Purpose

Welcome to the Coach Steve Clark Ph.D Show where we aim to encourage, inspire and equip coaches, players and parents who in turn inspire and equip others to promote tennis, foster sportsmanship, and develop greater players and people.  Special thanks to Wayne Bryan and the Bryan Bros (Mike and Bob) for the opening music and introduction. It is always a pleasure to work with them.

Values

Values that I adhere to, value in my players, teams, etc, and hopefully personally bleed (or as my dear friend the Late Myron McNamara said I exhibit like a “blow torch”) are Respect, Passion, Inspiration, Encouragement, Life-long learning, Knowledge sharing, Challenge, Sportsmanship, Tenacity, Grit, Growth Mindset, Relationships, Team Camaraderie, and Always give your best.

Lineup of past or Recent guests

Below is a list of current guests in very popular podcasts. Further down are my own monologue podcast shows (I want to showcase my other guests’ conversations and insights).  If you care to hear my past and upcoming podcasts, scroll through these to find mine below and also to share if there is any topic you might be interested in hearing.  I have that contact information below. You will also find Upcoming Guests (within the next month or so) and Down the Pike for other shows that will be of interest soon to come.

 

Liam Smith Coach of No 10 ATP Gael Monfils   Before coaching Monfils and other ATP/WTA players, Liam had the privilege of working with and being mentored by coaching Greats Dennis Van Der Meer, at the Harry Hopman Academy, in addition to directing Justine Henin’s academies and Tennis Australia Junior development where Barty and Kyrgios developed.  For the last few years he has coach one of the ATP’s most exciting players to watch, #10 Gael Monfils. You will enjoy the conversation and insights as we talk about all levels of players, parents, coaches of all levels, goals, characteristics of greatness and the many facets of the game. (June 15, 2020)

 

Matt Anger UW Head Coach. In this podcast I connect with friend, coaching colleagues and one of the most respected college coaches, Matt Anger, UW Head Men’s Tennis coach. A Jr. Wimbledon champion, three time NCAA All American at USC, ITA Tennis Hall of Fame and former top 23 ATP player, Matt and I discuss various aspects of tennis from juniors-college-pro but as well as important characteristics players need to have not just for success in tennis but life, as well as lessons learned from coaches and mentors in the process. (May 25, 2020)

 

 

Brad Stine ATP Tour Coach.  I have the pleasure of reconnecting with a coaching colleague and friend I have not gotten to chat with in years but have seen him go from successful college coach to tour coach extraordinaire.  Brad Stine who coached Jim Courier to a #1 ATP ranking, 2 French and Australian Open titles and 4 Slam finals.  He went on to coach other top players like Top 10 Medvedev, Top 5 Kevin Anderson, and numerous others and currently coaches Tommy Paul. We are going to chat about junior-college-and pro tennis, parents of players, coaching at various levels, getting in an inside look at the best. And if you want to improve you should model the best, so today is a great opportunity to listen and learn. (May 17, 2020)

 

Jason Harnett USTA National Head Coach Wheel Chair Tennis. Join me as talk with Jason about USTA National Wheel Chair tennis and WC tennis worldwide.  We will discuss its development, the unique aspects of coaching, parenting, and playing such a diverse sport and the impact it makes on so many.  You will not be the same after listening to this podcast. I encourage you to listen in and share it with friends, young players and those you might know who have a disability that have played tennis prior as able bodied competitors or those who have not played.  WC tennis offers a life changing experience for them and those involved as fans, parents, coaches, and friends. (April 23, 2020)

 

Alex Waske, former NCAA All American, ATP 89 (wins over Nadal) and owner Tennis University.  You need to listen in and share it with as many younger players as you can.  Hear from a former NCAA All American, a top 89 ATP player who had wins over #1 Rafal Nadal and the #1 Bryan Brothers who shares that despite very few believed he was good enough as a young player after years in college believed he could be a great player and belong on tour. (Feb 4, 2020)

 

 

 

Allon Khakshouri, Former agent for World #1 Djokovic, Marat Safin and others.  The mental side of tennis and high performance.  Allon and I discuss the mental side of tennis particularly gleaning from his background as an agent of professional tennis players, three of them world #1’s including Novak Djokovic and Marat Safin. Allon is a current member of the ATP council, ATP tennis event promoter, has written a helpful The Ultimate guide to High Performance, and his insights are not just for tennis but business etc. We will be discussing what makes a mentally tough tennis player, how to become a tough competitor (what shapes our practice and how to play like we practice better), what do do after painful losses, how to balance the passion and drive to win and the ability to “not care” so much about the outcome, etc.  All these and more are seen from the perspective of what separates great players from good players at the every day level and what separates the better even among great players. (Dec 27, 2020)

 

 

Mark Kovacs, PhD. Nutrition and the Tennis Athlete. In Mark’s second podcast with me, we discuss general principles as well as pre, during, post match nutrition and hydration concepts and practical to-do’s. Mark is a performance physiologist, researcher, professor, author, speaker and coach with an extensive background training and researching elite athletes. He is the CEO of the Kovacs Institute, he oversees the direction, testing protocols and athlete monitoring programs along with his staff.  He also consults with the United States Tennis Association, the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association and the International Tennis Performance Association among others.  He holds a PhD in exercise physiology, and speaks from first hand experience as an All American at Auburn University and NCAA doubles champion.(Feb 19, 2019)

 

Craig Oshannesy—#1 ATP Novak Djokovic’s strategy coach. C-C tennis and learning how effective strategy among the best players at every level should shape practice. Craig is the strategy analyst for Wimbledon, The Australian Open, The ATP World Tour, The Italian Tennis Federation and Team Novak Djokovic. Craig has coached tennis at all levels of the game for over 30 years and now, specializes in researching and teaching patterns of play that dominate our sport. As the founder of Braingametennis.com he will share his insights in to how the game is played, what we should do in practice and what not to do that so many people unfortunately do.   You will love his energy and insights! But more importantly your practice will never be the same nor will the way you see the game. (Dec 29, 2018)

 

 

Chris Lewis—Wimbledon Finalist (1983)  All things tennis: juniors, parents, and coaching.  Finals in 10 ATP singles events with 3 titles and winner of 8 doubles titles.  His highest ATP rank was 19 in 1984 and was considered the fittest player on tour during his tenure. As a junior, he achieved the #1 world ranking in 1975 while winning

Wimbledon Junior Championships and reaching the finals in the Jr US Open. Hailing from Auckland, NZ, he was inducted into the NZ sports Hall of fame (1986).  As a coach he has coached other elite players such as world #1 ATP legend Ivan Lendl and since moving to Southern California, has a list of juniors he has worked with, some reaching as high as #1 world ranking. (Dec. 5, 2020)

 

Robin Soderling –Former #4 ATP Great—From junior to champion, a players journey, parent/coaching, and the pros. Former #4 ATP Great, winner of 10 ATP singles and 1 ATP doubles title, and Founder of the RS Tennis Brand of balls, strings, and grips. He was among the top players on the tour reaching a career high of #4 in the world.  Among his big serve and forehand, 11 ATP titles his claim to fame was being the first player ever to beat Nadal at the French

Open (2009) and then he took down Federer the following year in the quarter finals at Rolland Garros.  He had career high Grand Slam finishes of 2 finals at the French, quarters at both Wimbledon and the US Open and 4th round at the Aussie Open. Severe illness took him out of the game in 2001 and after lengthy recovery he later retired from the tour in 2015 and now heads up the RS brand of Premium balls, strings etc, used on the tour, collegiately and for everyday players. He has a story that is inspiring and instructive for players, parents and coaches so enjoy the conversation. (April 5, 2018)

 

John Nelson In his 40 or so years of coaching at Hawaii, San Diego State, Hayward State and UC Davis John coached numerous All Americans, conference championships, garnered an NCAA D2 title, was conference, regional and National coach of the year during his tenor.  Not only did he mentor players and teams to the NCAA tournament but also players onto the pro tour in the likes of Alex Waske who ended up snapping Nadal’s 24 match win streak.  John is a very good friend, a man of integrity and discipline and has shaped the lives of many college players and coaches around him. He is a third degree black belt in Jujitsu and his training and coaching go hand in hand. (March 27, 2020)

 

Anne White–WTA great and leader in tennis industry.  Formerly #19 WTA singles, #9 doubles, she has produced the acclaimed Love Means Zero for Showtime, is the director of tennis at Beverly Hills Tennis Club and passionately works at developing learning tools in her REED program. We will be discussing her media and education productions along with her journey from the juniors to the pros, and her thoughts regarding tennis development today, parents and coaching. (April 10, 2020)

 

Wayne Bryan  3 time World Team Tennis Coach of the Year, club owner, coach and father of Mike and Bob Bryan (World’s # 1 doubles team) and author of How to Raise Champions.  Wayne is an accomplished Emcee and is sought after by just any tennis organization to speak and motivate.  He is a world class coach and teaching professional first and foremost the father and coach of Mike and Bob Bryan (the greatest doubles tandem of all time, holding every imaginable record). He is a Hall of Fame inductee in numerous venues, former Manager Extraordinaire of what was then the Cabrillo Racket Club for 25 years, and highly involved in the Bryan Brothers Foundation and its donations to over $600K.  But he is equally proud of being a grandfather and accomplished musician.  The music for my podcast introduction is from Mike and Bob Bryan’s album and Wayne does the introduction. (Jan. 21, 2018 My first podcast edit from its original).

 

Alistair Higham—momentum in tennis. Alistair’s coaching experience spans thirty years including being the LTA National Coach for eight years, Great Britain Team Manager for the World University Games and currently heads up university tennis in Great Britain for the Tennis Foundation. You will love his delivery, our conversation, numerous aspects of momentum and the journey in the game. (May 17, 2018)

 

 

Allen Fox, PhD—Wimbledon quarter finalist, NCAA Champion, US Hardcourt Champion, Davis Cup player, and legendary Pepperdine coach and current sport psychologist. He is a leading sports psychologist, author, speaker, and works with numerous levels of players.  As a collegiate champion, world class player, coach of ATP analyst Brad Gilbert, and great collegiate coach, Allen brings a lot to the table as we talk about the mental game of tennis. I guarantee you will thoroughly enjoy this episode and walk away with applicable nuggets. (March 1, 2018)

 

Dr. Jeffery Schwartz, MD–research psychiatrist at UCLA School of Medicine and one of the world’s

leading experts in self-directed neuroplasticity and the co-founder of the NeuroLeadership field. His breakthrough work in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) provided the hard evidence that the mind can control the brain’s chemistry and circuitry.  We talk about how we as people (specifically to our task as tennis players, coaches and competitors) can change our habits and thought patterns even in light of similar input or data in practice and competition. (March 24, 2018)

 

 

Chris Tontz— Tour Coach (#3 Sloan Stephens), former tour player. Chris is a former player of mine, who now coaches Sloan Stephens (#9 WTA) and the #1 junior girl in the world (#181 WTA) and other elite juniors for the USTA. As a former top 25 NCAA player and my assistant coach as well as an ATP tour player, we discuss junior tennis, parents/coaching and juniors, and the transition from juniors to college to the professional ranks on a very practical level.  The how to’s, things to do, things to avoid, etc.  There will something in it for everyone. (April 18, 2018)

 

Craig Tiley—Director of the Australian Open, former NCAA coach at Illinois where he won record setting consecutive matches and entered into the elite coaches earning NCAA Championships. This is an amazing time of gleaning insight from Craig about Professional tennis from the inside, junior and college tennis, leadership and other areas tennis related as he sees it (developer and humble mastermind behind one of the greatest events in professional sports). (May 23, 2018)

 

Neel Grover–Neel is a former player of mine who among many $billion corporations he has been lead council for, is founder and CEO of Indi.com. Aside from winning 11 USTA gold balls since his collegiate days, he serves on the ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association) and enjoys giving of his time despite his rampant international schedule.  Parents, players and coaches will gain insights into perhaps what every aspiring young players, current college players, and aspiring young man or women preparing for careers might want to know. They will hear real life examples of why hard work pays off; why good sportsmanship pays off; why focusing on school now pays off later;  why it is true that you may not have an idea of what the future holds but so many great things could be in store for you, things that you never dreamed would come to fruition. Tune in. (Dec. 27, 2018)

 

Dick Gould–Legendary Stanford Coach, The John L. Hinds Director of Tennis, Stanford. I talk with my long time friend and colleague Coach Gould about healthy competition, advise to parents, coaches and players of youth, fundraising, on court coaching, key characteristics of great coaches, success in tennis, etc. You are in for a treat of Hall of Fame, collegiate-tennis-guru of bar-setting proportions. Coach Gould set the standard of success in collegiate tennis. He is the winningest tennis coach at the Farm 776-148 (.840), won 17 NCAA Team Championships! But the rest stems from this excellence: 10 NCAA Singles Champions, 7 NCAA Doubles Champions, 50 All Americans, and 9 players in top 15 ATP singles and 14 in top 10 doubles. ETC! As a recruiter, consummate promotor of the game and coach to so many national champions, All-Americans, olympians, world class and Grand Slam players, his handprint is impressive.  And his influence continues as the John L Hinds Director of Tennis At Stanford where he overseas major events (WTA events), community relations, fundraising, and inner city academic-tennis related programs for youth. (Feb. 4, 2018)

 

Lele Forood–Stanford’s Peter and Helen Bing Director of Women’s Tennis, All American, NCAA Champion, Former WTA player and National Championship Coach of Stanford Women’s Tennis. As you will hear even from the introduction in the conversation, what Lele brings to the Stanford program is nothing short of the best.  On the WTA and ATP tour, there are discussions of who is the GOAT, the greatest of all time. In collegiate women’s tennis, there is no debate. The greatest of all time women’s program is Stanford Women’s tennis.  In some areas it set the bar for any sport at any level, men or women: e.g. there was a run of 12 years that the Cardinal women did not lose a home match.  12 years!  She is joined by Frankie Brennan—Associate Head Coach Stanford Women’s Tennis and you will love this conversation. (March 24, 2018)

 

Trevor Kronemann—Former player of Coach Clark’s, 4-Time All American, #1 NCAA rank, was honored with the National ITA Van Nostrand Award, which goes to a promising collegiate player entering the professional circuit and in 1999 was inducted into the UC Irvine Athletics Hall of Fame. He had a top 3ATP doubles ranking and is the current Director of Junior Tennis SCTA (Southern California). He was the coach of  Newport Beach Breakers of World Team Tennis and previously served as head coach of the Springfield Lasers for seven seasons which he led to the Western Conference title in 2001. He was named Team Tennis Rookie of the Year as a member of the Charlotte Heat in 1990 and was the league’s MVP on two occasions. In 2005, Kronemann was named to the World Team Tennis All-Star 30, a group of the best men’s and women’s players in the 30-year history of the WTT. We talk about being a college student-athlete, the transition from college to the professional ranks, parenting and junior tennis, the role of doubles in player development and college tennis, and much more. (March 24, 2018)

 

Mark Kovacs, PhD: Mark is a performance physiologist, researcher, professor, author, speaker and coach with an extensive background training and researching elite athletes. He is the CEO of the Kovacs Institute, he oversees the direction, testing protocols and athlete monitoring programs along with his staff.  He also consults with the United States Tennis Association, the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association and the International Tennis Performance Association among others.  He holds a PhD in exercise physiology, and speaks from first hand experience as an All American at Auburn University and NCAA doubles champion. (Feb. 26, 2018)

 

Paul Goldstein-All American, a star on 4 NCAA Championship Teams at Stanford, Top ATP professional and current Stanford Head Men’s Coach and Asst Coach former ATP standout Brandon Coupe.   Paul is Stanford’s Taube Family Director of Men’s Tennis.  Like most players that play for and represent Stanford, Paul had a stellar career at from the juniors through college and into the

professional ranks.  As a junior he was Top 10 in the World, was the first USTA junior in history to win 3 consecutive national championships in 14,16, and 18s.  As a collegian (at Stanford 1994-1998) he lead the Cardinal to 104-6 record and was the 1st player in NCAA history to start on 4 consecutive NCAA Championship teams. He was a 4-time All American, 2-time Aurthur Ashe JR Sportsmanship, recipient of the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship award, and inducted into the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of fame 2013. In the professional ranks, Paul had an ATP high of 58 singles and 40 doubles with a US Open doubles semifinal appearance in 2005. He had wins over Novak Djokovic, James Blake, Lleyton Hewitt and Patrick Rafter.  At the time, he was the highest ranked player with a college degree. (Feb. 22, 2018)

 

Todd Gongwer–Todd has spent over 25 years building his expertise in leadership and team dynamics through a broad range of business, entrepreneurial, collegiate, and professional sports. His powerful leadership and cultural development principles have been embraced by some of the most successful leaders in business and education, along with countless coaches and athletes from championship programs in the NCAA, NBA, MLB and NFL. (Jan. 5, 2019)

 

Steve Johnson Father and Coach of Top ATP Player Stevie Johnson [His amazing legacy lives on in the lives of so many he affected]..I know this podcast will be very special to thousands of people because of the guest.  This is a replay of my visit with Steve Johnson Senior, coach, father and best friend of touring professional Stevie Johnson. Steve Sr. left an amazing legacy having touched the lives of thousands in the tennis community not only in Southern California but around the world

and on the tour.  He was a late comer to tennis and coaching having grown up playing baseball and basketball and attending John Wooden basketball camps.  But when tennis took hold of him, his way with people and love for the sport catapulted him into being one of the most loved tennis coaches and club directors in Southern California. Steve was always a pleasure to talk with and had a sense of humor and ease about him. (aired Jan. 22, 2018)

 

Peter Smith–USC Head Coach, long time friend and coaching colleague. 5 time Pac 12 coach of the year and a 2 time ITA National Coach of the year.  He seems to have figured out how to create a dynasty by winning 5 NCAA championships in 7 years, 4 of them in a 4-pete. We will be talking on numerous topics some of which are the collegiate transition to the pros, what is success, changes in the game since his earlier days, characteristics of a champion, what is missing in tennis, etc. (Feb. 3, 2018)

 

 

Manny Diaz—As a player, assistant coach (under the legendary Dan Mcgill) and now the head coach of one of the most storied programs in NCAA tennis lore, Manny has done an amazing job.  As you will hear, the accolades for the Manny and the Georgia program are in the stratosphere.  You will gain a lot of insight into how a great coach and player grew up playing the game when there was not much available compared to today’s youth. We will discuss junior development, championship characteristics, some of the greats that made tennis in general and UGA tennis great. (March 24, 2018)

 

 

David Fish Head Coach Harvard Men’s Tennis and UTR Advocate (he was instrumental in its development and implementation) is my guest and very long time friend and coaching colleague. Dave has been a great voice for NCAA tennis and AMERICAN tennis at large. At the time of this podcast, Dave was in his 39th year as the Head coach at Harvard. He was a1972 graduate of Harvard, played on 3 national championship squash teams and one Ivy Champion tennis team with the Crimson. Dave has had an impressive 626-284-1 overall record for a .688 percentage making him the winningest men’s tennis coach in Harvard history. He guided Harvard into the NCAA Championships 22 times so far.  He has tutored 15 All-Americans including James Blake (singles and doubles)

Now achievements aside, Dave will be the first to tell you that more important is the character and integrity of a person.  Dave is a great friend on both counts.  He is more interested in the development of tennis than the focus being on him so, with that lets get into some topics for our young players, parents, and coaches regarding the NCAA, USTA, the UTR and more. (Jan 25, 2018)

 

Carol Weyman—Director of “Little MO” tennis international. It is great to talk with my good friend Carol Weyman and Cindy Brinker Simmons, daughter of Maureen Connolly.  Cindy Brinker Simmons is president of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation since 2007.  She was in the public relations business for over 20 years having her own company: Brinker Communications. Carol Weyman  is executive vice president of the Maureen Connolly Brinker Tennis Foundation for 25 years. She was tournament director of the Virginia Slims of Dallas in 1989 and founder of the Road to the Little Mo Nationals and the Little Mo Internationals. 

If you are not familiar with Little Mo, they have the classiest opportunity regionally, nationally and internationally for youth to play tennis and experience competition the way it is supposed to be done. All ages can play without restriction or funny soft balls. Matches are played to the full. Doubles are played at every event. Sportsmanship is intentionally rewarded. A Grand Slam is awarded as well.  In this podcast we will discuss Little Mo tournaments, Maureen Connolly as a person and player and why behind the Little Mo Foundation, championship characteristics and much more. (Feb 3, 2018)

 

Coach Steve Clark  Monologue podcast topics

Some of these topics are or will be available on my Blog page for those wanting to have the readable version. Feel free also to email me at steve@coachsteveclarkphd.com if there is any question, comment or topic you would like some feedback on or a guest address on a podcast. You can also leave a comment via my contact page.

  • Steve Clark–In this podcast I discuss my F.O.C.U.S. philosophy, transformational coaching, process vs product oriented coaching and goals, between point management, momentum management, etc. (Feb 2, 2018)

Upcoming monologue Podcast topics by Steve

  • Steve Clark, PhD–Encouragement: what it means, looks like and how to put it into practice.
  • Steve Clark, PhD–Our reach must exceed our grasp.  Deliberate Practice, Grit and stretch goals.
  • Steve Clark, PhD–The value of patience, and as a coach or parent, instilling it, as a coach or parent in your players.
  • Steve Clark, PhD–It is about what you do have, not what you do not have.

Upcoming guests

And look forward to these down the pike as well

  • Guy Fritz--father and coach of ATP player Taylor Fritz and former USOC Developmental coach of the year
  • Panel discussion from elite coaches and world ATP figures on the state of USA tennis and the game itself. This will be a fantastic show. Keep your eyes and ears open for this and I will send out notifications when the guests are confirmed and the show is slated to run. You will be able to send in questions we might address. Feel free to do so now as well by emailing me at steve@coachsteveclarkphd.com
  • John Yandell–John is the creator of the fabulous website Tennisplayer.net.
  • Jon Hammermeister–Sports Psychologist for Pittsburg Pirates baseball club and professor of sports psychology.
  • numerous others you will enjoy listening to.

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