When you think of the voice of tennis who do you think of? There are some great commentators / co-commentators out there from David Law to Annabel Croft but for me personally there is only one answer. I think of Russell Fuller.

When it comes to experiencing big tennis events and immersing myself in to them - my go to is not the TV it is most definitely the radio.

Russell Fuller is the BBC Tennis Correspondent and many of you will know his commentaries from Wimbledon and the other big tournaments.

Tennis Journeys take all sorts of different pathways. All sorts of different destinations. They can’t all lead to Wimbledon glory. But so many to lead to incredible adventures. Russell’s journey to BBC Tennis Correspondent is a compelling one and I hope you’ll enjoy hearing about it as much as I did…

Music Credits

Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden

Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

Today’s guests Dr. Amanda Stanec and Richard Way are on a mission to protect the joy children get from sport!

After reading their book Protect The Joy and chatting with them on this episode it is a mission I am joining them on! And with as many as 70% of children quitting sport by the onset of adolescence, it’s a quest I hope you’ll support.

From burn out to early specialisation, an overwhelming focus on results to it just not being any fun anymore there’s loads of reasons why children quit sport. We dive deep into these areas in today’s episode and also look at ways that you can proactively help keep the joy.

Listen to today’s episode (and read Protect The Joy) and you’ll be onboard with why forward thinking governing bodies like Tennis Canada are championing Long Term Athlete Development.

You’ll understand why the way a competition system for juniors is designed can be responsible for the challenges you see in the actions of coaches and the behaviour of parents.

You’ll know why you should be championing task based goals and keeping away from solely focusing on ego based goals!

So what are you waiting for? Hit PLAY now!

About Dr. Amanda Stanec and Richard and the Protect The Joy Book

Amanda was born in Canada and is the founder of MoveLiveLearn, has a PhD in physical education, has played soccer at uni and is Mum to three sports playing daughters. Richard is also Canadian and is the founder of the Sport for Life society. He is a leading light in the field of Long Term Athlete Development. Richard is also Dad to three sports playing children.

Protect the Joy is available now and offers a fresh, positive approach to youth sports, helping parents, coaches and sports leaders create a supportive environment where children can thrive. With practical strategies for collaboration and empathy, this book ensures that sports remain fun and growth-focused, empowering kids to build confidence, resilience, and a lifelong love for physical activity.

BUY PROTECT THE JOY HARDBACK ON AMAZON UK

BUY PROTECT THE JOY KINDLE EDITION ON AMAZON UK

BUY FROM PROTECT THE JOY WEBSITE (SHIPPING TO UK UNAVAILABLE)

Music Credits

Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden

Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

You’ll have seen products that come with government health warnings. Don’t do this or this might happen. My question is this, should the junior tennis journey come with a financial health warning? And I think the answer is YES!

If your player ends up spinning on the hamster wheel which is performance junior tennis, it is going to cost you. Individual lessons, group sessions, rackets, tournament fees, travel costs, strings, shoes, clothes…the list could (and does) go on and on.

The reason for this episode is that I don’t think anyone really warns parents of what the costs are going to be. And I think they absolutely should.

So what is the price of a tennis journey? Just as everyone’s journey is different, so everyone’s costs are different. But I want to put a marker in the sand to give some sort of indication of what you’ll be looking at. And that is the point of this episode.

Ahead of publication, I shared the costs listed in this episode with some tennis parents and asked them what they thought. The majority thought I had been conservative. That the journey costs more. I find the cost I came up with mind blowing - but the fact is it is probably on the conservative side for many families who are on this journey. That’s even more mind blowing

I don’t want this to be a depressing episode - the benefits of a tennis journey are many and have been covered extensively on this podcast. And this absolutely isn’t me having a go at tennis coaches and their charges - coaches work incredibly hard often in unsocial hours and need to earn a living. I do, however, think parents whose children are starting on the journey should be aware of what could be in store cost wise.

Maybe in time we can do an episode on solutions to the problem of junior tennis costs - but for now let’s start with what the costs are…

Music Credits

Earth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyaden

Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0