Ep. 82 - Thoughts on Parenting Young Tennis Players

In this episode, Brian and Josh discuss the challenges of parenting tennis players, and offer some good practices to assist in the journey. Topics reviewed include having a clear purpose for why a child plays tennis and the benefits of the sport, parents as performers on match day, ensuring that tennis remains fun, and the benefits of sport sampling for young tennis players. A list of resources for parents and athletes is listed below.   

USTA Player Development Parent Resources Page: http://www.playerdevelopment.usta.com/parent_resources_/   

USTA’s American Development Model: https://www.usta.com/en/home/play/american-development-model.html   

Sport for Life (Canada) - Long-Term Development Resources: https://sportforlife.ca/long-term-development/   

Tennis Canada Tips for Parents: https://www.tenniscanada.com/compete/tips-for-parents/   

Presentation on Positive Youth Development in Tennis by Brian Lomax: https://youtu.be/muWzTZ7iPZs   

Positive Coaching Alliance: https://positivecoach.org/   

To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis, email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes.