Tennis IQ Podcast

Nikola Milinkovic has extensive work experience in sport and performance psychology and leadership coaching across a variety of high-performing environments. Nikola works with team and individual athletes, currently focusing on elite junior, ATP and WTA tennis players. Nikola spent over a decade directing sport psychology programs in high performance tennis settings in the US and the Netherlands. He played college tennis, is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), and a certified professional level coach through the US Professional Tennis Registry (USPTR).     In addition to having worked in sport, Nikola transferred his expertise into sport organizations in Serbia, the United Nations (UN) and the Performing Arts industry. He served as a visiting performance and leadership consultant at Belgrade Sports Coaching Academy, UNICEF and as a Learning & Development and Performance Management coordinator for the UN agencies in the Netherlands. Nikola appeared on national television and is an international published author and presenter. He earned his BA degree in Psychology, and Theater Arts, from Clark University, and his EdM degree in Counseling, with focus on Sport Psychology, from Boston University.   Interview highlights:  2:56 - Nikola describes his introduction to the sport of tennis and overcoming performance anxiety  7:51 - Nikola's journey to returning to tennis years after quitting the sport  11:39 - How anxiety manifests itself in tennis, and how anxiety can be broken down into three pieces (emotional, mental and behavioral)  25:49 - Focusing on WIN (what's important now) and the improvement process rather than just focusing on the outcome of winning matches  33:52 - Staying "present" during competition  40:01 - Integrating mental skills into practice and practice matches  50:28 - How working in a variety of settings (theatre, the UN, etc.) has impacted Nikola's perspective as a sport and performance psychology professional  58:00 - Having a "strengths based approach" and seeing people through a positive psychology perspective  1:03:16 - Common obstacles that hold back elite junior and professional tennis players

In this episode of the Tennis IQ Podcast, Josh and Brian share their favorite books related to sport/performance psychology and tennis. With the holidays right around the corner, this is a great chance to look into getting these books for someone close to you or for yourself. These books vary greatly in terms of topic, perspective, and age, but all share valuable insights for athletes, coaches, and fans of tennis. Feel free to reach out via email at tennisiqpodcast@gmail.com with any books that you feel that we should add to our lists! Josh's Top 5 Books: Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey Heads-Up Baseball by Ken Ravizza and Tom Hanson Life As Sport by Jonathan Fader The New Toughness Training for Sports by James Loehr Brian's Top 5 Books: In Pursuit of Excellence by Terry Orlick The Only Way to Win by James Loehr Atomic Habits by James Clear The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday Tennis: Winning the Mental Match by Allen Fox Bonus book for coaches: Coaching Athletes to Be Their Best: Motivational Interviewing in Sports by Stephen Rollnick, Jonathan Fader, Jeff Breckon, and Theresa B. Moyers. A list of good sport and positive psychology books: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/86517.Best_Positive_And_Sports_Psychology_Books To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis, email us at TennisIQPodcast@gmail.com or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!

For the 18th episode of the Tennis IQ Podcast, Brian and Josh discuss visualization and imagery and how these tools can be used to improve performance. To begin, they discuss how visualization/imagery can be used off-court, and how tennis champions like Novak Djokovic and Bianca Andreescu have utilized these mental tools to improve their performance. Next, they discuss how visualization and imagery can be trained on-court and how coaches can help tennis players utilize these skills on the practice court. Lastly, they discuss how these skills can be helpful for players to utilize while competing. Links: Novak Djokovic on visualization - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/turning-point/201509/champion-novak-djokovic-reveals-the-power-visualization Bianca Andreescu on visualization - https://youtu.be/1kRjvvUmjAY Inner Game of Tennis - Tennis Lesson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieb1lmm9xHk Using visualization to improve learning and performance - https://performancextra.com/training/using-visualization-to-improve-learning-and-performance/ Other ideas for using visualization - https://performancextra.com/50-for-50/50-50-ideas-13-14-15-visualization/ To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis, email us at TennisIQPodcast@gmail.com or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!

As 2020 comes to a close, Brian and Josh discuss how to review the year of 2020 and how to plan for the year to come. Despite how challenging of a year 2020 was, it is important to highlight accomplishments and milestones that were reached throughout the year. The development of healthy habits and process goals are discussed in order to achieve larger performance and outcome goals. Additionally, the importance of establishing a developmental plan and utilizing a training journal to track your progress is also discussed. Links: Webinar on goal setting: https://youtu.be/qew8TGcS1ps USTA Developmental Plan: https://s3.amazonaws.com/ustaassets/assets/689/15/16777_c_ny_19_playerdevelopment_reformatresources_pd_developmentalplan.pdf Francisco Montoya's talk on Developmental Plans and Goal Setting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edOFPk0Hdqo&feature=youtu.be USTA Player Development Training Journal: https://s3.amazonaws.com/ustaassets/assets/689/15/player_development_journal_2020.pdf A list of 50 ideas for improving your life: https://performancextra.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/50-for-50.pdf The 50 for 50 blog series: https://performancextra.com/category/50-for-50/ To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and Sport Psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis, email us at TennisIQPodcast@gmail.com or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!

Dr. Stephen Walker has been involved in the sport and performance psychology field since 1983 when he began at the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Colorado. He is board certified with the Association of Applied Sport Psychology and is a member of the United States Olympic committee's registry of sport psychologists. Over the years, he has developed mental training programs for several accomplished athletes in a wide variety of sports from professional and Olympic levels to high school and club teams. Outside of his practice, Dr. Walker is also the editor in chief of Podium Sports Journal, a well-respected sport psychology blog. If you would like to receive Dr. Walker's FREE guide to getting Competition Ready, send him an email at doc@drstephenwalker.com. Also, you can visit his website drstephenwalker.com Interview highlights: 2:32 - Dr. Walker describes his background in sports and his introduction to the field of sport psychology 10:32 - The concept of Tennis IQ and being "in sync with your body" 15:40 - Mental preparation in sports 25:33 - The importance of positivity for athletes and parents 32:21 - Building a team and support system around tennis players and the importance of everyone understanding their roles in that team 34:47 - The importance of staying present rather than "time traveling" and future thinking 40:11 - Building confidence systematically through a confidence journal 52:54 - Process-based thinking rather than outcome-based thinking in pre-competition routines 1:01:27 - PETTLEP imagery while preparing for competition

For the 15th episode of the Tennis IQ Podcast, Brian and Josh discuss motivation and the importance of having a clear idea of what motivates each individual as tennis players and as performers. The academic concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, as well as self-determination theory, are covered in relation to improving your motivation for tennis. Brian and Josh also reveal their  “origin stories” - how they started playing tennis and were subsequently motivated to pursue the sport in a serious way. To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and sport psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis, email us at TennisIQPodcast@gmail.com or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!

Sean Brawley is a former Top 150 world ranked tennis professional who competed at the highest level of the game including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. After the tennis tour, Sean met and began working closely with Tim Gallwey, the author of The Inner Game series of books including the classic, The Inner Game of Tennis. Sean is the first certified Inner Game coach in the world. He has facilitated numerous Inner Game of Tennis and Golf workshops in the past 20 years. In 1997, Sean helped Gallwey revise the tennis and golf books and in 2008 organized the first ever Inner Game coaching conference. In 2012, Sean co-founded the Inner Game School of Coaching with Gallwey and served as the lead facilitator. As a facilitator and coach, he has custom designed highly unique, experiential programs for many well-known organizations such as GE, ITT, Union Bank, the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners and the U.S. Tennis Association. Sean was the primary mental coach for the USC football team for 9 years and helped Pete Carroll and the Trojans win 2 national championships. Links: Bounce-Hit - https://seanbrawley.mykajabi.com/single-greatest-exercise-for-tennis Sean's TED Talk on the Power of Focus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QkHv7pKHBc&t Sean's interviews with Wilson's top players (registration required) - https://wdt.wilson.com/w-club/ Interview highlights: 2:41 - Sean describes his introduction to tennis 9:00 - College tennis at USC and playing alongside top collegiate players 10:57 - Transitioning to the professional tour and travelling to play the Grand Slams and other tournaments around the world 15:44 - The pressures of competing as a professional tennis player 19:24 - Meeting and working with Tim Gallwey 25:50 - Teaching tennis based on the "Inner Game" 33:49 - Focusing on solely what's most critical to aid tennis development 34:51 - Bounce-Hit 41:55 - Identifying and focusing on the most critical aspects of any new skill while teaching and coaching 48:14 - The most common pitfalls and roadblocks that interfere with the "natural" learning process 52:28 - Mindfulness meditation and its impact on awareness 57:03 - The patterns and insights that emerged from interviewing Wilson's top players such as Roger Federer and Venus Williams on the "Inner Game" 1:11:20 - Working with USC Football

Coach Bill Tym was an All-American at the University of Florida where he won 2 Southeastern conference singles titles, and is also in the UF Athletics Hall of Fame. He went on to compete on the professional tour where he won 10 national and international titles. As a coach, he is a USPTA Master Professional and past USPTA president, and a member of the USPTA Hall of Fame. He was named USPTA Professional of the Year in 1982, College Coach of the Year in 1989 (Vanderbilt), and Touring Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2002. He also received the George Bacso Lifetime Achievement Award from the USPTA in 2001. Interview highlights: 2:43 - Bill describes his introduction to competing as a college tennis player and professional player, and how he started coaching college tennis 25:10 - The Evolution of a Champion - "Champions are not born. They are made." 27:58 - The importance of developing each part of the tennis game from a young age 33:53 - Bill describes his approach to coaching college teams and how he utilized different surfaces to help players develop their games 41:05 - Developing mental toughness within college tennis teams 42:10 - The Greatest Salesman in the World - Og Mandino 49:18 - Tennis as a proposed mandatory subject in schools 53:23 - The Winner's Creed 1:07:25 - Using tennis as a vehicle for personal growth 1:09:15 - Creating the Perfect Practice Links: The Winner's Creed: https://www.tennistakes.com/winners-creed/ Bill Tym's Coaching Philosophy - The Evolution of a Champion: https://performancextra.com/evolution-of-a-champion/ Creating the Perfect Practice: https://performancextra.com/bill-tyms-perfect-practice-formula/

The 2020 French Open has concluded with Rafael Nadal winning an astonishing 13th French Open title and record-tying 20th major in the men’s championship, and Iga Swiatek winning her first French Open and major title in the women’s championship. We review the Nadal-Djokovic and Swiatek-Kenin final matches and offer insights into the factors that determined the outcomes of each match. Additionally, we discuss the common links between the two champions and their ability to stay in the moment, even in the highest-pressure situations of a match. Links to articles mentioned in this episode: Profile and interview with Daria Abramowicz, Iga Swiatek's sport psychologist: https://www.wtatennis.com/news/1856382/how-swiatek-s-sports-psychologist-honed-her-mental-game Nadal and Swiatek Stay in the Moment: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/sports/tennis/french-open-rafael-nadal-iga-swiatek.html The Tao of Rafael Nadal: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/11/sports/tennis/french-open-rafael-nadal.html To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and Sport Psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis, email us at TennisIQPodcast@gmail.com or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!

Dr. Judy Van Raalte is a Professor of Psychology at Springfield College, a Certified Consultant (CMPC) for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, and is listed in the United States Olympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry. She has presented at conferences in 18 countries and published more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Mental Health, the NCAA, and the International Tennis Federation. She served as president of the American Psychological Association's Society of Sport, Exercise & Performance Psychology and as vice president of the International Society of Sport Psychology. Highlights from the interview: 4:17 - Judy discusses her introduction to the sport of tennis and her interest in the mental side of sports 7:27 - Negative self-talk in tennis and why the sport causes tennis players to outwardly show frustrations and publicly insult themselves 9:43 - Judy's introduction to self-talk in an academic sport psychology setting 14:15 - How tennis players and athletes learn self-talk 20:06 - System 1 and System 2 self-talk 29:31 - The connection between self-talk and staying mindful in the present moment 33:57 - Instructional and motivational self-talk 38:05 - Pairing self-talk with sport psychology interventions such as imagery and mindfulness 44:12 - The connection between sport psychology research and how it is applied in practice 49:57 - Suggestions for tennis players on how to improve their self-talk To learn more about Josh and Brian's backgrounds and Sport Psychology businesses, go to TiebreakerPsych.com and PerformanceXtra.com. If you have feedback about the show or questions on the mental game in tennis, email us at TennisIQPodcast@gmail.com or use the hashtag #tennisIQ on Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or your podcast platform of choice (Spotify, Apple, Google, etc.) to stay up to date on future episodes!