mentoring
– The best Tennis Book you have never heard about before
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps:
01:30 Have we become too well educated?
04:20 The piano
06:00 How to play the piano
07:50 How being a Tennis Coach has evolved
16:00 The myth of the ATP or the WTA Forehand
18:40 Drill vs Live ball
21:15 Integrity
23:10 Mentoring
30:30 Extremely privileged
31:30 The want of a player & a coach
35:30 Legacy
38:30 Book recommendation
40:30 The most important person
41:30 No purpose
42:34 Coach should work equally hard as the player
47:46 A lot of listening
47:37 Get in contact with Mark
50 min
February 14, 2017 #48: Juan Viloca – Lessons from Pato Alvarez applied to Modern Tennis
In this episode you’re going to listen to Juan Viloca. Juan was a professional player himself for more than a decade with a career high in singles of #47. After his own career Juan had coaching stints with Flavia Panetta & Svetlana Kuznetsova & helped out Pato with players such as Gilles Mueller & Grigor Dimitrov.
You’ll get to know:
– Pato’s training methods
– What cleaning the games means & how to do it
– How Juan felt a lack of competencies & what he then did
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 The Team Juan was a part of
05:30 What we can apply from Pato
11:32 Cleaning the game
12:05 How being tough can help
15:54 The 3 different areas
19:53 Would Pato still do the same?
22:12 Have we as Tennis Coaches become too soft?
26:12 20’s & 21’s
29:00 Lack of competencies
40:30 Communication skills
42:50 The Relation
44:44 Why Mats Wilander os not coaching on the tour
51:03 Top players are extremely intelligent
1 hr 2 min

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Imagine what it would be like to have access to the thoughts, reasonings and concrete steps of some of the most experienced and knowledgeable Tennis Coaches in the world? – That was what I was…

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