Dissecting High Performance In Tennis

By Adam Blicher, Tennis CoachSports Tennis

Dissecting High Performance In Tennis episodes

November 08, 2016 #37: Jose Antonio Fernandez – Develop potential before you think about Results
Jose Antonio Fernandez played on the ATP Tour for 12 years reaching a career-high ranking of 202 in 1991. He represented Chile in Davis Cup from 1986-1992. He coached Steffi Graf & has been the coach of a winning German Bundesliga team. At last Jose was recently selected to act as Official Agent for the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar
In this episode you’ll get to know:
– How Jose became the coach of Steffi Graff
– The core values of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy
– Why it is essential to always develop potential before you start thinking about results
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 How Jose became the coach of Steffi Graff
03:52 From Graff to playing on the ATP Tour
05:21 BASAF TC
08:35 Developing the spirit at the club team
10:46 Main Cultural differences
12:06 The Job of a Tennis Agent
Going to tournaments
Spreading the words & the values
13:23 The values of Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy
14:55 What made Jose write his first book
18:41 The reason Jose wrote his first book
20:03 Why you should build your identity around strenghts
21:30 The importance of awareness
25:51 The importance of belief
27:27 José’s advice to his younger self
31:25 The real objective in tennis
33:11 The most important characteristic in a tennis player
34:54 Why we as coaches needs to take a look in the mirror
36:22 Jose’s influencers
38:46 Pato Alvares
40:26 Cultural differences from South America to Europe
41:59 The balance between internal & external goals
43:40 Why you need always need a purpose
44:47 The tour picks you
45:55 Develop potential before you start thinking about results
46:24 Jose’s Advice
52:41 How to get in contact with Jose
55 min
November 01, 2016 #36: Simon Wheatley – Common Issues & Solutions in the Tennis Serve
In this episode you are going to listen to Simon Wheathley, Simon has been a Performance Coach for more than 10 years working in Great Britain. He has written 3 resources on mini tennis, authored the ‘Developing the serve resource for 10 & under’. Further more “The biomechanics of the serve” with age and gender guidelines for the LTA
In this conversation you’ll get to know:
– How the development pathway at the LTA works including the Tennis Passport
– Common mistakes in the serve & how to correct them
– How & why Simon often uses the phrase “Just find 10 percent more”
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 The development pathway in the LTA
05:30 The need for a tennis passport
08:02 The passport
09:54 Why LTA seperates boys & girls
11:00 Why having more female coaches in tennis is important
13:06 Female Coaching Community
15:20 National Camps at LTA
17:03 The tennis serve
21:40 Common problems in the tennis serve
24:13 Developing the tennis serve
25:23 What to do before using video
29:03 Coaching Feedback
31:42 Why supervision is essential for every tennis coach
32:52 What players remember you for
34:12 What is a successful Tennis Coach
35:14 The opportunity of a tennis coach
36:23 Commitment more important than motivation
38:40 Difference on younger & older players
40:25 Coaching the performer & then the player
41:48 Raise your level with 10 percent
42:52 Planning & reviewing
45:46 Louis Cayer
46:38 The power of coaching
48:01 Engaging the parents
51:27 Parent’s must not feel like being on the outside
53:09 The mental part is not 80 % of tennis
57:01 Coaching foot work
58:07 Rally, attack & defence
60:28 Don’t settle for mediocrity
1 hr 5 min
October 25, 2016 #35: Andy Brandi – Developing Good Citizens & Great Champions
In this episode you are going to listen to Andi Brandy, Andi briefly played on the professional circuit himself before going on the tour as a coach for the WTA top 10 players Kathy Rinaldi & Carlin Basset. He then served as the Executive Director at the Bolletieri Tennis Academy.
He has been the Head Coach at Florida University for 17 straight seasons then had a stint at the Evert Tennis Academy before eventually joining the USTA as a national Coach in 2010.
In this conversation you’ll get to know:
– Why Andy thinks that it is easier to coach female players
– Why Andy thinks that every tennis player could learn a lot from doing martial arts
– How tennis has developed & where he predicts that tennis will go in the future
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
02:12 (42) University of Florida Head Coach
03:33 Working with professionals
05:23 Why it is easier to coach women players
06:49 Most influential persons for Andi
07:57 Hopman
08:49 Von Horn
10:36 Why Andi always takes the youngest age group at USTA
11:27 Most common adjustments in juniors
12:44 Good citizen & great champions
13:49 How USTA develop character
14:34 Most important tennis player characteristic
15:11Tennis is changing
16:14 How the game has developed the last 12 months
17:16 Where the game is going in the future
17:42 Martial Arts
19:43 What we as coaches tend to forget
21:21 High Intensity
24:46 You need to have a purpose
25:30 Speaking less
26:44 The best thing about being a coach
27:18 What is less/more important for Andy
27:58 Andi’s advice
29:43 Get to know more about Andy
32 min
October 18, 2016 #34: Jeff Coetzee – The difference on a Good & Great Doubles Player
In this episode you are going to listen to Jeff Coetzee, Jeff is a former professional player himself reaching a career high of #12 in doubles & #184 in singles. He represented South Africa in Davis Cup for 10 years & participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Jeff has worked at the Schuetler-Waske Tennis University & has coached singles players like Andrea Petkovic, Cedric Marcel Stebe & Angelique Kerber. Jeff is currently the coach of the two doubles teams consisting of Cabal & Farah and Klaasen & Ram.
In this conversation you’ll get to know:
– The difference on a Good doubles player & a Great one
– How players often neglect the basics of doubles & what the basics are
– What makes the Bryan Brothers the best Doubles Team ever.
Enjoy the show!
39 min
October 11, 2016 #33: Antonio VanGrichen – The Man who Coached Azarenka from age 15 to WTA Top 10
In this episode you are going to listen to Antonio Van Grichen, Antonio is a former player himself representing Portugal in Davis Cup. He then went to the Harry Hopmann Tennis Academy as a Coach & has worked his way up ever since.
Antonio has been the coach of players such as Jarmila Wolfe former Gajdošová Tamira Paszek, Vera Zvonereva, Ana Ivanovic, Monica Puig, Marcos Baghdatis & was the Coach of Victoria Azarenka from when she was 15 & World Number 1 Junior all the way to Top 10 WTA singles & Doubles when she was 20.
In this Episode you’ll get to know:
– About the journey he had together with Azarenka
– The dialogue going on in his head when he is considering to start working with a new player
– Why you need to be a little bit crazy to succeed within tennis
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 How Antonio got into coaching
03:38 How Antonio only picked up a racquet to coach from 16-19
04:46 Going to the Harry Hopman Tennis Academy
07:52 The Initiating a coaching relation with a player
10:13 Long term projects
11:04 Some coaches just want to go on the tour
12:05 Delusional players
20 she was 6 in singles (7 in doubles)
15:34 What correction that was made to Azarenka’s forehand
17:33 The changes Azarenka made on her forehand
19:03 Coaching Marcos Baghdatis
22:06 Why Antonio is not on the tour at the moment
23:20 Being selfish kept me sain
24:26 Ultimately it is about human beings
26:32 Willingness to suffer
27:48 Importance of being a great communicator
29:00 Common sense
30:21 Observation
31:40 The monk that sold his Ferrari
33:01 Most important values
34:00 The fine line bewteen succes & failure
35:18 You need to be little bit crazy to succed
37:27 Health & time
38:34 Every player is a different person
40:33 Get in contact with Antonio
43 min
October 04, 2016 #32: Jaime Fernandez-Fernandez – Closing the Gap between Science & Practice
In this episode you are going to listen to Jaime Fernandez-Fernandez. Jaime has been working as a S&C Coach since 2000. For the Spanish Tennis Federation as a consultant since 2006, he assisted in developing the test battery that the German Tennis Federation uses & is currently developing & implementing a Long Term Athlete Development system for the Norwegian Tennis Federation
In this episode you’ll get to know:
– How tennis is a professional sport filled with amateur coaches
– How it is possible to close the gap between science & practice
– How tennis is an individual sport, but how essential it is to have a good team
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 The story of how Jaime got to work for the Spanish Tennis Federation
04:43 A professional sport full of amateurs
08:03 Unlicenced Tennis Coaches
10:22 What can be done to help coaches
14:47 Closing the gap between science & practice
24:01 Long term Player Development Norway
34:26 Lack of agreement across federations
40:19 How much influence does the coaches actually have
41:46 Training using names
45:00 Individual sport, but essential to have a good team
47:12 Traveling days are not restdays
48:38 Imbalances created by tennis
52:10 Jaime’s advice
57 min
September 27, 2016 #31: Mikael Tillström – Academy & Tour Coach
In this episode you are going to listen to Mikael Tilström, Mikael was a professional player himself reaching a career high of #39 in singles & #15 in doubles.
Mikael has been the Coach of Thomas Enqvist, Magnus Norman & Andreas Vinciguerra & in 2011 he co founded the Good To Great Tennis Academy with fellow Swedes Magnus Norman & Nicklas Kulti. Since then he has been the lead Coach of Grigor Dimitrov & is currently coaching Gael Monfils.
In this episode you’ll get to know:
– How Good To Great determine whether to accept a new player into their program or not
– The difference on coaching an established professional player like Monfils & the up & coming junior players from Good To Great
– The blessing & the curse of having Roger Federer at the top of tennis for so many years
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 Story of Good To Great
04:10 What Nicklas learned outside of tennis
05:40 How Mikael came to work with Monfils
08:30 How Mikael keeps a good relation with his family while on tour
10:53 The acceptance process at Good To Great
14:05 Getting to know your players
15:46 Why you should not play tennis for money & fame
30-40 to put away money
19:39 Why tennis players need to be stubborn
20:36 The person before the player
21:53 Allistair Mccaw
22:38 Shared philosophy with Allistair
25:10 Why all Tour Tennis Coaches are a bit crazy
26:30 The blessing & course of Roger Federer
28:30 Why Monfils shook his head at Mikael
31:01 The best part about being a Tennis Coach
31:30 How Mikael gets better
33:20 What Mikael has changed his mind about
34:16 Mikael’s advice
38 min
September 20, 2016 #30: Alberto Castellani – The Tennis Paradox
In this episode you are going to listen to Alberto Castellani, Alberto has been on the Professional Circuit for more than 30 years coaching a bunch of top 100 players & to name a few he has coached: Janko Tipsarevic, Rainer Schuettler, Ivo Karlovic, Marc Rosset & Hicham Arazi.
Alberto is recoqnized by the ATP as one of the only 50 coaches World Wide as an international Tennis Coach where the conditions to be accepted is to continously bring or work with players in the top 100 on the ATP-Tour. Further more Alberto is the president of the GPTCA (The Global Professional Tennis Coaches Association) which has the only ATP Certified Coaches Education in the world.
In this episode you’ll get to know:
– What the Tennis Paradox is
– How Coaches & players often do not know what concentration is
– Why training the Mental aspect of tennis is like training the Technical one.
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 The tennis Paradox
04:14 Why a lot of players are mentally weak
05:56 What does concentration mean
07:58 How to train concentration
13:34 Bioenergetica
16:10 Level of activation
19:36 Mental aspect when coming back from injury
26:38 No guarantee for success
28:22 Human > tennis player
34:18 Autoritarian coaching
37:18 Empathy & intelligence
39:04 Learning
40:48 The story of a former top 30 ATP Player
43:39 Why Alberto doesn’t like the “Australian”
45:16 Lack of time spent on mental training
45:44 To rest well is as important as to practice well
47:14 Alberto’s advise
55 min
September 13, 2016 #29: Jaro Levinsky – Full time Coach, Husband & Father
Today you are going to listen to Jaro Levinksy, Jaro was a professional player himself reaching a career high of #239 in singles & #24 in doubles. Immediately after retiring as a pro he went into coaching & has been at the Schuettler-Waske Tennis University & the private coach for Schuettler himself. He has had coaching stints with Sergiy Stakhovsky, Yen-Hsun Lu & the junior player Olga Fridman. Jaro has been a consultant for the Turkish Tennis Federation & is currently the coach of Anna Karolina Schmiedlova
In this conversation you’ll get to know:
– How Jaro goes about traveling full time on the tour while having a wife & a small child
– The difference on coaching an established professional player & an up and coming junior
– Why it’s essential to set limits as a coach & how to do it
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
02:00 Own playing career – why coaching
03:11 The steps that took Jaro into professional Coaching
06:20 The most important lesson learned at Schuetler-Waske
08:05 Coaching Rainer Schuetler
11:45 Similarities & differences on coaching a young & an older guy on tour
13:03 Traveling as a tennis coach while having a kid
15:05 How to balance traveling that much away from your family
16:37 Difference in working with an established player & a junior player
19:08 Differences in working on ATP & WTA Tour
20:37 The Turkish Federation
24:31 How Hrbarty would describe Jaro’s look on tennis
26:38 How the players on tour have changed
28:17 Setting limits as a tennis coach
30:59 Why you need to push players outside of their comfort zone
32:15 How to get players outside of their comfort zone in practices
33:20 Nothing tastes better than winning
33:46 Most important characteristics in a tennis player
34:24 Decision making skills
36:17 Efficient practices
39:40 Playing Pokemon is biggest waste of time on tour
44 min
September 06, 2016 #28: Robert Davis – The Non-Negotiables
In this episode you are going to listen to Robert Davis, Robert has been on the ATP Tour for 24 years. He has served as either a Technical Director & National Coach for Peru, Panama, Thailand, Indonesia & the list goes on an on. Robert is further more a writer who regularly contributes to ATP’s DEUCE magazine, ITF publications, and TENNIS Magazine Australia.
Currently he is the Technical Advisor of Strategic Operations of tennis for Sport Singapore & the coach of Matsui from Japan.
In this episode you’ll get to know:
– What Robert calls the “non-negotiables” in a coaching relation
– How Larry Stefanki had different approaches with Gonzalez & Roddick
– The difference between tennis coaches & tennis teachers
Enjoy the show!
Timestamps
01:30 Creating a long term coach-player relationship
02:52 The non negotiables
05:03 The difference on Technical Director & National Coach
08:20 Milos Ranonic example
09:56 Players from developing countries
11:03 Sock, Johnson, Fernando Gonzalez, Andy Roddick
13:53 What common trait the best coaches in the world share
17:45 Super Coaches
18:59 Who gets to call themselves Tour Coaches
21:18 Do apprenticeships if you are a young coach
23:15 The difference between tennis teachers & tennis coaches
26:10 What coaches deserves the credit?
28:10 The French Coaches System
29:42 How tennis coaches are left behind coaches from other sports
32:19 The chart system David Robert uses
33:30 Best part about being a touring coach
34:56 Why Robert finds the competitive nature of a player the most important
36:51 The care factor
38:17 Reading, talking, observing
40:46 Process over product
41:31 Why Robert could never coach Kyrgios
42:05 The old school fitness
43:55 Too much analytics
47:01 Specialty shots
50:02 Quality time
51:39 Robert’s advice
57 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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