In this episode you are going to listen to Edgar Giffenig, Edgar has been a National Coach in Mexico, Germany & the States. In 2013 he published the book “Developing High Performance Tennis Players” & he is currently the partner of the online Tennis Education platform Tennisgate.com.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– What stroke flexibility is & how to develop it

– How Women oftentimes hit harder than they run

– The story of the Magic Wand

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 Lessons from 3 different National Federations
06:59 Biggest takeaway with a small budget
09:11 Capitalizing on great players
12:23 The downside of having large funds
13:43 Stroke flexibility
20:14 Dealing with competitive pressure
22:39 Process vs resultorientation
24:47 How Edgar organized his thoughts
29:42 How women hit faster than they run
33:02 Why Edgar would never go fulltime on tour as a coach
35:10 Teach yourself
37:42 Antroprometric streotypes in tennis
40:32 Every coach is not good for every player
42:01 Why you learn a lot from newly started coaches
43:33 Edgar’s favourite books
45:10 Different players, different approaches
46:10 Why Edgar is NOT huge on statistics
47:32 The truth is always in the middle
51:07 How the culture has changed
53:26 Over organized practice schedules
56:37 It’s all about the player
57:35 The Magic Wand story
58:21 Get to know more about Edgar

In this episode you are going to listen to Frank Giampaolo, Frank founded The Tennis Parents Workshops in 1998, conducting workshops across the United States, Mexico, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Spain. He then instituted The Mental/Emotional Tennis Workshops in the spring of 2002. Frank’s has developed 77 National Champions, hundreds of NCAA athletes, numerous NCAA All-Americans and several professional athletes. Frank is currently the Vice Chair of the USTA/SCTA Coaches Commission.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How it is easy to be a Tennis Coach compared to being a Tennis Parent

– The do’s & the don’ts of pre- & post match communication with a tennis player

– How do you close the gap between performance in practice & matches, How to deal with slumps & How to deal with gamesmanship

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:30 Being a Tennis Parent is tough
03:10 Balancing being a coach & a father
04:21 A game of keep away
06:23 Utilizing multiple Tennis Coaches
07:30 Negative scoring
09:15 Creating a Tennis Family Philosophy
11:23 Fixed mindset vs growth mindset
12:57 Do’s & Don’ts of pre & post match communication
15:48 Practice the way you are expected to compete
17:51 Get out of Perfectionism
19:30 Dealing with Gamesmanship
24:05 Dealing with slumps
26:54 How you can benefit from Charting
28:30 The Spiral
32:13 Parents workshop
36:22 Don’t apply your knowledge right away
38:40 Player profiling
42:08 Hardware & Software
43:57 A recipe of disaster
45:16 What you share is what you learn
46:20 Vic Braden
52:37 The whole entourage on thet same page

In this episode you are going to listen to Marc Sophoulis, Marc has among others coached ATP & WTA players like: Victor Hanescu, Karan Rastogi, Anastasia & Arina Rodionova & Sabine Lisicki. He has conducted a 40 week TV Tennis Series on ESPN Asia & In 2011 he was awarded “Rising Star Coach of the year” in Australia. Currently Marc works at the Melbourne International Tennis School

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– The philosophy at MITS & the previous ones that failed

– The importance of person, athlete & then the Tennis Player

– The boundaries you must set to keep respect

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps:
01:30 Shared characteristics of top players
03:30 Nature vs nurture
05:03 The environment created from the parents
06:18 MITS Philosophy
07:54 What philosophy that didn’t work
09:19 What Marc tells the players he work with
11:18 Why coaches need to be selfless
14:04 Person, athlete, player
15:15 Go outside of your own country as a coach
17:58 The importance of honesty
18:28 Integrity
20:19 A brutal industry
22:46 Boundaries
25:40 Persistence
26:20 Resilience
27:03 Act upon your learnings
29:00 Look outside of tennis
31:30 Biggest lesson from AFL
32:42 Relationships
34:01 24 hour coach
36:20 Practice doesn’t make perfect
37:10 Specificity
38:40 No trust, no development
40:03 Marc’s advice

Today you are going to listen to Stephan Medem, Stepan played professionally himself & reached a career high of #216 in singles & #146 in doubles. He has been coaching several players on the WTA-tour including the following top 50 players Claudia Porwik, Anca Barna, Meike Babel, Laura Gildemeister, Karina Habsudova & Babara Rittner. Further more he has written 2 books, “PlayGirl” & “Ich will nach Wimbledon”. Currently Stephan is the Head Coach of Junior Development at NHTC Nuremberg.

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How all of us are born mentally tough

– How to reprogramming mental toughness

– Which 2 World Number 1’s that Stephan completely misjudged

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 How we are born mentally tough
07:04 The parent’s & Coach’s role
09:23 Reprogramming kids to mental toughness
11:37 Help the kids with a different perspective
18:46 The red flags
20:55 World numner 1’s that Stephan misjudged
27:50 Talk the same language
29:53 Harry Hopmann
35:25 The system in junior tennis
37:47 Thiem & Bresnik
39:45 Tennis Associations
44:18 The importance of patience
47:16 Stephan’s advice

Jose Antonio Fernandez played on the ATP Tour for 12 years reaching a career-high ranking of 202 in 1991. He represented Chile in Davis Cup from 1986-1992. He coached Steffi Graf & has been the coach of a winning German Bundesliga team. At last Jose was recently selected to act as Official Agent for the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How Jose became the coach of Steffi Graff

– The core values of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy

– Why it is essential to always develop potential before you start thinking about results

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 How Jose became the coach of Steffi Graff
03:52 From Graff to playing on the ATP Tour
05:21 BASAF TC
08:35 Developing the spirit at the club team
10:46 Main Cultural differences
12:06 The Job of a Tennis Agent
Going to tournaments
Spreading the words & the values
13:23 The values of Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy
14:55 What made Jose write his first book
18:41 The reason Jose wrote his first book
20:03 Why you should build your identity around strenghts
21:30 The importance of awareness
25:51 The importance of belief
27:27 José’s advice to his younger self
31:25 The real objective in tennis
33:11 The most important characteristic in a tennis player
34:54 Why we as coaches needs to take a look in the mirror
36:22 Jose’s influencers
38:46 Pato Alvares
40:26 Cultural differences from South America to Europe
41:59 The balance between internal & external goals
43:40 Why you need always need a purpose
44:47 The tour picks you
45:55 Develop potential before you start thinking about results
46:24 Jose’s Advice
52:41 How to get in contact with Jose

In this episode you are going to listen to Simon Wheathley, Simon has been a Performance Coach for more than 10 years working in Great Britain. He has written 3 resources on mini tennis, authored the ‘Developing the serve resource for 10 & under’. Further more “The biomechanics of the serve” with age and gender guidelines for the LTA

In this conversation you’ll get to know:

– How the development pathway at the LTA works including the Tennis Passport

– Common mistakes in the serve & how to correct them

– How & why Simon often uses the phrase “Just find 10 percent more”

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps
01:30 The development pathway in the LTA
05:30 The need for a tennis passport
08:02 The passport
09:54 Why LTA seperates boys & girls
11:00 Why having more female coaches in tennis is important
13:06 Female Coaching Community
15:20 National Camps at LTA
17:03 The tennis serve
21:40 Common problems in the tennis serve
24:13 Developing the tennis serve
25:23 What to do before using video
29:03 Coaching Feedback
31:42 Why supervision is essential for every tennis coach
32:52 What players remember you for
34:12 What is a successful Tennis Coach
35:14 The opportunity of a tennis coach
36:23 Commitment more important than motivation
38:40 Difference on younger & older players
40:25 Coaching the performer & then the player
41:48 Raise your level with 10 percent
42:52 Planning & reviewing
45:46 Louis Cayer
46:38 The power of coaching
48:01 Engaging the parents
51:27 Parent’s must not feel like being on the outside
53:09 The mental part is not 80 % of tennis
57:01 Coaching foot work
58:07 Rally, attack & defence
60:28 Don’t settle for mediocrity

In this episode you are going to listen to Andi Brandy, Andi briefly played on the professional circuit himself before going on the tour as a coach for the WTA top 10 players Kathy Rinaldi & Carlin Basset. He then served as the Executive Director at the Bolletieri Tennis Academy.

He has been the Head Coach at Florida University for 17 straight seasons then had a stint at the Evert Tennis Academy before eventually joining the USTA as a national Coach in 2010.

In this conversation you’ll get to know:

– Why Andy thinks that it is easier to coach female players

– Why Andy thinks that every tennis player could learn a lot from doing martial arts

– How tennis has developed & where he predicts that tennis will go in the future

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

02:12 (42) University of Florida Head Coach
03:33 Working with professionals
05:23 Why it is easier to coach women players
06:49 Most influential persons for Andi
07:57 Hopman
08:49 Von Horn
10:36 Why Andi always takes the youngest age group at USTA
11:27 Most common adjustments in juniors
12:44 Good citizen & great champions
13:49 How USTA develop character
14:34 Most important tennis player characteristic
15:11Tennis is changing
16:14 How the game has developed the last 12 months
17:16 Where the game is going in the future
17:42 Martial Arts
19:43 What we as coaches tend to forget
21:21 High Intensity
24:46 You need to have a purpose
25:30 Speaking less
26:44 The best thing about being a coach
27:18 What is less/more important for Andy
27:58 Andi’s advice
29:43 Get to know more about Andy

In this episode you are going to listen to Jeff Coetzee, Jeff is a former professional player himself reaching a career high of #12 in doubles & #184 in singles. He represented South Africa in Davis Cup for 10 years & participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Jeff has worked at the Schuetler-Waske Tennis University & has coached singles players like Andrea Petkovic, Cedric Marcel Stebe & Angelique Kerber. Jeff is currently the coach of the two doubles teams consisting of Cabal & Farah and Klaasen & Ram.

In this conversation you’ll get to know:

– The difference on a Good doubles player & a Great one

– How players often neglect the basics of doubles & what the basics are

– What makes the Bryan Brothers the best Doubles Team ever.

Enjoy the show!

In this episode you are going to listen to Antonio Van Grichen, Antonio is a former player himself representing Portugal in Davis Cup. He then went to the Harry Hopmann Tennis Academy as a Coach & has worked his way up ever since.

Antonio has been the coach of players such as Jarmila Wolfe former Gajdošová Tamira Paszek, Vera Zvonereva, Ana Ivanovic, Monica Puig, Marcos Baghdatis & was the Coach of Victoria Azarenka from when she was 15 & World Number 1 Junior all the way to Top 10 WTA singles & Doubles when she was 20.

In this Episode you’ll get to know:

– About the journey he had together with Azarenka

– The dialogue going on in his head when he is considering to start working with a new player

– Why you need to be a little bit crazy to succeed within tennis

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 How Antonio got into coaching
03:38 How Antonio only picked up a racquet to coach from 16-19
04:46 Going to the Harry Hopman Tennis Academy
07:52 The Initiating a coaching relation with a player
10:13 Long term projects
11:04 Some coaches just want to go on the tour
12:05 Delusional players
20 she was 6 in singles (7 in doubles)
15:34 What correction that was made to Azarenka’s forehand
17:33 The changes Azarenka made on her forehand
19:03 Coaching Marcos Baghdatis
22:06 Why Antonio is not on the tour at the moment
23:20 Being selfish kept me sain
24:26 Ultimately it is about human beings
26:32 Willingness to suffer
27:48 Importance of being a great communicator
29:00 Common sense
30:21 Observation
31:40 The monk that sold his Ferrari
33:01 Most important values
34:00 The fine line bewteen succes & failure
35:18 You need to be little bit crazy to succed
37:27 Health & time
38:34 Every player is a different person
40:33 Get in contact with Antonio

In this episode you are going to listen to Jaime Fernandez-Fernandez. Jaime has been working as a S&C Coach since 2000. For the Spanish Tennis Federation as a consultant since 2006, he assisted in developing the test battery that the German Tennis Federation uses & is currently developing & implementing a Long Term Athlete Development system for the Norwegian Tennis Federation

In this episode you’ll get to know:

– How tennis is a professional sport filled with amateur coaches

– How it is possible to close the gap between science & practice

– How tennis is an individual sport, but how essential it is to have a good team

Enjoy the show!

Timestamps

01:30 The story of how Jaime got to work for the Spanish Tennis Federation
04:43 A professional sport full of amateurs
08:03 Unlicenced Tennis Coaches
10:22 What can be done to help coaches
14:47 Closing the gap between science & practice
24:01 Long term Player Development Norway
34:26 Lack of agreement across federations
40:19 How much influence does the coaches actually have
41:46 Training using names
45:00 Individual sport, but essential to have a good team
47:12 Traveling days are not restdays
48:38 Imbalances created by tennis
52:10 Jaime’s advice