Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio - 9/4/21 Mark Merklein, Grip MD

Rick is joined by former ATP pro and inventor of the Grip MD, Mark Merklein this week!

Have a listen:

Grip MD is a revolutionary new unique training device developed by two former collegiate tennis stars with the goal to aid players of all levels how to perfect the proper volley, serve, and slice grip.

Grip MD is the creation of former ATP World Tour doubles No. 38 and NCAA Champion Mark Merklein and former Notre Dame No. 1 Matt Daly. The device simply slips on to the handle of the racket, allowing the player to feel the perfect Continental grip.  The Continental grip is used for the slice, serve and volleys in tennis and is vital to a player’s development.

“Having worked with players of all levels from beginners to pros, I have found that teaching the correct grip is the most important part of any player’s technical development,” said Daly, Co-Founder of GripMD. “It is also extremely hard to teach and commonly misunderstood. This device greatly simplifies the process, allowing players to find the perfect grip in a short period of time.”

Merklein appears in several information YouTube videos demonstrating how to master the slice, volley and second serve using Grip MD.

“Learning the Continental grip is an important piece in player development,” said Merklein, who won the NCAA singles title in 1994 and the doubles crown in 1993 playing for the University of Florida. “With the proper foundation you will have the opportunity to be the best player you can be! Don’t let your grips limit your level!”

Several high-level professionals have come out and endorsed Grip MD.

“Having the correct grips for your strokes is one of the starting blocks for a successful career in tennis,” said James Blake, the former ATP World Tour No. 4 in singles. “Whatever your goal is, starting at the right spot and making sure the basics are taken care of is so important. The Grip MD will start you on a path that makes it easy to learn and improve quickly.”

“Mastering the serve and the volley requires the perfect grip,” said John Isner, the former No. 1 American who reached a career-high No. 8 on the ATP World Tour. “The Grip MD makes that infinitely easier for you.”

Take advantage of a special offer now. Get three Grip MD products for the low price of $99.  Or buy one for $39.95.  To purchase and for more information or to purchase GripMD, visit at: https://www.thegripmd.com/

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 12/5/20 - Alain Cohen of NeuroTennis

Rick talks with Alain Cohen,CEO of NeuroTennis this week about their smart tennis wristbands.

This is new tech in tennis. Two key differences make this wearable technology so different from other smart tennis devices on the market.

Alain explains:

 

“One major difference is that NeuroTennis coaches you while you play,” said NeuroTennis CEO, Alain Cohen.

“Other tennis trackers just report statistics on speed, spin, and stroke counts, without much actionable information. NeuroTennis, on the other hand, provides coaching instructions that are synchronized with the rhythm of your hitting, as you play.”

 

Cohen stated that the second revolutionary aspect of the technology is that it wirelessly connects the wristbands of two players across the court, in order to pinpoint the timing of audible coaching instructions, precisely when your opponent hits the ball.

Former world No. 1 Mats Wilander was an integral part of designing NeuroTennis. “To reach the next level, I believe in modifying your game and not just measuring it,” Wilander said. “I believe that to reach your full potential, you need to train your brain just as hard as your skills and fitness.”

Features and benefits of NeuroTennis include:

Two player or solo mode - NeuroTennis is most typically used in a two-player mode, meaning that the sensors in each device communicate with each other, across the court.

NeuroTennnis App - The feature-rich app allows you to select lessons and drills from an extensive library designed by world-class coaches, including Mats Wilander. Taking it to the next level, you or your coach can easily customize content to specifically address your goals. Available for iPhone and Android.

Game Modifying Technology - While other wearable tennis products just measure physical results, like speed and spin, NeuroTennis is about ingraining better habits and accessing your tennis skills consistently so you can raise your game while you practice. Training at higher levels leads to playing at higher levels.
 
NeuroTennis is available now at NeuroTennis.com and sells as a pair for $269. For more information on how to train your brain and raise your game, visit NeuroTennis.com.

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 8/29/20 - Noah Syken, Vice President, IBM Sports and Entertainment Partnerships at US Open

Rick is joined by Noah Syken of IBM this week on iHeartRadio to talk about what IBM is doing at the 2020 US Open.

We all know the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of daily life, and sports for both fans and players have not been spared. As we adjust to a new reality, some sports are finding ways to slowly return under new rules and circumstances. At the same time, fans are looking for ways to engage with their favorite leagues, tournaments, teams and players. In fact, a recent IBM survey on sports and technology showed that nearly half of sports fans said having an interactive digital experience has become more important to them since the COVID-19 outbreak, highlighting the importance of creating new technology for fans.

Listen to Rick and Noah:

Talking about:

Open Questions with Watson Discovery: To give fans a way to engage remotely in iconic sports rivalries, IBM will facilitate debates among fans on USOpen.org. Starting with questions like who is the best player of all time, who is the top US Open Champion and more, IBM will use Watson's natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to scour millions of online sources and then, using IBM Research technology, it will deliver a debate-like pro/con argument. Fans will also be able to share their opinions on the questions, adding to the debate.

USOpen.org Match Insights presented by IBM:  Match Insights with Watson Discovery is an AI-powered “cheat sheet” available to fans for every match.  Match Insights uses NLP technology to search for and understand millions of articles, blogs, statistics and more. It pulls key insights from that mountain of data and converts it into a brief narrative form, enabling every fan to get insights from information ahead of matches.

Crowd Sounds: When faced with the prospect of no fans in attendance, the USTA, ESPN and IBM embarked on a collaborative journey to bring authentic crowd sounds into the presentation of matches. IBM leveraged its AI Highlights technology to recreate crowd sounds gleaned from hundreds of hours of video footage captured during previous US Opens.  AI Highlights uses Watson technology to digest match footage and rank the excitement level of each point to create highlights in near-real time and classify specific crowd reactions. That insight has been reimagined to deliver real crowd sounds to the stadium and broadcast producers’ arsenals.

For more information please visit: ibm.com/sports

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 8/8/20 - Rich Neher, Author of 'Drop In Tennis Secrets'

Rick is joined by longtime tennis teaching professional and organizer, Rich Neher this week on iHeartRadio.

Tennis Pros hurting during Covid-19 can develop a second income stream thanks to his new book, “Drop-In Tennis Secrets.”

Have a listen:

Neher talks the publication of his new tennis book “Drop-In Tennis Secrets,” which is now available as a paperback and in a Kindle version. He set out to find an answer to the question, “Can you make money in tennis when your name is not Roger or Rafa?” The answer is, yes! Drop-In Tennis Secrets is a handy guide for those seeking to organize tennis matches for local players and make some money in the process. Neher says, “This manual is suitable for tennis professionals that want to add a second income stream to their regular business, and for entrepreneurial tennis players who want to start a business in the sport they love.”

All the steps for starting and conducting a successful drop-in tennis business are covered. All aspects of a new tennis business, from start to finish, with plenty of tips and best practices, are presented in an easy-to-read, clear, and precise style, including Neher’s “Secret Sauces” to keep players coming to your group week after week.

Delaine Mast, National Director for World TeamTennis Community Leages, writes, “As I read your book, it reinforced for me how there is no replacement for experience. Your vast experience and passion for tennis, and people have made you successful and uniquely qualified to help others. I hope that others will read this booklet and realize it can help them create their own success story!”

Rich Neher is a tennis writer and publisher of a monthly newsletter titled TENNIS CLUB BUSINESS. Rich has organized and personally conducted thousands of drop-in tennis events in Southern California since 1998.

Equipped with a German engineering degree, Rich emigrated to the United States in 1985. After 5 years in Philadelphia, he moved to Southern California where he pursued his passion for tennis; he started to play tennis, and learned the business of tennis. Rich was a Board member of the San Diego District Tennis Association and received the Community Tennis Award from the USPTA San Diego division. It was in 1994, at the Bobby Riggs Tennis Club in Encinitas, California, when Rich began organizing drop-in Tennis events for local, recreational players.

As Team Lead for Adult Leagues and NTRP Ratings on the USTA Tennislink Team, he taught the ins and outs of league tennis to coordinators in all 17 USTA sections. In 2008 he moved from San Diego to the Los Angeles area and in 2009 he started his consulting business, TENNIS MEDIA GROUP, and became a tennis sports writer for Inside Tennis and the Examiner Group. Rich began publishing TENNIS CLUB BUSINESS in January of 2014.

He is the recipient of the 2003 Community Service Award from the USPTA San Diego Division and of the 2019 PTR Media Excellence  Award.

In 2020, after creating and organizing almost 3,000 drop-in tennis round robins, he wrote and published the booklet “Drop-In Tennis Secrets – a manual for creating a second income stream with tennis.”

Limpert Tech "SullyCast" on ALT 105.7 and iHeartRadio 3/6/20 - Eddie Gonzalez, Tournament Director of Truist Atlanta Open on Name Change and Ticketing

Rick is joined this week by Eddie Gonzalez, Tournament Director of the BB&T Atlanta Open, soon to have a name change to the Truist Atlanta Open.

Eddie mentions the name change and gives information on when tickets for the 10th anniversary edition of this ATP World Tour stop in Atlanta will go on sale (March 24) and how excited he is about a new ticketing partner in SeatGeek.

Have a listen:

“As we prepare for our 2020 event, the BB&T Atlanta Open and GF Sports are proud to announce that SeatGeek will become the BB&T Atlanta Open's Official Ticketing Partner,” confirmed Eddie Gonzalez, Tournament Director, BB&T Atlanta Open. “Our team always looks to identify the best partners for critical aspects of our fan experience infrastructure. We listen to our fans and SeatGeek’s advancements and commitments to create the most fan-friendly mobile ticketing experience across the sports and entertainment industry was the driving factor in our decision process."

The 2020 BB&T Atlanta Open is SeatGeek’s first client in the tennis space, as the enterprise side of the business continues to gain momentum. SeatGeek has already seen strong growth and fan feedback in other sports, including in football where it tickets the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints, and in soccer where it is the Official Ticket Partner of Major League Soccer and also tickets more English Premier League clubs than any other ticketing provider.

“Atlanta is one of the most innovative cities in the country, and we want to provide these fans a world-class experience when they come to the BB&T Atlanta Open,” said Jeff Ianello, Executive Vice President of Partnerships at SeatGeek. “We are really excited to break into the tennis market, and see an opportunity to showcase how much we can improve the fan experience.”

Ticket packages for the BB&T Atlanta Open, a US Open Series event and the only ATP World Tour event in Georgia, will be available at www.bbtatlantaopen.com, beginning March 24, 2020.