The best athletes are always looking to gain an edge on the competition. In Compete Like a Champion, Dr. Larry Lauer and Coach Johnny Parkes from USTA Player Development will explore all aspects of high performance tennis and what it takes to become a successful athlete. Our hosts will provide useful tips for tennis players, coaches, and parents.
Visit www.playerdevelopment.usta.com for more resources.
In a follow-up to the yellow light misconceptions the team covers how to practice yellow light situations. From the conversation prior to the practice to the designing of the situation, we provide in…
Players use different between point routines based on the traffic light system (green, yellow, red lights). What are these yellow lights? When do they happen? Dr. Larry describes the biggest misconce…
In this skill drill we discuss how to prepare for challenging, teachable moments in practice, and how you can coach yourself during these moments. We provide specific questions you want to be asking …
How do we avoid "pinball coaching" and optimize learning? What can players do to prepare to learn, stay engaged as they execute in practice, and retain more of what they are learning in practice? How…
How do you prepare players to move from slow to fast courts or vice versa? Johnny and Larry break it down in the latest skill drill episode. Johnny offers up 4 games coaches can use to make the trans…
CLC is back after a month of traveling and tournaments. Coach Johnny shares his reflections from the collegiate season and what that could mean for all players and coaches. We get into match preparat…
What is mental fatigue? Is it for real? It is actually, but it is difficult to describe for the player. In this podcast we define it, discuss the signs and symptoms, and examine how it impacts our pe…
Awareness on the court is essential to performance and learning. In this skill drill we talk about using on-court mindfulness to overcome boredom and loss of focus, specially in situations such as wh…
The Spanish method to teaching tennis has historically emphasized the idea of "suffering" through repetitive, montonous drills. This episode covers two drills (included in The Secrets of Spanish Ten…
Chris Lewit, author of The Secrets of Spanish Tennis, joins CLC to discuss the history of Spanish tennis. We dive deep into the Spanish philosophy, the six foundational pillars, and where it came fro…
Chris Lewit, author of The Secrets of Spanish Tennis, joins CLC to discuss the history of Spanish tennis. We dive deep into the Spanish philosophy, the six foundational pillars, and where it came fro…
Being bored is a bad thing, right? Maybe not. Should we be actually looking for moments of boredom and do they benefit us? We dive into the experience of boredom in our lives and in high performance …
In the first skill drill of the year Coach Johnny and Dr. Larry talk about creative ways to improve when you are injured. For more information find us at Dr. Larry and Coach Johnny on X: @LarryLauer …
In our opening episode of 2025 we delve how coaches can help players deal effectively with the initial uncertainty and stress of an injury, and the rehab process. This episode provides specific recom…
At the end of the year tennis players and coaches reflect on their expriences to develop important and meaningful goals. The quality of that reflection will determine the quality of the goals. This e…
Off-Court coaching is coming to ITF tournaments. Coaches, have you planned with the player how you will communicate? In this episode we discuss how to work on off-court coaching by simulating the mat…
The ITF is allowing off-court coaching during matches. Coach Johnny and Dr. Larry walk through the rule change and the pro's and con's. BBC article: https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/articles/cglklyl0…
Outtoughing an opponent requires perseverance, and that is something that can be trained. In this skill drill episode we offer two games that will help challenge your players to hang in there through…
Mental toughness has many definitions, but how are you defining toughness? Johnny and Larry discuss Boston Celtic Jayson Tatum's definition of mental toughness and how that can make a huge difference…
As coaches we often try to avoid angering players on court, because it is difficult to work with players when angry. However, for players to experience success while angry they must work "anger trigg…