Welcome to Season 13, Episode 21, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network. This week's episode may not be suitable for your children, so please use discretion before letting them watch/listen.

When he was 11 years old, Stevie Gould knew what he wanted from tennis: a Blue Chip rating, direct entry into the biggest junior tournaments, a prestigious college tennis scholarship, and a real shot at the professional tour. Stevie did reach his goals of playing Kalamazoo and qualifying events for professional tournaments. He played Division I tennis at the University of Washington for one year before transferring to the University of San Francisco until he graduated with a psychology degree. In the Fall of 2024, Stevie will complete his college tennis eligibility with a year at Saint Mary's College as he pursues a Master's Degree.

Stevie's parents - as well as others in the local tennis community - followed his lead and became part of the Burgos Tennis Program. The Goulds were providing their only child with what they thought was a coaching situation that would help Stevie reach his goals while keeping the fun alive for him. They could have never imagined what was truly going on with their son and his coach.

As Stevie explains, sexual predators are professionals. They study their prey. They calculate the best way to get what they want. And they are willing to spend months - if not years - grooming their victims.

In Stevie's case, he had a coach who seemed to be able to provide everything Stevie needed to become the best tennis player possible. The coach seemed to know what it would take for Stevie to reach his goals as well as the skills to help him along the way. For several months, Stevie's parents - like the other parents in their California community - would drive him to practices, stay and watch, and slowly build a trusting relationship with this man who would be guiding their son. All the parents did their research. All the parents thought they knew who this man truly was. Sadly, they never could have imagined who the coach turned out to be.

If there's a takeaway from this episode, it is this: Parents, follow the Goulds' lead and do your due diligence before hiring a coach for your child. Talk to your child about proper and improper touch, acceptable behaviors between a child and adult, and what to do if a trusted adult crosses the line. Keep the lines of communication open with your child so that they feel comfortable coming to you if anything seems or is not as it should be. Then, hope against hope that it works and your child never has to experience what Stevie went through from age 11 to almost 16.

For more information and resources, be sure to read the full show notes at https://parentingaces.com/podcasts/when-the-nightmare-is-real-ft-stevie-gould.

*Don’t forget to register for our upcoming Junior Tennis Player & Parent Virtual Conference on June 9th! Link: https://juniortennisconference.eventbrite.com*

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CREDITS

Intro & Outro Music: Morgan Stone aka STØNE

Audio & Video Editing: Lisa Stone

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