ParentingAces
Fitness/Nutrition
USTA on Supplements
05 months ago
Given all the talk about doping in sports these days, I thought y’all might be interested to read what USTA has to say about supplements for junior tennis players. This type of educational information is exactly what I’d love to see more of from our tennis federation. Thank you to Adirondack Tennis for posting this information!
Share this:Sometimes You Just Need A Break
16 months ago
After playing 3 tough tournaments over the past 5 weekends – with 4 back-to-back tourneys looming ahead on the schedule – my son got sick. Nothing serious, mind you, but just the kind of exhaustion-inspired viral junk that makes you feel like garbage. It came on slowly at first but then hit like gangbusters the day before we were supposed to leave for the ITF event in South Carolina. He begged me to call the doctor for an antibiotic in hopes that he could feel good enough by the next day to go to the ITF and perform well. I urged him to super-hydrate, eat well, and visit the chiropractor in a last-ditch, non-antibiotic, effort to get him feeling better. He skipped the meds, took my suggestions, but was still feeling lousy the next More >
Nutrition, High-Tech Style
18 months ago
My son’s fitness trainer had a little chat with him last week about his nutritional needs and how best to meet them. My son is growing taller but is still lacking in the “cushioning” category – i.e. he’s all lean body mass with very few physical reserves or extra fat on his frame. His tennis coach (and his mother!) thinks he needs to bulk up a bit in order to have enough stamina to withstand the physical demands of competing in the Boys 18s.
The trainer told him, based on his height and weight, he needs to be consuming 115 grams of protein EVERY DAY. Since neither he nor I had any idea how that translated to real-world eating, we turned to the Apple iTunes Store, figuring there HAD to be an app for that.
We found a free app called More >
You Gotta Have Faith
210 months ago
A big thank-you to my amazing yoga instructor, Lisa Jones, for the quote above.
Sometimes I get a major wake-up call which catches me totally off guard. This weekend’s tournament was one of those.
The week leading up to the tournament was a rough one for my son. He came down with a cold/sinus infection on Monday and immediately started taking a antibiotic in hopes that he would feel significantly better by the Saturday start day. All week, he shortened his practices, even resorting to hitting with only me one of the days, trying to conserve his energy. I begged him to drink Emergen-C – my go-to when I start feeling a cold coming on. He drank one, maybe two, all week. I begged him to drink protein shakes at the end of each day. He More >
If You Can’t Stand the Heat . . .
510 months ago
For the past several days, the outside temperature has moved into triple digits here in Atlanta, so I figured I’d write a little about how to help our junior players stay healthy in the extreme heat.
What is heat-induced cramping? According to Dr. Scott Riewald, USTA’s Administrator of Sport Science, heat cramps come from dehydration and electrolyte loss that result from sweating. There are other factors (e.g. anxiety, psychological stresses) that can contribute to heat cramps as well. The end result is there is a change in the way the nerves communicate with the muscles – the nerves send inappropriate electrical signals to the muscles that cause them to contract or spasm. The cramps often begin as subtle “twitches” in one or more More >
Help Yourself!
21 year ago
Have you noticed all the medical time-outs and trainer visits the pros seem to be having during their matches in recent years? Sometimes they’re necessary, but sometimes they’re a strategic move on the part of the player to shift the momentum of the match or take a time-out to regroup after a rough patch. In either case, I think it’s time for professional tennis to take a lesson from the juniors and teach the players how to care for themselves court-side or just resign themselves to the fact that the fitter, healthier player is going to win that day.
Very few junior tournaments have medical trainers on staff – it’s just too expensive for the tournament directors – so it’s really important that your junior player understands how to take More >
How To Find A Qualified Fitness Trainer
21 year ago
Today’s article was contributed by our friends at the International Tennis Performance Association. Research continues to support the need for outside fitness training for athletes, especially those who are specializing in one sport and one sport only. While there is an on-going debate regarding the “right” age to start training, the consensus is that junior athletes need to do work in the gym each week in order to keep their growing bodies in balance. When you have time, be sure to look at ITPA’s website, blog, and Facebook page for more information regarding tennis-specific certifications for fitness trainers and coaches looking to have a better understanding of all the physical aspects of tennis.
Finding certified, competent, More >
A Sickening Lesson
11 year ago
My son and I both learned a very valuable lesson this week. Unfortunately, it involved a nasty case of food poisoning (we think), but, hey, sometimes you have to suffer in order to grow, right?
Wednesday was the first scheduled match of my son’s high school tennis season. He didn’t know if he would get to be in the lineup as a first-year Freshman, but he was so excited at the prospect of playing for his school. He was coming off a great tournament win the weekend before and was working hard to be ready to compete.
The Tuesday before was Valentine’s Day. Since my hubby was out of town, I figured I’d fix a dinner for my son and myself that wasn’t one of hubby’s favs – Shepherd’s Pie. We had a nice dinner followed by home-made chocolate More >
A Matter of Fitness
31 year ago
AUSSIE OPEN SEMIFINAL MATCH SPOILER ALERT!!!!!
If you don’t want to know the outcome of the Djokovic-Murray semifinal match, stop reading now!
I watched that match with great interest, especially as it moved into the 5th set. Both players were looking a bit fatigued, and it was obvious that this match was going to come down to who was the most fit – both physically and mentally. While Djokovic has traditionally been plagued with physical ailments which caused him to either retire matches or lose them outright, Murray has been plagued with fatigue of the mental sort but has always been a beast physically. Today was different. Murray seemed to lose his legs early in the final set, struggling to stay in points long enough to do damage to More >
Fluids!
31 year ago
If you think good nutrition doesn’t play a major factor in success on the tennis court, think again!
I have spent this weekend at the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff tournament where 8 American men and 8 American women competed for a spot in the main draw of next month’s Australian Open. In the first round of the tourney, after winning the first set then losing the second in a heart-breaking tie-breaker, Jack Sock found himself up a break in the 3rd set against long-time rival Dennis Kudla. Instead of closing out the match, earning himself a spot in the semifinals the next day, Jack had to retire because of cramping.
Cramping? Indoors? In December?
First of all, Jack Sock is 19 years old and looks to be in great physical condition. More >