Kris Soutar’s Tennis Journal

This journal entry brings you former Marine Commando, Howard Green.

Howard left the marines and ventured into the world of strength and conditioning. Shortly after, he was attracted by the chaotic nature of tennis.

Over the last 11 years he has built a brilliant reputation in the tennis world and now leads the fitness programme at Bolton Arena, England.

Having spent some time as the fitness coach to Ana Ivanovic, he has taken stock and focused his efforts on developing the physical attributes of young emerging tennis players. He has created a fantastic programme called Tennis Supermovers which breaks down the fundamental movements required to build great physical foundations. This is now available for anyone. See the link below.

https://www.tennissupermovers.com

Howard and his friends have also just completed an incredible challenge for their friend who has tragically been diagnosed with MND. They climbed the 3 peeks in Yorkshire, England in 12 hours, carrying their friend on a stretcher. They are raising funds for MND and I have copied the link below.

https://gofund.me/b679eef2

I could have spoken to Howard for hours on end about his time as a Marine and the transferable learning into the world of tennis. He makes so many great points about developing players. Pass it on to your tennis friends.

Intro/outro music by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com

This weeks episode will feel like an actual journal entry. There is no guest as I had a week off so I decided to chat for 10 minutes on something I've changed my mind on in recent months.

Take a listen and let me know your thoughts on my reframe.

Intro/outro music by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com

This journal entry brings you, 17 year old tennis player, Rosie Sterk.

Rosie has just secured her full tennis scholarship at Montana University and I thought it would be great to chat around that process and some other tennis topics. What I wasn't prepared for was just how amazingly articulate, wise and passionate Rosie is.

We take a dive into her teenage tennis years and she gives fantastic opinions and advice on what could be done to attract and retain more female competitors. We also go through her life changing experience of being a WTA Futures Stars player at the 2019 WTA Finals in Shenzhen. It is clear to me, when Rosie spots a slightly open door, she smashes through it and maximises the opportunity.

I was blown away by Rosie in this chat. Please pass it on to your tennis friends, parents, players and coaches.

Intro/outro by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com

I am delighted to bring you Lara Suarez-Neves, mother, tennis coach and, now, working in brand identity within the tennis world.

It is vital we get the messages from this podcast out there for people to speak about. Lara tells her story into tennis playing and coaching. Her coaching career was put on halt when she became the mother to two beautiful girls. Lara talks brilliantly well about how becoming a mother instantly changed her identity and made it very difficult for her to maintain a career she had worked so hard to build over the years.

She has now created Seven Love Studio which has a niche focus on building the brand identity of tennis clubs, organisations and coaches across England. If you would like to know more about her business, please click on the link below.

https://sevenlovestudio.com

Please share this episode far and wide, especially with mothers who may be experiencing the same emotions Lara has.

Thank you for sharing your journey Lara.

Intro/outro music by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com

Journal entry 55 brings you Nick Williams, LTA level 5 tennis coach and tutor, and now, qualified nutritional therapist.

Already. this podcast has had quite the effect on me. This is a great chat about how Nick has gone about constantly evolved his career with his end game in mind.

There are many great lessons in here for aspiring and established tennis coaches.

Visit Nick's nutritional website on http://www.acenutrition.net

Share this episode with your tennis friends and rate/review when you get a second. I must get past the 100 review mark :-)

Intro/outro music by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com

This journal entry brings you Anne Keothavong, former WTA player, career high ranking of 48 and now Britain's Billie Jean Cup captain (formerly Fed Cup).

This conversation is all about the sense of belonging in tennis. From the age of 4, Anne could feel she was different from the majority of others in tennis. We spend 80 fantastic minutes speaking about this topic and Anne shares her reflections, thoughts and learnings from her incredible journey.

Please share this episode with your friends. There are so many learnings which apply to tennis and life.

Intro/outro music by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com

Journal entry no.53 brings you Scottish coach, Mike Aitken.

A true Scottish tennis stalwart, who is admired by everyone in the game. One of the most honest and humble coaches you could ever meet. In this episode you will hear how he got into the game, took the brave plunge to go into full-time coaching in the 1980's when he had a secure job as a PE teacher.

Mike was largely responsible for keeping me in the game in my teenage years and I know 1000's of players feel as affectionately as I do about him.

Please share this episode with your tennis friends.

Intro-outro music by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com

This impromptu episode brings you Irish tennis coach, Alan Beaddie.

Alan has been raising funds for St Francis Hospice for the last 4 years and has created an imaginative initiative to raise more funds while in lockdown.

We talk about his idea, the hospice and then have a great chat about his tennis coaching career and where he believes things are heading. Alan really opens up around certain challenges he's had in recent years and how he is putting his own well being front and centre.

This really is a refreshing listen. Pass it on to your friends and click on the link below to check out the fundraiser.

https://clontarfltc.com/cltc-aces-the-majors-fundraiser-for-st-francis-hospice/?fbclid=IwAR2LwQQmckA4W7dgSdldgQgk8HLikffURk3oPg9dkklpYvIEkaUP0dlpOAc

Intro/outro music by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com

Entry 51 brings you 4 of the 7 team at Cultiv8 Tennis.

A fantastic player development and sports science company based out of Leeds, England. We have head of coaching, sports science, nutrition and strength and conditioning all chatting through the what, why and how of their work.

It was a fascinating insight to how a multidisciplinary approach works in practical terms.

So much learning in this podcast. If you would like to contact or check out what Cultiv8 do, please click on the links below.

http://www.cv8tennis.com

http://www.cultiv8academy.com

Podcast intro/outro by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com

Podcast journal entry no.50 sees former top 50 WTA doubles player, Anna Smith, bring you her tennis journey.

This podcast gives you a real insight to the key learnings and reflections of a successful professional tennis player.

You will hear how Anna first got into tennis and how tennis wasn't necessarily her first choice sport. I wanted to get Anna to reflect, in the moment, on key stages of her career. What the pros and cons were along that journey and what she has learned along the way.

Anna was refreshingly honest and this will be a great listen for any player, coach or parents. Pass it on to anyone you feel could benefit and enjoy.

Intro/outro music by http://www.hueandcry.co.uk

Artwork by http://www.olinightingale.com