ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

Welcome to Season 11, Episode 33, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa checks back in with Coach Heath Waters of Match Tennis App about their latest feature upgrades.

We all know how challenging it can be to figure out which tournaments your child should be playing. USTA? Universal Tennis? ITF? Pro Circuit? Adult Open? There are so many options and not a lot of guidance of what to play when.

Match Tennis App to the rescue! They have built into the app a tournament selection feature based on your child's ranking goals.

Heath walks us through the app in the video version of this week's podcast, so we urge you to check that out either on ParentingAces.com or on the ParentingAces YouTube channel. You can also read their most recent blog post at https://web.matchtennisapp.com/how-to-decide-which-tournaments-to-play/ for online tutorials and other useful information.

To download Match Tennis App, click here. For more information on the app, click here. To suggest additions for the app, you can email them at [email protected]. I promise you will get a quick response!

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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Welcome to Season 11, Episode 32, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa has as her guests two coaches who are going against the grain in terms of their approaches to junior tennis development.

Todd Widom and JY Aubone grew up training with "old school" coaches who used "old school" methods. Since it served them both so well in terms of their own tennis goals and successes, they both now tap into the knowledge gained from their childhood coaches when working with junior players today.

If you've been listening to this podcast a while, you have heard Lisa speak about the importance of having great mentors. Todd and JY are shining examples of what can happen when a coach leans into the wisdom gleaned from those who carved the path before them. As it happens, both of these outstanding coaches worked with some of the same coaches as kids and now look at junior development through the eyes of those men with a modern spin added in for good measure.

If you have more questions or would like to get in touch with JY, you can reach him via his website, AuboneTennis.com. If you aren’t already, be sure to follow JY on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as well.

To connect with 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.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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Welcome to Season 11, Episode 31, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa continues her look at life after junior tennis with current college player, Allie McCray.

Allie grew up in Marietta, Georgia, the same Atlanta suburb as Lisa's family. Even more coincidentally, Allie trained as a junior player at the same facility where Lisa's son trained for a period of time.

As she was entering the recruiting process, Allie was determined to play Division I tennis in the SEC, the athletic conference where she had grown up watching her favorite college sports. Because she had missed a lot of tournaments due to injury, Allie knew she would have to be proactive in reaching out to college coaches to "sell" herself to them as a valuable addition for their teams. Despite doing her recruiting homework, Allie wound up having a less-than-stellar freshman year and decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal. She is getting ready to start her sophomore year in a new town, at a new college, with a new coach and teammates.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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Welcome to Season 11, Episode 30, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week's episode is a follow-up to our recent podcast with Coach Todd Widom discussing the prevalence of international players in Division I tennis. 

In the previous episode, Todd and Lisa talked about some of the factors contributing to DI college coaches recruiting a majority of their rosters from outside the US. That conversation sparked a lot of comments on the ParentingAces social media channels with Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim including a link to the episode in his weekly newsletter. This week, Todd and Lisa expand on those reasons and dig a little deeper into possible solutions on the part of players, parents, junior coaches, and USTA and NCAA to help turn the tide.

We hope you'll continue engaging in discussion around this important topic to help ensure the growth of junior and college tennis in the US and to level the playing field for American juniors when it comes to college recruiting.

To connect with 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.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

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 11, Episode 29, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa chats with NAIA Men's and Women's Tennis Coach, Chance Joost.

You recently heard Lisa and Todd Widom discuss the prevalence of international players in Division I tennis and some ideas to increase the chances for American players to be recruited successfully. But, there's more to college tennis than Division I, and Chance Joost is a clear example of looking beyond DI to play and coach at the college level.

Chance and his older brother were accomplished junior tennis players who had opportunities to play at top-ranked DI schools. While his older brother started out at a DI program, both he and Chance finished their college tennis careers at a Division II school closer to their beloved grandfather, winning conference championships and earning All-American status. After college, Chance found himself with coaching opportunities at a variety of schools, eventually choosing a head coaching job at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri, part of the NAIA.

Coach Joost shares with us the opportunities afforded to students - academically, athletically, and financially - at his university. The student-athlete experience at William Woods, and schools like it, goes well beyond the typical DI experience. You will hear Chance talk about the integration of the tennis program with all other sports, how he and the other coaches utilize the student resources available to promote their teams and activities, and the unique system at William Woods to reward students financially for engaging in a variety of on- and off-campus activities.

Our goal here at ParentingAces is to shine a light on the variety of college tennis programs available to juniors who want to continue developing and competing. While the top DI programs get most of the coverage and exposure, it's important to do your research when looking for the right fit, academically and tennis-wise. College can be the best four years (or five as the trend seems to be these days) of your child's life. Why not put in a little extra work to ensure they find the best program available? Lisa is here to assist in the form of consults when needed, so be sure to take full advantage!

For more information on William Woods University and its tennis program, visit https://wwuowls.com/sports/womens-tennis. If you have specific questions for Chance, you can email him at [email protected].

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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Welcome to Season 11, Episode 28, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa chats with Ryan Redondo, former top junior and college player, coach, and now Grower of Tennis in his home community of San Diego, California.

Lisa and Ryan first met when Ryan recruited Lisa's son to play college tennis for him at University of the Pacific in Northern California. A few years afterward, Ryan left college coaching to return to San Diego to run Barnes Tennis Center, the home of the Billie Jean King Girls 16s and 18s National Hardcourt tournament among others.

As you'll hear in this episode, the Redondo family has a storied history in tennis, and Ryan is continuing to build the Redondo legacy via his outreach efforts throughout Southern California and beyond. He works with several non-profits to provide funding and opportunities for children interested in learning tennis and potentially having the chance to be the first in their family to attend college through the doors that tennis can open. Ryan is committed to ensuring these young players have the tools at their disposal to excel academically as well as athletically.

The latest iteration of Ryan's commitment to academic excellence is the Inspire360 Digital Learning Lab on site at Barnes. Inspire360 donated the lab for kids to be able to have a place to do their homework, in addition to playing tennis after school. It has a 3D printer, new Apple computers and high speed internet access. Ryan has plans to use the lab not only for homework and tutoring assistance but also as a way for area coaches to utilize video and other technology to better develop young players into their best selves. It's a win-win for players, parents, coaches, and the community as a whole.

To learn more or to reach Ryan, you can email him at [email protected] or visit https://www.barnestenniscenter.com.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

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 11, Episode 27, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. In this week's episode, Coach Todd Widom joins Lisa to discuss what American junior tennis players need to do to become competitive in the eyes of Division I college coaches.

The conversation has been going on for years now - why are there so many international players on US college tennis teams and why aren't college coaches recruiting closer to home? Of course, there are many factors involved - including budget issues, parents, player attitude - but the bottom line seems to be a mix of player development shortfalls and an understanding of what it means to be the best you can be and how to achieve your highest potential.

Todd and Lisa discuss the current DI landscape, the current junior coaching landscape, the current parent education landscape, and the current USTA attitude toward college tennis, and what needs to change in order for American juniors to become desirable prospects once again.

To continue this discussion with 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.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

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 11, Episode 26, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. In this week's episode, Lisa talks with Shelia Townsend, former junior and college player, current coach and Tennis Parent, and the creator of 4 the Love.

The mission of 4 the Love is to develop the skills of its clients to the status they strive to achieve - whether it be high school, collegiate or professional. They believe in a holistic approach to coaching and instruction and train players to be a whole and complete athlete. Shelia Townsend has a deep-seated love of tennis, and it has been an integral part of her life. She has played tennis since she was a young girl and eventually earned a scholarship to Lincoln University. 

Her daughters, Simone and Taylor, followed in her footsteps, with Simone playing college tennis while Taylor went straight from the Juniors to the Pro Tour. Through the experience of coaching her daughters, Shelia knew she wanted to bring holistic coaching to the tennis world. In this way she is able to guide players to have rigor, ethics, character, discipline and more.

Shelia is also a huge proponent of high school tennis. She has been coaching the tennis team at Boca High for seven years. In 2021, Townsend made history as the first and only African American female high school tennis coach in Florida to take her team to the state championships. Her coaching style has helped her players attend Harvard, Princeton, Florida State, University of Central Florida, Florida Atlantic University, Holy Cross, Lynn University and more.

To contact Shelia, you can follow her and message her on Instagram at https://instagram.com/4thelovetennis. She is also active on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/4thelovetennis.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

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 11, Episode 25, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa chats with Erik Kortland, former college and professional player and current coach and business person, about his latest venture, RKT Group, Inc.

After his playing career, Erik started at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles as Head of Elite Player and Academy Development, where he was responsible for developing a Top-10 national player in every age group of boys and girls. After much success as a private coach, Erik was hired in 2013 by USTA Player Development as National Coach, Junior Development. His primary responsibility was to implement USTA PD philosophy at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, site of the annual US Open Tennis Championships, directly developing USA’s very best prospects and creating programming for all juniors.  

In 2016 Erik coached Amanda Anisimova (pictured with Erik) to her first junior French Open final and first WTA grand slam win at the US Open. In 2017 he coached Whitney Osuigwe and Claire Liu to the finals of the Junior French open and Claire Liu and Ann Li to the finals of Junior Wimbledon. 

In 2017 and 2018 USA recaptured the Junior Fed Cup title twice in Budapest, Hungary with 2017 team of Amanda Anisimova, Whitney Osuigwe, Caty McNally and 2018 team Coco Gauff, Alexa Noel, and Connie Ma. In 2018, Erik was promoted to Lead National coach for men’s and women’s tennis and was in charge of all women’s and junior boys programming at Training Center West in Carson, CA. In 2021 Erik resigned from USTA and joined the Tecnifibre/Lacoste Performance Team as part of their sports marketing and player development department. With all Erik’s tennis expertise and business industry experience it was a natural fit to team up with Ryan Redondo and Khuong Tien to form RKT Group, Inc.

RKT Group's mission is to grow the game of tennis by working with municipalities, private clubs, coaches, and families to provide educational and funding opportunities through consulting. Erik, Ryan, and Khuong each bring a unique perspective to our sport as players, industry representatives, business owners, and tennis parents.

To learn more about RKT, visit its website at http://www.rkt3.com. You can reach out to Erik directly via his email: [email protected].

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

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 11, Episode 24, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa talks with fellow tennis parent, Lianne Mandelbaum, about keeping our players who have food allergies safe on and off the court.

Lianne's son, Josh, has a severe allergy to peanuts which she has taught him to manage well over the years. However, when Josh had to get on an airplane to travel to a tournament, all bets were off - the airline staff and fellow passengers disregarded Josh's allergy and his concerns for his health. Lianne later learned that airlines have limited tools on board to help a passenger suffering from an allergic reaction, and she went into Momma Bear mode advocating for policy changes and better education around the dangers of known and undiagnosed food allergies.

For junior players who also have to deal with their own food allergies, this episode includes very helpful advice and tools for staying safe when traveling or playing in a new place. For players who don't have allergies themselves but may face an opponent with them, Lianne offers helpful tips for keeping everyone safe and healthy during matches and while hanging out during practices and matches.

To get more information on food allergies in athletes and Lianne's advocacy and education efforts, visit her website: http://nonuttraveler.com/. You can also follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/NoNutTraveler. If you're interested in reading more, here are links to some articles and interviews she's done:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/lmandelbaum1-808

https://www.allergicliving.com/author/lianne-mandelbaum/

https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/lianne-mandelbaum

https://themighty.com/u/nonuttraveler/

https://www.allergicliving.com/2021/10/28/the-big-tennis-trip-my-teen-and-his-coach-took-the-food-allergy-reins/

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes 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!).

CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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