1.4M
Downloads
412
Episodes
Improve your tennis with the Essential Tennis Podcast, the very first podcast dedicated to tennis lessons and instruction! Tennis professional Ian Westermann answers listener questions about technique, strategy, mental toughness, and much more.
Episodes
Monday Jan 04, 2010
Monday Jan 04, 2010
One of the biggest ways that amateur doubles players can improve their results is by communicating with their partner better! In today's podcast Mark Hammelman and myself discuss the importance of communication as well as specific ways to do it during point, between points, and during changeovers.
Monday Dec 28, 2009
Monday Dec 28, 2009
Today's show answers two excellent questions from listeners. The first question asks about attaching on a short, weak shot. What technique or footwork changes need to be made if you're constantly either missing long or into the net on these easy shots? Next up I talked about pronating on the serve. What's the difference between spin and flat serves, should a continental grip be used for both?
Thursday Dec 17, 2009
Thursday Dec 17, 2009
Back by popular demand is mental tennis expert and coach David Groemping! Together we tackle several new and interesting topics having to do with mental tennis in a two part series. In Part 2 of 2 David and I discuss two main topics. The first one is the dynamic that doubles brings to the table for mental tennis. The second has to do with self talk, is it good or bad?
Tuesday Dec 08, 2009
Tuesday Dec 08, 2009
Back by popular demand is mental tennis expert and coach David Groemping! Together we tackle several new and interesting topics having to do with mental tennis in a two part series. In today's show we talk about playing against somebody who cheats, playing against somebody who's injured or your friend, and lastly we talk about handling a loss in tennis with the correct perspective.
Monday Dec 07, 2009
Monday Dec 07, 2009
Today I have a special guest on the show: Will Hamilton of Fuzzy Yellow Balls! Together we tackle two listener questions. The first one has to do with keeping tennis fun and fresh even if you are on the court a ton. This should be a big help to all the coaches out there as well as those of you who are on the practice court lots of hours every week. The second question has to do with paying attention during competition and puting together a solid strategy.
Monday Nov 30, 2009
Monday Nov 30, 2009
When you're playing a doubles tennis match is it poor sportsmanship to continually hit at the weaker of your two opponents? What is the best way to take advantage of time spent on the court with a ball machine and what strokes are best to work on? Lastly I talk about the use of disguise in your tennis game and whether or not it's appropriate to work on.
Friday Nov 20, 2009
Friday Nov 20, 2009
This week's show is early and a little bit on the short side due to some holiday travels, but there's still a new show! Listen in as I discuss the pros and cons of the full western grip. Why exactly is it dubbed "extreme" by myself and many other teachers of tennis? Is it the wrong grip for the recreational level player?
Monday Nov 16, 2009
Monday Nov 16, 2009
When your opponent in singles continually comes to the net what are the best strategies to use in defeating them? How about when your opponent hits you deep, high shots to your one handed backhand? Lastly I answer a question about picking out the good tennis instruction from everything available on the internet.
Monday Nov 09, 2009
Monday Nov 09, 2009
Today I answer three great listener questions. The first one has to do with buildling mental muscle during important tennis matches, USTA tournaments specifically. Secondly I discuss the technique involved in making your second serves. Lastly I talk about finding a lost tennis stroke, what do you do when you get "the shanks"?
Monday Nov 02, 2009
Monday Nov 02, 2009
When serving and volleying or returning and volleying ballance is incredibly important. What is the correct footwork to use on your way up to the net? Should you use a split step or shuffle step? When does the split step take place exactly? Learn the answers to all of these questions and more as I give an outline of the 6 steps to take to a successful split step.