ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 27, of the ParentingAces Podcast!

This week's episode is all about high school tennis and technology. Our guest, Keanen McCarthy, has been working for several years to develop an app to help high school tennis coaches and players get organized and improve communication. The Mobile Match App is the perfect solution!

Keanen shares his motivation behind the app and what he hopes to accomplish through its use. For more information, you can visit the NexGenTen website here and follow the company on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. To download the app, click here.

To watch the video version of this podcast, go to https://www.youtube.com/. 

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by clicking here.

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

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 26, of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we're talking about the mental side of tennis. But NOT for the juniors! For the Tennis Parents!

Lisa Stone and Rob Polishook chat about the mental side of returning to junior competition, both from the player's and the parent's side of things.

Rob is a mental training coach who works with tournament players, has written numerous article on parenting for LI/NY tennis and USTA parenting columns and talks, coached Zonals 16’s for 4 years, and has been quoted/featured in national publications like ESPN, NY Times, Sports Illustrated and others.

To watch the video version of this podcast, go to https://www.youtube.com/

Rob can be reached at 973-723-0314, [email protected], www.insidethezone.com, Facebook and Instagram @InsideTheZone.

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by clicking here.

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

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 25, of the ParentingAces Podcast!

Even though we're still in a recruiting "dead period" through the end of August 2020, that doesn't mean Prospective Student Athletes (PSAs) should put their recruiting efforts on hold. In fact, quite the opposite it true: this is a great time for PSAs to ramp up their efforts to reach out to college tennis coaches and market themselves to get on the coaches' radar.

Colin McAtee, a former college soccer player at the University of Michigan, has created an app for that!

Productive Recruit is a tool to help PSAs better organize and personalize the recruiting process. Incorporating college and coach search tools, contact forms, and task scheduling - all things Colin wishes he had for his own recruiting efforts - Productive Recruit is a better way to take charge of this stage of the Junior Tennis Journey.

Click here to watch a short video demo of the app.

Colin has set up two payment options for PSAs: you can pay a flat fee of $199 to use the app indefinitely OR you can pay $29.99 for a month-to-month subscription. He is offering a discount of $50 through July 31, 2020 - the ParentingAces Community will have its own discount offer beginning August 1, 2020, so check back for the code!

To see a video of what the Productive Recruit app can do, click here. 

You can follow Productive Recruit on social media as follows:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/prodrecruit
Instagram: http://instagram.com/prodrecruit
Facebook: http://facebook.com/productiverecruit

To reach out to Colin with any questions, email him at [email protected].

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by clicking here.

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

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 24 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's episode features a new racquet sport that can be used as a training tool for - and a gateway to - junior tennis. It's called Spec Tennis and is the brainchild of Nate Gross.

Using a perforated paddle and a orange dot or foam ball, Spec Tennis is played on a smaller court. Because the strokes used in Spec Tennis look the same as those used in tennis itself, Spec can be used by junior coaches to work on specific shots and tactics in a way that is much less frustrating than using a regular racquet and yellow ball. 

For more information on how to play Spec or to order supplies, click here. To see Spec in action, click here. To reach Nate for more information, email him at [email protected]. 

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – which we are relaunching July 1 – by clicking here.

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

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 23 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's episode is the audio version of a Facebook Live chat (you can watch the video version here) I had with Coach Sandy Franz discussing his work in recruiting international players to US college tennis programs as well as his newly-founded Charleston Tennis Circuit.

For the last 10 years college tennis recruiting has been Sandy Franz's biggest passion. He has worked with many top international players helping them find college placement in the US. Now living in Charleston, SC, he is organizing tennis tournaments as well. His latest is a junior UTR event with strict Covid-19 restrictions on June 19-21. Sandy will help us understand the landscape of international college recruiting and discuss his new tournament circuit.

For more information on the Charleston Tennis Circuit, click here. To reach Sandy, you can email him at [email protected]. 

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – which we are relaunching July 1 – by clicking here.

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

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 22, of the ParentingAces Podcast! 

Laura Vallverdu, sister to ATP coach Dani Vallverdu, found herself in the WTA top 450 before making the decision to play college tennis at the University of Miami. She was the top collegiate player in the US, making the NCAA singles final in 2009 and the semifinals in 2010.

After graduating and getting her Master's Degree, Laura started coaching the Miami women's team where she was the Assistant  for 3 years and the Associate Head Coach for 3 more. In her role at Miami, she guided Estela Perez-Somarriba to the 2019 NCAA singles title.

At the end of 2019, Laura made a choice to leave college tennis and return to coaching in a private academy setting while pursuing her passion to bring the various parties in tennis together. She is currently working on the launch of Tennis Between Lines, an online platform to collect tennis stories from "Tennis Lifers" around the world. 

You can find Laura and Tennis Between Lines on Instagram (@tennisbetweenlines) and Twitter (@tennisBTWNlines) or reach her via email at [email protected].

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – which we are relaunching June 15 – by clicking here.

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

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 21, of the ParentingAces Podcast! My guest for this special Video Episode is my son, Morgan Stone.

For those of you who follow the ParentingAces Facebook Page, you may have seen our conversation when it aired live last week. However, for those who missed it, this is a very raw, very honest – and, at times, very uncomfortable – account of Morgan’s junior tennis development, college tennis experience, and relationship with my husband and me.

If you are the parent of a young player, you may want to watch first before letting your child view this one. As I said, Morgan gives an honest – and sometimes bitter – assessment of growing up as an elite tennis player and playing in college. He owns that experience and makes no assumption that others will or have had similar ones.

I have struggled for a while about providing a place for Morgan to share his story with the ParentingAces community because it’s not all flowers and butterflies (as will be evident as you watch). However, I know from talking with several of you that he’s not alone in feeling the way he does.

I am very interested to hear from you after viewing the conversation, so please do add your Comments below or feel free to contact me directly.

Several comments came in as we were doing the livestream on Facebook. Here are a few of them:

“I think this interview is authentic and very honest. Performance tennis as a sport has many sad stories including frustrations, divorces, financial woes etc. Most 1st time tennis parents do not understand till they have already spend a lot of time and money and can’t pivot.”

“Healthy conversation.”

“This is sad…”

“I watched the podcast with your son and found it so authentic. For a 23 year old, he truly has a sense of himself.”

“I think every single parent that considers getting into tennis for their kids needs to watch that video.”

I want to say, though, that this is a Tennis Story with a happy ending. Although he is no longer playing tennis, and although our Parent-Child relationship went through some very rocky periods, Morgan has found his passion in the form of producing music and performing as a DJ, and our relationship is stronger than ever.

Morgan is also having great success in his first post-college job, working in Business Development for an education tech startup in San Jose. It is extremely satisfying for my husband and me to see all three of our children thriving in their careers.

During our conversation, I reference another podcast Morgan did prior to ours. You can find that episode online by clicking here. He speaks in much more detail about his college recruiting and playing experience in his D1 Only Podcast interview.

To follow Morgan or to contact him, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

To watch this week’s video podcast, click below:

As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – relaunching June 15 – by clicking here.

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

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 20, of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's episode is once again an audio replay of a Facebook Live interview I did last week, this time with Coach Andy Findlay of Erie, PA.

As the Intense Tennis Camps' 26th-year director and with over 49 years of tennis experience, Andy Findlay brings confidence, determination, engagement, professionalism, imagination, intensity, resilience, respect, toughness to his coaching. From 1992-2003, Andy was the Head Coach at Edinboro University of PA where he was the men's PSAC Coach-of-the-Year in 2000 & '03. Also, Andy serves as co-Head Coach at the USTA Sectional Training Center (STC) in Pittsburgh and has attended 50 USTA national workshops. From 1997-2013, he coached the USTA MS Boys' 18s at national championship events in Champaign, IL and Kalamazoo, MI. Since 2012, Andy has performed National Coaching for the USTA at the L1 National Spring Team Championships in Mobile, AL and RTCs in NY, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Andy has been in meetings with tennis leaders around the US to devise a safe way to re-open tennis to junior instruction and competition. In this episode, he shares what he's learned and what he's implemented at his own tennis facility.

For the resources Andy mentions, go to our COVID-19 Resources page on ParentingAces.com (click here). If you'd like an emailed copy of Andy's Waiver, please contact [email protected].

To watch the video version of the podcast, click here.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here.

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you're interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven't already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here.

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

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 19, of the ParentingAces Podcast. As with last week's episode, this week's podcast is a recording of a Facebook Live interview I did with Coach Ruben Herrera. If you'd prefer to see the video version, click here to go to our YouTube Channel.

Ruben Herrera runs BaseTennis in Germany, the organization behind the Tennis-Point Exhibition series, the first live tennis event since COVID-19 shut everything down. Hear his thoughts on how we can restart tennis at the professional and junior levels - what worked in his event and what he needs to tweak for the next one. For more info on Ruben's events, visit https://exo-tennis.com/.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here.

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here.

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

Welcome to Season 9, Episode 18, of the ParentingAces Podcast!

Tennis is opening up in various spots around the world (tomorrow I'll be chatting with Ruben Herrera about his Tennis-Point pro event in Germany). What's it going to take for you to feel comfortable getting back out there or sending your junior player back to lessons, drills, and match play?

Coach Matt Manasse and I discuss these and other questions in this episode.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is changing daily, please know that ParentingAces is committed to continuing to bring you information and support as it relates to junior tennis and college recruiting. We have created a page on our website specifically dedicated to sharing useful tennis-related resources. You can visit it here.

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our NEW intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

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 the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces – we have 4 options for you – by clicking here.

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