The Not Before Podcast

runtime: 18mins/ NCAA Tennis, Head Coach Men's Tennis Cedric Kauffmann

runtime: 60 mins / CTA, Malaysia, Grand Slams, college tennis, grassrootsHow's it going everyone! This was a fun recording with Alfie Cheng, the middle brother of three Cheng brothers from Kangar, Perlis, Malaysia. This is a tennis family make no mistake, older brother went to Furman in South Carolina, and the youngest brother, Alvin, went to Eastern Kentucky University, a couple of years after Alfie. The dude works for Novartis Pharmaceuticals and lives with his family in Somerset, Kentucky. 

runtime: 69 mins / Philippines, Univ of Louisville, leadership, team building, meal money, in state rivalry, whats happening to all you listeners of The Not Before Podcast! I drove to Louisville to meet Rex Ecarma, and it was great in person conversation, we haven't seen each other for years! I've been following Rex and his leading the Louisville Varsity Men's Tennis squad to great heights, becoming a solid Div. 1 program, and defeating schools of great traditions and winning  programs. Rex talks about his early struggles as a coach trying to build a program and it was very insightful. Rex has two boys who are very good juniors, ranked very highly in US junior tennis, I suspect they will be receiving athletic scholarships and looking to the pro tour in the near future. Great tennis, great father, great coach! Well done, Rex! Mabuhay ang Pilipino!

runtime: 65 mins / basketball, Athletes in Action, family, love & marriageWhat is going on, y'all? This will be a fun podcast to listen, it's with my long time friend Greg Williams. He played College Basketball at Transylvania University in Lexington, KY, and later on toured Asia and Europe with Athletes in Action Basketball. Lots of teachable moments, he's made HUGE impacts in his community, and he will be eternally focused on family and strengthening relationships between husbands and wives. If you ever sit down with Greg, he will be blunt, he will say what's on his mind, and sometimes the truth is just so inconvenient, lol! The guy says he's almost 60... I'm not buying it, because he's in pretty good shape! 

runtime: 72 mins / USTA, WTA, ATP, pro tennis, organization, endurance, top 50 playersListen in as I sit down with the founder of this iconic event in US pro tennis, Dennis Emery. Coach Emery talks about the early days of the formation of the event and the organization benchmarks it created, and eventually utilized by other tournament directors and administrators across the US, the zeal and commitment from certain personnel that took it upon themselves to promote and sustain the ongoing success of this legendary men and women's professional event.

runtime: 85mins / UK Basketball, High School coaching, All America, Normandy, March Madness

runtime: 48 / faith, Jesus Prom, Wayne Smith, cool stuff for saleThis is Part 2.. where we resume the podcast discussing ... Kentucky Fried Chicken!Later, Love ya, Bye!Follow the podcast on Instagram @notbeforepod

runtime: 48 / faith, Jesus Prom, Wayne Smith, cool stuff for saleYou cannot find another gem the Lord provided us as in Brewster McLeod. I've been blessed with Brewster's generosity and hospitality as he's allowed me to record various podcast episodes in his cosy coffee shop (located on Southland Drive.. go to it... get coffee... he's always there.. for the people that live in Kentucky that is... hehe). What a place he has as well, all the stuff that you see and touch in the shop is for sale, and it all goes to the non-profit to further their cause. Brewster employs people with Down and other disabilities, and they end up in a safe place and being productive members of society, and it builds confidence and self esteem... tell me what's better than that? The world needs more Brewsters. Anyhoo, enjoy the episode and reach out to the podcast email, say hi, or provide feedback...Enjoy! I'm Adam, that is all!Follow us on Instagram @notbeforepodFollow us on Facebook; The Not Before Podcast

runtime: 50 mins / from juniors days to college tennis to the pros

runtime: 42 mins / from juniors days to college tennis to the pros

runtime: 46 mins / from juniors days to college tennis to the proshey y'all! This was fun! We all met in Mason, Ohio, Alvin drove two and a half hours, I drove up from Lexington an hour and half minutes away, and Champ about thirty minutes. This was Alvin's idea, he wanted to interview Champy and me as former players, and he wanted to ask questions from a coach's point of view. Nicely done, Alvin! we sat there for about two hours in total, then we packed up and headed to a restaurant on Univ. of Cincinnati campus that served some pretty nice Malaysian food! Great day that was! Thanks boys, lets do it again!

runtime: 57 mins / business, leadership, strength, focus!

runtime: 47 mins / junior tennis, college tennisWhats up, everyone! This is Part 2 of 2, and I hope this gives people a bit of insight into my tennis career beginning in the junior ranks, all the way through the professional years. Of course, it's just bits and pieces of travel and match experiences, so this should be a good snap shot. Enjoy everyone!

runtime: 47 mins / junior tennis, college tennisWassup y'all! This was a fun recording, Dan Burch offered to interview me... I've had a few requests from people about me doing one, so here it is! Part 1 of 2, the concluding episode will follow immediately. Hope this gives people a bit of insight into my tennis career beginning in the junior ranks, all the way through the professional years. Of course, its just snippets of things, there's a whole lot more I could speak about, the many stories and experiences I've had.. this should be a good snap shot. Enjoy everyone!

runtime: 49 mins / cultural differences, food!, MalaysiaIn this final segment, Part 3 of 3, Coach and I begin to discuss the thing that many Malaysians feel strongly about, which is the tremendous diversity of local cuisine and second to none natural hospitality shown to each other and visitors alike. Thanks for listening!

runtime: 47 mins / junior tennis, college coaching, cultural differences, food!, MalaysiaCoach Tan and I pick it back up from our discussion of international players receiving scholarships in collegiate tennis and the impact on American tennis.

runtime: 48 mins / junior tennis, college coaching, cultural differences, food!, Malaysia

runtime: 43:22 / tennis, pro tour, France, college tennis, lifeHello everyone, and thanks for your time tuning in to Part 2 of Cedric's podcast! We resume where we were discussing challenge matches within a Tennis Academy model, where players from groups looking to break into the "elite" group of players and coaches, would challenge players to a formal match to determine promotion or relegation... it's an awesome way to deal with a pressure situation, and to also prep for matches at tournaments around the country!Thanks y'all and stay safe and stay healthy!

runtime: 43:01 mins / tennis, pro tour, France, college tennis, lifeSo happy to have sat with Ced, he's had a very significant career in collegiate tennis at the Univ of Kentucky, and also as a professional on the ATP Tour. I was familiar with some of Ced's stories because I travelled with him as coach when he played Ho Chi Minh City, Osaka, Australian Open, and Auckland, so I was right in the middle of it, at least for these four weeks!Cedric is the current Head Men's Tennis Coach, and is a native of France. While still in his young teens and a top French junior player, Ced moved to Bradenton, Florida, to attend the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. He really made the most of that plan, he would later accept an athletic scholarship as a student athlete at the University of Kentucky, coached by Hall of Fame tennis coach, Dennis Emery.

runtime: 44 mins / tennis, college coaching, pro life, futbol, ColombiaHey y'all, we resume part 2 during a conversation about futbol (soccer) and the national teams we are fans of, and also the English Premier League Clubs we support over the years. Thanks again for listening! Enjoy!

runtime: 45 mins / pro life, college coaching, ColombiaFinally, I was able to sit down with Mario and record this conversation, he was tied up with formal practice with the Univ. of Louisville Men's tennis team almost the entire Fall. We hadn't seen each other for many years, but from time to time we talked on the phone and text messaged each other. He lived in Miami, FL, for 12 years as the Head Men's Tennis Coach at the Univ. of Miami, then later on taking a job at an exclusive Tennis Club in Atlanta, GA.We talked about our early days, grinding out ITF Satellite Circuit events in obscure and out of the way places, those were the foundations of fond memories for a lifetime.

runtime: 35 mins / Grand Slam tennis, excellence, lifeI had to ask Mel about his deep run into the Quarter-finals of the Men's Singles at Wimbledon 1983. Any player would be well please with this result. So we did a simple deep dive into what made that week work, what he did to his daily preparation routine, even to what he did on his off days. Mel had a great memory and pretty much recalled most of his matches from Rd1 thru the QFs, As a player myself, what a great feeling of accomplishment, I was delighted for Mel! Here's a rundown of his matches through the quarters against Chris Lewis of New Zealand, who advanced to the Championship match against John McEnroe; Rd 1 defeated Tim Wilkison (USA) 62 46 62 61 Rd 2 defeated Stuart Bale (WC) (GBR) 76 64 63 Rd 3 defeated Andres Maurer (DE) 57 63 62 62 Rd 4 defeated Brian Gottfried (USA) 46 63 63 62 QF lost to Chris Lewis (NZ) 76 06 46 67

runtime: 62 mins / tennis, college, life, Indonesia, foodWelcome back all! We rejoin the episode with Part 2, and it starts with discussing the South East Asian Games (SEA Games) and one of the best Indonesian male players, Benny Widjaya. Enjoy!

runtime: 76 mins / tennis, college, life, Indonesia, food Its epsiode 7 and we are cruising along! Champy was an excellent conversation, I personally got a lot out of it, with his dogged pursuit of playing tennis at the highest levels, and the names he mentioned evoked a lot of nostalgia! Names that were legendary, players I looked up to and to watch them play at the Selangor Club padang on grass against the best in Asia. Champy lives in Northern Cincinnati with a very young and beautiful family, all girls. A devoted father and husband, and he loves tennis! So, we met at a Panera in Newport, KY. Our entire meeting lasted five hours, and the actual recording was 2hr 21m. We just got lost talking about how each of our countries approached tennis. Amazing stuff. What a journey Champy had in his tennis formative years, he competed for respected among the best, his generation was very good indeed, several of the guy's he competed with for spots on National Team squads and very respectable careers on the ATP Tour. But this guy is tough, he held his own. Good for you Champy!

runtime: 51 mins / tennis, college, life, Malaysia, foodYes! Here is the continuation of Episode 6 with Alvin Cheng. We left off part 1 where I was asking Alvin about the role of tournament play. Enjoy!

runtime: 63 minutes / tennis, college, life, Malaysia, foodPart 2 will be released next Thursday, Nov. 12.The Cheng Family, Legend! I've been wanting to sit with Alvin for a while because he is a fellow Malaysian and he played college tennis, in this case at Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY. Next on my list is Alfie, he lives two hours south in Somerset, perhaps me, Alvin, and Alfie, can all meet at Coach Tan Chin Teck's home in Williamsburg, KY, and start the group chat with Coach's famous Nasi Lemak (authentic, with ikan bilis! just like home, the man can cook!), and then we can talk tennis! Alvin and I had the best conversation. It was wonderful that we met again after quite some time. He's got a beautiful young family, and he enjoys mentoring the students he's around. We talk college and pro tennis, Malaysian food (what else is there), and Malaysian culture. Hopefully we made it constructive, the goal is to promote our athletes to pursue their aspirations. The obvious had to be stated, we gotta deep dive to get to the root of the problem, then adjust and omit, then push forward.Part 2 will be released next Thursday, Nov. 12.You can also find the podcast on FB, search @notbeforepod and then Like the page. You'll get pics, commentary, and podcast release information. Feel free to leave comments and feedback. Enjoy listening to ALL the previous episodes, they are all unique, but they have one thing in common; fun stories and insight.Peace.

runtime: 62 minutes / tennis, pros, lifeWassup! Hope all is well and the week going brilliantly! This was a fun recording, Jon and I hadn't seen each other for a while, and we sat and talked for a while before we actually did the podcast. We met at the Bluegrass Racket Club, it was busy with court time, it's always good to see players running hard at their private lessons.Jon had travelled with two players at different times, with Eric Quigley and Jesse Witten. Both were among the best ever to play at the Univ of Kentucky (UK). It's always insightful to learn how they went about working on their games, I was more interested in their mental games, how each coped with the pressures of highs and lows. Jon already knew these guys while coaching at UK, so moving to the next level wasn't too hard. Anyway, enjoy. Shoot me an email at nbpod @hotmail.com for any comments or ideas about enhancing your listening experience.Have a great weekend!

runtime: 70 mins / Soccer, Faith, LifeMany thanks to Dave for sitting down with me at short notice. It was uplifting and heartwarming, Dave is high energy and committed to his ministry, I left feeling so positive! It was great to speak with someone with a soccer background, he won a State High School Championship with Henry Clay High School, in Lexington, KY! Huge sporting family, everyone plays either soccer and or tennis in high school and college, apparently his mom is called the Hammer on the tennis court... and Dave's dad, Ben Kibler is one of THE go to orthopedic surgeons in the US. Prolly done five or six knee scopes and one elbow with a ligament tear. Great stuff as Dave talks about his orphanage in India where he's revived from shutting down to the point where its thriving and producing kids leaving with life and business skills, amazing. Don't forget his ministry with dad's who are incarcerated and his commitment to help them with hope and recovery to once again lead their families when they get released, it seems that the guys are responding well and wanting to get in the program. Win win for all!Thanks David, keep your head down, plan the work and work the plan, many are depending on you!

runtime: 45 mins / tennis, pros, lifeHey everyone, thanks for tuning back in for part two! We re-join Mel where he is at the Volvo Masters Event, in New York City, where the Top 16 mens singles players in the world play for silverware and money! Mel ends the year at number 17 and is an alternate, but Sandy Mayer has withdrawn and so Mel's in!Enjoy the rest of the episode. Also, be on the lookout for a December release of a bonus podcast with Mel, as we focus on a deep dive of his great run at Wimbledon in 1983 where he reached the Quarter-finals before bowing out to eventual finalist, Chris Lewis of New Zealand.Drop a message and check out our pics and other info at our Instagram page!Instagram: @notbeforepode-mail: nbpod@hotmail.com

runtime: part 1, 57 mins / tennis, pros, lifeYessir, it's episode three with Mel Purcell! We recorded a pretty long podcast because we couldn't stop talking about results and life on the pro circuit. Mel has a lot of stories, it's just the tip of the iceberg! We did the recording at the Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts on the campus of Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky. We sat together at a spot where lots of students where making their way to and from their dorms, and the campus maintenance guys were running around in their trucks and mowing lawns, it was busy and loud! Everybody was yelling hi and waving at Mel constantly, Mel is loved in his home town!

runtime: 104 mins / tennis, pros, life Hall of Famer NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Coach. 30 years at the University of Kentucky as Head Tennis Coach, he had 9 Wildcats sharing 38 All America Honors, and made the NCAA National Championships 23 times.The Emery family are THE tennis family in the state of Kentucky. Coach Emery talks about match and scoring formats in College Tennis, college matches, and all the best pros that played the iconic Lexington USTA Challenger over two decades.I dare say there will be another episode in the making, so I'll work on setting up another sit-down in the future.Enjoy!!

runtime: 81 mins / Tennis, soccer, life Yeh! How is everyone? We finally did it, my first ever podcast episode! Dan Burch was always going to my first guest, he was waiting on me to pull the trigger, haha, and we got it done!We first met back in the Spring of 1987 as teammates on the University of Kentucky (UK) Men's Varsity Tennis team. Dan decided to go in a different direction and started working in the UK Sports Information Department. That was a big time move, because now he's working information for high profile Basketball and Football programs, plus all the other sports. Huge!Proud father and husband to a big family, Dan is a sports guy, and he's met them all from the local high school tennis players to Roger Federer, Lou Holtz, and the Bayern Munich football team. And he knows history, always seeking knowledge on everything. Every time we meet, I learn just a bit more.Keep learning Dan! Follow The Not Before Podcast...Instagram @notbeforepodNew episode every Thursday.

This is a quick monologue on the upcoming launch of...The Not Before PodcastThis is a podcast about people in sports, former and current. Most episodes will focus on people in tennis like players, coaches, tournament organizers, and match officials. I say this because I'm a former player myself, so I've been lucky to have met just about everyone in tennis. There will be interviews with people who competed in other sports as well, in football (soccer), golf, and basketball. We're just going to exchange stories about how we each pursued our sport, what we did to achieve success, how each of us did it. Some of these stories we'll hear will be fun, heartwarming, sad, and some downright ludicrous.Everyone, please subscribe and download. We'll release an episode on Thursday, each week. Stories and insight, you'll enjoy it!