Tennis Parenting Show with Lisa Stone of Parenting Aces

Tennis Parenting Show with Lisa Stone

I had the opportunity to talk with Lisa Stone, tennis parent and writer, on the Parenting Aces show she hosts on the UR10s radio network. It was a fun and thought-provoking conversation that allowed me to summarize and discuss the tennis parenting research we have been doing at Michigan State University's Institute for the Study of Youth Sports.
Specifically, Lisa and I discussed a number of important topics including:

• How to communicate with your child when wanting to quit tennis,
• The reasons behind why researchers believe that tennis parents are more involved today,
• The #1 biggest mistake a parent can make in parenting their child in tennis,
• How to navigate the issue of sport specialization and when a tennis player should specialize,
• How to push and challenge your child while supporting them.

Please download the show and let me know what you think. Also, share it with other parents in tennis and outside of tennis. It was focused on tennis but many of the points discussed relate to all sport parents.

Andy Roddick's Retirement and His Career in Perspective

Andy Roddick announced Thursday that he would retire after the US Open. The announcement created a flood of polar opposite reactions, just like Andy and his game did for more than a decade. Some tennis enthusiasts will miss Andy as the stalwart of American men's tennis since Andre and Pete retired. Others will not miss him because they either think he did not live up to his potential, did not like his game, or did not like his swagger and biting wit.

For me, I will miss watching Andy Roddick after this Open. In multiple ways I feel Andy was a victim of his timing in American tennis and does not fully get the credit he deserves. Hopefully, he will be seen as a champion and get his full appreciation over the next few days. This certainly seemed to be the case in his match versus Bernard Tomic of Australia last night.