One of the leading NCAA Division I female coaches and one of the nation’s leading teaching professionals, Shir Azran joins the podcast. Azran is just off a summer at Sippican Tennis Club in Marion, Massachusetts where she served as Assistant Director of Tennis.

Now at well-known Boston area club Weymouth, Azran is coaching the number one junior prospect in the USA, Chloe Anthony, who is currently ranked number 4 in the world in the 12 and under age group.

Azran was the leading Israeli junior when she left her native Israel for the Auburn University women’s tennis team. Completing her college career at UNLV, she knew that coaching was in her blood. She is only the second female coach, and the first since 2016, in the history of the NCAA D1 to be the head coach for both a women’s and men’s team and lead them to the conference tournament championship game. Her Wagner men’s team went on to win their conference and punched their ticket to the big dance where they lost to Texas A&M.

Azran has worked at some of the leading racquet clubs in the country, including Pretty Brook Tennis Club in Princeton, NJ, New Canaan Field Club in New Canaan, CT and the famed Sippican Tennis Club in Marion, MA.

She takes us through how she goes about understanding the differences between clubs and then the change in coaching college juniors compared to club juniors. She discusses how she adapts her work based on the strength of her director, the student, the adult or junior, and how to approach members socially and competitively.

One of the leading coaches in the country joins the BTB Podcast.

Magnus traces his unlikely journey from growing up as an aspiring ice hockey goalie in Uppsala, Sweden, to playing collegiate tennis at Ferris State University and beginning his professional career under legendary tennis director Mike Rahaley in Vero Beach. He also recalls accepting his first director’s position at just 26 years old—despite having never played platform tennis and knowing little about squash—and learning quickly that succeeding at a private club requires far more than technical expertise.

Now in his 14th year at Louisville Country Club, Magnus discusses how the club has evolved from a traditional golf club with a seasonal tennis program into a year-round racquets destination. That transformation has included the growth of platform tennis, eight dedicated pickleball courts, year-round ClayTech tennis courts, a major court renovation and an increasingly active membership.

Ben Nichols, President of Padel22.com, joins host Ed Shanaphy to investigate the American market for padel. The global sport is coming to America, but is America to insular with its own sports such as baseball and the NFL? Does competitive tennis have a stranglehold on the young racquet player? Join us and find out.