The further I’ve gone on this tennis parenting journey, the more I’ve come to believe there are an awful lot of opportunities to make the junior tennis development system in the UK a whole load better.

And for that reason, I’m really interested in people who are prepared to do things differently when it comes to junior tennis development.

Which is why I so enjoyed speaking to today’s guest.

Steve Whelan isn’t just talking about different ways of developing junior players - he’s actually putting them into practice in a leading junior tennis programme. And importantly, much of what he’s doing is grounded in published research and evidence about how young players learn, develop and enjoy their sport.

Steve is a hugely respected tennis coach and coach educator, as well as a prolific writer and podcaster and the founder of My Tennis Coaching.

He has a real passion for making the development pathway for junior tennis players both more effective and more enjoyable - something he’s now putting into practice at the academy he heads up at Batchwood Tennis Centre in Hertfordshire.

I hope you enjoy hearing Steve’s approach to junior tennis development as much as I enjoyed talking to him!

Follow Steve on Instagram!

And here’s Steve’s My Tennis Coaching website.

Music Credits

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

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

Junior tennis players who compete play a LOT of tennis.

They focus on the technical. They focus on strength and conditioning. They focus on the tactical.

My question for you today is this… how much time do they spend focusing on the hugely important mental side of the game?

How do you play at your best when it matters most?

How do you deal with a perceived injustice? Out? Are you sure?

How do you go again and again when things aren’t going your way?

How can you see a defeat as a learning opportunity rather than a disaster?

My hunch is that your player spends less time working on the mental side of the game than they do on the technical, tactical and physical sides. Ask them. See if I’m right.

I hope listening to today’s episode, and hearing the wisdom and approach of Nicole Discenza, might make you think about that. Maybe the mental side of the game will move up the priority list a little.

Nicole Discenza hails from Venezuela. She started playing tennis aged three and rose to a junior ranking of No.1 in her country. Nicole then moved to the States where she played D1 college tennis — an experience she describes as the best of her life.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Nicole realised her passion lay in the mental side of the game, and she has dedicated herself to helping junior players in this area ever since.

In today’s episode, we focus on why the mental side of tennis matters so much, what parents need to understand, and how they can help their players become mentally stronger.

I hope you enjoy listening to Nicole as much as I did.

If you’d like to find out more about Nicole’s approach please do take a look at her Instagram.

Music Credits

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

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

Today’s episode is a belter for two reasons! Firstly, because our guest, Abbie Breakwell, has already had an amazing tennis journey although she’s only 23 years old! Abbie is one of the UK’s leading wheelchair tennis players who competed for Team GB in the 2024 Paralympic Games.

The second reason is it a belter is because this episode is hosted by a special guest called Charlie. Charlie is 15 years old and was one of the very first pupils I coached when I became a full time coach. Charlie has always had a flair on the court and as you’ll hear he also has a flair for interviewing!

We hear from Abbie about what it was like to compete in the Paralympics and what life inside the Olympic village was like. We hear about what it’s like to be a player on tour and what Abbie’s hopes and dreams for the future are. I hope you’ll enjoy listening to the episode as much I did!

FOLLOW ABBIE ON INSTA: https://www.instagram.com/abbiebreakwell

Music Credits

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

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