Parentingaces - The Junior Tennis And College Tennis Podcast

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 21 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, Lisa chats with Italian talent identifier and coach, Luca Appino who is with his 14-year-old player competing in the Italian Open Junior event.Luca started his career in Italy and for over 10 years was dedicated to the development of tennis schools in various clubs. He became experienced in management, marketing and product testing while working for industry leaders such as Dunlop, Babolat, and Fila.Luca has dedicated a significant part of his work and research to talent scouting. For Babolat, he selected various young and, at that time, almost unknown, players from 11 to 15 years old; four of them reached the #1 position in the ATP and WTA: Andy Roddick, Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, and Dinara Safina. In 2008 Luca founded Tennis-Talents and implemented the TT Method. Between 2010 and 2011, he was the Executive Tennis Director of the Tunisian Tennis Federation and coach of Ons Jabeur, the Roland Garros Junior 2011 girls cham

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 20 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we take a deep dive into a new app designed to help players and parents better manage their training and tournaments.Alli Barnes and Jaime Sullivan have been friends since childhood. After Jamie's last child left the proverbial nest, she was ready to let loose her entrepreneurial spirit so she reached out to Alli to collaborate on an app that combined her love of tennis with Alli's love and expertise in the health and wellness arena. TennisIQ was born!We've done a couple of podcasts in the recent past on the importance of journaling, so I won't rehash the details of the value in it. That said, TennisIQ takes journaling to a whole new level, including a voice-to-text feature, mindfulness prompts, and the use of AI to devise pre- and post-match audio to help players - and parents! - come to each practice and each match fully prepared to give their best.Whether you need to get advise from your personalized i

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 19 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week’s episode, father-son duo, Scott and Bode Campbell, are back to take a look at their Junior Tennis Journey as Bode prepares to play college tennis in the Fall.Scott has been a long-time follower of ParentingAces! This is not his and Bode's first time to appear on our podcast. They were here a little over a year ago sharing their perspective on the journey - you can find that podcast at https://parentingaces.com/podcasts/a-parent-player-perspective-on-parentingaces-ft-scott-bode-campbell/.Now that Bode is graduating high school and heading into his first year as a College Tennis Student-Athlete at Xavier University in Ohio, they asked if they could share some of the challenges and solutions they faced with the help of our platform. Of course, I said yes!You will hear from them both about Bode's college recruiting process and how he came to choose Xavier, dealing with injury last summer, Bode's high school tennis experience, working thro

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 18 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this episode, Case Western Reserve University Head Men's Tennis Coach, Todd Wojtkowski, offers a little calm after the perfect storm of our last episode. This podcast was filmed live from Claremont Mudd-Scripps in Claremont, CA, host to the 2025 NCAA DIII Men's & Women's Tennis Championships.Todd Wojtkowski has built the Case Western Reserve University men's tennis team into one of the top programs in all of Division III during his 16 seasons at the team's helm, which includes guiding the squad to the NCAA Division III Championship in 2023, the first-ever team title won by a CWRU team in any sport. The National Championship came on the heels of back-to-back finishes at the NCAA Championship each of the previous two years, including in 2021 when he was named the Wilson/ ITA National Coach of the Year. Wojtkowski went on to lead the Spartans back to the NCAA quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season in 2024. Now they

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 17 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, Lisa is joined by Markus Dayton and John Parsons, both actively working in the college tennis space.With the House vs NCAA settlement still being negotiated, there are a lot of unanswered questions, both for existing college tennis players as well as those junior players aspiring to play college tennis. There has been a lot of discussion online about the various aspects of the settlement and its impact on facets of college tennis including the transfer portal, roster limits, scholarships, and international recruiting.Both Mark Dayton and John Parsons work daily in the college tennis space and have been actively trying to shed light on the settlement and its possible short- and long-term effects. We tackle a variety of questions in this podcast and hope it clarifies and gives listeners the push to formulate a plan for any junior players who have college tennis on their list of goals.To reach Mark, join his College Tennis Recr

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 16 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, Coach Jim Harp is back to discuss not only his philosophy of junior tennis development but also his latest passion project, Roots to Racquets.Jim Harp is a highly accomplished tennis coach and the founder of Harp Performance Tennis Inc., established in 2004 in Cumming, Georgia, where he continues to reside with his wife, daughter, and a variety of pets. Renowned for his expertise and dedication to the sport, Jim holds prestigious certifications as a PTR Master Coach and an ITPA Certified Performance Specialist. He is also a graduate of the USTA’s High Performance Program and is recognized as a USPTA Elite Coach. As a coach developer for both the PTR and USTA, Jim is committed to training the next generation of tennis coaches, sharing his extensive knowledge and experience in the sport. His coaching journey began in earnest in 2001, and he quickly made a name for himself as a 1994 NJCAA All-American player from Dekalb College

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 15 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's conversation is all about the mental side of tennis and how we can help junior players and their parents develop the necessary tools to have a successful Tennis Journey.Damon Valentino is a mental strength coach and former D1 Tennis Player at Michigan State University. He holds a Masters in Sport & Performance Psychology and is the founderof SIDE STREET Performance Coaching. He is globally renowned as a high performance coach, facilitator and keynote speaker working with professional tennis players and coaches, ITF juniors and parents, as well as D1 tennis players and coaches. Damon is the Director of Mental Fitness for the PTPA and head mental strength coach for Baylor University's men's tennis team. Damon is passionate about bridging the gap between high performance and wellbeing. To reach out to Damon directly, you can email him at damon@sidestreetcoaching.com. You can also follow him on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/dam

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 14 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we hear from the Senior Vice President of UTR Sports and former college coach, Chase Hodges.Before coming to UTR Sports, Chase was the head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach at Georgia Gwinnett College where he led his teams to 15 national championships. Chase knows college tennis and he understands what junior players need in order to be ready for its challenges.Now, in his role at UTR Sports, Chase is very involved in the junior and collegiate side of things. He is always willing to answer questions and shed light on how families can best use UTR events and ratings to help their junior players become their best selves.In this episode, Chase talks about the best way to use the various ratings and rankings and the best way to take full advantage of the team and individual events and tournaments that UTR Sports currently has on offer. Whether its organized match play, leagues, college tournaments, or prize money tournaments, UTR

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 13 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week's episode, we continue our discussion of what it takes to become a great coach and how great coaches bring out the best in their players. Coach Chris Marquez is our guest.Chris Marquez is a nationally respected tennis coach with a career built on passion, perseverance, and a deep understanding of player development. A self-described late bloomer, Chris didn’t pick up a racquet until age 11—but by 16, he was ranked among Florida’s top 15 juniors, earning wins over top-10 players, all while coming from a modest, middle-class background. With his love for the game, Chris also found success on the national level and competed internationally as well.He went on to play Division I college tennis at the University of South Florida, where he competed in both singles and doubles and helped lead the team to a conference championship. After college, Chris stepped into coaching, quickly rising through the ranks to become a Director of Player Develo

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 12 of the ParentingAces Podcast! If you've been watching/listening to this podcast for any length of time, you've heard me talk about the importance of mentoring. In this week's episode, Coach Aaron Rusnak of Innovative Tennis Coaching is back with us to discuss his transition from full-time on-court coaching to mentoring those coaches coming up behind him to ensure a better Junior Tennis Experience for coaches, players, and parents.Aaron has been coaching tennis for 30 years following a stint on the USTA Pro Circuit. Recognized as one of the Top 25 Coaches in the U.S. by Tennis Channel and Top Spin Magazine (2021), Aaron brings a unique combination of high-level playing experience, advanced certifications, and a deep commitment to helping athletes reach their full potential.  Aaron has been a popular staple on tennis social media for several years now. He loves to post videos discussing the various aspects of the game, especially through the lens of an experienced coach. He reali

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 11 of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's episode is all about High School Tennis!Scott Gerber's two children both grew up playing tennis in Ohio, including playing on their respective high school teams. As Scott watched his kids compete for their schools, he realized high school tennis wasn't getting the respect it deserved in terms of media coverage and reporting of player and match statistics. Like many resourceful parents, Scott took matters into his own hands and set up a website to track all high school tennis players and all high school matches. That was the beginning of Ohio Tennis Zone.Now, Scott has grown the OTZ website into a one-stop-shopfor anyone interested in the world of Ohio High School Tennis. Every player has their own profile with stats which they can use for college recruiting. Every school can see its player and match history. Rankings are updated each week across all divisions. What Scott has created here is invaluable to coaches, players, parents, and s

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 10 of the ParentingAces Podcast. This week, Coach Duey Evans joins us to share his 3+ decades of junior and college tennis wisdom.Spending much of his career in a field that often relies on dated coaching methods, Duey has continued to think outside the box and create individualized programs that result in high-performing athletes. In his coaching now, you’ll find the same creative mindset with the backing of three successful decades- lined by Ivy League players, NCAA title holders, and a nationally ranked tennis center. His 30-year education in how to coach, experience as a business owner, and continuous quest to be better, makes him the coach tennis players and parents across the nation have come to respect.During the COVID lockdown, Duey and I released weekly video chats taking a deep dive into junior and college tennis and what it means to find success in those realms. You can find those episodes on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfiLuMW_ON875Xgk

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 9 of the ParentingAces Podcast. This week, we take another look at SwingVision and its Electronic Line Calling (ELC) features and how it is being used at junior and college tennis matches.If you've followed this podcast for any length of time, you've heard Swupnil Sahai, the co-founder and CEO of SwingVision, talk about his tennis technology, and you've witnessed the constant developments and improvements over the past several years. Last year, I had the privilege of watching SwingVision's ELC technology in action at multiple junior tournaments in the SoCal section - what a game changer! Now, Swupnil and his team are working even more closely with USTA and the ITA to bring that technology to events throughout the US.Our previous podcasts with Swupnil and SwingVision https://parentingaces.com/podcasts/bringing-ai-to-tennis-with-swupnil-sahai/ https://parentingaces.com/podcasts/swingtennis-ft-swupnil-sahai/ https://parentingaces.com/podcasts/whats-new-with-swingvision-ft-george-opel

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 8 of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, we travel to the metaverse and the new Tennis Australia digital world of Beyond Tennis with Ridley Plummer.Ridley Plummer is Tennis Australia’s Senior Manager Digital Sales and Metaverse, leading the Australian Open (AO) Metaverse strategy and overseeing the development of the Metaverse and Digital Innovation projects. Spearheading the AO Digital Innovation Programs, Ridley is passionate about new technology and its potential to evolve industries beyond physical sporting events into the virtual world. Ridley has been instrumental in progressing the AO's launch into the Metaverse with multiple groundbreaking projects including Beyond Tennis, AO Adventure on Roblox, AO Artball and the AO School’s Block Buster Tennis Challenge in Minecraft Education. It was just a matter of time before Tennis caught up with the rest of the major sporting world and entered the alternative reality known as

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 7 of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, we hear from recent Boise State Women's Tennis graduate and psychology major, Nicole Discenza, about the importance of training mindset and mental skills alongside technique and tactics.Nicole grew up playing tennis from a very young age in her home country of Venezuela. During her teenage years, she and her family made the tough decision for her to leave home and train in the US for a year. Nicole was then recruited to play Division I tennis at Boise State University where she also took on some junior players to coach in her limited spare time. It was then that she recognized how she could help these young players develop a more positive mindset and self-awareness through their work together on the court.When Nicole graduated and was thinking about what to do next with her life, she realized by sharing her passion for helping others improve their mental state through tennis was the pa

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 6 of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week's episode does a deep dive into the new tennis coaching digital platform, Full Court Tennis, with its creator, former top ATP Pro, Brian Teacher.I first met Brian several years ago at the US Open Junior tournament. I've since run into him around SoCal and was excited to get him on the podcast to discuss the latest iteration of Full Court Tennis. I encourage you to watch the video version of this episode for insights as to what the platform is capable of doing for players, parents, and coaches.Here is the press release which describes it best:Virtual tennis coaching has never been easier to use since former Grand Slam champion Brian Teacher launched the improved and updated Full Court Tennis (FCT) website where players can connect with world-renowned coaches for virtual lessons making tennis coaching easily accessible and affordable for everyone. For a limited time, Teacher has announced

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 5 of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week's episode is all about college tennis and what may be coming in terms of the House settlement and its conditions. Our guest is the new CEO of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), David Mullins.If you've been watching/listening to this podcast for a while, you may be familiar with Dave. He first appeared on ParentingAces back in 2017 in his role as a junior coach discussing how junior players could get themselves fit enough to play college tennis. He has since returned several times in his roles as a former college player, college coach, and COO of the ITA. You can find our previous podcasts and articles at https://parentingaces.com/search/mullins.This week's episode, though, focuses on the recent work by the ITA to help shape the future of college tennis in the wake of the impending decision regarding the House vs. NCAA settlement. We've all heard the chatter about roster limit

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 4 of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week's episode is the recording of the recent webinar Lisa hosted with Brett Hobden, co-founder of GottaTennis.Most junior tennis coaches spend the majority of lesson time teaching and tweaking strokes, grips, and movement patterns to help their players achieve their stated goals. Rarely are these coaches in attendance at junior tournaments so they rely on (1) self-reporting or (2) parent reporting of what's happening on the match court, both of which can be unreliable and unhelpful.GottaTennis provides a tool to take a video recording of a match then spit out a detailed analysis of what happened during that match. Please watch the video version of this episode to see actual footage of the tools included in this new software and to better understand how they can be used to help your player(s) improve.For more information on GottaTennis, visit the website at https://gottatennis.com/. You can

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 2 of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, coach Chris Lewit revisits the pod to discuss what he's learned over his career from the top coaches and players in Spain regarding developing junior tennis players.Chris Lewit is a former number one for Cornell and ATP player. He is a high-performance coach, educator, and the author of three best-selling books: The Secrets of Spanish Tennis 2.0 (2024) The Secrets of Spanish Tennis (2014) The Tennis Technique Bible Chris has coached numerous top 10 nationally-ranked players and is known for his expertise in building the foundations of young prodigies. Chris coaches in NYC and year-round at his high-performance tennis academy in Manchester, Vermont, where players can live and train the Spanish Way full-time or short-term.Chris has studied the various rating systems currently in use and has some very definite thoughts on how players, parents, and coaches should be using them.If you'd lik

Welcome to Season 14 Episode 2 of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week, Lisa talks with the creator of Tennis:Europe, Martin Vinokur, as well as a parent and player - Dorothy Potash and Max Spillerman - who were part of the Summer 2024 program.If you're looking for a great competitive opportunity for your teen this summer, be sure to check out Tennis:Europe. The 2025 dates work well with our Spain trip in July so players can play some matches then join us at the Nadal Academy for a week of training once they're comfortable on the European red clay.You can find previous podcasts and articles about Tennis:Europe at https://parentingaces.com/articles/announcing-tenniseuropes-51st-anniversary-year-with-memories/, https://parentingaces.com/articles/tennis-europe/, https://parentingaces.com/articles/tenniseurope-experience-kayleigh-yun-thayer/, https://parentingaces.com/articles/tennis-europe-a-fantastic-summer-tennis-travel-experience-ft-martin-vinokur/, and ht