INTENNSE × ICF
Confidential Partner Briefing
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INTENNSE × ICF powered by Wise Friend

More than a tennis league.
A deep community that supports its players.

A partnership to build the behavioral health infrastructure that makes INTENNSE fundamentally different from anything in professional tennis.

What This Produces

Skills that stick. Outcomes that compound.

Every player and coach gains practical, evidence-based tools rooted in proven therapeutic frameworks and 25+ years of proprietary human development research. Currently being studied by Columbia University.

View Measurement Plan →

Skill
Understanding the Athlete's Brain in Competition
Players learn how and when their brain can hijack them, and what to do in the moment.
Rooted in MBSR · Polyvagal Theory
Outcome
Resilience Under Pressure
Faster recovery between points, between sets, between seasons. Composure becomes repeatable.
10 Pillars: Mindset · Emotional Fitness
Skill
Emotional Regulation & Reset Tools
Breathing, labeling, reframing. Usable between points, in the locker room, and in daily life.
Rooted in DBT · ACT · Cognitive Reappraisal
Outcome
Appreciation & Presence
Players show up differently. Less reactive, more intentional. The quality of daily experience shifts.
10 Pillars: Mindset · Communication
Skill
Being a Good Teammate
Notice, Validate, Ask, Connect. Supporting a teammate without overstepping. Knowing when to escalate.
Rooted in Peer Support Literature · Psychological First Aid
Outcome
Growing the Community
Players stay connected. Alumni become ambassadors. The league feels like something worth returning to.
10 Pillars: Community · Purpose

Why This Matters

Experience the highs and lows of tennis.
But not alone.

INTENNSE is already building what no other league has: a team-first, community-first model that prioritizes player quality of life.

This partnership makes that promise structural. A shared baseline in mental fitness before the season begins. Belonging is not aspirational. It is built in.

No professional tennis organization has done this. Not other tennis leagues. INTENNSE is the first to build mental fitness directly into the league.

Real change. Measurable community health. Players who stay connected. This is what it looks like when a league actually takes care of its people.

Year 1 Deliverables

Built for teams, communities, and individuals.

Year 1 rolls out in three phases: crawl, walk, run. Each one builds on the last.

Crawl

Everyone

Mar – May
A short confidential survey every player and coach completes before the season. Helps us understand what the community needs and gives INTENNSE a real picture of where everyone is starting from.
A live session where every player and coach comes together to review survey results, understand the community they are joining, and feel supported from day one.
A 45-minute entry requirement training every player and coach completes before the season. Covers mental skills, emotional regulation, peer support basics, and community standards. Includes an assessment and certificate of completion.
Walk

Teams + Groups

April – August
A personal development toolkit that helps players and coaches understand who they are, where they are, and where they want to go. We walk through it together — then it's theirs to use on their own, on their own time, for as long as they need it.
Custom curated conversation cards that gamify deep connection. Teams use them before practice, on the road, or in any moment that calls for it. A shared language, not a solo exercise.
Run

Individuals

On-Demand · Season-Long
Short tennis-specific digital modules on mental, physical, and emotional health. Under five minutes each. Built to be used between sessions, on the road, and in the locker room. Each one is a skill, not a lecture.
On-demand resources including the Not Alone Toolkit. Available to every player throughout the season, whenever they need it.
Available to assist in connecting players to the right support when they need it.

Measurement is built in from day one. Before/after skill questions, engagement metrics, and optional alignment with INTENNSE surveys.

For Coaches

The first line of defense.
That's you.

You're the professionals here. This program is a support layer, giving you shared language, simple tools, and a clear escalation path so you can focus on coaching.

Early Access
Tools Before Your Players
You go through the program first so you know the language and frameworks before your players do.
Visibility
Completion Tracking
You'll see who on your team has completed the program. Not what they said or their scores, just completion.
Support
A Direct Line to Admin
A WhatsApp group connects coaches and admin throughout the season. Questions, player concerns, anything that needs a quick answer.

When something comes up

Step 1
Player brings something to you
Outside the scope of normal coaching. You notice it, take it seriously, and hold space without needing to fix it.
Step 2
Bring it to Yannick
You don't carry it alone. Loop in Yannick and share what you're seeing.
Step 3
ICF team determines next steps
Yannick works with the ICF team to assess and figure out the right path forward.

Your role, simply put

In your lane
Complete the program before the season starts
Encourage your players to do the same
Use the shared language in how you communicate
Be present when a player needs to talk
Escalate to Yannick when something feels beyond peer support
Not your job
Clinical or therapeutic support
Diagnosing what a player is going through
Having the right answer when things get heavy
Carrying it alone

Year 2 & Beyond

A long-term architecture.
Year 2 and beyond.

Year 1 establishes the baseline. What follows is a compounding system built on the relationships, language, and trust developed in season one.

Deepened
Year 2
Advanced Curriculum Tracks
Expanded modules for returning players. New tracks for coaches. Position-specific mental performance content. Year 2 players go deeper, not just broader.
Live
Year 2
Guided Workshops & Group Sessions
Facilitated in-person or virtual workshops woven into the season. Topics include pressure management, identity, team cohesion, and performance mindset.
Leadership
Year 2
Leadership Speaker Series
Guest speakers from elite sport, military, and performance fields. Retired players. Coaches who've navigated the pressure firsthand. Integrated into onboarding and closing events.
Individual
Year 2+
1:1 Player Development Support
Optional structured 1:1 coaching for players who want to go further. Performance-focused, not clinical. Personalized to each player's Life Plan.
Coaches
Year 2+
Coach Development Track
A dedicated curriculum for INTENNSE coaches. How to support players without overstepping. Recognizing stress signals. Building team culture. Escalation protocols.
Data
Year 2+
Longitudinal Measurement & Reporting
Multi-year before/after data. Player wellbeing trends across seasons. Aggregated insights shared with league leadership. A living proof of impact.
Community
Year 2+
Alumni Network & Peer Mentorship
Year 1 graduates mentor incoming players. Alumni connection maintained between seasons. INTENNSE becomes a community people return to, not just a league they played in.
Platform
Year 2+
Daily Scores & In-Season Engagement
App-based daily mental fitness scores. Brief daily check-ins players actually use. Real-time data for coaches and admin. Turns the platform into a season-long companion.
Culture
Year 2+
The INTENNSE Standard Becomes the Industry Standard
A model other leagues look to. What the ATP and WTA haven't built. A proof of concept for what professional tennis can be when mental fitness is treated as infrastructure, not afterthought.
Post-Season
Year 2+
Continued Growth & Year 3+ Planning
Alumni connection maintained season to season. Year 3+ co-designed with players, coaches, and league leadership based on what worked.

Proven

Trusted across industries.
Built for this.

Methodology
25+ Years
Hudson's Bay Company
Saks Fifth Avenue
Zappos
Kroger
iHeartRadio NotAlone
Montgomery Schools OH
No Quit Tennis
(NJTL)
Family Foundations

The curriculum is rooted in the 10 Pillars, a proprietary system of human development covering mindset, emotional fitness, communication, community, purpose, and more. Evidence-based. Practical. Non-clinical.

Skills are drawn from ACT, DBT, MBSR, Cognitive Reappraisal, and decades of applied fieldwork. Currently being studied by Columbia University.

Built by Wise Friend in strategic partnership with Inspiring Children Foundation. Tested across high-performance environments and now purpose-built for professional tennis.

INTENNSE is joining a growing best practice, not testing something unproven.

Partnership

We build this together.

We handle the methodology, platform, and execution. We ask you what makes it feel like INTENNSE, and we build that in.

INTENNSE Shapes
The culture and the vision
League standards, player access, cultural context, brand identity. What does a high-trust tennis community look like to you?
ICF & Wise Friend Execute
The infrastructure and delivery
Curriculum, platform, facilitation, Life Plan, print tools, measurement, compliance tracking, ongoing support. White-labeled. Customizable to INTENNSE.

Next Steps

Ready to collaborate
when you are.

We'll handle the heavy lifting. We'll ask you the right questions. And we'll build something that feels unmistakably INTENNSE.

Let's Start

clayton@wisefriend.org  ·  wisefriend.org