The Adam Blicher Show: Dissecting High Performance In Tennis

Hi guys, In this episode you are going to listen to Kyle LaCroix. Kyle holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from Stanford University. He is among a bunch of other certifications a USTA High Performance Coach and last year he was named USPTA Master Professional which is the highest achievable rating a tennis professional can hold. On a day-to-day basis Kyle is running Sets consulting that specializes in educational tennis solutions,

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Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:00 The shared denominators of great coaches
05:30 No connection, no direction
08:30 Balancing adaptability
11:15 Adaptability and standards
12:40 How to communicate standards
15:30 Work life balance as a tennis coach
21:45 Failure
26:25 The semantics around failure
31:10 The best way to fight negativity
36:30 Holding up your end of the bargain + flicking with the wrist
48:50 On court coaching – for it against it
53:45 Is serve and volley on it’s way back to tennis?
60:15 My aces my faults – owning your mistakes, gratitude and perspective

Hi guys, In this episode you are going to listen to Emma Doyle. Emma has been coaching for the past 30 years. She is a Tennis Australia High Performance Coach, tennis touring professional and a talent developmental coach. Emma is big on what she calls the “E-factors” Energy, Empathy and enjoyment.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 What makes a great tennis coach
04:00 Listen
06:30 Future based questions
12:00 Sticky language
14:45 Direct vs indirect coaching
21:20 Questioning
25:00 WTCA
26:30 Team values
30:00 Habitual words
30:45 Keep knocking on doors and don’t take it personally
31:45 The importance of cringing
32:40 It doesn’t matter if you have the prettiest technique
34:30 Tennis exposes who you are
35:00 Gamification and anchoring

36:30 Emma’s inspirations

38:00 Emma’s advice to players, parents and coaches

40:15 How to get in contact with Emma

Hi guys, In this episode you are going to listen to Peter Lundgren. Peter might be best known for coaching 3 world number ones in Marcello Rios, Roger Federer and Marat Safin, but he was a great player himself with a ranking high of #25 ATP and 3 ATP titles to his name. Besides the previously mentioned players Peter has had coaching stints with the likes of Marcos Baghdatis, Francesca Schiavone, Grigor Dimitrov and Stanislas Wawrinka.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 Dealing with different tennis players
03:00 The difference between Federer and Safin
05:30 Dealing with being a traveling tennis coach and a father
07:30 Deciding on the size of your entourage as a player
09:30 Dealing with tennis parents
11:00 Peter’s lessons from coaching in Houston for 10 years
13:30 The Francesca Schiavone story
16:40 Why you should play on clay
18:30 Why new balls are good for spectators and bad for players
19:30 The player-coach employment
21:00 The good bad and ugly part of being a traveling coach
23:00 Biggest lesson in tennis; be humble
23:15 Tribute to Bjorn Borg
24:30 Peter Lundgren’s tennis advice

Hi guys, In this episode you are going to listen to Howard Green. Howard spent six years in the Royal Marines Commandos. Serving in Iraq and Afghanistan he has extensive experience in preparing ITF, ATP and WTA players and Currently Howard is the Head of Strength and Conditioning at USN Bolton Arena High Performance Tennis Academy which he has been for ten+ years.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 Rehersal
03:40 Mnemonics
07:40 Non-ego confidence
11:10 Why the Super Movers programme
15:20 Providing tennis players with the best possible fundamentals
22:00 What the Super Movers programme is all about
28:30 The key shapes
32:00 Determining the load of tennis drills
36:00 S&C on the professional Tennis Circuit
40:00 Speed up learning by sharing on social
42:00 Don’t be afraid to copy experienced coaches
43:30 The application of bungees in tennis
46:00 Don’t take away the tennis player’s opportunity to learn
47:30 You have to do extra

In this episode you are going to listen to Michael Geserer. Michael did not pick up a tennis racquet until the age of 17 but managed to play qualifying for all Slams and a career high singles ranking of #198. Formerly Michael has among other coaches Julia Goerges and is currently the coach of Jen Brady.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 Communication with a player during Covid-19
03:50 Jen Brady’s approach and attitude in the Covid-19 period
05:15 Looking forward to the Australian tennis swing 2021
06:15 The German Tennis Coaching License
07:30 Planning as a tennis coach to adjust towards the outcomes
08:10 Empathy and listening
09:10 Respect
10:25 The tennis player and the whole human being is closely connected
11:55 The opportunity to practice in Regensburg
12:30 The environment in Regensburg
13:15 Experience and passion
13:45 Use your time it’s valuable
14:30 Learn and gather information
14:50 Surround yourself with positive people
15:15 I believe in planning
15:40 Swedish tennis coaches have predominantly been the inspiration

16:15 Long term commitments > short term commitments

17:00 How to go about long-term commitments with a player

18:30 How reach Michael Geserer

Hi guys, In this episode you are going to listen to Luke Passman. Luke worked 6 years at the Soto Tennis Academy as the Head of Sport Science Support and have for the past 2 years been the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator at The New York Mets.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 How to safely progress serve count in tennis
08:00 Using the Google earth analogy to help tennis players
11:00 Why there is a need to quantify tennis drills
15:30 How to balance intensity, repetitions and volume in tennis practices
18:00 How to plan a tennis player’s weekly practices from a physical point of view
20:10 How tennis coaches can approach S&C coaches to plan a tennis player’s schedule
24:00 What tennis can learn from baseball
27:10 What Luke would change where he to go back to Tennis S&C
29:30 Why you need to build strong relationships as an S&C Coach
30:45 Problem solving coaching and how to get organizations to change
31:30 Why technology needs to be on tap not on top
332:40 The biggest myth is that tennis players can’t lift weights
34:50 How different approaches work in different cultures
36:00 Favorite Books: “The Chimp Paradox” and “Conscious Coaching”
37:00 Luke Passman’s advice to tennis players, parents and coaches
38:00 How to stay updated on Luke Passman

Hi guys, in this episode you are going to listen to Carl Maes. Carl spent 6 years at the LTA as Head of Women’s tennis, he has been the director at the Kim Clijsters Academy and have coached the likes of Kirsten Flipkens, Yanina Wickmayer, Sorana Cirstea and Kim Clijsters for more than 10 years. Carl is currently the Director of High Performance at the Tenerife Tennis Academy where his aim is to establish an international training environment for high performance players and he is further a part of the expert team at Orange Coach Exchange where it’s possible to attend Webinars with all of the experts or smaller “Locker room sessions” with Carl or get his advice all by yourself in 1 to 1 sessions.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:50 Why we need to hit outside the tennis court
04:25 How to organize the practice court with 3 players on court
07:20 The Zone of truth
10:05 Why the arm shouldn’t be fully extended on the tennis serve
12:50 Anticipation > execution in the drive volley
18:50 The 70-70 Concept for female tennis players
21:05 Practicing the 3rd ball during the warmup for female players
24:20 Put tools in your toolbox and then learn how to apply them
26:50 Making Tenerife the new European Dubai of tennis
28:20 If you have a why you will find the how
30:20 More money poured into your child’s tennis is not always better
30:20 More money poured into your child’s tennis is not always better
32:20 Know where you in the tennis land scape as a tennis coach
34:20 Emotional intelligent leadership
37:10 Zoom out and reflect before you act
40:20 How to reach Carl Maes

Hi guys, In this episode you are going to listen to Nick Horvat. Nick has been the assistant coach of Mario Ancic and coached the likes of Sofya Zhuk, Timea Babos and Donna Vekic. Since 2015 he has further been a scouting agent for Yonex.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:00 The Mario Ancic story
04:40 Why it’s not always a mental problem
07:10 Getting the best out of practices at tennis tournaments
10:50 The power of basics
14:00 Choices
15:30 Physical and mental capacity as a tennis player
20:50 The importance of repetition
22:05 Practicing what you preach
23:15 Practice matches
26:20 Inspiring players
27:40 Why education is important for tennis players
30:40 The importance of patience as a tennis coach
31:20 Perfectionism < good enough
32:06 The possible pitfall of changing tennis coaches
32:40 How tennis teaches commitment
33:45 How Nick Bolletieri was a pioneer in tennis
35:00 The medals are for the ones who are ready to dig deeper
35:45 How to stay updated on Nick Horvat

Emilio is a former top 10 singles player and world number 1 doubles player. He is a 5-time Grand Slam winner and won the Hopman Cup alongside his sister Arantxa in 1990. After he retired as a player, he set up the Sanchez Casal Tennis Academy with his former doubles partner Sergio Casal in 1998 where former students include Daniela Hantuchova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray. He captained Spain to Davis Cup victory in 2008 and was in 2017 awarded the ITF’s highest accolade, the Phlippe Chatrier Award, for his contributions to tennis

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:00 The coach needs to be behind the player
04:25 Ex pro tennis players have an advantage, but…
07:15 The ideal coach has to care and have a strong voice
08:45 Empathy is key in tennis coaching
13:05 The difference on the best and the rest in tennis
18:15 Habits build character
22:30 Respect, effort and discipline no matter your tennis level
28:00 What you will learn from tennis as a human being
32:35 The line, height and speed of the ball
34:00 The mindset of a tennis player
36:45 The tennis triad
39:40 How to stay updated on Emilio Sanchez Vicario

Hi guys, in this episode you get to listen to Hans-Peter Born. Peter was for 26 years in charge of coaches’ education and 14 and Under development in the DTB (the German tennis federation). During his tenure at the DTB Peter has overseen the development of the likes of Laura Sigemund, Sabine Lisicki, Angelique Kerber and Sasha Zverev. Peter has been a part of the ITF coaches commission since 1996 and even though he is recently retired from his position at the DTB he can’t help himself from being engaged in the world of tennis on and off the court.

You’ll get to know:

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:00 A new priority in practices
03:49 Intensity in practices
05:00 Placement of serve, return + 1 in tennis practices
06:36 Beginner vs performance player
07:50 Create open game situations on the tennis practice court
09:12 60-80 serves in a 90-120-minute practice
10:55 There is a difference on a 1980 and 2020 Porsche
12:30 The difference between before and now in junior tennis development
15:40 The amount of international travel at an early age
18:00 Moderate travel 12U + 14U internationally
20:30 The change of carpet courts
21:15 Always have a purpose as a tennis coach
22:00 Changing grips
24:45 Communication is key
26:15 Clearing roles between coaches and players
27:35 Less is more as a tennis coach
28:35 Rather 90 good minutes than 180 average ones
29:10 Why the resistance against changing the practice court
30:35 Hans Peter Born’s inspirations
32:55 Hans Peter Born’s advice to tennis parents, tennis coaches and tennis players
33:20 How to stay updated on Hans Peter Born