Baseline Intelligence with Jonathan Stokke

Alison Riske-Amritraj is our guest for the seventeenth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Alison reached a career high of 18 in singles and 40 in doubles on the WTA tour. She's won three singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon where she beat then world number 1 Ash Barty. We talk:3:39 How she's maintained her level for over a decade6:20 The danger or comparing yourself to your peers8:37 Skipping college for the pro tour11:11 Never doubting herself13:58 Being yourself in new/challenging situations18:26 Why she has success on grass20:20 Differences between hard courts21:50 How the surface affects her tactics23:23 How the score affects her tactics25:53 The 30 second tempo drill28:15 Her love for Primanti Brothers sandwiches29:03 Her favorite place to play30:16 Her best advice to a junior player** Sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Tom Gullikson is our guest for the sixteenth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Tom reached a career high of 34 in singles and got as high as 4 in the world in doubles on the ATP tour. He reached the doubles final of Wimbledon in 1983, and then went on to coach the US Olympic team, the US Davis Cup team, and was one of the founding coaches of the USTA Player development team. We talk:1:28 How grass courts differ from hard courts5:29 Timeless tactics at Wimbledon7:11 How to hold serve more often8:16 How to break serve more often10:31 What we can learn from Nadal14:49 Overcoming mental hurdles22:38 What Dr. Jim Loehr taught him25:04 Coaching the US Davis Cup team30:13 His best doubles advice31:10 His best singles advice** Sounds effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Dr. Larry Lauer is our guest for the fifteenth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Larry is the mental skills specialist for the USTA Player Development program. He was also an assistant coach for Michigan State and helped the team reach the NCAA tournament in 2013.We talk:1:14 What is a mental skills coach?3:07 Mental toughness5:07 Resilience 10:30 Making your practices challenging15:39 Handling match nerves21:35 Seeing the big picture24:26 Taking time to practice mental skills29:59 Why people neglect working on their mindset32:43 Taking practice skills to the match35:19 Maintaining focus during a match36:21 Handling cheaters40:35 Differences between pros and amateurs**sound effects from https:www.zapsplat.com

Howard Joffe is our guest for the fourteenth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Howard is a former All-American for Pepperdine University and is currently the women's head coach for the University of Texas where they've won both the 2021 and the 2022 NCAA championships. We talk:2:09 How he builds his team4:52 What he looks for in a recruit6:28 How a player reveals their passion for the game11:34 When he starts recruiting junior players15:15 The "false self"17:18 What he focuses on with his players21:05 Listening to his players25:16 How his players stay relaxed under pressure27:10 The difficult of defending a national championship31:47 Most difficult aspect of being a head coach33:18 His halftime speeches35:14 His best advice to win more matchessound effects from https://zapsplat.com

In part 2 of our episode with Rick Macci we discuss...1:08 How he comes up with his famous rhymes 4:35 The mind is either for you or against you8:40 A common technical mistake he sees13:55 His best tip for hitting a cleaner ball18:15 The differences between college and pro tennis22:08 The future of tennisSound effects by https://www.zapsplat.com

Rick Macci is our guest for the twelfth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Rick is a 7-time USPTA national coach of the year and has coached Venus and Serena Williams, Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova, Jennifer Capriati and Mary Pierce. He's also featured prominently in the Oscar winning movie "King Richard".We talk1:30 Where he gets his energy and passion from5:08 How he got started with the Williams sisters14:21 What Richard did well as a tennis parent19:31 How he coaches parents21:00 What he learned from Venus23:49 What he learned from Serena26:14 Why competitive drive is so importantSound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Michael Joyce is our guest for the eleventh episode of Baseline Intelligence. Michael achieved a career high singles ranking of 64 on the ATP tour and had wins over Patrick Rafter and Michael Chang. He's also been the lead coach for many of the best players in the world, including Maria Sharapova, Jessica Pegula, Victoria Azarenka, Johanna Konta and Genie Bouchard. We talk:2:20 Being on the other end of an Agassi highlight3:45 What he did well as a player7:33 Technique vs. tactics11:26 Focusing on yourself vs. the opponent15:00 How his dad helped Maria win the US Open17:45 Lack of set play with juniors26:28 Teaching players to handle pressure30:42 Poker with Phil Jackson32:47 Lessons learned from Maria37:39 Biggest mistake as a coach42:06 Pushback from pro players44:00 Using white lies to motivate46:56 Advice for the 3.5 player51:10 Dismantling the LA Lakerssound effects from https:www.zapsplat.com

Kathy Rinaldi is our guest for the tenth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Kathy achieved career high rankings of 7 in singles and 13 in doubles on the WTA tour. She currently works as the lead national coach for women's tennis at the USTA, and also captains the United States team for the Billie Jean King Cup. We talk:1:45 Making the quarters of the French Open as a 14 year old2:45 Using her playing experiences to help her as a coach4:16 Putting the person first6:18 The success of American women8:25 Building chemistry for team USA10:45 Coaching during the match14:42 A big change in the Belarus final16:22 Her thoughts on the match vs. Ukraine18:10 Changes she'd like to see in the BJK format19:20 Best tip for the 3.5 player21:27 Using offensive lobs23:45 Tips for hitting a clean ball**sounds effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Prakash Amritraj is our guest for the ninth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Prakash was ranked as high as 119 in the ATP rankings and represented India in Davis Cup on multiple occasions. He was also the MVP of the 2002 NCAA Championship for the University of Southern California, clinching the last 3 matches of the tournament. He's currently a host, commentator, and interviewer for tennis channel as well as a movie producer. We talk:2:10 the junior tennis fraternity4:00 what it was like to win an NCAA title8:00 Davis Cup experiences10:48 how he managed pressure12:30 what he's learned from commentating16:54 developing his on camera skills20:55 his discipline and how he channels it22:41 his "code" and how he uses it to improve27:47 tips for the 3.5 player30:57 why his shirt sleeves are so short32:49 how I can help him with his calves**sound effects from https://www.zapsplat.com

Dr. Mark Kovacs, former director of Sports Science and Strength and Conditioning at USTA, discusses topics like starting a fitness program, overtraining, hydration for tournaments, generating power on the serve, focusing on specific body parts, and the importance of hydration and conditioning for service speed.