Tennis Speed Show

One of my pet peeves is the use of medicine ball throws to simulate ground strokes with sloppy form, too heavy of a med ball, and too demanding footwork. The goal of a performance coach is to improve athletic ability so the tennis player can use that improved athletic ability on the court. We are not trying to make them excellent at difficult to perform drills that do not transfer. Medicine ball training can either support performance or hinder performance. Choose wisely! 

I love having conversations about skill acquisition and motor learning. Matt Kuzdub coaches tennis players both on and off the court. His approach is "there is more to tennis than x's and o's. Efficient mechanics, mental toughness, high-level conditioning, and proper nutrition all contribute to peak performance - nothing can be neglected. In this show, Coach Kuzdub does a fantastic job of breaking down the science and application of how tennis players and athletes benefit from properly programmed drills and training sessions to make the most out of learning.

Coach Matthew Flaherty brings a new way to look at tennis training and overall athletic development. As a 4th degree martial artist, Coach Flaherty brings expertise to how movement should occur, which carries over to tennis. He gives us some tremendous insight into KB training's importance and value on shoulder stability and strength for the tennis player. Matthew speaks about being strong in a full range of motion to "own the positions." This is just the tip of the iceberg of our conversation!

I am honored to have my first guest of the Tennis Speed Show make another appearance. Coach Andrew Gregory delivered some pure gold on why and he uses certain chosen drills. He frequently posts these same drills on his social media. Andrew is consistent with educating his athletes, parents, and coaches with creative yet sound training strategies. You must listen and follow Coach Gregory!

In this episode, I touch on a subject that is often glossed over. It involves "education"! We tend to hold education as one of the most important areas a coach needs to improve continually. The question is, "What kind of education?". I believe in many cases; traditional education hasn't held up its end of the bargain! The belief system is most often if you pay TONS of money, then the Education will take care of you. I 100% percent conclude this not to be the case. Take some time and listen in as I share my thoughts and beliefs on how to get ahead with education - with the outcome of being the best tennis performance coach possible.

This coach might not be a household name "yet," however, he is on his way to being just that! Coach Josh Rifkin was a highly accomplished collegiate tennis player who turned into a very educated and highly respected performance coach. Josh sit down with me to talk about the importance of the assessment process of setting up tennis coaching with his players. He dives into strength, power, isometrics to improve positions for strokes, and so much more. 

A top collegiate player at the University of Houston, Eleni Kordolaimi, went on to play professionally. She earned her degree in Kinesiology/Exercise Science, and for such a young person, she has an amazing grasp of what is need for tennis training and skill development. Originally from Greece Eleni currently coaches in Belgium and is enjoying her time helping players reach their dreams. Eleni dives into the importance of strength and speed in the development of players.

This show was one of my top favorites! I had the privilege of sitting down with one of the top professionals in tennis. Ruben Gonzales has been in the professional tennis world for many years and brings so much experience to the table. Listen up, players, because Ruben shares his training workload, the benefits of being strong and fast, and how he MUST stay mentally engaged to compete week after week. This show is pack-full of many, many golden nuggets from one of the game's best doubles players.

Coach Caleb Kennedy of Kennedy Sports Performance took time out of his busy schedule to share how he runs his performance training for tennis athletes of all ages and abilities and all athletes. He breaks down the importance of strength, speed, and injury prevention. Coach Kennedy shares what his session looks like and how he utilizes the various sections of his program (warm-up, speed/jump, and strength). Caleb also dives into the importance of communicating with parents to build your business

Chris Halliday, a player since the age of 10 - turned coach, shares his approach to working with beginning youth and adult players with the end goal of helping them enjoy the game of tennis. We often forget about the 1,000's of people who want to learn how to play tennis. It is such a fantastic life-skill sport. Chris also discusses the importance of strength, footwork, and a topic often missed - the mental part of the game.

Tennis just got better because of a fantastic, productive, and very respectful conversation on tennis footwork. I had a great discussion with tennis coaches who support the cross-under (I call cross-behind) while supporting the lateral run step. It really will make you love "footwork" conversation in the sport of tennis. It is important to keep discussions like this one out in the open as often as possible to give tennis the kick in the pants it needs.

University of Louisville Tennis Performance Coach Caryn Bailey Robbins breaks down the importance of speed and having proper mechanics. She also dives into the importance of using open or reactive based drills to help players develop more quickness. Listen in as she also shares her experience of why having excellent communication skills with coaches and players so that messages do not get misunderstood and success is greater!

In this special edition of the Tennis Speed Show, Lee addresses the importance of creating scenarios where tennis players must learn to solve the variety of problems that are in front of them on every movement. The more they are exposed to the kinesthetic differentiation variable and the more they are challenged to make split-second decisions on the speed, angle of pursuit, and effort level, the greater the problem-solvers they become.

You are going to love this interview with Elizabeth Guy! Coach Guy is a strength and conditioning coach, Physical Therapy Assistant, personal trainer, and a former college tennis player. She has experience as a strength and conditioning coach for the USTA. Elizabeth delivers some great points about training, court movement quality, the importance of core development for staying strong, and being mobile to play better and stay healthy!

What an incredibly important show with a vital message you can't afford to miss! Jae Taft and Andrew Gregory share their perspective on why staying physically and mentally active during the pandemic is necessary. Andrew dove into the specific skills athletes can do right now to stay sharp and active. Jae brought with her a key message and strategies on how and why mental preparedness is so crucial- especially not allowing your identity to become wrapped up in the sport where you lose who you are and your self-worth.

Listen, as Colin Masterson, of Villanova University Women's Tennis Program, shares how the staff assesses and prepares them to become better athletes first—followed up with allowing the athletes to shine on the courts. Coach Masterson explains how to use lateral and linear speed and unilateral and bilateral strength patterns. You have got to listen in on this one!

This is one of the most unique shows I have published. Stephen Davide takes us through his HydroAthletics Program. He explains how he helps tennis players feel better, move better, become stronger and more mobile, and feel in more control. Stephen talks about reps and levels of intensities as well. A very cool interview

Coach Kris Borthwick, Assistant Director of Sports Performance at Wake Forest, shares loads of practical information. This show really should have been a three-part series. Listen in as Coach Borthwick describes in detail the repeat sprint test he developed for tennis athletes.  

One of the most successful YouTube tennis resources there is was developed by Ian Westermann. His Essential Tennis site is jammed-full of valuable resources for tennis players, coaches, and trainers. In this interview, Ian explains the importance of skill development through progressions. Coach Westermann shares the very important footwork patterns that all players should have as a foundation and so much more!

The Director of Tennis at Inspiration Academy, Ashley Hobson, shares some powerful information in this interview. Listen in as Coach Hobson talks about how important movement is and how he evaluates it. Coach Hobson explains why strength training for tennis performance and movement on the court is a must.

This show amazing to listen to multiple times. Coach David Bailey shares his Bailey Method of Footwork on the court. He goes into the five R's and the six basic patterns that set up over 140 footwork patterns. He is an amazing coach and teacher of the game. You'll love this interview!

TC Costello has done what it takes to be a top tennis performance coach and it shows. He dedicates his time and gives a lot of to the tennis athletes at the Junior Tennis Champions Center TJCC, located in Maryland. Listen to how TC assesses and implements his training programs with the junior and elite level players. He shares how important it is to have a great athletic base as a young tennis player and set a big foundation. Very good listen! 

Listen to a former top 100 ATP pro and world-class tennis coach, Jeff Salzenstein, talk shop! Jeff shares so much great information we will have to do a part two to continue the conversation. Listen closely as he goes through so many vital areas of speed, strength, mental game, and nutrition. Gold!

Listen, as coach Andy Wegman shares how the performance team works with large groups of tennis players at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. Andy breaks down what a typical warm-up and strength sessions look like for his athletes. He talks about how the speed training and testing occurs and the flaws they tend to see.

I have wanted to have a physical therapist share his experience in the tennis world. Alex Cascone shares so many vital points about proper training, mobility, stability to ensure players are safe and performing at their best. This is one show you want to listen to and take lots of notes.

Trevor McPherson shares in depth how he manages the various aspects of training a tennis player. He talks about the importance of the assessment in identifying issues that can slow down how a player moves on the court. Coach McPherson goes into footwork, mobility, speed vs conditioning, and so much more.  

I could listen to this coach speak all day and every day! Coach Donnie Maib is a good friend and amazing professional. He shares what it is like to work with the University of Texas Men's Tennis Team. Coach Maib tells how he uses various tests to look at the players' quality of movement and then how to attack those areas in need of improvement. He teaches how to use short burst change of direction to help players move better on the court, and an entire bucket of golden information!

Check out this episode with Coach Howard Green. He is creating such wonderful content for coaches, players, and parents to learn from. This show is packed with great advice as Howard talked about the importance of strength, speed, core development, breathing, and discipline. This podcast is worth several listens!

Chas Ossenheimer of Ole Miss shares his awesome perspective of how a college tennis strength and conditioning should be executed. He has coached National Champs and many other top-rated players. Coach Ossenheimer has a great approach to making sure his players continually reach new levels through strength and proper movement on the court. This is a great interview for all coaches and players to listen in on.

Alex explains how being a physical education teacher and tennis coach support each role's skill sets. Coach Slezak gives insight on how important it is for young players to develop multi planar skills to become better court movers, and how important strength is to their development. 

Dean Hollingworth is a pro's pro! He has an extraordinary perspective on how if the overall athlete is improved, then the tennis movement will take care of itself. He shares great points on why and how he approaches his warmup, the importance of mobility when recovering from deep corners, how sprinting helps overall movement, and why tennis is great for longevity in adults! 

Allow me to teach you why the Hip Turn is one of the most important footwork skills a tennis player can develop. The Hip Turn teaches the player to escape space and attack new space. This is critical in so many areas on the court. Listen to the detailed breakdown! 

This coach gets it! Gerald Matthews is a state champion high school coach and owner of TeamG Tennis. He is changing lives and how tennis is being played. Gerald wants his players to be athletes first and tennis players second. His huge record of player improvement is proving his methods are working.

Nathan Martin shares first-hand detailed information on what it is like to work with top tennis players and even new players just getting started in the game. He emphasizes the importance of overall fitness and general movement quality before specifics. 

In today's lesson let's discuss the importance of sprinting and why tennis player's court movement become better because of it. Be sure you listen in on this short, but important lesson!

What an amazing show with tennis and performance coach Johnny Parkes. It is jammed-pack with so many "knowledge bombs" you are going to want to listen to over and over! He shares his experience with multi-sport athletes, vision training, how weaker athletes compensate in difficult positions on the court, and so much more! 

What a great show! Coach Justin Russ shares a ton of golden information about how he approaches change of direction and how he looks at the players weight shift. Justin dives into why aerobic capacity is important to maintain speed at the end of matches, and how strength training is a crucial part of speed for his players and how to use it as an assessment. 

Let's start off the Tennis Speed Show Lesson Series with the Lateral Run and the true biomechanics of it as it relates to gait. It is very important for coaches to understand this skill and know all the ins and outs of it. Also, discover the 411 on the new Certified Tennis Speed Specialist course and the Tennis Movement Assessment TMA! You can find out all the details by visiting, CTSS.co. 

I love talking to experienced coaches who have been in the tennis performance trenches for a long time. Coach King is one of those coaches. He shares his thoughts on assessments, how to look at the recovery step based on the shot, the role of strength training in developing faster players, and so much more! Coach Dominic King shared pure wisdom on the Tennis Speed Show!

There is no shortage of young talented tennis performance coaches in the world. Stefanie Carpentier from Gent, Belgium is a perfect example of a performance tennis coach who is changing how training should be done. Listen as Stefanie shares how she makes her young tennis player faster, stronger, and have fun while training. This is awesome information!

It was a pleasure to have a long time tennis performance coach and owner of Raw Tennis Performance, Richard Woodroof, on the Tennis Speed Show. Richard shares an awesome insight as to what he looks for when assessing his players movements, how he programs resistance speed work, and so many other golden nuggets. This is a must listen!

What a great way to kick off the Tennis Speed Show with  one of my favorite coaches. Andrew Gregory serves two roles at DePauw University. He is both the tennis coach and strength and conditioning coach. Listen in as Coach Gregory shares his philosophy and methods of integrating and breaking down speed for his players.