Baseline Intelligence with Jonathan Stokke

David Roditi is our guest for the 22nd episode of Baseline Intelligence. David is the head coach for the TCU men's tennis team. Over his 12 years as head coach the Horned Frogs have won 4 Big 12 titles, made a final four, and won the 2022 ITA National Indoor Championship. Roditi was named the 2015 ITA National Coach of the Year and also served as the Mexican Davis Cup Captain.

We talk:

1:40 A funny recruiting story

3:53 What he looks for in a recruit

6:08 Why players focus on their hitting instead of competing

9:52 The difficulties of recruiting

16:28 How to make your opponent play worse

20:32 Cam Norrie's indoor lesson

24:07 What made Cam special

27:48 Working on strengths vs. weaknesses

29:03 Underrated skill needed as a head coach

31:35 Best advice for the 3.5/4.0 player

36:03 Throwing his racket bag into a lake (and missing)

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Margie Zesinger is our guest for the 21st episode of Baseline Intelligence. Margie is the head of female tennis at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida and was the 2021 PTR member of the year. She has coached numerous players to ITF titles, grand slam championships, and NCAA championships.

We talk:

1:55 Her role at IMG

2:33 Why IMG has male and female programs

4:15 Character traits she values

8:12 Teaching players to compete

10:51 The difference between boys and girls

15:55 Saying too little vs. saying too much

18:10 Why she became a coach

22:08 Why there are more male coaches

24:08 Bollettieri sets the standard

26:59 Advice she wished she knew earlier

29:19 Advice for the 3.5/4.0 player

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John Isner is our guest for the 20th episode of Baseline Intelligence. John has reached a career high rankings of 8 in the world in singles, and 14 in the world in doubles. He's won 24 ATP titles and has amassed 29 wins against top 10 ATP opponents. He has 5 career wins over "the big 3" and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2018.

We talk:

2:56 His first leap as a junior tennis player

4:25 A pivotal invasion call at Kalamazoo

6:48 Why he chose the college path

9:19 Learning to work hard at UGA

11:30 Our match at national indoors

15:32 Playing Federer at the US Open

19:10 The most challenging member of "the big 3"

23:12 Jumping into the top 10 in the world

25:16 Advice for playing tiebreakers

26:48 What his experience on tour has taught him

30:20 One coaching experience that helped him

33:34 The epic Wimbledon match

39:33 His best serve tips

42:00 Back to back fantasy football championships

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Kyle Lacroix is our guest for the 19th episode of Baseline Intelligence. Kyle is the Chief Education Officer of SETS Consulting, a coaching and educational service for elite coaches, competitive players and tennis institutions/federations. He is certified by the USPTA and PTR as well as the ITF. He has been a featured speaker at numerous industry conferences and has extensive on court work with ATP and WTA players, as well as top collegiate players.

We talk:

3:25 His background in tennis

7:01 His time at Saddlebrook

10:45 What linked Martina Hingis, Jennifer Capriati and Justine Henin

12:44 Why he's the "king of failure"

15:43 Why people struggle with failure

17:34 Connecting with players

22:01 Coaching other coaches

23:49 Improving coaching professionalism

26:36 Coaching pet peeves

29:40 Player accountability

34:09 Why players lean towards the negative

38:14 Advice for the 3.5 player

41:32 "Kyle-isms"

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You can find Kyle and Specialized Educational Tennis Solutions (SETS Consulting) online at www.setsconsult.org.

Alistair Higham is our guest for the eighteenth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Formerly the head of coaching education for the LTA, Alistair is now a leading expert on momentum in sport. He advises professional tennis players, football teams, and coaches on matchplay and momentum.

We talk:

2:11 What is momentum?

6:03 Creating momentum early in the match

9:23 Four performance factors

11:32 Creating momentum on your own

14:45 Limiting turning points against you

19:33 Awareness of turning points

22:57 Momentum between events

25:40 Using tactics to maintain momentum

29:16 Using tactics to stop negative momentum

34:04 The best pros who use momentum

37:58 Why we have a fantastic scoring system

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For interactive, engaging online courses on matchplay and momentum visit www.coachingedgeuk.com. Mobile and tablet friendly, there are courses for players and coaches. For coaches, there is also an online resource call the "match pack", a step by step guide to deliver his content in your own coaching program. You can find Alistair on his social media channels or can contact him by email at coachingedgeuk@icloud.com.

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 decade

6:20 The danger or comparing yourself to your peers

8:37 Skipping college for the pro tour

11:11 Never doubting herself

13:58 Being yourself in new/challenging situations

18:26 Why she has success on grass

20:20 Differences between hard courts

21:50 How the surface affects her tactics

23:23 How the score affects her tactics

25:53 The 30 second tempo drill

28:15 Her love for Primanti Brothers sandwiches

29:03 Her favorite place to play

30:16 Her best advice to a junior player

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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 courts

5:29 Timeless tactics at Wimbledon

7:11 How to hold serve more often

8:16 How to break serve more often

10:31 What we can learn from Nadal

14:49 Overcoming mental hurdles

22:38 What Dr. Jim Loehr taught him

25:04 Coaching the US Davis Cup team

30:13 His best doubles advice

31:10 His best singles advice

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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 toughness

5:07 Resilience

10:30 Making your practices challenging

15:39 Handling match nerves

21:35 Seeing the big picture

24:26 Taking time to practice mental skills

29:59 Why people neglect working on their mindset

32:43 Taking practice skills to the match

35:19 Maintaining focus during a match

36:21 Handling cheaters

40:35 Differences between pros and amateurs

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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 team

4:52 What he looks for in a recruit

6:28 How a player reveals their passion for the game

11:34 When he starts recruiting junior players

15:15 The "false self"

17:18 What he focuses on with his players

21:05 Listening to his players

25:16 How his players stay relaxed under pressure

27:10 The difficult of defending a national championship

31:47 Most difficult aspect of being a head coach

33:18 His halftime speeches

35:14 His best advice to win more matches

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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 you

8:40 A common technical mistake he sees

13:55 His best tip for hitting a cleaner ball

18:15 The differences between college and pro tennis

22:08 The future of tennis

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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 talk

1:30 Where he gets his energy and passion from

5:08 How he got started with the Williams sisters

14:21 What Richard did well as a tennis parent

19:31 How he coaches parents

21:00 What he learned from Venus

23:49 What he learned from Serena

26:14 Why competitive drive is so important

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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 highlight

3:45 What he did well as a player

7:33 Technique vs. tactics

11:26 Focusing on yourself vs. the opponent

15:00 How his dad helped Maria win the US Open

17:45 Lack of set play with juniors

26:28 Teaching players to handle pressure

30:42 Poker with Phil Jackson

32:47 Lessons learned from Maria

37:39 Biggest mistake as a coach

42:06 Pushback from pro players

44:00 Using white lies to motivate

46:56 Advice for the 3.5 player

51:10 Dismantling the LA Lakers

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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 old

2:45 Using her playing experiences to help her as a coach

4:16 Putting the person first

6:18 The success of American women

8:25 Building chemistry for team USA

10:45 Coaching during the match

14:42 A big change in the Belarus final

16:22 Her thoughts on the match vs. Ukraine

18:10 Changes she'd like to see in the BJK format

19:20 Best tip for the 3.5 player

21:27 Using offensive lobs

23:45 Tips for hitting a clean ball

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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 fraternity

4:00 what it was like to win an NCAA title

8:00 Davis Cup experiences

10:48 how he managed pressure

12:30 what he's learned from commentating

16:54 developing his on camera skills

20:55 his discipline and how he channels it

22:41 his "code" and how he uses it to improve

27:47 tips for the 3.5 player

30:57 why his shirt sleeves are so short

32:49 how I can help him with his calves

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Dr. Mark Kovacs is our guest for the eighth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Mark was the former director of the Sports Science and Strength and Conditioning departments of the USTA, is the CEO of the Kovacs Institute, and has spent the past two years as the senior director of Sports Science and Health for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was also an All American and NCAA Division I champion in doubles for Auburn University.

We talk:

1:45 how to get started with a fitness program

3:42 strength, mobility, endurance and flexibility

6:58 30 minutes a day, 7 days a week

9:15 what is overtraining?

12:03 when you should hydrate before a tournament

14:38 what you should eat the night before a match

17:07 what you can eat during a match

19:04 generating power on the serve

29:23 what's the root cause of most injuries

31:00 what part of the body you should focus on the most

33:00 on court vs off court training ratio

35:17 the MK drill

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Peter Smith is our guest for the seventh episode of Baseline Intelligence. Peter coached Division I men's tennis for over 30 years, winning 5 NCAA championships, 2 National coach the year awards, and took four different schools into the top 25. He also spent time coaching top American professionals Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey.

We talk:

3:25 Why his teams won so many NCAA championships

6:00 How the love of his players improved performance

8:37 Loving the big moments

10:00 The difference between good and great

12:00 Common "walls" players put up

17:05 His coaching philosophy

19:00 Coaching a college match

24:48 Top thing he looked for in a recruit

28:27 Top thing a 3.5 player can do to improve

29:51 How easy it was to coaching against me

32:10 A legendary coaching story

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Marc Lucero is our guest for the sixth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Marc spent time as the assistant coach at Princeton University, was a USTA national coach, and has coached several top professional players including Shelby Rogers, Genie Bouchard and Steve Johnson. He also has his own podcast "Check the Marc" and is a commentator for collegiate and professional tennis matches.

We talk:

1:40 How he comes up with a game plan for his players

5:18 Why it takes time for a game plan to work

9:39 What a relationship between a pro player and their coach looks like

11:41 Differences between the men's and women's games

14:52 What tactics the pros use that you can add to your game

16:53 His coaching influences

20:53 His communication style

22:53 The most important skill to have as a coach

26:10 His biggest mistake as a coach and what he learned from it

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Carlos and Josh Goffi are our guests for the fifth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Carlos is the author of "Tournament Tough" and was the longtime coach of world number 1 and 7-time grand slam champion John McEnroe. His son, Josh, is currently the head men's tennis coach at the University of South Carolina where he helped coach Paul Jubb to the individual NCAA Singles title in 2019.

We talk:

2:30 Carlos' first tennis lesson with John McEnroe

4:45 What you should be doing between points

6:30 Controlling your opponent

10:22 The traffic light analogy

14:45 The two phases of junior development

21:00 The role of the tennis parent

28:30 Kids who have parents as their coach

34:00 Not all points are worth the same

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Nick Saviano is our guest for the fourth episode of Baseline Intelligence. Nick is widely regarded as one of the world's preeminent tennis coaches with over 45 years of world class experience. He has helped helped train over 75 players who have gone on to professional careers on the WTA and ATP tours, including world number ones, olympic gold medalists and grand slam champions.

We talk:

1:25 What he looks for in a player

6:12 The difference between nerves and fear

9:08 The ground rules for playing a tournament

15:30 Everybody has an on-court personality

19:05 Every practice shot should have a tactical objective

24:26 Core fundamentals for developing an elite serve

28:52 How much time a player should dedicate to practicing serve and return

31:11 What to do when you aren't playing well in a match

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Craig O'Shannessy is our guest for the third episode of Baseline Intelligence. Craig is the leading strategy analyst for the ATP Tour and most recently spent three years as the strategy and data analyst for Novak Djokovic from 2017-2019. He is also the founder of braingametennis.com, an educational website with multiple courses for the avid tennis player.

We talk:

3:32 - When he learned the value of using video for the first time

8:45 - Focusing on yourself vs. focusing on your opponent

13:45 - How he helped Rajeev Ram get back into the top 100

20:03 - What your strategy should be in the first four shots

23:48 - How often you should practice serve and return + 1

28:53 - The storm cloud analogy

30:24 - The leaking cup analogy

34:47 - The "center window" of the doubles court

37:50 - The future of tennis strategy

40:04 - What tactic makes him cringe the most

41:27 - The most important statistic in tennis

43:00 - What type of errors you want to make

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Rajeev Ram is our guest for the second episode of Baseline Intelligence. Rajeev is ranked 4th in the ATP Doubles Rankings after a fantastic 2021 season where he (and partner Joe Salisbury) reached the Australian Open final, the semifinals of Wimbledon and won the US Open.

We talk:

3:42 - How he maintains his emotional energy throughout a long season

5:04 - Managing 10 point tiebreakers

11:10 - What he and Joe need to work on to finish as the top ranked doubles team

12:40 - What it's like preparing for a grand slam final

16:00 - How the game of doubles is changing

21:30 - What makes a great doubles partner

27:20 - What it means to be a "performer"

31:45 - How to avoid burnout

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18th ranked Jessica Pegula joins us for the first episode of Baseline Intelligence. She recently wrapped up a career year by reaching the quarterfinals of the 2021 Australian Open and jumping 44 spots in the WTA Rankings.

We talk:

1:55 - What she credits her jump in the rankings to

7:25 - How 1% improvement makes all the difference

10:35 - What she counts as a bad error

14:45 - Her most basic tactic in a match

21:36 - What she did as a junior that helped her become a pro

23:56 - What she would do differently as a junior player

34:34 - Tells us about practice "tickles"

38:10 - Why she feeds her dogs so much before she goes on the road

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Welcome to the Baseline Intelligence podcast! Each episode will feature a prominent player or coach who will share what they've learned throughout their careers. We'll discuss their strategies, techniques, mindsets, fitness plans, and anything else they consider when trying to be great at the game we all love. My hope is that each episode will help you learn something new and improve your game without even hitting a tennis ball.