Welcome to #Get a Grip newsletter!
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Hello!
For those of you who don’t know me, I am a former professional WTA Tour tennis player, turned coach, mentor, and working mom of 3 multi-sport athletes.
So, here’s the deal:
I am a firm believer in paying it forward and reaching out to help the next person. I had a successful career playing junior tennis, college tennis at Stanford, and then professionally for eleven years due to the support and guidance of my parents, coaches, agent, family, and peers. My tennis gave me experiences and skills in life that are tough to duplicate off the court or playing field. Not all of these experiences were positive. I had many challenging family times during my junior and professional career, and my goal is to help other families avoid some of these challenges.
In my journey as a parent of athletes, I have experienced the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. None of us is immune to the challenges, and I don’t know about you, but I am still waiting for that parenting manual! I believe that parenting, in general, and certainly parenting an athlete, takes a village.
So, let’s make our village!
Let’s collaborate and help each other raise some awesome student-athletes, who use sports to gain life skills to achieve their dreams! Click here to join the
"Get a Grip"
facebook group.
I will meet up with you in your inbox every two weeks with my "Get a Grip" newsletter to share
a new blog post and links to articles I think are helpful to parents and coaches navigating the insanity of junior tennis and youth sports.
I hope to keep it a mix of helpful, fun and interesting information.
Many of my articles are geared for tennis, but the issues are certainly common challenges across all youth sports.
You won’t find me pretending to know everything. My tennis background gave me the ability to ask for and accept coaching, guidance, and support from people in various professions. I hope to share expertise from many specialists who are top notch in their respective fields. You are not alone in this journey.
I love meeting my readers. Please email me to ask a question, share your thoughts on my articles, or recommend an article or book I should check out. I personally read every email I receive and do my best to respond.
So, anything I can do to help you or your athlete on your journey,
JUST ASK!
If I know what you are struggling with, I will help you think through solutions.
If I know the right person to help you, I will make an introduction.
I believe in the power of sharing, learning from each other, and giving back.
I look forward to getting to know you.
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5 WAYS TONI NADAL BUILT A CHAMPION THROUGH CHARACTER
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After watching Rafa win his 12th French Open, I revisited Toni Nadal’s TEDx Talk on how he built a champion in Rafa through building his character. It is one of my all-time favorites and a must see for all parents and coaches. Toni rarely speaks of the technical work he did with Rafa but speaks often and openly about his building character as the key to Rafa’s success.
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FROM MY DESK
A junior Wimbledon champion at 15 and three-times grand slam doubles finalist by 17, Barty was mentally burnt out at 18 after making the ultimate sacrifice of all: leaving the comfort and security of her family home. Depressingly homesick and suffocating under crushing expectations, the so-called next Martina Hingis packed it all in September 2014.
This is for all the Dads out there for Father's Day:
The highlight of the French Open for myself and millions of viewers:
"The age part, it doesn’t matter to me. I achieved that, but I have so many other dreams and goals.” Mallory Pugh
Adolescent depression, suicide, and anxiety are increasing at alarming rates. Recent studies indicate that as many as one in five teens suffers from clinical depression. As parents, we all want to see our kids succeed in school, in sports, and in life. But sometimes well-intentioned parents on top of the intensity of comparing themselves to the unreal expectations and messages they get from social media, have created a pressure cooker for many kids.
Read Full Article Here at ilovetowatchyouplay.com
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YOU ASKED!
One of the questions I was recently asked during a parent workshop at a USTA camp was,
"How do you keep the tennis fun? My son looks miserable out there!"
- Play with friends! Kids need friends on the courts too!
- I am not going to lie, the tennis can be a grind sometimes. Make sure they enjoy practicing and working hard. If they don't enjoy it, they aren't going to want to do it for the long haul, and they certainly won't be as successful.
- Make sure tournaments aren't all work. Let the kids have some fun social time in the evenings and on days off.
- As a parent, you need to have fun with the tennis too! Go for coffee or a run with other parents at tournaments. Try not to complain about driving, scheduling, and costs in front of the kids.
- Focus on the process of getting better and not just the results.
- Give the kids time off the tennis court just to be kids!
- Let them try other sports to cross train, rather than a personal trainer. Adding in a recreational league team sport like soccer or basketball with friends is a great way to have fun while getting good cross training to help their tennis.
- Enjoy tennis as a family!
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GET A GRIP BOOKSHELF
“LIFE LESSONS FROM CENTRE COURT AT WIMBLEDON” BY BRAD PEARCE
This book by Brad Pearce is one of my favorites. I was fortunate to have played junior, college and pro tennis at the same time as Brad. You simply can't find a better man, athlete, coach, and father.
I have always struggled with how much to push my children and the kids that I am coaching. Brad describes it perfectly. "It is our job as parents to hold our children accountable for their goals." His advice is simple and easy for parents to implement.
Here are some of the take-ways from Brad's book:
- Teach discipline, sacrifice, and determination.
- Encourage your children to rise above failure and disappointment.
- Embrace the defining moments when they take ownership over their own goals.
- Create a family culture that values education, hard work, and resilience.
- Help your kids reach their true potential.
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MEANINGFUL MEALS
Family Dinners are one of the biggest challenges for active families these days. When my children were young, I found a great game called
"Table Topics: Family Edition
." It is a box with hundreds of topics to start great conversations. Each newsletter, I will pick one of the questions along with a healthy family recipe to help us have
"Meaningful Meals"
with our families.
Today's conversation starter question is:
"Are you more comfortable as a leader or a follower?"
Today's recipe:
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MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Each issue of #Get a Grip, I will spotlight someone
"Making a Difference"
in the world. This issue, I want to share with you the great work of Madison Keys with the "fearlesslyGirl" Foundation.
Frequently, Madison Keys comes off the court only to be attacked by anonymous voices behind screen names on Twitter and Instagram. Often times, her attackers have lost bets on her match and aren’t happy. But Keys, who has two high-school aged sisters, knows cyberbullying isn’t limited to professional athletes. Cyberbullying, and bullying of any kind for that matter is a daily occurrence for far too many around the world. And she’s had enough.
“It’s about building the awareness,” Keys said. “I want people to think ‘would you say this to your daughter?’ I want to show people it’s [cyberbullying] really happening.”
FearlesslyGiRL In School Summit
is a fun, interactive and inspiring half day, specifically designed to target the unique challenges girls face and provides them with the tools and confidence to create a kinder, more supportive Girl World. Girls participate in group discussions and activities designed to boost self-esteem and create a sense of sisterhood and support, and schools are left with extensive follow up support and activities to keep the message of kindness going throughout the year.
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Do you have feedback on #Get a Grip? Do you have ideas for books, recipes, and organizations that we should share in a future newsletter?
If so, click here to email me!
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Thank you for reading!
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