ParentingAces - The Junior Tennis and College Tennis Podcast

Imagine being outside on a summer day surrounded by people who all share a love of the same thing. The only sounds are of feet skidding on green "clay", the contact of ball and string, and the occasional outburst of applause. You are hot and sweaty, but it doesn't matter because you are in your Happy Place doing what you love.

Ten years ago, a long-standing tennis tradition in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, disappeared. Yes, this week's episode is personal.

A few weeks ago, my brother, Jeffrey Goodman, came up with the idea of reviving the Shreveport City Tournament, one that had taken place on the public courts at Querbes Tennis Center dating back to 1933. In its prime, The City had every junior division in both singles and doubles, every adult division in both singles and doubles, a Men's Open, a Women's Open, plus mother-daughter and father-son doubles. Querbes was THE place to be if you had any interest whatsoever in the sport of tennis. You were guaranteed to see the area's best junior and adult players go at it for the ultimate title, City Champion.

This week Jeffrey talks about the challenges of bringing the tournament back, why it is so important to preserve these types of events, and how others can take similar action in their local communities. Here is a bit more information:

The City Championships

To register for The City Championships, click here.

To visit the Facebook Page, click here.

To contact Jeffrey directly, email him at [email protected].

To read more about Jeffrey's film career, click here.

A big thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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

What happens when 3 tennis-playing brothers get together and start a website? Get the answer in this week's episode (apologies for the poor sound quality in the intro - it gets way better after that!) with Vanderbilt Men's Tennis Assistant Coach, Ryan Lipman, and his mom, Lisa.

Ryan and his brothers, Maxx and Marshall, all played college tennis and all still love the sport. They followed very different pathways in the junior, college, and even professional game, but have now come together to share their knowledge and connections with the rest of us via Tennis Takes.

Ryan talks about the upcoming ITF Transition Tour and its potential impact on the college game (for more on that, read Colette Lewis's article here). Admittedly, he says no one really knows what's going to happen and that we should adopt a wait-and-see attitude for now.

Mom, Lisa, shares her thoughts on what it takes to bring children up through the junior and college tennis journey as Ryan adds his insights. Playing multiple sports, choosing to focus solely on tennis, dealing with injuries, moving into coaching - these are all aspects of the game that many families encounter. Reflecting on all the lessons her 3 boys learned through tennis, Lisa realizes how much her entire family has benefited from our sport. Hindsight is a beautiful thing!

You can find Tennis Takes here. Subscribe so you get an email whenever they post new content. Follow them on Facebook here and on Twitter here.

For information on the Sean Karl Foundation, click here. You can read about Sean here.

For information about the Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournaments, visit our Facebook page here. Register for the Baltimore event (August 11-12) here. A huge thank you to all of our sponsors!

Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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

In our last episode, we talked to you about how you can manage your college recruiting in the palm of your hand with the newest feature on the Match!Tennis App. This week, we discuss college scholarships and how best to get them.

Marisa Meddin worked in marketing after a very successful college career at the University of Michigan. She found her greatest satisfaction, however, in volunteering to help high school students navigate the college application process, so she quit her corporate job to start Talk College To Me, a website devoted to guiding students through their applications and scholarship searches.

In this week's episode, Marisa shares her tips for getting college scholarships in addition to - or maybe in lieu of - an athletic scholarship that may or may not be offered by the university's tennis coach.

Marisa also offers an online admissions crash course FOR PARENTS which you can find here. ParentingAces listeners will receive a $50 discount off the registration fee when using code "parentingaces" (one word) during the checkout process. 

• Link to view more info about the course: www.talkcollegetome.com/parents

Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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

Last year, we were all introduced to the Match!Tennis App, a one-stop-shop for all your junior tournament needs - a calendar, rankings, ratings, medical release, weather updates, doubles partner search, and more. When I used the app during the 2017 Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournaments, I was blown away by all it could do from the Tournament Director side, too. 

And now the app has gone one better. You can use it to manage your college recruiting process by searching schools by division, finding programs where your child's UTR, GPA, and standardized test scores will open the door, track visits and communications, plus get reminders of when applications are due or when it's time to follow up with a coach. You can watch a tutorial on Match U here. It's awesome!

In this week's podcast, we hear from the app's creators once again, Heath and Lindsey Lee-Waters, Tennis Parents themselves who decided they'd had enough with traditional time-sucking junior tournament and college search responsibilities. 

Please give the episode a listen then run - don't walk! - to your computer to register at www.matchtennisapp.com/! ParentingAces listeners/readers get a nice discount through August 6, 2018. Just use the following codes when registering:

To find the app, go to www.matchtennisapp.com/. If your child is playing in either of #theSol tournaments this summer, you can try the app for free (instructions are on the tourney websites here and here).

Even if you decide NOT to purchase the app (which I'm not sure why you wouldn't at least try the 30-day-free option!), your junior can create a profile at this link that college coaches will see. 

For information about the Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournaments, visit our Facebook page here. Register for the Atlanta event here and the Baltimore event here. A huge thank you to all of our sponsors including Match!Tennis App!

Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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

Barry Fulcher grew up in a Tennis Family. His parents and his siblings were avid players, so it was only fitting that Barry start honing his racquet and court skills as a toddler in the UK. His love of the game and of competition led him to a very successful junior tennis career such that he decided to go the professional route rather than come to the US to try his hand in our college tennis system (much to his mother's chagrin, I might add!).

After realizing he couldn't sustain a pro career, Barry moved into coaching. However, his love of competition persisted and he sought out tournaments where he could continue to hone his game. He soon realized the lack of good level competitive opportunities in his home country, both for juniors and for adults. 

In 2017, Barry created The Progress Tour, a series of UTR-powered tournaments throughout the UK. He consulted with Sarah Borwell of TennisSmart to work out the details of his tour including sponsors who would help fund the prize money he wanted to offer.

In addition to playing matches, participants (and their parents) in The Progress Tour have the opportunity to learn from experts in various aspects of tennis including college recruiting, coaching, and the mental game.

The thing that jumped out at me during my conversation with Barry was the similarities of Tennis Parents and our concerns regardless of whether we're in the US, the UK, or anywhere else around the world. It helps keeps thing in perspective, I think, when we learn that other countries face the same tennis challenges as we do here in the States.

This year, Barry celebrates 10 years of being cancer-free (after being diagnosed shortly after his wedding) and has decided to organize a tennis event to raise money for the Sussex Cancer Fund and The Cancer Research UK. He calls the Davis-Cup-like event British Tennis vs. The Big C, so please check it out at the link below.

You can learn more about The Progress Tour here: 

https://www.facebook.com/TheProgressTour/ 

https://www3.lta.org.uk/in-your-area/Wales/news/2017/November-2017/-The-Progress-Tour-2018-/

https://youtu.be/BoeUJgh3Nrs

You can learn more about Barry's fundraising event here:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/barry-fulcher-britishtennisvsthebigc

You can reach Barry Fulcher at [email protected]. 

For information about the Sol Schwartz #SaveCollegeTennis All-In Tournaments, visit our Facebook page here. Register for the Atlanta event here and the Baltimore event here. 

Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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

How lucky are we to have both Coach Todd Widom and Tennis Parent George Opelka together in one podcast?!?!?!

These two gentleman offer their wisdom on everything from the different developmental pathways to college vs. pro tennis and everything in between. They have spent many hours talking to each other courtside while watching their respective player's practice and compete and share those conversations with us this week.

You can find Todd Widom and his academy online at http://twtennis.com/

You can find out more about George's son, Reilly, at http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/players/reilly-opelka/o522/overview 

Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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

June is prime recruiting season for many college coaches. That said, what better time to do a podcast about Division III and how it differs from DI?

Coach Matt Brisotti leads both the men's and women's tennis teams at Hamilton College, a Division III school in New York that is part of the NESCAC, one of the stronger conferences in DIII. He played college tennis at Drew University (also DIII) and finished his collegiate career as one of the top players in Drew men's tennis history with 55 career singles victories and 64 career doubles wins. After college, Matt was the head women's coach at College of Saint Elizabeth then went back to his alma mater to lead the tennis programs there.

In this week's episode, Coach Brisotti discusses the ins and outs of both recruiting and coaching at the Division III level. He answers many questions about how DIII differs from the other collegiate divisions and why top juniors should look at DIII opportunities as they plan for their college tennis experience.

We delve into how to fund a DIII education, too, and this is really important information for parents to have as their junior players go through the process. Just because there are no tennis scholarships does NOT mean there is no scholarship money available to interested student-athletes.

While he is a relatively young coach, Matt has acquired so much wisdom and insight from his own experiences as a junior and college player as well as from the mentors who continue to play an important role in his personal and professional life. Enjoy!

Coach Brisotti mentions several different showcases and recruiting camps. Here are some links for you to check out:

Collegiate Exposure Camps: www.collegiateexposurecamps.com/

Ed Krass College Tennis Exposure Camps: collegetennis.com/

Donovan Tennis Showcase: www.donovantennis.com/showcases/

USTA All-American College Combine: events.universaltennis.com/tournaments/1488/

Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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

A few weeks ago, I posted on our Facebook page that I would be doing an interview with a USTA official and asked you for questions to ask him. You did not disappoint! 

In this week's episode of the ParentingAces Podcast, recorded in person at Goldberg's Deli (!), I chat with Gary Link, an amazing official based in South Carolina who has committed the past 21 years to helping junior tennis players learn while playing. I have known him since my son's junior tennis years, and I can vouch for his devotion to learning and teaching others the rules while always striving for fairness and equality.

Gary addresses issues such as when officials should issue a warning versus a code violation. He talks about throwing racquets, foul language, and cheating, and how parents and officials should handle these occurrences. He talks about officials who may not be up to speed on the rules and why junior players should make sure they are prepared to question a ruling. Gary also addresses some of the myths about officials and their behind-the-scenes conversations.

In addition, we spend quite a bit of time talking about the cheating problem in junior tennis and what we parents can do to help put a stop to it. 

You will hear us refer to Friend At Court. You can find the current document here. 

More on Gary Link:

Gary Link is an ambassador for youth of all ages. He is a USTA Certified Referee entering his 23rd year of officiating junior and adult tennis. In addition to tennis Gary has officiated basketball for youth from ages 4 to 18 as well as adults. 

Gary currently serves as Chairman of the Adult Competition Committee and as member of both the Junior Competition Committee and Officials Committee for USTA South Carolina. 

Gary is a certified Life Coach and motivational speaker for the John Maxwell team. Gary is the founder of Upstate Junior Tennis which offers parents and junior players the opportunity to attend educational seminars on junior tennis and events featuring college coaches, inspirational speakers, and experts in the area of junior tennis. He is available to partner with your club or organization and speak on a variety of topics.

You can reach Gary Link via email at [email protected]. 

Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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

I know. No one likes talking about periods and puberty. But, it's a reality of life and a topic that we need to discuss if we're going to help our young players maintain a healthy body image and feel comfortable asking for help whenever and wherever they may need it.

In this week's episode, Katie Malinski and I get pretty candid and raw in our conversation about how to talk to our children about their bodily changes, what to do if our daughter or other female player gets her period while on our watch, and how to deal with body odor and the other wonders of puberty. Katie offers up some great ideas and actual phrases we can use to reduce the awkwardness in what is typically an inherently awkward situation. 

Katie Malinski is a licensed clinical social worker based in Austin, Texas, where she lives with her husband and two children. As a parenting coach and family therapist, she offers expert guidance to help families regain their balance and move forward together. Katie's top priority is preserving your parent-child relationship, and her greatest strength is the ability to see connections and patterns that are key to resolving your family’s difficulties and discord.

You can find Katie online at http://www.katiemalinski.com/ and a list of her upcoming webinars at https://katiemalinski.com/upcoming-events/.

You can find the absorbent underwear Katie referenced here.

Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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

Jackie Slomin is a sports dietitian who helps high school athletes get recruited to top tier colleges on scholarship with her Fuel Your Full Ride program.  Having previously worked with hundreds of division I and II athletes from all different sports and holding a master's degree in sports nutrition and exercise science, Jackie is an expert at helping athlete's discover how to improve their performance, energy and recovery time by up to 50% with advanced sports nutrition principles that can be used by even the busiest of families.  Jackie works with student-athletes, families, coaches and teams to help them discover how to gain a competitive edge through nutrition.  When Jackie isn't working with athletes, she loves weight training, kayaking and trying new foods.

In this week's episode, we discuss the specifics of what constitutes a healthy eating regimen for junior and college-bound tennis players and how and why a good diet can impact the recruiting process. Jackie shares her tips for what foods to eat to maximize training and competition as well as how to find the best foods for each individual player. She delves into the particular foods and drinks to eat before, during, and after competition to maximize performance and minimize the risk of fatigue and/or cramping. 

We also discuss the warning signs of eating disorders in our junior athletes and how we can recognize those signals in a timely fashion and get our athlete the appropriate help. Please remember that eating disorders occur in both males and females.

Jackie is offering a free online nutrition training that teaches you how to put together a sports nutrition plan for your junior player. You can register at:

FREE Sports nutrition training: https://training.jackieslomin.com/jit-sports/ 

You can find Jackie online at http://www.jackieslomin.com/. You can contact her via email at [email protected].

Jackie mentions BodyArmor Sports Drink which you can find here. She also mentions Clif Bars which you can find here.

Thank you to STØNE for our music! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic

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.

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