A Tennis Experience Tailored to Fit Individual Needs
At the Lavalle Roddick School of Tennis, our coaching staff has adopted the philosophy that there is no cookbook of coaching techniques that applies identically to each player. We emphasize the development of life skills and educate our players to understand that the ideas and concepts learned on the tennis court apply to their lives outside tennis. We take a global approach by addressing the physiological, psychological, tactical and technical skills each player needs to reach his/her full potential. LRST programs include fulltime boarding, non-boarding, single semester programs, summer camp, and private lessons.
High Performance Coaching
High performance tennis coaching is an art. Some tennis academies imitate other coaching philosophies they have heard or read about, neglecting the fact that no program is one-size-fits-all. This is where coaching ceases to be a science and becomes an art. By operating on such a small scale, we are able to provide each of our players the proper training program that suits his/her individual needs.
Academic Excellence
Our personalized approach also applies to our fitness and education programs. Through individualized attention and consistent reinforcement, we maintain high quality standards for student education and enrichment. We emphasize activities that teach value systems, build life skills and solidify peer and adult relationships. The LRST education program awakens students’ imaginations and inspires them to succeed.
Fitness Philosophy
At the Lavalle Roddick School of Tennis, our fitness training program is structured in terms of competency over capacity. We evaluate each player individually in order to reveal dysfunction and asymmetry and we carefully customize training programs based on tournament schedules. Above all, we set up for success by precisely evaluating movement systems, instantaneous levels of preparation that we can use heart rate variability for, and the sensory systems in terms of vision and touch.
We strongly believe that tennis fitness development encompasses three main segments of athletic training:
1) Improving and maintaining fundamental movement skills of mobility and motor control.
2) Increasing strength, speed, power, and endurance
3) Mastery of technical and strategic tennis skills
The above principles of the program are graded and prioritized by the Functional Performance Pyramid. The most caudal and widest portion of the pyramid is Functional Movement (3), which includes mobility, stability, and motor control. The central portion of the pyramid, which should not exceed the caudal portion in width, is Functional Performance (4), which includes limit force, rate of force development, and endurance of all qualities. The cephalad portion of the pyramid, not to exceed Functional Performance or Functional Movement in width, is Functional Skill (5).
Prioritizing or improving any of the components of the qualities above begins with systematic evaluation of the body's movement spectrum, the body's constant state of preparedness and recovery, and the body's sensory systems. Utilizing best practice of science and practical experience, evaluating these categories allows for manipulating the training program for efficient and expansive windows for recovery and technical skill sessions.
This year 2012, we welcome our new fitness specialist Charlie Weingroff. Charlie will be in charge of designing and overseeing in coordination with our fitness director Francisco Leon, the academy's training programs.Â
