Episodes
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As he prepares to play in the French Open, Martin Damm Jr. was kind enough to spend some time discussing:
How he got started in tennis His experience playing junior ITF's Being a part of the youngest team ever to win a US Open doubles match Why he turned pro at 15 years old And how he had to reidentify his game as a proThis is an amazing episode for junior tennis players and parents trying to learn about the different pathways players take! For those who are just getting started out, here’s a mini bio on Marty:
Current ATP singles ranking of 179 Top American junior player growing up ITF Junior #3 2019 Kalamazoo Doubles Champion w/ Toby Kodat Reached the 3rd round of the Miami Open this yearCheck out www.aubonetennis.com for more!
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If you can’t see these things in person, it’s hard to get inspired by them. It’s hard to feel the magic. It’s hard to feel the crowd come alive. It’s a completely different feeling to see a 145mph serve in person come off of Isner’s racquet. To hear the sound of Juan Martin Del Potro’s forehand as it connects with the center of his strings. To see Federer’s beautiful gliding slice that barely goes over the net. To see and hear Nadal’s huge fist pump after a forehand buggy whip winner on the run from the back corner of the stadium.
Growing up, one of the biggest inspirations I had each year was going to the Miami Open. Every March, my parents would take my brother and I to the tournament, and it was one of the most exciting times of the year. It was an opportunity to see the best players in the world, up close and in-person, learning and studying the best.
I wanted to be like them. I wanted to be as good as them.
It was a yearly motivational event for me.
Hope you enjoy the podcast. Check out www.aubonetennis.com for more podcasts, blogs, and information on my coaching services! -
Missing episodes?
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What are you willing to tolerate on your high performance junior tennis journey? Some people can't handle the emotional outbursts, bad line calls, frustrating parents, and the overall emotional roller coaster. They want a nice respectful game, with a nice relaxing atmosphere, and if goals aren't achieved, it's not a problem. Others can tolerate the roller coaster so long as progress is being made and the child is showing continuous signs of happiness.
Unfortunately you have to pick. Striving to have a beautiful and calm atmosphere with continuous progress will more than likely not be a successful journey.
Check out www.aubonetennis.com for more!
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A tennis player spends approximately 80% of a match WALKING around. Not running and playing. Walking. Yet we spent 99.99% of our practices working on everything else, and we wonder why most kids struggle to be mentally tough.
An argument can be made that the routines in-between points are the most important thing that will determine how mentally tough a player will be in a match. In this podcast I discuss the routine I try to teach the players I work with. If your players are not implementing a consistent routine in some form, please have them listen to this podcast! If anything will have a more immediate impact on their results, it will be this.
Check out www.aubonetennis.com for more podcasts and blogs!
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This is part 2 of a 2-part special guest episode with Christopher Trizzino. In part 1 Chris shared his fearless journey of how he started tennis very late at the age of 13, fell in love with coaching but had no idea how to succeed with it, and now runs one of the best academies in the entire region. This episode is a great reminder that you don't need to plan every step of your journey in order to succeed.
In this episode, Chris discusses the importance he places on parent education, being present at tournaments, and creating a team atmosphere in an individual sport.
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This is part 1 of a 2-part special guest episode with Christopher Trizzino. In part 1 Chris shares his fearless journey of how he started tennis very late at the age of 13, fell in love with coaching but had no idea how to succeed with it, and now runs one of the best academies in the entire region. This episode is a great reminder that you don't need to plan every step of your journey in order to succeed.
After you're done with part 1, check out part 2 where Chris discusses the importance he places on parent education, being present at tournaments, and creating a team atmosphere in an individual sport.
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One of the least talked about areas parents have to deal with is the time in-between 2nd and 3rd sets. I wonder how many parents were given the heads up that they'd be put in a situation where they'd have to consider putting their coaching hat on. It's an unfair position to be put in. Parents aren't coaches! They're just there to parent, and this is a delicate and important moment in the match. How they handle this time is important! They can either provide more anxiety for their child, or bring calmness and confidence. I hope the few things I mention in the blog provide some help in handling these situations when the coach is not present.
Check out www.aubonetennis.com for more!
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What's more important to a player, the racquet or the string?
Should kids be using polyester strings?
What's the best way to test racquets?
These are some of the questions we asked racquet specialist, and Head of USA Marketing for Tecnifibre, Philippe Oudshoorn.
Philippe is an incredible resource to have because his knowledge of these things is directly from the player and coach's perspective. Before joining Tecnifibre, Philippe played collegiate tennis at the University of Virginia, then professional tennis, coached collegiately at George Washington and UCF, and finally as a National Coach for USTA Played Development.
There's no better person to talk to then Philippe when it comes to equipment. Tecnifibre provides Grand Slam winners (Daniil Medvedev, Iga Swiatek, Joe Salisbury), many top professionals, and top juniors with the best equipment in the world.
Hope you enjoy the podcast and check out www.aubonetennis.com for more!
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A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t” - Jack DempseyIt’s a hard thing to explain to someone if they haven’t gone through something incredibly difficult and challenging, and refused to back down. It can also seem like an unfair thing to explain to a young athlete. When talking to a child, a psychologist probably wouldn’t be too happy with a coach saying physical effort is not enough, and that deep inside that child has an extra gear, a 6th or 7th gear they need to tap into to take their game to the next level.I’ve had to do that before. It’s tough and I need to be careful with my words, but I’m not in the happiness business. I’m in the high performance business. I’m in the growth business. I’m in the “I’ll be happy when I’m improving as a tennis player while trying to achieve my goals” type of business. It’s not for everyone. I say it all the time. There’s multiple ways to enjoy tennis. Choosing the right path is important because that’s where you’ll find true happiness. Neither one is wrong. But if being the best tennis player you can possibly be during competition is the tennis journey that’s for you, then you need to know the difference between a good attitude and a champions attitude, and embrace it.Check out www.aubonetennis.com for more!#tennis #tenniscoach #lifecoach #athlete #champion #tennis player
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We have another special guest episode with Jonathan Stokke (full bio below) from the Baseline Intelligence podcast. If you haven't listened to the Baseline Intelligence podcast, and you're a tennis coach, parent, or player, you need to! Stokke has an incredible wealth of knowledge, from his experience as a junior and collegiate player, playing in the US Open, coaching in college tennis, and now a private coach with an amazing podcast. He's interviewed many incredible people like Paul Annacone, Brad Stine, Jessica Pegula, Gil Reyes, Lindsay Davenport, and more, but this time it was his turn to speak. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to get his perspective on things like managing a competitive attitude with good sportsmanship, thoughts for college recruits, and having a better mindset while competing. Enjoy the podcast!
Jonathan Stokke BioStokke was a top junior in the United States growing up, having played in the Men's 2001 & 2002 US Open Doubles. After his junior days were over, he continued his tennis journey at Duke University. At Duke, he was an All-American & ITA National Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship & Leadership Award. From there, he spent some time coaching at the Smith Stearns academy, before becoming the Women's Assistant Coach at Wake Forest University. Stokke took another leg up in his career by becoming the Associate Head Coach for the Duke Men's Tennis Team. He now coaches in the Charleston, South Carolina area, where he's also the host of one of the most popular tennis podcasts called Baseline Intelligence.
Don't forget to check out www.aubonetennis.com for more!
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Answering this question is straight forward, but finding that type of environment is difficult.
-There will always be a higher level training group so at some point, a coach has to say no, they can’t move you up.
-Does the player show a disciplined effort to train at 100% no matter who they're with?
-Is it fair for the higher level players when the lower level player joins them?
-Can you get better training with a lower level player?
These are the things I discuss in this podcast, along with how important it actually is to train with higher level players.
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One of my favorite things to do at the end of the year is to take some time to reflect. Days can quickly turn into months, and just like that, the year is over. It’s hard to stop, slow down, and evaluate things, yet it’s something I try to do as much as possible. It’s during these moments that we can fine tune our process, and redirect our coaching energies to the most important places.
In this podcast I discuss the 3 things I learned in 2023, as well as 3 things that stayed the same. Enjoy!
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This week we have a special episode! It's the first time we have a guest joining us. Marcelo Ferreira, Windy Hill High Performance Tennis Manager joined us to discuss the incredible program he's built in Atlanta, GA.
Marcelo discusses how culture, character and discipline come first, and then tennis. Their person first approach combined with their holistic mindset is what makes their program so unique. Fitness, yoga, meditation, nutrition, and mental skills training are a mandatory part of their program. Their group sizes are limited, and their dedication to proper development is refreshing in today's climate of revenue first programs. It's no surprise that their program has turned out the #1 girls 12u player in the country, as well as this year's Boy's 16u Eddie Herr Doubles Champion. I hope you enjoy today's episode, and if you'd like to reach out to Marcelo, his contact information is below:
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: coachferreiratennis
Click here to view the Windy Hill Athletic Club
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When we think of the word weapon in tennis, we’ve been trained to think of a powerful weapon. A big forehand. A monster serve. The ability to finish points at the net. Something that can overpower your opponent, and take the racket out of their hand.
I’d like to redefine that.
Visit www.aubonetennis.com for more
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This podcast crossed my mind as I put myself in the shoes of many parents, and wondered what type of training setup I would look for if my son decided to pursue high performance tennis. I tried to be reasonable. Of course I’d want everything on site right ? Nutritionist. Mental coach. Physical therapist. Restaurant. Indoor courts. Classroom. Locker rooms. Etc. Etc.. The list could go on forever.
But few places like that exist, and they’re usually part of a massive operation. I don’t want to be a part of a massive operation. I want something small. Something where a team and family atmosphere can be created. Something where a kid doesn’t get lost in the shuffle and thrown on the back courts if they aren’t performing at the highest level of tennis.
Thinking about what that might realistically look for, I came up with the list in the photo above. (If you haven’t done so, please read the list on the photo at the beginning of this post).
Click here to read the blog version:
www.aubonetennis.com/blog/juniortennistrainingsetup
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Twice in my life I've made improvements to my nutrition, and they were so impactful that I can never go back to my old ways. The foods and liquids we consume, how we consume them, and when we consume them have a direct affect not only our energy, but our mood. If we have low energy, we’ll be more at risk of being in a bad mood, having a negative mindset throughout the match, and we’ll struggle to make proper decisions.
If you’re going to spend thousands of dollars a year on tennis training, the last thing you want is for your nutrition to ruin everything. Give this area the same attention you would any other part of your tennis training.
The tips in this blog are not so much about what to eat, as that is very specific to each person, and a nutritionist should handle that, but more so about how to handle certain important situations. Hope you enjoy the blog so much that it kick starts your own personal nutritional discovery!
If you'd like to read the blog, click below:
https://www.aubonetennis.com/blog/tennisnutritiontips
If you're in need of a nutritionist, please click on either of the links below and reach out to these two people:
- Alejandra Boker, Owner of Functional Bites
- Jessica Mantell, Owner of Next Generation Nutrition
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There are days where we wake up and for some reason, our favorite forehand is no where to be found. Our fitness levels feel depleted. Our legs feel like cement. And our serve feels like we forgot how to hit it.
There’s no real explanation for it. That’s just the way it is. Just like Steph Curry’s 3 point shooting percentage is never exactly the same day after day, neither is our tennis game.
Because of all that, we as tennis players need to be continuously flexible. When yesterday we needed to hit forehands cross-court because we were playing a lefty, today, we need to try to hit more down the line because our opponent has an incredibly good righty forehand. Is it higher percentage to go cross-court? Yes, but our opponent’s forehand is so good, we’re almost guaranteed of losing the point if they’re able to find that shot. So today, the lower percentage shot to execute, the down the line shot, now becomes the highest win percentage play.
Tomorrow, you might play someone with a better backhand than forehand, so now you’ll go back to hitting that forehand cross-court.
And on and on it goes, and that’s the world tennis players need to live in. The world where everything is about percentages, not rules, and those percentages can seesaw back and forth depending on the flavor of the day.
Click here for the blog
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The hardest part when selecting the 5 things to fix in high performance junior tennis was narrowing it down to just 5! A lot has changed since I started playing junior tennis. Some things for the good, but some things for the worst. Maybe it's just because now I'm a coach that I'm more involved with what's going on, but it's tough to sit back and listen to stories of parents wondering if they should pull their kid out of tennis. There will always be kids that switch sports. That's totally fine. But I'd love for it to be for other reasons. Hopefully this blog can get to some people in charge and get the conversation started. And if you have any ideas that are different, I'd love to hear them as well! Heck, the majority of the ideas I have come from listening to other coaches and parents sharing their thoughts!
http://www.aubonetennis.com/blog/5ideastoimprovehpjuniortennis -
Everybody has moments where they lose focus or get tight. It happened to both players in this match. They’re the #1 and #2 players in the world, yet it still happens to them. But look at how they each handled it in the 2nd and 3rd set! Incredible. A lot to learn for juniors.
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Ah! The grand ol question I’ve received more times than I care to remember. Not only from juniors, but from adults as well! Players across all levels struggle against pushers. I get it. They’re terribly boring to play against. They give you no rhythm. They make for long and exhausting matches that test not only your physical fitness, but your mental fitness as well.
Well say no more to those horrible nightmares! It’s time for the pushers reign to end. In this blog are 5 strategies to beat those frustrating opponents.....Sorry pushers, but it's time to go!
Here is the written blog for this podcast!
www.aubonetennis.com/blog/5strategiestobeatapusher
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