USTA Presents Strength and Conditioning Symposium
The USTA Player Development Division recently sponsored a 4-hour symposium on “Strength Training and Conditioning for Tennis” at the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s National Conference in Las Vegas, NV. Approximately 100 strength and conditioning coaches from around the country attended the symposium and heard presentations by:
Paul Roetert, PhD – Managing Director, Player Development
Biomechanics of Tennis and the Relation to Strength and Power
Todd Ellenbecker, MS, PT, CSCS – Chair, USTA Sport Science Committee
Using Strength Training for Injury Prevention
Donald Chu, PhD, ATC
Functional Training for Tennis
Mike Nishihara, MS, CSCS – USTA Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Movement and Agility Training for Tennis Players
Scott Riewald, PhD, CSCS – Administrator, Sport Science
Developing an Age Appropriate Strength Training Plan
This was a unique opportunity to speak with coaches who may be training tennis players but do not know much about the physical and technical demands of the sport. Scott Riewald, Sport Science Administrator for the USTA, commented “Training a tennis player is not like training a football player. The demands of the game are different, and just as importantly, so is the schedule. This symposium is a wonderful way to educate strength and conditioning coaches about how to design a strength and conditioning program that will not only prevent injuries in a tennis player, but also enhance his or her on court performance.”
Presentations like this are one of the many ways the USTA Sport Science Department is trying to educate players, coaches and parents about the importance using strength training and physical conditioning to augment on-court training. For more information on strength and conditioning, access the Strength and Conditioning page on www.highperformance.usta.com. Check back regularly for additional information as we will post a number of exercises that you can use, along with descriptions, later this summer.