Control the Controllables

Steve Hewitt is the CEO of Gym Shark, a fitness clothing and accessory brand that is currently one of the fastest growing businesses in the UK. A few weeks ago it was valued at $1.3 billion from the humble beginnings of the founder, Ben Francis home with his Mums sewing machine.  We discuss the transferable skills from sport to business and the importance of culture in any business. Steve is also a ‘tennis parent’ and we explore this side of his life and where his business lessons have helped. A must listen. Enjoy 😊 Website: www.gymshark.com

Heather Watson has been one of Great Britain’s most successful female tennis players of the last 30 years. She won the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title in 2016, has won 4 WTA titles and has a career high of 38 in the world.  Heather moved from her home island of Guernsey aged 11 to go to Florida and we learn all about that journey of dedicating her life to tennis and whether she has been ‘successful’ in her career. Heather gives fascinating insight and shares her story so well. Enjoy

Valorie Kondos Field was Head Gymnastics Coach at UCLA for 29 years. She led them to 7 National Championships and her background wasn’t even in gymnastics. She dramatically changed her philosophies throughout her coaching career. Find out why in this episode. Valorie has since gone on to deliver TED Talks with her philosophy of ‘Winning doesn’t always equal success’. Her inspiration has come from meetings with the late Kobe Bryant, her mentor John Wooden and listening to her team, some of whom were survivors of the USA Gymnastics sexual abuse scandal. You will learn and take so much from this podcast, we promise 😊. Enjoy.  Click here sign up to the summit to hear Valorie, Dan and many more in action September 24-26, 2020  Website: www.officialmissval.com Valorie´s Tedtalk: Why winning doesn´t always equal success Twitter: @OfficalMissVal

Emilio Sanchez comes from the famous Sanchez family who have been so influential on Spanish Tennis. A former World number 1 doubles player and number 7 singles player at the same time, he won 5 Grand slam doubles titles and the men´s doubles silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Games. Emilio is the brother of Arantcha Sanchez Vicario and later in his career, her coach.  After retiring, Emilio captained Spain to Davis Cup victory in 2008. He also joined forces with Sergio Casal to set up the Sanchez- Casal Academy in Barcelona. They now have 4 academies in Spain, USA and China. A great conversation. Enjoy! Emilio is one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming Between the White Lines Summit. The 2 day event will take place on September 24-26th 2020, giving coaches an opportunity to connect with and learn from tennis-preneurs and like-minded people in the tennis world. Book your place on the summit to listen to Emilio and 44 other big names in tennis and sport. Twitter: @emiliosvicario LinkedIn: tennis-worldwide-leadership-sanchez-casal-academy

We speak to Anthony Harris who is top 100 ATP Player Lloyd Harris’s coach.  Anthony also coached Dudi Sela in his formative years aged 11-19. We discuss his Academy and philosophy in South Africa and the journey to creating an African Champion.  Halfway through the pod Lloyd Harris joins us for 15 mins to offer his amazing insight, enjoy this episode!

Sam Jalloh was brought up in Sierra Leone in what was a difficult upbringing personally, but also during the civil war which added many complications which included living on the streets, seeing his best friend get shot and killed and being taken from his family aged 5. So how did this young boy who didn’t own shoes until he was 14-years-old manage to get to the point of playing on the ITF circuit, hitting with Andrey Rublev and many more? It is a fascinating, inspirational story we all have to listen and learn from. Sam is now a motivational speaker and tennis coach and you will see why when you listen to him. Enjoy! Connect with Sam Jollah Website: spjalloh.com Twitter: @samuelpjalloh Book: How Tennis Saved my Life Let us know what you think of this episode! Email us at ctc.podcast@sototennis.com You can also find us on Instagram @ctc.podcast

Magnus Tideman is a former top 80 ATP Player who came from an amazing crop of Swedish Players, where his practice partners included Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander and many more.  He turned his hand to coaching 29 years ago and has spent most of that at the top end of the ATP Tour, including coaching Thomas Johansson to the 2002 Australian Open Title.  Magnus shares opinions, insights and stories. A brilliant listen!

Mark has had tennis running through his life for 60 years. He was in the military, and has worked closely with David Lloyd and Jimmy Connors on previous projects. He´s currently taking on his biggest challenge yet, as he is looking to bring the private sector of tennis together postcode by postcode.  We discuss his reasons and drive behind this, and the similarities with the PTPA movement with Novak Djokovic and where this is going in the future. A great passionate listen. Mark is running the Between the White Lines Summit on September 24-26th 2020.  45 world-class tennis-preneurs from around the world will be sharing their experiences, cutting-edge strategies, and knowledge over the 2 days, including Control the Controllables host and SotoTennis Academy Director Dan Kiernan.  Not one to be missed! Book your place here. LinkedIn: markjjeffery 

Kieron Vorster has been a strength and conditioning coach on the ATP Tour for 25 years. He started his career with Wayne Ferreira before spending many years with Tim Henman.  Kieron is currently working with British number 1 Dan Evans. We talk through nature vs nature, hard work vs sport science. How Dan has prepared for the US Open and much more. Twitter: @vossy1973

Cameron Norrie has an illustrious College career at Texas Christian University before seamlessly moving into the top 100 ATP. Since recording, he has reached a career high of 12, and is the current British number 1. In this episode, Cameron speaks to us from the US Open bubble where we discuss positive COVID tests and PTPA movements with Novak Djokovic spearheading a new player association. Read the full shownotes here. Links & Resources Control the Controllables: Instagram|Website|Email Cameron Norrie on Instagram SotoTennis Academy website Check out Tennis Smart for advice and support for US College options Texas Christian University