ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

Welcome to Season 13, Episode 33, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, we dive into a new way to play our sport that is time-limited, team-based, and provides a guaranteed income with benefits for players at the pro level.

Time Tennis seeks to rethink the game to make it more fan-friendly, more player-friendly, and more tv-friendly. This is how it works . . .

Players are drafted onto co-ed teams where they can compete in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Each match is 30 minutes of play, with a two-minute half-time show for entertainment and fan engagement. Coaches are allowed on court and may make one player substitution per half. The scoring is simple point accumulation: 1, 2, 3, 4, ... making it easier for casual fans to understand; clean winners are worth 2 points. At the end of 30 minutes, whoever leads is the winner, with a sudden death point played in the case of a tie.

At the professional level, players are paid an annual salary with full benefits. The league season is 6 months with players expected to help run events and engage in their local communities during the off-season. Why? Because the way tennis is currently structured eats into players' mental health, financial stability, and family life. Time Tennis seeks to provide a way for professional players to build a quality life in the community they represent while giving fans that feeling of cheering for the home team.

At the junior level, Time Tennis provides a structure for more team events in a time-limited setting, making it more attractive for tennis facilities to host competitions while preserving the physical and mental health of our young athletes. Juniors would compete as part of a co-ed team in all formats (singles, doubles, mixed doubles) and, hopefully, attract local fans to come out and cheer them on.

For more information on Time Tennis, visit their website at https://www.timetennis.com/ and follow them on Instagram at https://instagram.com/timetennisintl, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/timetennisintl, X at https://x.com/TimeTennisIntl, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/timetennisintl/. If you are interested in bringing a Time Tennis event to your area, email [email protected].

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. Please be sure to check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone, August Allen

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Welcome to Season 13, Episode 32, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, tennis parent and entrepreneur, Anirban Dutta, shares his journey through junior tennis with his twins, Maya and Jai, and the creation of Tennis Wizard.

This episode all started with a Facebook post (see below) Anirban made in one of our groups about his recent experience at Junior Wimbledon as Maya competed there. As he and Lisa spoke, he was able to share details about the differences in his two kids' pathways, which are both leading them successfully to play college tennis.

Anirban Dutta has been a tennis player, coach, administrator, and entrepreneur. As a player, he played DI and DII college tennis and represented India in Junior Team events.

As a coach, he was a junior development coach at Midtown Tennis Club in Chicago, Canyon Creek Country Club in Dallas and The Sports Club at Four Seasons, Irving. He was also DI men’s assistant tennis coach at Chicago State University. Recently, he helped coach his daughter Maya Dutta to 94 ITF and son Jai Dutta to DI tennis at Indiana University, Indianapolis.

Anirban is also a founding investor at a Birch Racquet & Lawn Club owned by the Taylor Dent family. He was a board member and committee chair at USTA TX and is a Co-founder of an Inc 5000 award-winning software company called CompuMatrice.

Currently he is focused on growing Tennis Wizard, a tennis journey acceleration platform for junior tennis players. Tennis Wizard provides junior tennis players with 1-on-1 accountability partnership, tennis journey guidance, college tennis guidance, and a wellness management program. They are offering a 30-day free trial at https://tenniswizard.com.

We hope you find it helpful to get an inside look at this family's approach to junior tennis, how they budgeted and allocated that budget for each child, and the challenges of maintaining healthy parent-child relationships along the way.

Anirban has set up a discount for our community to purchase Tennis Wizard.

If you'd like to chat with Anirban further, he has generously offered to share his contact info: [email protected] (email), 817-403-5214 (cell).

Anirban's Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/450459995340631/posts/2128048374248443

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. Please be sure to check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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Welcome to Season 13, Episode 31, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, we are joined by coach Marcelo Ferreira, former Men's Tennis Coach at Texas Tech and Pepperdine and High Performance Manager at the Windy Hill Athletic Club in Atlanta, GA.

Marcelo recently returned from a European Adventure with several of his players and their families where the kids trained, watched some incredible professional tennis, and had the opportunity to interact with some of the pros. As you will hear, Marcelo had several goals for this trip, not the least of which was to show his players how their peers are training and competing in other countries and to appreciate the setting in which they are privileged to train.

Growing up in Brazil, Marcelo was brought up with a lot of discipline when it came to his own tennis training and development. His hope is to instill that same work ethic in the juniors he works with at Windy Hill.

If you are a junior coach interested in taking a similar trip with your players, Marcelo is happy to speak with you about what's involved. For those families in or around Atlanta, you can reach out to Marcelo about future travel and training opportunities. His email is [email protected]. You can also follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/coachferreiratennis/ - be sure to check out all his posts about this summer's trip!

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. Please be sure to check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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Welcome to Season 13, Episode 30, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. In this Bonus Episode, incoming ITA CEO, Dave Mullins, walks us through last week's House Settlement regarding NCAA Division I Tennis and how it could impact recruiting across all divisions of college tennis.

Dave will be stepping in as the ITA CEO on January 1, 2025, but he has been involved in college tennis as a player, coach, and on the governance side for decades now. He has appeared on this podcast numerous times over the years and has always been forthcoming with us about what's happening in the college tennis landscape.

Please watch/listen to this episode if you have a child entering their recruiting years or already in the midst of it all. As Dave notes, these changes won't go into effect until the 2025-26 academic year, and we could see many tweaks between now and then. He has promised to come back on the pod as this storyline progresses.

If you have further questions, you can reach Dave via email at [email protected]. Or you can tweet at him at https://twitter.com/DaveMullins_ITA. His direct phone number is (602) 341-8517 - he is happy to hop on a call to discuss any concerns you may have.

Be sure to visit the ITA website for all things college tennis at https://wearecollegetennis.com/.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. Please be sure to check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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Welcome to Season 13, Episode 29, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, we dive into the high cost of junior tennis and what one Tennis Parent did to ensure her family could support their kids throughout their junior tennis journey.

As the mom of a tennis player, Erinn Murray struggled to find courts and coaching that her family could afford. In her pursuit, she discovered she wasn’t the only one and far more than just her children could benefit from her efforts to bring tennis to her Texas community.

Since 2006, she has been in the pursuit of affordable, accessible tennis for anyone who wants to play. She has learned how to speak at a council meeting, written more grants than she could have ever imagined and has created a facility in her community that will hopefully live in perpetuity. The 6-court facility is set and ready for 4 more courts and even 2 pickleball courts.

Erinn and her staff work with hundreds of kids annually. From the littles who are just trying something new to those varsity players who are striving to play at the collegiate level. The kids' goals are their goals, plain and simple. 

The path has been rewarding but also difficult. Erinn shares her story with all who ask to minimize their struggle. She has a thousand stories about ways that didn’t work, and she can also tell you what did work.

To reach Erinn, email her at [email protected]. Visit the Spring Branch Tennis Association website at springbranchtennis.com. You can also reach Erinn by phone at 830-205-1150.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. Please be sure to check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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Welcome to Season 13, Episode 28, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Coach Joey Blake shares how parents and junior coaches can best use match charting throughout the junior development journey.

Joey Blake is a former world-ranked professional tennis player and was one of the best junior tennis players in the 1980’s. Blake was raised in Las Vegas, NV. Blake was a U.S. Open Junior Doubles Champion as well as a finalist in singles. He attended the University of Arkansas on a full tennis scholarship, where he became the first freshmen since John McEnroe to win the prestigious NCAA National Indoor singles title and went on to be ranked as high as #1 in the United States in the NCAA Division 1 national rankings in 1986. Blake was an NCAA All-American. Blake turned professional after one of the greatest seasons of any freshman in NCAA tennis history Blake went on to play the professional men’s tennis tour. Life changing tennis related injuries saw the talented Blake retire at the young age of 21.

At the age of 22, Mr. Blake began his coaching career. He is regarded as one of the most esteemed and respected high performance junior coaches in the world. He has mentored and coached eight #1 U.S Juniors. Grand Slam and NCAA Champions as well as Olympians. Mr. Blake’s students have gone on to earn more than $5 million dollars in collegiate scholarships attending some of the most prestigious universities in the country. Blake has owned and operated some of the most successful tennis player development programs throughout the world. A reputation that puts students life development first along with a personalized tennis development program for each of his students. Blake consults, mentors and instructs his proven tennis philosophy around the world as as a guest speaker and clinician regularly to avid supporters and tennis fans seeking his vast knowledge of tennis.

Early in his coaching career, Joey learned and understood the value of charting matches for his players. He has worked with some of the best coaching mentors out there and developed what he feels are best practices for evaluating matches and using the data when creating or editing developmental plans for his players.

Joey has worked closely with Andy Durham, the creator of RacketStats, as well as other tennis statisticians and understands the nuances of match data. In this episode, he shares with us how to better use that data with our own junior players.

You can follow Joey on social media at https://www.facebook.com/pro10s and https://x.com/joeyblaketennis. You can also reach him via email at [email protected]. Find him online at Joeyblaketennis.com and Spinmastersportfoundation.com. 

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. Please be sure to check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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Welcome to Season 13, Episode 27, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, we learn about a new product to enhance on- and off-court training with a portable and wearable apparatus.

WearBands is an innovative tool to make your workouts more effective while avoiding over-stressing growing bones and connective tissue. The WearBands system is designed to increase the results of any workout or activity via the proven training benefits of time under tension and neuromuscular stimulation. WearBands come in four sock sizes, three lower-body band sizes, and 3 upper-body band sizes, which together accommodate almost anyone of any shoe size, height, and fitness level. The website has a sizing tool that will help you figure out what is correct for your player or yourself.

Unlike all other resistance bands, WearBands allows unrestricted movement under variable resistance. Typical resistance bands are either tied to a stationary object, held by another person, or held in your hands. These systems often do not allow the body to move in a natural way with proper posture, and do not leave your hands free. WearBands allows true functional movement under resistance, the way body naturally moves.

With your hands free and your body untethered, you are free to add upper-body resistance, if you wish, and you are free to move anywhere and everywhere. This allows for a more complete workout. Upper- and lower-body muscle groups can receive a resistance workout simultaneously, and you can also add fully functional resistance to any cardio workout. You will receive more results in the same time, or the same results in less time, because you are burning more calories (up to 20 percent), getting more cardio, and getting more toning from the same workout.

The muscles therefore receive a much more concentrated resistance workout, and for the first time ever, your muscles are trained under resistance to work in a coordinated fashion, as they do when you naturally move. 

Dan has generously offered our community a 20% discount on WearBands. To purchase, visit https://wearbands.com/pages/product-page and choose your preferred item(s). Use code ACES at checkout to receive your discount.

For some ideas of how to workout using WearBands, check out these links:

https://share.mindstamp.com/w/HziDHVtZgvFK

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWfUB7olqETFdjtTa17GBl1gLmUEPOD5t&si=R8yidYFTk6joueNx

https://wearbands.com/pages/wearbands-interactive-sports-videos

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. Please be sure to check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 13, Episode 26, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa chats with former top junior player and collegiate All-American and current tennis-specific nutritionist, Erika Villalobos.

Erika Villalobos has transitioned from the courts to become a board-certified nutritionist with a master's in nutrition, specializing in the dietary needs of tennis players. Currently, she collaborates with elite junior and professional players, leveraging her comprehensive understanding of sports nutrition to enhance their performance. 

In this episode, Erika shares specific tips and guidelines for growing junior tennis players to maximize their performance through better food and hydration choices. She discusses how and what to eat on training days as well as at the various points throughout a tournament week or weekend.

Her invaluable contributions on CoachLife cover essential topics like optimal pre-training and tournament nutrition, strategies for hydration and preventing cramps, exploring the significant advantages of caffeine and creatine, and guiding athletes on the effective use of supplements. Erika’s expertise offers players a foundation for not just improving their game, but elevating their overall wellbeing through tailored nutritional strategies.

Explore over 330 videos tailored for parents, coaches, and players on CoachLife.com—the premier online resource for tennis coaching knowledge. Our extensive library covers tennis-specific sports psychology, nutrition, footwork, coaching and parenting advice, detailed shot progressions, and insights into the training regimens of top players during their junior years. Learn from coaches who have shaped the careers of tennis legends such as Swiatek, Gauff, Tiafoe, Kyrgios, Fritz, Sampras, Jack Draper, Sharapova, Pegula, Tommy Paul, Roddick, Davenport, Rafter, Nishikori, Kevin Anderson, Mardy Fish, Guillermo Coria, Fernando Gonzalez, and Reilly Opelka at various stages of their development. Additionally, benefit from a comprehensive strength and conditioning program designed to improve various performance areas.

Listeners can now take advantage of a 7-day free trial by visiting CoachLife.com. Plus, get an exclusive discount when you click the link in our show notes. Learn directly from the legendary junior coaches behind the world's top pros and elevate your game with CoachLife. Start your journey to tennis excellence today!

Affiliate link: https://coachlife.com/?ref=EVPA

Discount code: EVPA

The discount code gives 5% off the 1st year's subscription - click on the affiliate link and enter the code during checkout.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. Please be sure to check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 13, Episode 25, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, coach Todd Widom is back to help all of us better understand what is meant by the term "High Performance" when it comes to junior tennis.

"High Performance" is something that gets thrown around much too casually in the junior tennis world. Coaches of varying degrees of experience and expertise will call their training environment "high performance" when, in reality, they are showing no signs of understanding or implementing "high performance" methods. Similarly, junior players and their parents will claim to be "high performance" when, in reality, their day-to-day commitment to tennis lacks the focus and intensity to deserve that moniker.

So, what is "high performance" when it comes to junior tennis development? Give this week's podcast a watch/listen and find out!

To contact Todd or to get information on his training, you can reach him at [email protected]. If you aren’t already, be sure to follow him on Facebook and Instagram as well. And check out his newly-redesigned website at https://twtennis.com/.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by visiting https://parentingaces.com/membership-join. And check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop (Premium Members received FREE SHIPPING every day!). To support ParentingAces' work with a financial donation of any size via PayPal, click here.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Season 13, Episode 24, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa is joined by developmental coach Marcy Hendricks.

*Disclaimer: ParentingAces is providing this podcast as a public service. Reference to any specific product, service, or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by ParentingAces, Lisa Stone, or Fit For 2, Inc. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program is not and does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Always do your own due diligence before purchasing, hiring, or using any product, service, or provider.

Marcy has been teaching High Performance Tennis in the Chicagoland area for 30 years. She has sent over 200 kids to prestigious colleges with full ride tennis scholarships ( Duke, Princeton, Notre Dame, Stanford, North Carolina, Georgia to name just a few). She has worked and run over 25 USTA sectional and regional camps and was the Girls 18's Fed Cup Coach for the Midwest section for 7 years and the Battle of the Sections Coach in 2023. Marcy currently serves on the USTA Coaches Commission board while continuing to work with juniors of all ages and levels.

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Recently, Marcy has noticed a disturbing trend in developmental coaching and how junior players and parents respond to it. Coaches are no longer receiving the type of education and support from our governing body necessary to helping them do their jobs most effectively. Only those coaches who are intrinsically motivated to learn and improve on their own time are getting better at developing players using the most current body of knowledge and techniques employed in other parts of the world.

Parents are - dare I say it? - almost too involved in their children's tennis journey while lacking the education and support necessary to ensure all parties involved have the most positive experience possible. Lucky you to have ParentingAces here to help! 😉

And the junior players are paying the price, wasting precious time with coaches who don't have the knowledge or desire to help them reach their potential.

In this episode, Marcy and I talk about these issues - and more! - in hopes of effecting change in the way junior coaches are educated and supported. We would love to hear your thoughts via the Comments!

To reach March directly, you can email her at [email protected]. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram and message her on either platform.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your fellow tennis players, parents, and coaches. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or via your favorite podcast app. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by visiting https://parentingaces.com/membership-join. And check out our logo’d merch as well as our a la carte personal consultations in our online shop (Premium Members received FREE SHIPPING every day!). To support ParentingAces' work with a financial donation of any size via PayPal, click here.

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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