Testimonials

I have known Nino Severino for several years in his capacity as coach to Elena Baltacha. In October 2011 I took up the position as Head of British Tennis at the LTA which brought a close working relationship with Nino. I have nothing but high praise for the quality of coaching that Nino has to offer. He is hugely motivational, hard working, very organised and has good communication skills.

He has many years of experience as a Tour coach on the WTA circuit and will be able to use this expertise to help develop the next generation of talented players that he works with.

From my first meeting with Nino we connected instantly on everything performance and sport related. That led me to start training with Nino and from there I noticed a big change in my approach to sport and how I view my game.

He developed a team around me which gave me a platform to perform and improve. Ben the S&C coach, Chris – nutritionist, Alistair – physio and Nino himself – the movement coach.

With the help and guidance from these 4 professionals we were able to identify key areas I needed to improve or work on in order to get the best out of myself and maximise my potential.

With Nino’s guidance, programme management and strategic sessions I felt huge benefits in my whole game.

The way Nino helps athletes think and mentally prepare the mind has really helped me learn how to structure my thoughts around my sport a lot clearer. His attention to detail was second to none but what was also very important to me was we built a great friendship, which made working together very enjoyable.

Nino did a tremendous job as coach/mentor to Bally, working one on one on the tour is an intense business and he handled it very well. He is always open to advice when it is given and he takes his role very seriously. Their results speak for themselves.

Having worked alongside Nino Severino and Elena Baltacha during my time spent with the LTA as Head Coach of Women’s Tennis…both at home in the UK and at many tournaments abroad, I would have no hesitation in recommending him very highly. Nino has a gift for managing athletes across most sports and a unique skill set of pulling everything together.

He has a clear vision of the pathway forward for whoever he works with and helps to package their programme in meticulous fashion pulling everything together in a very positive team environment.

“I am also involved with National Teams: Davis Cup, Fed Cup and Olympics and coach presently the 2016 doubles men International champion Jamie Murray.

I mentioned the above to highlight the fact that I consider myself highly qualified to spot not only talented players but also talented hard working coaches. It is difficult to rank coaches compared to players where competitions lead to define a ranking amongst them. But at least I feel I can rank coaches amongst categories like excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor.

In the case of Nino whom I met when he was coaching Elena Baltacha I immediately saw a high performance coach as for me it is not the sport you coach that really matters but the transformation you can accomplish on a performer in relation to identity, beliefs, values, attitude, mind-set and mental skills and Nino already accomplished a huge transformation with Elena who was now #1 in UK and top 50 WTA players, which is a great accomplishment.

I like that he has high demands but also provide high support and caring which is essential. His personality and his background in martial art provide immediately an environment of discipline and excellence.

In addition to this Nino was so experience in the physical side where most of the tennis coaches aren’t. He was able to gage the working load of Elena and improve greatly her fitness and her on court movement which explained also her ascension to the top of international tennis. He was always aware of potential injury and would know how to adapt not only a macrocycle but also a single lesson when needed based on the player.

He is so professional, knowledgeable in all areas that I felt he was also a tennis expert as he understood quickly the demand of the game and was able to lead Elena and her support team. His confidence is contagious and he is able to inspire and lead easily players and support team. His communications skills back this up perfectly as he is able to explain from his sport science background everything which a player needs to do to perform to his/her best abilities while also plan the working load and specific exercises to avoid injuries and maximise regeneration."

Before meeting Nino I was unsure whether my childhood dream of becoming an Olympic athlete would progress into adulthood. At the time I was competing both Nationally and Internationally at swimming, cycling and triathlon. Although I was physically fit through being very active, when it came to race day I suffered with stomach pains, and in some cases it resulted in a DNF due to the massive amount of pain I was in.

My parents were always massively supportive and tried looking for ways to sort the stomach pains out, from seeing private specialists, speaking to different coaches and funding me to begin working with Nino. At the time we were unsure whether any of
these methods would work, and we were still unsure whether the pains were due to nervousness or a physiological problem.

However if I am completely honest working with Nino over the course of around 3 years helped me massively, and the stomach pains started to go. Not only did Nino work on the physical aspects of training to get me fitter, but also nutritional factors which are very important.

However the greatest influence Nino had was to give me confidence in myself and my own ability. Still to this day I am unsure how he did this, but I feel that if my parents would not have funded me to work with Nino my sporting aspirations could have turned out very differently.

As for today I am currently training, and am funded by UK Sport as a full time triathlete at the National High Performance Centre for triathlon in Loughborough. Since working with Nino I went on and continue to be a regular GB international athlete, competing on a European and World stage. My ultimate aim is to achieve 2012 Olympic selection and become an Olympic Champion.

Abbie Thorrington
GB International