For Tennis Parents by a Tennis Parent

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Welcome to Season 8, Episode 12 of the ParentingAces Podcast! In this week’s episode, I chat with Mark Kovacs, PhD, founder of the International Tennis Performance Association (iTPA) and fellow Atlanta resident, about the concept of Periodization and how best to use it with our junior tennis players.

This conversation came about after I received an email from a ParentingAces listener asking for more information about what periodization really is and how she can incorporate it into her child’s training and competition schedule. After sending her a few articles to read, it occurred to me that Mark Kovacs would be the best person to address this topic on the podcast. 

Dr. Mark Kovacs is a renowned performance physiologist, researcher, university professor, author, speaker and coach with an extensive background training and researching athletes at all levels. He serves the iTPA membership as its Executive Director. He formally directed the Sport Science, Strength & Conditioning and Coaching Education departments for the United States Tennis Association (USTA). He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine and the ITPA. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles and abstracts in top journals including the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Sports Medicine, Sports Health, International Journal of Sport Physiology and Performance, Strength & Conditioning Journal, Journal of Sports Science and Medicine among many others. He is currently the Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Strength & Conditioning Journal and is on the editorial board for multiple other journals including the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. He has presented workshops and keynote addresses on four continents and well over 100 presentations. Along with his academic and scientific background Dr. Kovacs is also a coach and former professional athlete. He was an All-American and NCAA doubles champion in tennis at Auburn University. After playing professionally, he completed his graduate work at Auburn University and earned his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from The University of Alabama. Dr. Kovacs is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a certified Health/Fitness Specialist through the American College of Sports Medicine, a United States Track and Field Level II Sprints Coach and Certified Tennis Coach.

In other words, Mark knows whereof he speaks!

As he mentions in the podcast, Mark was scheduled to host a Tennis Fitness Combine on March 9 in Atlanta. Unfortunately, he had to cancel that event and offers his apologies.

To contact Mark via his website, click here. To find Mark on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), search @MKovacsPhd.

Thank you to my son, Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our new intro and outro music this season! You can find more of his music at SoundCloud.com/stonemuzic. If you’re interested in House Music, please be sure to check out his social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

If you’re so inclined, please share this – and all our episodes! – with your tennis community. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or via the ParentingAces website. This podcast – and all of the work ParentingAces does – is supported by donations from our audience. If you are getting value from these podcasts, please consider making a donation – any size is much appreciated! – through PayPal here. You can also support ParentingAces by clicking on the ads on the right sidebar at ParentingAces.com. Thank you!

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