By Ollie Stephens, CTPS, MTPS

The World Tennis Fitness Conference has quickly become an integral part of the calendar of many tennis coaches, physical therapists, athletic trainers, strength & conditioning coaches, chiropractors and medical doctor’s calendar.  I was lucky enough to be involved in this year’s conference as a moderator and as a speaker in a panel discussion, which also included Dr. Larry Lauer and Dr. Jeff Chandler.  We discussed the team approach in developing a tennis player and to be on stage with two of the industry’s most recognized experts was a really fun experience for me personally and something I will never forget. 

As I spent the weekend listening to lectures from some of the world’s most foremost tennis experts, a couple of things became plainly obvious to me:

Firstly, the word that springs to mind was QUALITY.  The standard of the speakers was second to none.  From Martin Blackman, Allistair McCaw, Loren Landow, Dr. Mark Kovacs, Page Love, Dr. Dom Lausic etc., the list was a who’s who in the Tennis Fitness Industry.  Every single presentation exuded quality and was a clear example of just how serious the iTPA is about raising the standard of coach’s education in the U.S.A. and Internationally.  As an example, I had never heard of Loren Landow before.  However, after his presentation on Speed and Movement training, I will certainly be following his work from now on.  To hear from someone who regularly trains NFL, MMA, NBA and professional tennis players was a real treat and his wealth of information was truly world class. 

The second thing that really struck a cord with me was the quality of the attendees.  All of the people attending the conference were themselves at the top end of the tennis industry and the networking opportunities and exchange of ideas was worth the cost of the conference alone.  Just getting to know great coaches like Rob Carlbo, Jenny Walls-Robb and Jim Harp has been such a boost to my career, these professionals are such an inspiration to be around and to be able to pick their brains has been so much fun.  So many great coaches and trainers where in attendance including individuals from Harvard University, Princeton University, The University of Michigan, The University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill (UNC), Auburn University, The University of Alabama, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Carnegie Melon among many others.

There were so many nuggets of information that I took from this year’s conference.  Some take homes which I felt especially helpful were:

·        Loren Landow explaining the importance of first step speed and the ability to move effectively in all directions. 

·        Allistair McCaw showing his great warm up routine that he uses with all his junior and professional tennis players, including his HBHA routine (Hips Before, Hips After).

·        Lalo Vicencio, always a favorite, showing some great lateral movement patterns and single leg stability exercises for junior tennis players.  Showing some great ways to teach younger athletes how to decelerate safely. 

·        Page Love explaining the best way to make sure your players have proper nutrition when they travel abroad, including some easy snacks that you can take with you to foreign destinations such as “Go Picnic,” ready to eat meals

To conclude, I have been to many conferences, all over the world.  In my opinion, the World Tennis Fitness Conference is already one of the best, if not, THE best educational opportunity for anyone interested in off court tennis training.   A huge thanks must go to the International Tennis Performance Association, Mark and Mary Jo Kovacs and all of their staff for creating such a great event. 

Please follow the iTPA on facebook to see more than 300 photos from the conference www.facebook.com/itpatennis

www.itpa-tennis.org

@itpatennis

The presentations by Dr.  Neeru Jayanthi focused on an areas of great interest to me which considered injury prevention in elite junior tennis. With my main philosophy being that tennis can help develop young people positively whilst having great interest in talent development, I was intrigued to listen to the session. Indeed one of the first points made was that coaches (45%) have the most influence on players wishing to train at a high level in comparison to the player (35%) and then the parent (15%). This straight away made me think with coaches being the most influential person determining how intensely the player considers to take the game, even with the best intentions are coaches educated to a level where they understand volume, levels of appropriate intensity and how growth effects a young person’s body? Indeed the thoughts of children not being miniature adults sprung to mind. Jayanthi went onto discuss a number of research articles he has published in recent years including considering risk factors for medical withdrawals from USTA National junior tournaments and training and sport specialisation risks in junior elite tennis players. A host of possible conclusions can be made from these two pieces of research. For example cumulative match scheduling and competition without adequate recovery and rest (approximately two hours) can be detrimental for junior tennis players. Despite this many systems across the world which rank and rate players are based on volume such as how many matches you win within a certain time period which ultimately may lead to excessive volume. Other conclusions were that players should consider delaying early specialisation until middle or late adolescence due to a potential increase risk of burnout and injury alongside playing only one or two tournaments per month, having adequate time away and recovery from the sport. Thanks must go to Jayanthi for his passion and drive to delivery outstanding research in this area of youth development.

There were a host of other fascinating presentations attended by myself and Mike James. Page Love delivered a session on nutrition focusing on recovery and reducing the potential risk of injury for tennis players. Much of the focus was on tart cherry juice and the antioxidant nature of this to reduce muscle soreness and aid recovery. Indeed this would be a very interesting research topic for anyone in tennis considering the benefits of tart cherry juice during intense match play and recovery. Ollie Stephens then considered the important factors when working as a team to develop competitive tennis players and Dr. Larry Lauer discussed bringing back players from injury. This lecture provided a great insight into the stages an athlete goes through when being injured, such as going through the grief stages and how a team can respond in a way to create a supportive, nurturing environment to help get the athlete back to full fitness. This included factors such as clear and transparent communication, education and listening to the athlete. Other excellent sessions discussed injury and illness data from the US Open for the past 15 years and the age eligibility rule and managing WTA players. Both gave a great insight to working with elite professionals.

The practical elements from USTA Head of Strength and Conditioning Satoshi Ochi, Director of Strength & Conditioning at the University of Georgia, Katrin Koch, and Spanish Director of Education for the iTPA Lalo Vicencio gave delegates an opportunity to actively get involved and take home tennis specific drills and exercises. Focus on these areas included the split step and the opening of the hip and initial step, footwork and agility movements and co-ordination exercises to use with both younger and older tennis athletes. It must be said that with the great range and diversity of presentations and break out groups unfortunately we couldn't make each one, but based on other delegates thoughts and reviews every researcher or practitioner must be recognised for their excellent delivery and information either on a coaching, sport science or medicine level.

Away from the presentations the forums provided delegates to ask questions related to tennis science and medicine questions with two themes. The first one focused on developing young healthy tennis athletes. Indeed the topics varied from ways in which to strength train, manage volume and nutrition such as supplementation. The second panel discussed working with elite full time tennis professionals. It was also a pleasure to hear Atlanta based ATP tennis professional Robby Ginepri give his opinions on how tennis has changed over the past decade since he began his career on the tour. There was great acknowledgement that sport science and medicine has a larger part now to play when developing players and this is due to the advancement of the game physically. Ginepri explained that within his academy sport science plays an important role with the use of physical conditioning and performance psychology and nutrition sessions. This gave me great confidence with me recently starting my own business (www.scienceintennis.com) which is a sport science business solely focusing on tennis.

Ultimately both Mike and I feel there were a number of take home messages for practitioners working in tennis to be aware off. First of all you have to know the game, be aware of the common areas of injury, the challenges both junior tennis and senior professional players face alongside understanding the uniqueness of how to train a tennis player. Secondly, every tennis player is different and knowing your athlete and allowing them to feedback to you and the team you work with is essential to develop a strong professional relationship and maximise their potential. Thirdly don't over complicate things, tennis is a difficult sport to plan and periodise for so use the most effective ways of training but keep things as simple as possible. It was clear that educating players, coaches and parents alongside communicating with and understanding the roles of practitioners who can help develop tennis players, reduce injury and enhance performance is essential, the goal of any of us working within tennis. 

Over 11 Hours of Presentations from the 2014 Tennis Medicine & Performance Conference available for download at the iTPA Dartfish Channel

http://www.dartfish.tv/CollectionInfo.aspx?CR=p90378c98277

Guest Post #1: From iTPA Certified Member Lalo Vicencio, USPTA 1, CTPS

The last 6 weeks have been an incredible journey of learning and getting to know great coaches and friends. First I attended the MTPS (Master Tennis Performance Specialist) certification in Atlanta where I met amazing coaches/trainers/physical therapists from different countries who are working at the top of their profession in the tennis industry. Then, I spent 5 days at the ITF World Wide Coaches Conference (WWCC) which took place in Cancun, Mexico.

The WWCC is the highest level of tennis conference in the world and it takes place every two years in a different country. Every country has different requirements to endorse their coaches and allow them to register. The conference goes for 5 days with a great variety of presentations and speakers. It is very interesting to see how speakers from different countries approach tennis with a different perspective, different drills, point of view, etc. Also, it is interesting to see how researchers working for their tennis federations around the world are using statistics in different studies to make tennis better and stronger for their countries.

During the WWCC you get to know coaches from all over the world, sometimes you have lunch with a coach you just met, sometimes you talk with the person next to you during a presentation or sometimes you can chat and have your picture taken with a former Grand Slam champion, an author of many books (like Bruce Elliot, Miguel Crespo, etc.) or with one of our great American coaches like Tom Gullikson or Doug McCurdy.

As I reflect on the reasons why I should spend all this time and money to go to a different country and learn or stay comfortably at home and do what I am used to do every day on the court … Well, once you experience the conference, you will want to come back again and again. As I continue with my reflection, I could see the biggest names in the research world along with the top coaches who have attended and presented on this conference for the past 2 decades. They all still sit on first row taking notes relentlessly from all presenters. They all have the drive to keep learning and keep getting better on what they do. This is perhaps a great example for all of us coaches to never think that we “know it”. The journey of learning never ends!

Lalo Vicencio

USPTA 1, CTPS

Author of the first manual for strength and conditioning for Mexico’s Federation WWCC 2013 Speaker Davis Cup Fitness Coach for Mexico Director of TOP Tennis Team Academy in El Paso Texas ITPA member

Guest Post #2: iTPA Certified Member Cameron Moore, TPT

The ITF World Wide Coaches Conference recently took place in Cancun, Mexico.  900 participants from around the world filled the conference center.  The presenters are some of the top coaches, researchers, and minds in the game today.  The theme is the long-term development of a high performance player.   Here are some of the key take ways from my experience.

Dr. Jim Loehr (USA) presented on the inner voice of the player.  He emphasized building character first.  Loehr talked about developing the inner voice to be the best coach possible when you play.  His speech was about training the player to be self-reliant and to look inward in the moments that count.

Bruce Elliott (AUS) presented twice on the female professional serve.  The 1st was on the development from Junior to Pro.  The keys were that juniors tend to have a higher ball toss and move faster into the trophy position.  The Pro players contact the ball more often at the zenith of the toss and take more time to get into the trophy position. This is helpful information when coaching younger players and understanding their needs.  His 2nd talk was on how the Female pro serve is a similar version of the male serve.  In talking with him further, he believes that if a female player has the proper service technique, she will be able to develop a powerful serve that is comparable to a male player.

Beni Linder (SUI) presented on physical support in specific footwork situations.  He offered an on court demonstration on how to develop footwork using specific games to simulate match like situations.  His games involve great movement patterns, tactics, and a competitive environment.  He emphasizes playing with the hip level when working movement.

Mark Kovacs (AUS) presented on training considerations for the tall athlete.  His presentation was filled with on court drills and exercises geared toward working with tall players.   He emphasizes working flexibility of the player and making sure they are low to the ground when they load.  They were solid exercises for working stability and then going straight into hand fed drills.  These drills give your players are great sense of how to incorporate the training into play.

Piotr Unierzyski (POL) presented on how to work the serve more effectively.  The 4 usual problems he looks for in the serve are: Stance/Balance, Grip, Backswing/Arm/Elbow position, and Kinetic Chain. He spoke about arranging the practices with the serve.  Piotr uses the warm up to work coordination of the upper body.  Then he likes to move into the service motion. Piotr talks about quality over quantity.  When practicing the serve, he suggests mixing up slice, flat, and kick after every 3 to 4 balls so you’re not over working the same motion.

It was a great experience to be apart of the ITF WWCC.  All the coaches who attended were motivated to improve and share their experiences.  If you have the opportunity to attend, don’t pass it up.

Cameron Moore, TPT

Photo author credit:  https://traineracademy.org/

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting is held each year and brings together over 5000 scientists and doctors from all over the world who are experts in sports medicine and exercise science. This year the meeting was held in the home town of the ACSM – Indianapolis, Indiana. Unfortunately this year had very few tennis studies that were presented – only 3 presentations on tennis and 2 of them were case study examples. Fortunately hundreds of studies from around the world were presented on topics that have relevance to tennis athletes.  Below is a short summary providing some of the major highlights. If you are an iTPA member, please visit the Inner Circle Member site (http://www.itpamembers.org ) which has a much more detailed summary with abstracts of dozens of relevant studies for individuals who work with tennis athletes.

Effect of Competitive Match Play on Handgrip Strength in Division III Tennis Players

George L. Hoyt, III, Andrew L. Sykes. Methodist University, Fayetteville, NC.

A rather simple study was conducted looking at the effect of competitive matchplay on grip strength in In Division III male tennis players. The results of the study found that the athletes showed significant ratings of fatigue after the matchplay, but did not show any difference in grip strength. This study is interesting because it highlights that feelings of fatigue does not necessarily show a decrease in grip strength in the population measured.

The take-home is that subjective feelings of fatigue may not be always linked to actually a decrease in performance. It is important to understand that just because an athlete is fatigued, does not mean that they cannot continue to perform at a high level. Just be careful not to overdo this principle which can result in a situation of overtraining or a constant state of fatigue.

Here are some other take homes from research that was presented:

-       Functional Movement Screen (FMS) was shown to be a poor predictor of non-contact overuse injury in college athletes. However, performance on the lunge movement did show some promise in predicting injury.

-       An interesting study evaluating the walking/running mechanics of 2 and 3 year old children found that excellent runners vs inferior runners at that age had different mechanics. This may suggest the need to develop technique at a younger age than first thought.

-       A separate study also on 3 year old children found that children that took longer steps were able to throw a ball further. Also, children with higher motor abilities at that age (measured by scores on 7 different motor ability tests) could transfer muscular strength and power of lower limb to ball speed better than children with lower motor abilities.

-       In a baseball study focused on shoulder strength and power in high school baseball players, a six week training program focused on either:

1) controlled motion exercises (using bodyweight, dumbbells & tubing)

2) explosive motion exercises using constant air resistance machines

3) plyometrics (explosive motion exercises using 4-8lb medicine balls & tubing)

All three programs were effective in increasing shoulder strength & power. Group 1 was most effective in increasing shoulder strength, while groups 2 & 3 were most effective in increasing shoulder. Therefore, it would be acceptable to conclude that a combination of all three training programs would be beneficial for tennis athletes to improve strength and power in the shoulder region.

-       Heart Rate Variability (HRV) has inconsistent results in the literature and may not be a valuable tool to monitor overtraining

-       The Relative Age Effect (RAE) is attainment inequalities as a result of interactions between biological age and age-grouping procedures. In simple terms it is when an older kid (i.e. someone born in February is perceived to be more athletic than a younger kid (i.e. born in December) and chosen for teams or talent squads over the younger kid. A very good study found the influence of the RAE varies across age groups, but is most pronounced  between the ages 9-12. This is very important for coaches and parents to understand that during this time period, a 6-12 month difference in birth month can have a major impact on perceived sports competency.

-       When working with older adults higher speed resistance training (i.e. power training) improves peak power but also shifts the point at which peak power was produced to lower external resistances. This is beneficial for older populations.

-       In a different study also focused on power training in the older population, functional fitness is positively influenced by muscular power.

-       Consumption of leucine-enriched essential amino acids mixture suppressed exercise-induced muscle damage and muscle soreness (DOMS), and aided muscle recovery.

-       In college athletics the majority of the athletes use at least one dietary supplement. However, the overall nutrition and dietary supplement knowledge is inadequate.

-       A study looking at basketball camp found that parents descriptions of an optimal motivational environment involved focusing children on their effort, improvement and positive interactions with other campers and coaches.

Photo credit: https://traineracademy.org/

It was a real honor for the iTPA to be heavily involved in this Tennis Medicine & Injury Prevention Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia Dec 15th & 16th, 2012 hosted at Life University. The quality of speakers was outstanding. The great educators, researchers, clinicians, coaches, trainers and tennis performance specialists who presented are the leaders in the tennis industry. The information presented was the latest tennis-specific information on aspects of medical conditioning and the prevention of injuries in tennis athletes from juniors to senior players. The depth and breadth of the speakers experiences was very impressive and the feedback from the attendees was very positive. Below is a summary list of speakers that presented at the event followed by a brief outline from the opening session:

Speakers:

Elizabeth Chaffin, PT, DPT, MS, ATC - USTA Medical Coordinator

Brian Hainline, MD - Chief Medical Officer, United States Tennis Association Chair and will be the new Chief Medical Officer for the NCAA starting in 2013. He is also a member of the iTPA Certification Commission.

Neeru Jayanthi MD - USPTA, Vice President, STMS.  Dr. Jayanthi is also the Director of Loyola Tennis Medicine and Primary Care Medicine Program at Loyola School of Medicine in Maywood, IL. Dr. Jayanthi is also a member of the iTPA Certification Commission.

W. Ben Kibler, MD - Dr. W. Ben Kibler is the Medical Director for Lexington Clinic Sports Medicine Center and Shoulder Center of Kentucky of the Lexington Clinic in Lexington, KY. He is the team physician and orthopedist for the Lexington Legends; class A minor league team in the Houston Astros Organization. He also is team physician for numerous colleges and high schools in the Lexington area. Currently, Dr. Kibler serves on the Sports Science Committee of the U.S. Tennis Association, as a consultant for the Women’s Tennis Association, and is a founding member of the Society of Tennis Medicine and Science. Dr. Kibler is a Fellow and former Vice President for the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Kibler has presented and written prolifically on all areas of sports medicine. He specializes in the upper extremity, shoulder pathology, scapula, and biomechanics of tennis. Dr. Kibler is a member of the iTPA Certification Commission

Mark Kovacs, PhD, FACSM, CTPS, CSCS is the Executive Director of  the International Tennis Performance Association (iTPA) and is a tennis researcher, certified strength and conditioning specialist and certified tennis professional. He was a former tennis All-American and NCAA champion.

Page Love, MS, RD, CSSD, LD, CSCS, ACSM - Registered Dietitian and Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. ACSM Certified Health and Fitness Instructor, President and Founder of Nutrifit, Sport, Therapy, Inc. Page is a member of the iTPA Certification Commission.

Satoshi Ochi, CSCS, CTPS - Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at the United States Tennis Association (USTA). He is based at USTA National Training Center Headquarters in Boca Raton, FL. Satoshi oversees and manages Strength and Conditioning programs for the USTA Player Development program. Prior to joining the USTA, Satoshi was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Creighton University where he was also an instructor for the Exercises Science Department. Satoshi, from Shizuoka, Japan, received his M.A. in Exercise Science from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Satoshi also received his B.A. in Exercise Science at Creighton University and played tennis for the BlueJays while attending the university. Satoshi is a member of the iTPA Advisory Board.

Marc Safran, MD - Past President STMS, Orthopaedic Consultant WTA.  Dr. Safran is also the Associate Chief of Sports Medicine and Fellowship Director of Sports Medicine, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Safran specializes in Sports Medicine and arthroscopic and ligament reconstructive surgery on the shoulder, elbow, hip and knee. He is a diplomat at the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and member of such prestigious societies such as: The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the ACL Study Group, the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Society, the Paradicus Society, the Multicenter of Arthroscopic Hip Surgery Outcomes Research Network, the Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network, and the Society of Tennis Medicine and Science in addition to the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Safran is a member of the iTPA Certification Commission.

Oliver Stephens,PTR Master of Tennis-Performance, PTR Clinician & Tester (currently studying for the TPT exam)

Kathleen Stroia MS, PT, ATC - Vice President, Sport Sciences & Medicine and Player Development WTA Tour, Inc. Kathleen is a member of the iTPA Certification Commission.

Walter C. Taylor, III, MD - Program Director for Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Department of Education Services, Jacksonville, Florida and Medical Advisor - WTA Tour, Florida

Joseph S. Wilkes, MD - Dr. Joseph S. Wilkes has been providing Orthopaedic care to his patients for over 20 years. He is a general Orthopaedic surgeon with fellowship training in sports medicine, and surgery of the hand. Dr. Wilkes’ practice encompasses total orthopaedic care including upper and lower extremity and joint replacement. He specializes in complex disorders of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand, including arthroscopy repair reconstruction.

The conference hosts Drs. Neeru Jayanthi, MD (STMS Vice-President and Director, Tennis Medicine Program at Loyola University) and Mark Kovacs, PhD, CTPS (iTPA) opened the conference talking about the importance of balancing improving performance with reducing tennis injuries. One important takeaway from this presentation was for the different specialists (physical therapists, athletic trainers, medical doctors, certified tennis performance specialists etc) to continue to look at each athlete as a total person and focus on finding the cause of the problems rather than just focusing on symptom. Focus training and analysis from the core region out and the lower body up. It is important to understand why you choose certain exercises at certain time with each athlete. One important concept was that exercises are not typically good or bad. The problem is exercises that are applied at the wrong time in a periodized program, to the wrong type of athlete, at the wrong age and stage of development or for the wrong goals. These were a couple of simple concepts that sometimes you may forget when working with your tennis athletes.

The iTPA Inner Circle (www.itpamembers.org) will be bringing an in-depth summary of the major presentations over the next two weeks including some video footage from the on-court sessions. The iTPA Inner Circle is available to all iTPA members. Register for TPT or CTPS today and you will gain access to the Inner Circle. Happy holidays!