by Craig Morgan
Matt Hill isn't wasting time as the coach of the reborn Sun Devil men's tennis program. Coach Sheila McInerney has been doing the same for more than three decades, taking her team consistently to the NCAA Championships and graduating the best of the best when it comes to Sun Devil Student-Athletes.
That combination can be incredible in helping get people involved in the Sun Devil tennis programs.
"When Coach Hill got the ASU post he reached out to me in the first month and said he wanted to make this the best set-up of any college program in the country," said Mark Kovacs, who was getting his PhD at Alabama while Hill was a volunteer assistant coach there, getting his master's degree. "He asked if I could help."
Before the Sun Devils play their first match on Jan. 13 vs. Duke, Hill has assembled an all-star cast of part-time consultants that he believes will provide the team with a level of sports science acumen, training and medical care few programs can rival. The team has the ability to assist both the men's and women's teams as both programs strive to be among the tops in the nation, with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association now right down street and several other incredible opportunities for collegiate tennis landing in Tempe.
Kovacs will serve as a sports science advisor in the areas of performance and injury prevention, Bret Waltz is the Devils' conditioning coach and Todd Ellenbecker will serve as a sports medicine advisor in conjunction with team physicians.
Kovacs, an All-American and NCAA doubles champion at Auburn, formerly directed the Sport Science, Strength and Conditioning and Coaching Education departments for the United States Tennis Association (USTA), and he was the Director of the Gatorade Sport Science Institute. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA).
The Scottsdale-based Waltz is a private physical therapist to players on the ATP and WTA Tour, and provided tournament coverage for USTA Pro Circuit tennis events. He also does strength and conditioning work for tennis academies and tennis clubs.
Ellenbecker is a physical therapist and clinic director of Physiotherapy Associates Scottsdale Sports Clinic in Scottsdale. He is also the Vice President of Medical Services for the ATP World Tour. He received his degree in physical therapy from Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1985 and a master's in exercise physiology from ASU in 1989.
"Our players want to play professional tennis," Hill said. "To have these pieces and these people available to them that typically only work with the best of the best on the men's pro circuit is unbelievable."
Hill said his desire to assemble this particular team was twofold. One of the main gaps for 17- and 18-year-old players trying to make it as pros is a physical gap. The average age of men's players on the tour has increased, making it harder for the young players to keep up because they haven't physically matured. In addition, university strength coaches generally are not specialized for tennis' unique demands in the areas of strength and movement.
"My role is just really to optimize the various resources available on campus and also bring more expertise from outside to provide consulting and services in specific areas," said the Atlanta-based Kovacs, who will work remotely but visit the program a few times each season. "I'm really focusing on all areas involved in making those 10 to 12 guys in the program the best they can be by improving their overall daily schedule, optimizing sleep, nutrition, daily training as well as off-court strength and conditioning programs, working closely with the coaches on campus."
Ellenbecker will see the team at his clinic for preseason assessments and check in with them two to three times more each year. He has been working with the Sun Devils women's team for years.
"We want to see how flexible and strong they are, any muscular imbalances they may have, movement dysfunctions and identify risks -- things that could lead to breakdowns or injuries," said Ellenbecker, citing rotator cuff imbalances as a common issue in tennis players due to specific muscle usage. "Running through these tests, we'll be to design programs specific to tennis and be able to implement things based on what we find in testing that will help."
Waltz will work with the players three days a week on general conditioning, footwork drills, movement patterns and other tennis-specific drills.
"What's really interesting about this group is that everybody has a different background when it comes to training because these players come from so many different cultures; different countries," said Waltz, who worked with the USTA for 7½ years. "The challenge is being able to create a program that benefits everybody and doesn't limit guys who are experienced or overdo it for guys who are not experienced."
The ability to get in on the ground floor of fledgling program offers unique advantages because they will be setting the tone, expectations, habits and direction of the program.
"Whether it's in the gym or movement training on the court, these are areas of weakness, generally speaking, in college tennis and for players transitioning to the tour," Hill said. "We look at this as an opportunity to take steps forward and get ahead of the curve by putting an incredible team together."
Matt Hill isn't wasting time as the coach of the reborn Sun Devil men's tennis program. Coach Sheila McInerney has been doing the same for more than three decades, taking her team consistently to the NCAA Championships and graduating the best of the best when it comes to Sun Devil Student-Athletes.
That combination can be incredible in helping get people involved in the Sun Devil tennis programs.
"When Coach Hill got the ASU post he reached out to me in the first month and said he wanted to make this the best set-up of any college program in the country," said Mark Kovacs, who was getting his PhD at Alabama while Hill was a volunteer assistant coach there, getting his master's degree. "He asked if I could help."
Before the Sun Devils play their first match on Jan. 13 vs. Duke, Hill has assembled an all-star cast of part-time consultants that he believes will provide the team with a level of sports science acumen, training and medical care few programs can rival. The team has the ability to assist both the men's and women's teams as both programs strive to be among the tops in the nation, with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association now right down street and several other incredible opportunities for collegiate tennis landing in Tempe.
Kovacs will serve as a sports science advisor in the areas of performance and injury prevention, Bret Waltz is the Devils' conditioning coach and Todd Ellenbecker will serve as a sports medicine advisor in conjunction with team physicians.
Kovacs, an All-American and NCAA doubles champion at Auburn, formerly directed the Sport Science, Strength and Conditioning and Coaching Education departments for the United States Tennis Association (USTA), and he was the Director of the Gatorade Sport Science Institute. He currently serves as the Executive Director of the International Tennis Performance Association (ITPA).
The Scottsdale-based Waltz is a private physical therapist to players on the ATP and WTA Tour, and provided tournament coverage for USTA Pro Circuit tennis events. He also does strength and conditioning work for tennis academies and tennis clubs.
Ellenbecker is a physical therapist and clinic director of Physiotherapy Associates Scottsdale Sports Clinic in Scottsdale. He is also the Vice President of Medical Services for the ATP World Tour. He received his degree in physical therapy from Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1985 and a master's in exercise physiology from ASU in 1989.
"Our players want to play professional tennis," Hill said. "To have these pieces and these people available to them that typically only work with the best of the best on the men's pro circuit is unbelievable."
Hill said his desire to assemble this particular team was twofold. One of the main gaps for 17- and 18-year-old players trying to make it as pros is a physical gap. The average age of men's players on the tour has increased, making it harder for the young players to keep up because they haven't physically matured. In addition, university strength coaches generally are not specialized for tennis' unique demands in the areas of strength and movement.
"My role is just really to optimize the various resources available on campus and also bring more expertise from outside to provide consulting and services in specific areas," said the Atlanta-based Kovacs, who will work remotely but visit the program a few times each season. "I'm really focusing on all areas involved in making those 10 to 12 guys in the program the best they can be by improving their overall daily schedule, optimizing sleep, nutrition, daily training as well as off-court strength and conditioning programs, working closely with the coaches on campus."
Ellenbecker will see the team at his clinic for preseason assessments and check in with them two to three times more each year. He has been working with the Sun Devils women's team for years.
"We want to see how flexible and strong they are, any muscular imbalances they may have, movement dysfunctions and identify risks -- things that could lead to breakdowns or injuries," said Ellenbecker, citing rotator cuff imbalances as a common issue in tennis players due to specific muscle usage. "Running through these tests, we'll be to design programs specific to tennis and be able to implement things based on what we find in testing that will help."
Waltz will work with the players three days a week on general conditioning, footwork drills, movement patterns and other tennis-specific drills.
"What's really interesting about this group is that everybody has a different background when it comes to training because these players come from so many different cultures; different countries," said Waltz, who worked with the USTA for 7½ years. "The challenge is being able to create a program that benefits everybody and doesn't limit guys who are experienced or overdo it for guys who are not experienced."
The ability to get in on the ground floor of fledgling program offers unique advantages because they will be setting the tone, expectations, habits and direction of the program.
"Whether it's in the gym or movement training on the court, these are areas of weakness, generally speaking, in college tennis and for players transitioning to the tour," Hill said. "We look at this as an opportunity to take steps forward and get ahead of the curve by putting an incredible team together."