Welcome to Season 9, Episode 43, of the ParentingAces Podcast! This week's guest hails all the way from Sweden to share a unique program designed to attract and retain new junior tennis players to the game.

To watch the video version of this week's podcast, click here.

Magnus Gustafsson had a very good junior and professional career that lasted well into his 30s. When he decided to retire from the ATP Tour, Magnus wanted to follow in his parents' footsteps and give back to the sport that had given him so much joy. The Small Champs program was born.

According to one parent who is also involved, the Small Champs program is grounded in raising good people first, then followed by incorporating tennis into their lifestyle. In the Gothenburg, Sweden, area there are over 150 juniors who belong to various Small Champion groups, all engined by parent volunteers and by Magnus himself donating his own time every Friday to be on the court with different kids.  

This program is an amazing compliment to these juniors' everyday tennis training.  It could very easily be adopted in cities all over, and Magnus is very willing to assist anyone wanting to start a program in their area.

For more information on Small Champs, visit the website here and click "Små Lirare". Note: the site is in Swedish - Google Translate works pretty well for those of you who don't read or speak Swedish! The site contains a short video which you can view at https://youtu.be/o9VUKNY0GqQ.

You can email Magnus at gusten@gsl.nu or reach him by phone at +46-733-718400. 

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our intro and outro music this season. You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by clicking here.

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