By
THIRSTY
Cameron Lickle was
Captain of the Naval Academy’s tennis team from 2002 to 2003 and was ranked #1.
He was selected to be “Captain of the Captains” by the other sports’ team
Captains and was inducted into the Naval Academy Sports Hall of Fame for Men’s
Tennis. After graduating from the Academy in 2003, he served five years in the
United States Navy as a nuclear engineer, including two tours to the Gulf in support
of Operation Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.
Following his years of military
service, Lickle met and teamed up with World Champion tennis great Mats
Wilander. Together they formed Wilander on Wheels (WOW) and toured the world
bringing championship-level tennis and WOW’s brand of tennis instruction to tennis
fans.
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| WOW - Wilander on Wheels |
In 2018, Lickle founded
WOW Sports, Inc., in order to expand into sports management. Stay Thirsty Magazine was pleased to
visit with Cameron Lickle when he was in Palm Beach for these Five Questions
about his new venture and his style of management.
STAY
THIRSTY: What motivated you to start WOW Sports, Inc. and what
is its mission?
CAMERON
LICKLE: I realized after seven years of Wilander on Wheels
(WOW), it was time to branch out. I have had the great fortune to forge
relationships with top tennis stars through my travels. Many of these greats
have a strong willingness to do something for the sport of tennis, instead of
looking for the sport to do something for them.
WOW Sports mission is to
inject adrenaline into our sport and hopefully reinforce everything a tennis
player’s coach is teaching. People’s reaction to my program with WOW has been
overwhelming and having the opportunity to make tennis fans’ dreams become a
reality fuels my soul.
As an ancillary benefit,
WOW Sports also specializes in top player coaching and player management with
five coaches on staff.
STAY
THIRSTY: You have had a long partnership with tennis legend
Mats Wilander under the umbrella of Wilander On Wheels (WOW). How is WOW Sports
different and what are your goals for the next couple of years?
CAMERON
LICKLE: Similar in nature, but different in structure. First, WOW
Sports, Inc., stands for “Win Our Way.” I had to keep the name WOW as
many people only know me as the “WOW” guy.
WOW Sports, Inc.,
specializes in tennis experiences that come to your backyard with a plethora of
former tennis Champions to choose from. Jimmy Connors, Murphy Jensen, Johan
Kriek to name a few, but if you have a request for a specific player, do not
hesitate to reach out.
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| WOW Sports, Inc., flier |
Each Champion’s program
is specifically created to showcase the strengths of that athlete and to offer the
participant an opportunity to enter the minds of these former Champions. Drills
have been created that have that Champion hitting with you the entire time.
Once the day is done, we have lunch or dinner with all the participants.
My next major goal is to
expand to other sports. Still looking for the right athlete though.
STAY
THIRSTY: WOW Sports’ first player under management is the
Chinese Junior tennis prodigy Mu Tao. What has WOW Sports been able to do for
him and how is your management and coaching style applicable to other future
tennis champions?
CAMERON
LICKLE: It has been a wild ride. I had never actually applied
all my World #1 knowledge to someone other than amateur tennis players and
decided to try a different route. I signed 18-year-old Chinese Junior Mu Tao last
March to an exclusive coaching and management representation contract. I utilized
all my experiences with these former Champions and applied what I thought fit
best with Tao’s game.
Our initial four-month
experience resulted in a Wimbledon Junior Semi-Final appearance. I applied a
bit of Mats’ mind, Jimmy’s tenacity and my own opinions to mold him into what I
thought brought out his best tennis. It worked. It was great validation.
STAY
THIRSTY: You have worked with many of the greatest living tennis
players of our day, including Jimmy Connors, Murphy Jensen, Johan Kriek and, of
course, Mats Wilander. What are the three most important things you have
learned from them?
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| Cameron Lickle and Mats Wilander |
CAMERON
LICKLE: 1) Heart gets you to the ball. The mind makes and allows
you to recover. The recovery part is what most players need the most work on;
2) None of them (initially) ever set out to be the best in the world. They just
set out to be the best they could be. It happened to result in great success. I
believe, because of their humbleness, they were able to achieve great results;
and, 3) They all taught me how to not miss.
The first rally I ever
had with Mats was 54 shots (I missed first). My first rally with Jimmy was 58
shots (I missed first). My first rally with Johan was 47 shots (he missed
first).
Make up in your mind not
to miss. It took me six years to comprehend and train my brain to achieve this
result, but not many people can beat me in a cross-court game these days.
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| Cameron Lickle at the Las Vegas Open |
STAY
THIRSTY: What upcoming projects do you have in the pipeline and
do you have your eye on any new, young tennis stars?
CAMERON
LICKLE: The biggest thing coming down the pipeline besides
tennis tours with former Champions is a tennis wearable called NEURO TENNIS. The
device is worn on the wrist and provides instantaneous auditory feedback and
commands while you play.
Two engineering geniuses
and their company, with our collaboration, have conceived a technology that
communicates with another (your opponent) to provide oral commands and feedback
after you strike the ball, and after your opponent strikes the ball. Commands
can be requested at every ball strike, every other or every ten, depending on
your customization.
The device comes
pre-loaded with 200 commands of the most glaring weaknesses Mats and I have witnessed
over the last seven years. Commands and instructions can be edited and
customized to your game and can be made using your own voice or your coaches
voice. An easy-to-use app for editing your lesson plan also contains videos of
Mats and me explaining the commands you are receiving.
We are about six months
away from bringing the device to the tennis community, but pre-registration is
available. Anything that requires constant repetition requires constant
reminders. Revolutionary product!
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