Latest / The Driven Athlete / Building Champions: Mindset, Longevity, And Life Lessons From Tennis To Golf w/ Jay Berger | Ep 115

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Building Champions: Mindset, Longevity, And Life Lessons From Tennis To Golf w/ Jay Berger | Ep 115 · The Driven Athlete

0:00
SPEAKER_01: If you're a driven, active person who wants to reach and pursue a higher quality life with some ambition, then guess what?
0:06
SPEAKER_01: This podcast is for you.
0:08
SPEAKER_01: This is the Driven Athlete Podcast.
0:12
SPEAKER_01: What's up, y'all?
0:12
SPEAKER_01: It's your man, Dr.
0:13
SPEAKER_01: Kyle.
0:13
SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to the Driven Athlete Podcast.
0:15
SPEAKER_01: We got a cool special guest.
0:16
SPEAKER_01: Uh Jay Berger is with us, high-level uh tennis athlete in the past and now a high-level coach at Ibis, right?
0:24
SPEAKER_01: Correct, yeah.
0:25
SPEAKER_01: So I know you're a busy dude, so I appreciate you coming in.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
0:28
SPEAKER_01: Sharing some insights and stuff.
0:29
SPEAKER_01: Appreciate the work you do with our athletes.
0:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's yeah, definitely.
0:33
SPEAKER_01: It's fun.
0:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, so share people where you're at now and what you do.
0:36
SPEAKER_00: So um I'm at the club at Ibis.
0:39
SPEAKER_00: I'm the director of athletics uh for the past uh five years, been there eight or nine years.
0:43
SPEAKER_00: I was starting my ninth year.
0:45
SPEAKER_00: Prior to that, um, you know, played professional tennis, played Davis Cup for the United States, coached at the University of Miami, went on and spent most of my career at the USTA uh in high performance, um, and spent the last 10 years in charge of men's tennis.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: So developing the best young players from um from 10, 11, 12 years old on and working with pros as well.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, I didn't know you you coached at 10 uh at Miami.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: I sure did, yeah.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: I went to Miami for five and a half years.
1:15
SPEAKER_00: I know a lot of a lot of it's got the best PT school.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: So it's a good one.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm biased, of course, but it's doing it.
1:20
SPEAKER_00: I know a lot of a lot of people that have done that side.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: That's cool.
1:23
SPEAKER_01: Um, my wife went there also.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: That's where we met.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: Grade school.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: She played um soccer at UM.
1:28
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
1:28
SPEAKER_01: And then stayed for grad school, and that's where we met.
1:30
SPEAKER_01: All right, interesting.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
1:32
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's cool.
1:32
SPEAKER_01: Miami, it's a different world down there, you know.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: It has changed a lot.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was there, I guess, in the um in the end of the 1990s.
1:41
SPEAKER_00: So 1998, 1999, you know, to early 2000s.
1:45
SPEAKER_00: And uh, we lived in Kibiscane and we loved it.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: And the interesting part is I would used to uh we'd recruit um, you know, some some tennis players to go there.
1:55
SPEAKER_00: They would be kind of not really into school, never really apply themselves.
1:59
SPEAKER_00: And the classes are so small there that they would just get just stoked about actually learning, um, which was really neat to see.
2:07
SPEAKER_00: So I, you know, I'd be hanging out with them.
2:09
SPEAKER_00: And we had a, I think our GPA was combined 3.8 or 3.7 when I was there.
2:13
SPEAKER_00: So really impressive kids and an impressive school.
2:16
SPEAKER_01: That's good.
2:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it it's it's a small, a lot of people don't know that.
2:19
SPEAKER_01: It's a small private school, you know.
2:20
SPEAKER_01: It's a major sports, you know, presence.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: Um, but way better than like, you know, 200 kids and like a biology one-on-one class.
2:28
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, you know, yeah.
2:29
SPEAKER_01: But it was it's cool.
2:30
SPEAKER_01: It went through a lot of changes when we were there, and like now the campus is like beautiful.
2:35
SPEAKER_01: It was under a lot of construction the time that we were there, okay, which was a bummer because I haven't been there in a while.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: It's great, it's it's really nice now.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: We went recently because my wife was like, I don't know, there was like an alumni weekend or whatever for soccer, and she went slickable maybe a couple months ago.
2:49
SPEAKER_00: Fun.
2:49
SPEAKER_01: And um, kid my kids loved it, you know.
2:51
SPEAKER_01: They were running on the soccer field.
2:53
SPEAKER_00: That's great.
2:53
SPEAKER_01: It's funny.
2:54
SPEAKER_01: The sprinklers came on when my kids were on the field and they were on the field, they were like the bet.
2:58
SPEAKER_01: They loved it.
2:59
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, You guys can't get soaked right now.
3:01
SPEAKER_01: We don't have any towels, you know.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but um, where are you from originally?
3:05
SPEAKER_00: So I'm from down here, grew up in uh in plantation, Florida, and and lived in Florida my whole life.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: Um we lived in grew up in plantation, moved to Keebis Game for about 12 years, and then we've been in Jupiter um, you know, probably close to 18 years.
3:20
SPEAKER_00: Um so love the area.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it makes sense.
3:25
SPEAKER_01: Like this is such a gem, you know, in this area.
3:27
SPEAKER_00: That's it's yeah, my growing up now.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: Of course my family definitely takes advantage of it from uh from surfing.
3:32
SPEAKER_00: I have kids that are really into water sports.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: Actually, all my kids are um having grown up in Kibiscane, and then I have a son that plays professional golf.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Daniel, right?
3:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, Daniel, yeah, one of the best golfers in the world.
3:43
SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, it's a it's a golf mecca, and then and then for tennis, it's it's it's wonderful as well.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: So I'm kind of surprised, Daniel.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: Did he did you get him into tennis at all or try that route?
3:52
SPEAKER_00: Or he was he loves tennis, he's obsessed with tennis.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: Um and uh, you know, he just kind of kind of found golf.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: And and truthfully, uh when that was all happening, I was at the University of Miami.
4:03
SPEAKER_00: I was spending a lot of time on the court.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, I have four kids.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: Oh, four.
4:07
SPEAKER_00: So I have four kids.
4:08
SPEAKER_00: So um my kids all play tennis.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, but um, it was nice to kind of do something away from tennis, yeah.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and something I really didn't know about, um, which I didn't know a lot about golf.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: Where's Daniel?
4:23
SPEAKER_00: Was were your four kids?
4:24
SPEAKER_00: Where's Daniel at?
4:25
SPEAKER_00: Daniel's the second.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: So my daughter's uh um uh lives in Fort Lauderdale.
4:30
SPEAKER_00: She's got two kids, so I'm uh I got two grandkids, and she's a doctor and OBGYN there.
4:35
SPEAKER_00: And then um Daniel is uh the second, he's 32, and then I have a 31-year-old and a 27-year-old.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: What do they do?
4:43
SPEAKER_00: Um the 31-year-old is actually uh was one of the best kite surfers in the world.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, which is not a bad place to be.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: That's Jonathan.
4:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, so he's spent a lot of time in the in the in the industry of um um kite boarding and um and actually free diving, and he's getting into electro um uh electric.
5:04
SPEAKER_00: Like marine electronics.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, not not marine electronics, low voltage electronics.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: Okay, cool.
5:08
SPEAKER_00: Uh and then my actually my other son um went to a maritime academy and he's got an incredible passion for uh for boats and um and mechanics.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: So he has Noah's marine uh mechanic.
5:22
SPEAKER_00: He has a mobile marine service and he he loves it and does a great job.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
5:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
5:26
SPEAKER_01: Four kids.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: I can't.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: It's a lot.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: I have three kids.
5:29
SPEAKER_01: They're young.
5:30
SPEAKER_01: You should have another one.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: It's it's easy.
5:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's not not a big deal at all.
5:34
SPEAKER_01: Have another one.
5:35
SPEAKER_01: I feel like since it's like I always people ask me, like, because my kids are young.
5:39
SPEAKER_01: My daughter's four, five, my son's three, and my youngest son is one.
5:43
SPEAKER_01: Um, and they're like, What was the hardest transition?
5:46
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, in my opinion, I feel like zero to one because it's complete life change.
5:50
SPEAKER_01: One to two was a big transition, of course, because then things don't stop.
5:53
SPEAKER_01: Right.
5:54
SPEAKER_01: Then you have your third one, it's like oh, we're used to this.
5:56
SPEAKER_01: The sleep just is all yeah, it just it just it never ends.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: But three to four, it's all it's all hard.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: Having kids is hard, yeah.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: Let's be honest.
6:06
SPEAKER_01: But um, I'm also in favor of like um having my kids dive into things that we're not super familiar with so that they don't feel like they have to like follow our footsteps in certain things with expectations or whatever.
6:17
SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, with golf with like Daniel, you know, it's I I'm interested in doing that with my kids, you know.
6:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, like things that that I'm not even familiar with, you know.
6:26
SPEAKER_00: It was it was fun and and just um yeah, my kids, kids all all found their own way, and one really academics and uh and the other three really in sports.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: I mean incredible surface, a lot of water sports, but cool.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: But all they all love tennis, they all love golf, and uh they enjoy the they enjoy themselves here in South Florida.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: So was you were you're the main tennis coach for your kids?
6:48
SPEAKER_00: Like would you got them to play tennis?
6:50
SPEAKER_00: It was more just fun.
6:50
SPEAKER_00: It's fun.
6:51
SPEAKER_00: It was more just fun.
6:52
SPEAKER_00: So um when we're in Kebascan, I did send them to an academy uh that was on the key.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, but but really they never took tennis uh too serious.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: Um it was more just a fun sport.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: But I've always found usually with my kids, I'll I'll try to find somebody for them to work with and kind of just kind of hang out in the back and just kind of enjoy and and uh and appreciate what they're doing.
7:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
7:17
SPEAKER_01: What what led you then to well, so so talk about your tennis career.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: When did you start getting really serious?
7:23
SPEAKER_00: My tennis career, I I mean, I was serious my whole life about tennis since I was seven years old.
7:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, was a pretty good tennis player uh when I was young, was always top top 10 in the country growing up.
7:34
SPEAKER_00: Um and when I played, obviously the mecca of tennis was the United States.
7:39
SPEAKER_00: Um and uh went to college for two years.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: After my first year of college, actually got to the round of 16 of the U.S.
7:45
SPEAKER_00: Open as an amateur.
7:47
SPEAKER_00: Uh went back, finished that year, and then turned pro.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Who's your college?
7:51
SPEAKER_00: Clemson University.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: Clemson, yeah.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
7:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
7:54
SPEAKER_01: They've been struggling recently on the football front.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: They have been a little bit.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: That's that's gonna change.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: I think so.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they'll come back.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they have a they have a big booster population.
8:02
SPEAKER_00: So I think they gotta get used to what's the new uh the way the way things work in the world of of football, but they they'll figure it out.
8:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, but what yeah, went there for two years, um, you know, started my pro career actually.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: Very interesting as as we're talking, you know, to a to a physical therapist is is that um uh got to be seven in the world.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, played Davis Cup for the United States.
8:27
SPEAKER_00: So really had an incredible career.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: Uh, unfortunately, when I was 23 years old, was having some nagging knee injuries, uh, went to a doctor, he performed a surgery on me, um, and it just was a fail, just a flat out fail.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: So I actually retired from tennis very young.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, played my last match.
8:45
SPEAKER_00: I was probably 12 in the world when I played my last match and really had to kind of kind of start a new career, which was which was really interesting.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, so always knew I wanted to be a coach, thought I really want to be a college coach for the rest of my life.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: Uh went back and got a degree, fell in love with school again, um, and really fell in love with coaching.
9:06
SPEAKER_00: What was your degree?
9:07
SPEAKER_00: In sports management.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: Oh, awesome.
9:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, from FIU.
9:10
SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
9:10
SPEAKER_01: Um, so and you saw you always knew I wanted to be a coach, want to work with the country.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, tennis had done had had has given me so much, and uh definitely wanted to get back to the sport and and to kids.
9:23
SPEAKER_00: And so um, yeah, I think I was asked even uh one year I was in the quarterfinals of the French Open, what would you do, you know, if you weren't playing tennis?
9:31
SPEAKER_00: And and um, you know, always knew I wanted to be a coach.
9:34
SPEAKER_01: So that's awesome.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: So then you what was your first coach coaching position?
9:39
SPEAKER_00: My first coaching was position position was actually as a national coach for the United States.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, and that was in Kibiscayne.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: So graduated, um, thought I was gonna go to college tennis, and then um got an offer to to to work with the USTA down in Kibiscayne.
9:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, for Nick Saviano's a great, great coach in his own right.
10:01
SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, it was a great life.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I'm really into fishing, had a you know, great place to live, great place to raise kids.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: And so we went down there and did that for a couple years.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, we had a very small staff and in our and our program was pretty ambitious in regards to kind of the amount of travel that was expected of the coaches.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: And I realized, holy mackerel, you know, first of all, I'm not making a lot of money, which was fine.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: Uh, that's not what it was about.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: But um, more than that, I I was I was traveling an enormous amount and I was taking my kids with me and um decided that you know my family was way more important than at this point in my life than than actually at all points in my life than than traveling around.
10:42
SPEAKER_00: But had some great experiences.
10:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, travel with with people that I'm still really close with, the Brian brothers.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: I travel with them when they were 17 years old, the greatest doubles team ever, still staying in contact with them.
10:55
SPEAKER_00: And so the tennis world is small.
10:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, it's been yeah, it's been really, really fun for me.
11:02
SPEAKER_01: What so you um uh you made the round of 16 as an amateur when you were college?
11:07
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:08
SPEAKER_01: French open final four, final eight, final eight final eight.
11:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
11:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, what were some of the most memorable matches for you that you remember?
11:15
SPEAKER_00: I mean, definitely actually at the French Open that year, I played um Jimmy Connors, who's kind of you know an icon in tennis.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, I played him on a Wednesday in the second round of the French Open.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: That's Kids' Day, and I played on Chartrier, which is the center court there, and it was just packed.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: Uh, people going crazy, kids going crazy.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: And I think there were about three people rooting for me.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: And that was uh my coach and my girlfriend.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, maybe one other person.
11:43
SPEAKER_00: So that that was definitely uh an incredible uh experience.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: Um playing for your country, yeah.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: Um always was a dream of mine, and something probably was the pinnacle of of my tennis career.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, and got to do that twice.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, played actually in Peru.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: Uh Andre Agassi and myself were rookies on the team.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, pretty amazing experience, and then actually coached Davis Cup for 13 years.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so cool, which was pretty neat.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: So I've had some really interesting coaching experiences with coached Davis Cup for 13 years with um, you know, working with um Patrick McEnroe and then Jim Currier, uh, going in crazy places with Andy Roddick and James Blake and the Bryan brothers, which was pretty amazing.
12:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then also coached three Olympic teams.
12:32
SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that's coached in Beijing, um, coached in London, and coached in Rio.
12:39
SPEAKER_00: Uh, we won medals at all of them and and you know, pretty, pretty amazing experiences.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: Didn't get to see much of the Olympics, but uh locked into like we're just locked in, yeah, to what we're doing.
12:51
SPEAKER_01: Um, what was that experience like compared to like what you know, the French Open, US Open, yeah, major tournaments?
12:57
SPEAKER_00: Like what was what was the the experience at the Olympics is different because um you know there are not that many kind of the it's a huge event, but it's you're isolated only with athletes.
13:08
SPEAKER_00: They make it very difficult for anybody else to be there.
13:11
SPEAKER_00: So you you spend a lot more time with the players.
13:14
SPEAKER_00: Some of them maybe they're not players that you coach on a full-time basis.
13:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I I stayed in the village.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: Uh one when the players the our our the USA always um always uh gets hotel rooms for the players to kind of make it a little bit more convenient, you know, for people like the Williams sisters or whoever that might be.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: They also offer the players to be able to stay in the in the village, which our players always do.
13:40
SPEAKER_00: Somebody always has to stay with them, and that person is me.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: So uh no hotels for Jay.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: Um in the village with the players, but it it's a pretty neat experience.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: And the village would be like all the U.S.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: athletes, all the athletes, all the all the other all the all the athletes from every country, yeah.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: And that what's the is the village like a group of homes or apartments that are exactly.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they usually build, you know, they usually build them specifically for that.
14:04
SPEAKER_00: They're not very luxury-based, they're kind of just bare bones.
14:09
SPEAKER_00: Um, but it's pretty neat because you see almost all the top, top athletes uh cool staying there.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: And that's really the experience of the Olympics.
14:17
SPEAKER_00: I mean, my my uh recommendation always for the USA is to actually not do the hotels because they're really the Olympics.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: It is about medals, but it's also about camaraderie and and um and that experience of being with the other athletes.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: That'd be cool.
14:29
SPEAKER_01: I mean, what an opportunity like world-class athletes all staying in the same close quarters.
14:35
SPEAKER_00: Can't imagine what they eat.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: McDonald's.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's shocking.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: As I said, like what's that look like?
14:40
SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's a little shocking to see uh, you know, see what they eat, but it it's also pretty neat that you're at a table and you see people coming in and they just want a gold medal or a silver medal or or stuff like that.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: It it it's it's pretty remarkable.
14:54
SPEAKER_01: When they're done competing, do they all hang out together and and party and stuff?
14:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, not you know, not our athletes were were there, you know.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: So in tennis, um it's kind of you know how much time after you're there, you need to get out of there to get ready for the rest of the season.
15:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, because it's right, falls right in the middle of the season.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: It's not a pinnacle like these other athletes.
15:17
SPEAKER_00: So our players are in, they're experiencing it, they're playing.
15:21
SPEAKER_00: They do the thing and then they're out.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're not, they're not there partying.
15:24
SPEAKER_01: There was somebody I was talking with that they were describing that were like, I mean, it's a bunch of 20-year-olds, you know, that are top pinnacle athletes all hanging out together, which is like a fun, cool experience, you know.
15:37
SPEAKER_01: It can get rowdy, but like, you know, appropriately rowdy, you know.
15:41
SPEAKER_01: But uh it'd be really fun.
15:42
SPEAKER_01: I could have been.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, it was a great experience and and probably one of the things.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: And you went to three of them.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: I went to three of them.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: What was it like Beijing, Rio, and London?
15:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:51
SPEAKER_00: What was Beijing was just um just you know, it's kind of a China's uh an interesting place to be.
15:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, so far away, so you never kind of you know, getting on the right time time zone everything.
16:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the acclimation was really difficult.
16:06
SPEAKER_00: The the the conditions were tough with the with the um air pollution, even though they kind of um uh didn't have cars in there, but it was it was hard to breathe.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: Interesting.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: Um and it it just kind of whirlwind the thing about it is that when we go, we play singles, a men's doubles, and mixed doubles.
16:26
SPEAKER_00: So my days are really from morning until night.
16:30
SPEAKER_00: But I have to say one of the best experiences I had, um, you know, certainly what was in London with the Bryan brothers uh winning gold, which was the only um kind of thing left on their mantle to to to win, and that was really, you know, that was that was it for them.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
16:48
SPEAKER_00: Um and and kind of interesting to be down a break point first round that they probably don't win the gold, and they win that and win the entire thing.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: And then the other thing is I was with uh with Jack Sock um and Steve Johnson, and they played one of the most incredible matches to win bronze.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, and for Steve to get the bronze, and Jack won bronze and actually won gold uh in mixed doubles was was really neat.
17:14
SPEAKER_01: That's really cool.
17:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome.
17:17
SPEAKER_01: Be a really cool experience.
17:18
SPEAKER_01: But I could see that you'll be packed, like you'd be your days are packed, packed boom like you're knocking out things all day and then in, out, and you're back in the United States for season stuff with people.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: That's uh that's really cool.
17:30
SPEAKER_01: Um, what was your growing up, what was your training like?
17:33
SPEAKER_00: My training, yeah, it was a little old school the way the way we did.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: I I played a ton of tennis, so um it wasn't as regimented as as things are now where we had a little bit more autonomy to kind of kind of experience things on our own.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: So it wasn't today, today the young players are so structured with an academy, or we do this from this time and that from that time, and um and always instruction.
17:56
SPEAKER_00: We we were a little bit um it was a little bit more flexible.
18:00
SPEAKER_00: We were dropped off at the courts.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: Uh if we want to get better, we practiced and we practiced real hard.
18:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: And uh, force fed you.
18:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was not force fed, which I think um, at least in this country, I think it's a little bit too much in all different sports.
18:13
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand.
18:13
SPEAKER_00: So I I think um an early specialization, you know.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, man, I yeah, I think a little bit more independence for the kids.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I I mean, interesting, my son growing up playing golf, I mean, he definitely had his instruction, but but he it was really up to him how good he wanted to get.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think that was a little bit kind of the way I grew up as well, where you you you're at the courts, are you gonna make the best use of your time or not?
18:37
SPEAKER_00: And not having somebody overlook looking looking at you all the time allowed you to experiment as well.
18:43
SPEAKER_00: So, you know, if you have a coach on top of you, you might not try that stupid shot because the coach is right there.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: So my my tennis, you know, it was I played a lot and it and and I I worked hard.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I loved it.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, the physical training has just developed so much more from what it was.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I mean, for for me, it was go run three miles, do some sprints.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, I didn't even lift weights.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, there there wasn't much there wasn't much thought into it.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: Interesting is that um when I did play pros, I actually started working with a gentleman by the name of Bill Ferran.
19:19
SPEAKER_00: Bill Faran uh was actually the Ferran's, he and his son are the only strength and conditioning trainers that have worked with the Miami Heat in their existence.
19:30
SPEAKER_00: So Bill Ferran was the first trainer at the University of Miami and uh worked throughout his entire career.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: And then his son, who was an athlete at the University of Florida, took over and he's been doing the since then.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, which is pretty neat.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: So he definitely brought in some new things, um, you know, um resistant bands and things that I had never never even heard of before.
19:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
19:52
SPEAKER_01: I know it's like, I mean, like even with I remember growing up, like, I mean, I'm only 30, I'll be 37 to get it a month.
19:59
SPEAKER_01: But um, like the baseball culture, you know, um, and basketball as well, like they were like, oh, don't lift weights.
20:05
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna get stiff.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: Right.
20:06
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna lose your mobility, you're gonna mess up your arm for throwing, you know.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: Football, of course, was like, you gotta, you have to lift, you know.
20:12
SPEAKER_01: But it was kind of like frowned upon, you know, um, where now there's so much information and research about the bet the better the better the the the helpfulness that it can provide, you know, as long as you're just doing the right things and the right mobility.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: It's it's changed a lot.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I was just uh reading an article this morning about Mar uh Marin Chilich, who's 37 years old, I think, or 38, you know, years old.
20:36
SPEAKER_00: He's in the third round of the um of the Australian Open right now, and and he's kind of inspired by 40-year-olds now that are continuing to play tennis, like Warenka, and and it's longevity.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the longevity is just uh the information they have, um traveling with physical therapists, which is pretty common these days, nutrition, hydration, sleep, you know, vitamins, the whole the whole package is really kind of allowing players to play longer and play healthier, and you and you're seeing it, you know, you're seeing it big time.
21:08
SPEAKER_01: Looking back, do you would you've been like with as a teenager or like an adolescent to training and developing, would you have been like all about it, do you think?
21:16
SPEAKER_00: If someone's like, hey, I think we should intervene, we should add resistance to strength to I I think I think I I think I would have, and and just kind of a more holistic uh approach to it.
21:25
SPEAKER_00: I mean, um, uh yeah, it just wasn't done when I played.
21:30
SPEAKER_00: It just wasn't done.
21:31
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think if I was looking at my career and um in some of the changes that I would make, um, which which aren't many.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I had a you know, I'm the the nice thing about my career is I can go to bed when put my head down and realize I, you know, I gave it everything I had to be as good as I could become.
21:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: But I probably would have put a lot more focus in um in kind of um prehab, rehab, PT work.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, and really keeping my body healthier and and probably less probably would have been I would have been better off and would have probably maybe made a finals of a grand slam if I would have traveled with a strength and conditioning coach.
22:13
SPEAKER_00: I didn't really need a coach.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: I actually needed more of that side of it because I had to think on my own from when I was young, but I didn't understand that other aspect of it.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: I know it, I know it is commonplace now for strength conditioning and like a physio to travel with players to major tournaments and stuff.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: They are, yeah.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're traveling, you know, a full team is um, you know, sometimes you have a somebody on top kind of organizing like a team leader.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, and you see this in golf as well, kind of a developmental leader that might know a little bit about everything that puts everything together.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean, you have strength and conditioning coaches, you certainly have a PT, might have a nutritionist, you might have a mental coach traveling with you.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: I think that tennis coach, you have I mean it it's it's so mental health, uh sports psychologist, sports physio, yeah, maybe a nutritionist, uh hydration specialist.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: I know like Murray had a hydration specialist.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, I've been on the I've been on the court when Djokovic was handled the wrong bottle of water, you know, at the wrong time in practice that he needed his other one, not this one, and he was not happy about it.
23:23
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I mean, it look, it's um they're taking it to pretty high standards right now.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, sleep, you know, it kind of goes on and on and on.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
23:33
SPEAKER_01: Um, that was the nice thing I was gonna ask was like, um, what do you think separates somebody from being like a number seven in the world versus somebody who can't crack the top hundred?
23:43
SPEAKER_01: Look, because at that, my from my opinion, I feel like the talent is very, very similar.
23:49
SPEAKER_01: Similar.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: What is it that separates the tip of the spear from usually the mind?
23:53
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you're doing everything right, um, which guys are getting closer to it, um it's usually the mind.
24:00
SPEAKER_00: It is how you go about things.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you can we can all do things, um, but but we've got to be fully engaged in it.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: We've got to be fully held accountable, we've got to hold ourselves totally accountable.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: I've always felt the difference in levels is the mind, you know, and and you're right.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: The level, you know, the the kind of abilities and and um and what players can do um is is somewhat similar.
24:26
SPEAKER_00: It's somewhat similar.
24:27
SPEAKER_00: There might be some physical attributes, you know, that are different, but they're all really good players and they're all capable of playing at an incredibly high level.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, the difference maker is that is that the best players can do it, um, play their best tennis at the most important moments, and the other ones uh just aren't able to on a consistent basis.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: Why?
24:50
SPEAKER_00: Um could be a lot of reasons.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it could usually it's it's uh it's they want to win too much.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: They they don't have um So they're trying too hard.
24:59
SPEAKER_00: They're trying too hard, they don't have things in perspective.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I mean if you listen to what the best players in the world focus on, it's usually um process-oriented stuff and uh you know routine-based things.
25:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, routine-based, or you know, they they give a lot of credit to who they're playing against and and they focus less on the results and more on on the things that they can control.
25:23
SPEAKER_00: Very simple things to say.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: It's really easy to sit in here and say that.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, certainly very, very harder to do because everything in life is uh merit-based in sports.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: You know, you have to win or else you don't get to the next level, you don't make as much money, you don't get contracts.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: So it is kind of a paradigm where um, in order to do those things, you can't worry about them, but they are so important.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
25:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, and it's just kind of relaxing, putting your attention to and your focus on getting better, uh, putting your focus on improvement and practice, um, and then letting things be as they are when it comes down to match time.
26:05
SPEAKER_00: And I think my opinion from what I've said in all my years of playing and and watching tennis, which is which is a lot, uh, the people that can do that best are the best players.
26:17
SPEAKER_01: I've I've heard that a lot with like focus on the things you can control and stick to the same like pre-shot routine, sure, pre-surf routine, focusing anchor.
26:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then that just sets you in the right direction.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: And you can't control the outcome anyway.
26:32
SPEAKER_01: You know, like if the wind blows and it blows out of bound by an inch, you can't really control that.
26:35
SPEAKER_01: So you're gonna focus, you can't focus on that, and it's not gonna be helpful.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of interesting, is that um, you know, I think I've always actually understood this personally and and also been able to convey it, you know, quite well to to players.
26:50
SPEAKER_00: Um one of my experiences at the Olympics kind of really magnified this for me is I was with James Blake.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, James Blake was actually uh he was the only one left.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: We're we're in the in the um in the village together.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: Um his dad was sick.
27:08
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I think he was dying of cancer um as he went to the Olympics.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: So it was a really a dream for him to to win an Olympic medal.
27:17
SPEAKER_00: Um playing unbelievable tennis, had an incredibly difficult draw, beat some incredible players in the quarterfinals.
27:23
SPEAKER_00: He beats Federer, pretty darn good player.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
27:26
SPEAKER_00: Um in the semifinals to earn wins this match, he gets a medal.
27:30
SPEAKER_00: He's playing Fernando Gonzalez, uh, is a player that he should beat.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: And he has three match points to win a medal.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: Three points.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: Loses them, does not win the match, has to play Djokovic now for third and fourth, loses in three sets.
27:47
SPEAKER_00: I think in Gonzalez, he lost eight, six in a third or nine, seven.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: And we're back in the hotel room and and uh I mean I I was really in tears.
27:56
SPEAKER_00: I mean, for him, and started just thinking that it can't only be about the winning.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: It just can't, or else it'd be just too painful and not worth it.
28:05
SPEAKER_00: So I think I think understanding having perspective on life, um, having you know having putting importance on the right things really separates in it, and it's it's really difficult to do.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: A couple questions on that.
28:20
SPEAKER_01: Like what how how did he how was he afterwards?
28:24
SPEAKER_00: You know, look, he he has I think look, he he he's such an incredible person.
28:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he's he's incredibly intelligent.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, he has a great family, great base of friends and coaches that he handled it fine.
28:37
SPEAKER_00: It was a disappointment, but uh, I think in his life, you know, he he kind of could put it in perspective.
28:42
SPEAKER_01: I would imagine you were one of the main key persons for him, pe people in that in those moments.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: Like what do you say?
28:51
SPEAKER_00: There's not much to say.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I just think yeah, I think that's that's when you don't really talk.
28:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's just uh, you know, it's it's it it it's over, it happened, and and um it's kind of interesting is that you know, you're trying to I remember some conversations at the at the Olympics.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: Kind of interesting is that even though I spent you know so little time, you it's three three events, I do have some interesting experiences at the Olympics.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: Is that is that you know um it it's it's gotta be about more and we but we can talk about it, and you can talk about you know it's an Olympic experience just to be at the Olympics, but but for these guys, you know, and when you get so close, they would they want to win a medal.
29:37
SPEAKER_01: So for sure.
29:38
SPEAKER_01: That's tough.
29:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, man, it's it's really tough.
29:41
SPEAKER_01: Um after that he came back and continued season.
29:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I don't I actually do think it affected his season.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'd have to look back a little bit.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: I don't I didn't coach him one-on-one.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: I just happened to be his coach at the Olympics.
29:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I th I think it did affect, you know, he it definitely had some uh some lasting fatigue from that experience.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: And I think it hurt.
30:02
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think I think I would imagine it did.
30:04
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, yeah.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: But but he's he's he's doing really well anyway.
30:08
SPEAKER_01: So there was a uh like a mental health, like a performance coach that I was talking with, and they were like, of course, the best thing to do is not let a previous bad play affect your next play.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: Right.
30:21
SPEAKER_01: I'm sure you had plenty of coaching opportunities on that.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, and she the the suggestion this person was giving was like um the the highest level athletes that perform consistently, especially in high clutch situations, are able to like refocus back in what they need to focus.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: It's the time lapse between ruminating over something and then getting back to what you need to focus on.
30:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that I mean I think that's Djokovic talks a lot about that and and how she meant this person mentioned Djokovic.
30:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I think he has a I've seen an Instagram post of him talking like that.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: That, you know, it's not that he doesn't get upset or get nervous, it's just that that those moments um are very short for him or not as long as others, but uh which that's a hard thing to do.
31:02
SPEAKER_01: That's something I struggled with.
31:03
SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah.
31:04
SPEAKER_00: I think I you know, I think I think pro athletes train a lot at that and they they have to be.
31:08
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, and uh it it's kind of interesting is that as bad as things are, they can get worse in on a on a tennis court or on a golf course.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: I mean, yeah, just you know, so totally true.
31:19
SPEAKER_00: So obviously letting it go, but uh, but I I I really think a lot of it is just is uh having a great perspective about life in general.
31:26
SPEAKER_00: You I think the best athletes uh certainly do, and they have you know, um, they find an anchor in something else in their life besides the sport.
31:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
31:34
SPEAKER_00: Um has Daniel worked a lot on that with like like on the mental side with golf?
31:39
SPEAKER_00: Um I you know, I think in general, Daniel has a really good um good uh understanding from I c I call it um relationship to competing, is that we're you know, I think uh he benefited from having myself who understood and had dealt with so many kids and and really understood it.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: And then my wife is very carefree and doesn't even could not care at all how he does, doesn't understand it, you know, would be when he was a junior uh golfer, he'd be in a playoff and she's walking on the plank of a bridge, you know, just reading a book.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: So just you know, it wasn't it it from a young age, it was all his.
32:21
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't anybody else's.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think that really, really helped him excel and kind of kind of um I think he's known as a really, really quality competitor.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, of course.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: I mean um, you know, I mean he's he's he's done well, but I think it's I call it, I mean, one of the pillars that I have when you're trying to develop a player is having a great relationship to competing.
32:42
SPEAKER_00: And I would say he has a great relationship to competing.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: Um well, what does that mean?
32:47
SPEAKER_00: Like what do you mean by that?
32:48
SPEAKER_00: To me, uh it means um that that uh you have things in perspective, that you put your emphasis on the practices, that um uh it's not the end all be all of who you are as a person.
33:01
SPEAKER_00: You can let it go afterwards, and and you can kind of um you can kind of just focus on on uh on just getting what the getting what that getting the values out of that match or out of that event.
33:16
SPEAKER_00: You know, what did I learn from it?
33:18
SPEAKER_00: Here are the positives that I learned, here are the negatives, here are some things I need to change and learning from it and and kind of think of it a little bit more um kind of scientific instead of kind of being so emotional about it.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: More logical versus yeah, just logic, logic.
33:34
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think about this a lot, um, and it's it's um it's it's probably one of the things I'm most passionate about when it comes to sports is how the mind works and and and how we can, you know, truly um how you can excel.
33:48
SPEAKER_00: And I don't have the answers.
33:50
SPEAKER_00: I wish I did, uh, because I think if you if you but but certainly I think I'm pretty good at kind of guiding people.
33:57
SPEAKER_00: Um and it's really authentic.
33:59
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I just I I do think it's about the process.
34:03
SPEAKER_00: I authentically think it is.
34:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I think if you're a good player and you can focus really on the process uh components of it, I mean it's you're you're gonna you're gonna reach your your potential, which is really all it's about.
34:16
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I th I totally agree with you on all that.
34:18
SPEAKER_01: Um where it's like you can't just focus on the W, you know, like running a practice, you know, developing that over the last several years, um, focusing on like what can you control and the process involved.
34:30
SPEAKER_01: I've always been a destination guy, you know, because I played you know sports in college and stuff.
34:34
SPEAKER_01: So I was always this destination and the journey leading up to it.
34:38
SPEAKER_01: Um I've definitely tried to dive more and and and try like really um yeah, dive into that more because that leads to the outcome you're looking for without trying.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: It's just a byproduct of the process.
34:52
SPEAKER_01: But anyway, I totally agree with all that stuff.
34:54
SPEAKER_01: Um what would you give if what advice would you give to young athletes right now that are like 10, 11, 12, they're really getting after it?
35:00
SPEAKER_01: Football to excel.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: Number one, uh focus on fundamentals.
35:05
SPEAKER_00: I mean, sports are about fundamentals.
35:08
SPEAKER_00: Um focus on having a great work ethic.
35:12
SPEAKER_00: I think that's that kind of goes through and through.
35:15
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you know, you've gotta you've gotta work at this.
35:18
SPEAKER_00: There's nobody talent's not gonna not gonna not gonna get you where you want to get to.
35:23
SPEAKER_00: Um be process oriented, um, have a passion and and find a way to have a great relationship to competing.
35:33
SPEAKER_00: Those are the things that I think are the most important aspects in uh in in developing a young young person.
35:39
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's really comes comes from not only the the player, but also really from the parents.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: They're gonna set the agenda.
35:46
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's really for them.
35:48
SPEAKER_01: What are you gonna say to the parents?
35:49
SPEAKER_01: Because that there's a couple different types of parents, right?
35:51
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but what kind of experience is the way I it's pretty funny.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: The way I I kind of approach it as I say, look, there are two ways we can develop your kid.
35:59
SPEAKER_00: One way is, you know what, um, it's gonna be it's gonna be result-oriented.
36:04
SPEAKER_00: When they lose, we're gonna we're gonna we might have to yell at them, scream at them, you know.
36:09
SPEAKER_00: We might have to put hands on them.
36:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, now that's one way and then they can develop, you know, it's gonna be brutal.
36:16
SPEAKER_00: They're gonna be totally dysfunctional at the end of it, but you might create a player.
36:20
SPEAKER_00: No, that's not the way I'm obviously willing to do that.
36:23
SPEAKER_00: So you're at the wrong place if you're willing to do that.
36:25
SPEAKER_00: The other way is that we can focus on the process.
36:28
SPEAKER_00: We can teach what is important, the values of competing and the values of what sports bring to a to a family and to a player.
36:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we can focus on work ethic, we can focus on passion, we can focus on the process behind things.
36:44
SPEAKER_00: And we can also develop a player, we might not, but we're gonna develop a well-functioning human being, which is the most important part of this.
36:51
SPEAKER_01: Right, totally.
36:52
SPEAKER_01: I uh no, I love that.
36:53
SPEAKER_01: Because otherwise, like it's just you're trying to force a square pig and a round hole to force and groom a young person to be something that they might not just be that because they're not they're not into it.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's just it's again, it it's and it's funny when I've when I and I I've used those exact lines with parents.
37:13
SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously, I'm exaggerating.
37:15
SPEAKER_00: I'm not I'm exaggerating when I tell them how you know how bad it's gonna be, but I do see obviously we know pe we know parents that take that route of being brutal to their kids, and and I I just um totally do not believe in that.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: It scars them.
37:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, unfortunately, even doing it once or twice can scar them.
37:34
SPEAKER_00: Um can really that looks like a kid that you know a parent in it.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: It's not sometimes a lot of times it's not that the parents don't even know better.
37:43
SPEAKER_00: Um it could be it could be it could be my kid winning and I treat him differently than when they lose.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: It could be it could be my kid wins and I take him out to the greatest dinner and I tell everybody how great that my kid won, you know, instead of focusing on, you know, when people used to ask me about Daniel, I heard he's a great golfer.
38:04
SPEAKER_00: Look, I don't know if he's a great golfer.
38:05
SPEAKER_00: I know he's a great kid, I know he's got an unbelievable work ethic.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: I've never seen a kid work like this in my life.
38:11
SPEAKER_00: And I made sure that he knew that those were the things that were important to me, um, which they were.
38:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
38:17
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't, you know, and now do we like to see our kids win?
38:20
SPEAKER_00: Of course we do.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: So it's a little bit of an act, yeah, um, but a small act.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: It's gotta be authentic.
38:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, but but it can go both ways.
38:29
SPEAKER_00: First of all, you can you can abuse your kid or being not very nice to him when they lose.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, that has a obviously a horrible effect on them.
38:36
SPEAKER_00: On the other hand, we can treat them incredibly.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh you can put value on winning as well, and you and it equals the same result.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, my kid won, I buy him a phone.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: My kid, I so I've seen it all.
38:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, you know, and and and I have to say most of the time it's just parents not knowing better.
38:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean, unfortunately, I was an athlete, so yeah, and I and I was a coach and I experienced so much, so my kids probably had an advantage.
39:04
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I don't think it's parents doing it for the wrong reasons.
39:07
SPEAKER_00: It's just really important that they understand both of them.
39:11
SPEAKER_00: And I we were very when Danny would do well at a golf tournament, um, I was very, it was very important for us authentically and and intentionally to treat him the same.
39:23
SPEAKER_00: If it was his turn to do the dishes, he did the dishes.
39:26
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love that.
39:27
SPEAKER_00: And um, and it was intentional, and and I was even maybe a little harsher about those things.
39:32
SPEAKER_00: So I didn't want to make any connection through success and how he was treated in our family.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and now that's not easy as you get good, because it's natural to kind of for people around to kind of make sure, you know, the focus becomes on him.
39:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, but but we we were intentional to to make sure we we valued and and uh celebrated all our kids' successes.
39:53
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's awesome.
39:54
SPEAKER_01: I mean, when my kids start my my son's playing T ball for the first time, like the the second week is tomorrow morning.
40:00
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
40:01
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it's awesome.
40:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but I'm just like, man, I hope I can do that.
40:04
SPEAKER_01: You know, the awareness to to be mindful of that stuff be intentional when they start competing.
40:09
SPEAKER_00: I had intentional conversations around, you know, especially in sports around Dan who was a high level.
40:14
SPEAKER_00: I mean, now it also it also has to be authentic.
40:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can't in your back your mind go, 25 home runs, all right.
40:22
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's gotta be intentional.
40:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
40:24
SPEAKER_01: Or it's gotta be authentic.
40:25
SPEAKER_01: Authentic, yeah, yeah.
40:27
SPEAKER_01: Totally.
40:28
SPEAKER_01: Um, you're a busy guy, right?
40:30
SPEAKER_01: Like you you're still really busy right now.
40:33
SPEAKER_01: How do you prioritize and maintain your own health?
40:36
SPEAKER_01: Nutrition, food, well, mobility.
40:38
SPEAKER_00: Well, I could do a better job as I'm I'm getting inspired as I'm looking at you.
40:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, no, it is important to me.
40:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, and for me, it's actually hiring a strength and conditioning coach.
40:48
SPEAKER_00: So that's made the biggest difference.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: Um now probably I need to find a time period.
40:54
SPEAKER_00: So I'm my my time to work out with her is at the end of the day.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, it probably needs to be kind of more at the beginning because I'm starting to find myself, first of all, you know, at uh it's one of our one of our staff at Ibis, and she's gotten so busy now.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: Um and I gotta be honest, I'm not totally internally motivated.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: I do need that help of having somebody there and setting it up for me.
41:18
SPEAKER_00: And and it was really um That's what they're there for.
41:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
41:21
SPEAKER_00: Not only the strength and conditioning component of it.
41:23
SPEAKER_00: So at our club, I recommend I tell people, you know, that they want to become better tennis players or or want to become better golfers, uh, is I tell them to take the time and hire somebody if you can afford it.
41:37
SPEAKER_00: I don't, you know, if you can afford it, hire somebody and use our strength and conditioning coaches because um, you know, it's gonna, it's gonna motivate you.
41:46
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna get in there more often.
41:47
SPEAKER_00: And the thing I like about it as well is that it's a period of time when I'm in the gym for that one hour and however long, where I don't think.
41:56
SPEAKER_00: I don't even want to think about how what I should be doing, what weights I should be doing, what you know.
42:01
SPEAKER_00: So I I I'm a big proponent of hiring, hiring a strength and conditioning, especially if you're not like me.
42:07
SPEAKER_00: I'm not I've I've trained a lot, I'm not overly motivated to do it.
42:11
SPEAKER_01: So also imagine at the end of the day, because you're still how many how long is your day like now coaching and instructing?
42:16
SPEAKER_01: I work all day.
42:17
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I'm I still I'm on the it's not necessarily instructing, but I'm at I'm at our our facility, which I love to be at.
42:26
SPEAKER_00: I love the club at Ibis.
42:27
SPEAKER_00: I'm there from from morning till night, almost every day in season.
42:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
42:33
SPEAKER_00: We're we're very busy.
42:34
SPEAKER_01: That's that's that's a hard recipe to then be like, now let's physically exert ourselves.
42:39
SPEAKER_00: That's that's where I'm struggling with a little bit.
42:41
SPEAKER_00: So and that's been over the last year and a half, and and then I, you know, I also work with Riley Opelka still.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: So um that takes a lot of my time.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: And and uh Is he still training at Ibis with like at Ibis or somewhere else?
42:53
SPEAKER_00: He does.
42:53
SPEAKER_00: No, he trains trains at the club at Ibis.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, we have we have a pretty neat neat program there where we have um you know, we have some some great older players, we have some great younger players, we have we have a tremendous, tremendous coaching staff right now that I'm really proud of.
43:08
SPEAKER_01: Um any other guys like on Riley's level that are competing professionally that you train with?
43:13
SPEAKER_00: I no.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: So I I you know and and I'm busy enough with what I do that it's Riley now.
43:18
SPEAKER_00: I do, you know, help mentor some of the some of the um players are at Ibis through our coaches.
43:24
SPEAKER_00: We have uh um, you know, a couple juniors that are that I think could be pretty good and and that I spend time with.
43:32
SPEAKER_00: Um uh we right now have uh one of the top players in the world that is is training there with another coach.
43:38
SPEAKER_00: So I I don't have any more time.
43:40
SPEAKER_00: I mean, between between my family, I'm a grandfather of two grandkids.
43:45
SPEAKER_00: Um uh I've got enough to I I I don't I do not have enough time to to work with anybody.
43:50
SPEAKER_01: You'd rather focus on your your workout than that.
43:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
43:53
SPEAKER_01: I need to.
43:53
SPEAKER_01: I need to.
43:54
SPEAKER_01: I uh I'm not really a morning workout person, personally.
43:58
SPEAKER_01: Like first thing in the morning, wake up.
44:00
SPEAKER_01: Do a workout.
44:01
SPEAKER_01: That's usually my main creative time where I'm I'm brainstorming and thinking of ideas, visionary stuff.
44:07
SPEAKER_01: And then I'll work with some patients.
44:08
SPEAKER_01: And then usually right before lunch, I'm like, that's the time I'll work.
44:10
SPEAKER_01: That's when the time.
44:11
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
44:11
SPEAKER_01: So all right, that's good advice.
44:13
SPEAKER_01: Um maybe I'll try that after.
44:15
SPEAKER_01: I just figured it out.
44:15
SPEAKER_01: I was like, you know what?
44:16
SPEAKER_01: Like on my commute to work, I have I usually listen to some kind of entrepreneurial podcast, leadership podcast of some sort.
44:22
SPEAKER_01: So do I.
44:23
SPEAKER_01: And that's on like bouncing ideas.
44:24
SPEAKER_01: You ever listened to the founders?
44:26
SPEAKER_01: I have.
44:27
SPEAKER_01: I've been listening to uh well, some of your favorite ones, and I'll definitely check it out.
44:30
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
44:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
44:32
SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm always open to great ideas.
44:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but anyway, that usually stimulates in my head like what I, you know, thinking I did missionary stuff.
44:38
SPEAKER_01: So I jot stuff down and then I want to immediately start working on stuff.
44:41
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's my just my creative time, I guess.
44:43
SPEAKER_01: And then uh then I'm moving, I'll work with some patients, right?
44:46
SPEAKER_01: And then I'm like physically getting my body moving around, and then like before lunch, I have to work out because if I don't after lunch, I get like the post-lunch fatigue, and I'm like, now I gotta go home.
44:55
SPEAKER_01: I got this stuff to work on.
44:56
SPEAKER_00: Then it's 4 30, and I'm like doing exactly that, but I'm not working out during lunch.
45:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that I'm gonna try that.
45:02
SPEAKER_01: It's a good idea.
45:03
SPEAKER_01: I just have a little snack, but like because the other thing is like I get hungry and I'm like, man, I can't work out hungry.
45:07
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna get lightheaded and I get you know, I just can't get a workout in.
45:11
SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, I'll have a little snack and then just freaking put your shoes on.
45:14
SPEAKER_01: Stop.
45:14
SPEAKER_01: Just put your don't even sit down, just work out, have your snack in your last 30 minutes of your last patient.
45:20
SPEAKER_01: Okay, and then just work out, and then you'll take an hour and then you're done.
45:25
SPEAKER_01: All right, I'm gonna try that.
45:26
SPEAKER_01: I like it.
45:27
SPEAKER_01: I highly recommend it.
45:28
SPEAKER_01: I like that.
45:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and then you know, afternoon, I'm like, I'm chilling.
45:31
SPEAKER_01: I'm just working on administrative stuff.
45:32
SPEAKER_01: I have emails to bang out, and then I can leave to go home early to be home by 4 30 with my kids.
45:37
SPEAKER_01: That's great.
45:38
SPEAKER_01: And uh then I'm I don't have to work out when I get home.
45:40
SPEAKER_01: You know, there's no chance that's happening.
45:42
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna try it.
45:43
SPEAKER_01: It's an absolute zoo at my house when I get home, you know.
45:45
SPEAKER_01: Can't imagine, but it's fun.
45:47
SPEAKER_01: Um, but that's it, but yeah.
45:50
SPEAKER_01: The uh so you're you're still super busy.
45:52
SPEAKER_01: I am, and you've been at Ibis for how many years you see?
45:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm starting my ninth year right now.
45:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.
45:56
SPEAKER_00: So I changed.
45:57
SPEAKER_00: I started um as a director of um of uh uh um education, um uh of technique and and stuff like that.
46:09
SPEAKER_00: Um director of coaching for our for our staff, working with members um and then kind of moved on our our our director of sports left.
46:19
SPEAKER_00: Chuck Gilly went to actually the club at Wellington, great director of tennis and director of sports.
46:25
SPEAKER_00: And so I I have a I'm in charge of tennis, fitness, pickleball, and bocce.
46:31
SPEAKER_00: So any sport other than any sport other than golf uh comes into my You're the guy.
46:37
SPEAKER_00: I'm the guy.
46:37
SPEAKER_00: So it's been fun.
46:38
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we have we have some really neat programs.
46:40
SPEAKER_00: Um we have the number one uh pickleball player in the world that trains out of Ibis, um, which is pretty fun.
46:48
SPEAKER_00: Pickleball's blowing up.
46:49
SPEAKER_00: It is blowing up.
46:50
SPEAKER_00: We're actually gonna bring Padello now to to Ibis as well.
46:54
SPEAKER_00: That's fun.
46:55
SPEAKER_00: I played that uh twice.
46:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um fun.
46:58
SPEAKER_00: Played once.
46:58
SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of fun, but but yeah, pickleball's huge.
47:00
SPEAKER_00: And uh it's it's really neat to to see um to see this guy train and he spends a lot of I spent a little bit of time with him because singles is very similar to tennis and pickleball.
47:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, of course.
47:12
SPEAKER_00: Um boxing, we actually have a guy by the name of Alberto Palmetta, okay, who is uh he was um captain of the Argentine Olympic team.
47:20
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
47:21
SPEAKER_00: And he's our boxing instructor at Ibis.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
47:23
SPEAKER_00: So we we have some neat things there, yeah.
47:25
SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of fun.
47:26
SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
47:26
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, do you ever play pickleball?
47:28
SPEAKER_00: Like have you played?
47:29
SPEAKER_00: I've played a little bit.
47:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I played.
47:31
SPEAKER_00: I mean, for tennis players, it it's a fairly easy sport for us to be proficient at.
47:35
SPEAKER_00: Easy transition.
47:36
SPEAKER_00: It's a pretty easy transition.
47:37
SPEAKER_00: I mean, you see almost every pickleball player, at least to this point, their background is tennis.
47:44
SPEAKER_00: Now, what you're gonna find is the best players that are gonna be coming out are gonna be players that have never played tennis and they're gonna be doing some really different things.
47:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
47:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, we saw a player actually yesterday, unfortunately, uh a 14-year-old kid beat the number two player in the world.
48:02
SPEAKER_00: Wow.
48:02
SPEAKER_00: So that's actually our guy, uh Federico.
48:06
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
48:06
SPEAKER_00: But a 14-year-old kid.
48:08
SPEAKER_00: Why'd you say unfortunately?
48:09
SPEAKER_00: Well, why?
48:09
SPEAKER_00: Well, unfortunately, because Federico trains at our club.
48:12
SPEAKER_00: That's our player.
48:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
48:13
SPEAKER_00: I don't want a 14-year-old kid beating him.
48:15
SPEAKER_00: But um that's I mean, iron sharpens iron, right?
48:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
48:19
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's you know what?
48:20
SPEAKER_00: I was pretty impressed.
48:22
SPEAKER_00: I was pretty impressed with his his reaction.
48:24
SPEAKER_00: I said, hang in there, and he goes, always.
48:26
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's a he's a tough kid, he works hard.
48:28
SPEAKER_00: So that's funny, man.
48:30
SPEAKER_01: But that's uh yeah, picketball is I've only played it like maybe a handful of times.
48:34
SPEAKER_01: It's fun, it's it's fun, it's a fun sport.
48:36
SPEAKER_01: I think getting used to the rule, it's just the rules differently scoring, yeah, craftiness, how to score.
48:42
SPEAKER_00: It it's it is uh, you know, I there's a lot that goes into it at the highest level.
48:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, the nice thing about it is that um kind of everybody can go there and really enjoy themselves.
48:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
48:51
SPEAKER_01: It's a little it's a low barrier entry we have activity.
48:55
SPEAKER_00: We have exactly we have um during season.
48:57
SPEAKER_00: I mean uh during the month of December, we had 4,800 people play pickleball in the month at IBIS on seven courts.
49:07
SPEAKER_00: 4,800 people.
49:08
SPEAKER_00: My God isn't unbelievable.
49:10
SPEAKER_00: That is yeah, they love it, you know, and especially people that it's a great family sport, nice to see grandparents playing with grandkids.
49:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's really nice.
49:18
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
49:18
SPEAKER_01: So are you all gonna expand the pickleball footprint?
49:21
SPEAKER_00: We are.
49:22
SPEAKER_00: We actually just passed a CIP capital improvement project, uh, where we are, I think we're going to 12 pickleball courts um with five of them being indoor um covered.
49:32
SPEAKER_00: The interesting thing about our club is that um as pickleball has grown, tennis has grown as well.
49:37
SPEAKER_00: So tennis has not um at a lot of places, tennis is really hurt from pickleball growth at ours, not at all.
49:44
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we have in that same month of December where we had 4,800 pickleball players, we had 5,800 tennis players.
49:50
SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, it's it's definitely cool.
49:54
SPEAKER_00: Tennis is a great sport, yeah.
49:56
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
49:57
SPEAKER_01: Um, well, thanks for coming in.
49:58
SPEAKER_01: Um, I know you like a busy guy, busy schedule, so picture coming in, sharing some insights.
50:03
SPEAKER_01: It's a lot of fun, yeah.
50:04
SPEAKER_01: Having hopefully a cool conversation and share.
50:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm glad we didn't talk as much about strength and conditioning of that stuff.
50:09
SPEAKER_00: I mean, this is this is more my passion, what we talked about.
50:12
SPEAKER_01: So well, that's good.
50:13
SPEAKER_01: It's what I wanted to gear towards.
50:14
SPEAKER_01: Good, good, good, good.
50:16
SPEAKER_01: Um, if anybody wants to find out more or work with you or anything like that, like if if how could they what's the best way to do it?
50:22
SPEAKER_01: Oh, not happening.
50:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, don't reach out to me.
50:24
SPEAKER_00: Don't no, we we love look anybody.
50:27
SPEAKER_00: You can I can always be reached at IBIS.
50:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, just at IBS, they'll find you at Ibis.
50:32
SPEAKER_00: They can find me at Ibis.
50:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm there every day.
50:34
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
50:34
SPEAKER_00: Come on by, and we always have some great players, and uh, it's a lot of fun.
50:38
SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
50:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, well, thanks for coming in.
50:40
SPEAKER_01: And if y'all have any questions or anything, comments, questions, concerns, conflicting opinions, don't hesitate to reach out.
50:45
SPEAKER_01: Podcast ideas, guests.
50:47
SPEAKER_01: We're always open to cool ideas.
50:48
SPEAKER_01: And if you're battling any pain, don't hesitate to reach out.
50:51
SPEAKER_01: We can at least talk on the phone about what you have going on.
50:53
SPEAKER_01: We can direct you in a certain direction or somewhere else.
50:55
SPEAKER_01: We can at least chat.
50:56
SPEAKER_01: And uh, we'll catch y'all next time.