Welcome to Season 10, Episode 29, of the ParentingAces Podcast, a proud member of the Tennis Channel Podcast Network! This week we tackle a topic suggested by one of our long-time listeners: off-court training for Junior Tennis Players.

Dean Hollingworth has more fitness and tennis certifications than pretty much anyone around. Although based in Montreal, Canada, Dean works with tennis players both in person and virtually and has helped so many of them on their journey to US College Tennis and the professional circuit.

In this week's podcast, Dean shares some very specific information for all of you hoping to help your Junior Players develop to their utmost ability. I highly encourage you to watch the video version as Dean shares some great visuals in this episode. He also provides detailed answers to the questions you submitted via email and Facebook:

1.      How much non-hitting training should juniors do?

2.      Should juniors attend specific agility/speed facilities that are popping up all over?

3.      What weight lifts are most important to tennis?

4.      What footwork drills are best?

5.      What are some dynamics a junior player on hiatus can do while recovering?

6.      What is a good upper body strengthening technique to make shoulders stronger for a better swing?

7.      Tennis specific resistance band strength training for my junior twins.

8.      Tennis specific 15 minute stretch I can get them to do as I’m making breakfast, packing their lunch and filling water bottles for a full day of tennis before I drop them off. I want it to become automatic but don’t know which exercises they should do every day to stretch and prevent injury.

9.      How safe is weight training and conditioning before puberty?

10.  How many days per week and how long should a player being doing off court fitness for different age groups, like under 12, 13-14, 15-16, 17-18

11.  Are there any online resources for parents/kids that can help with ideas of what a good fitness routine should be like or what are the best exercises?

12.  Is it better to do in a small group vs one on one?

13.  How do you find the right fitness coach?

14.  Can a second sport be fitness training?

15.  How important is flexibility and how do you build it?

16.  What should a junior player be doing to prevent injury?

17.  What is appropriate for younger juniors considering growing bodies?

18.  How should junior players prepare for the rigors of college tennis?

19.  What is the importance of sleep in terms of an overall fitness program for jrs?

To see the videos Dean references in this podcast, click here. For more information on Dean and to get in contact with him, visit his website here. You can also follow him on Facebook and Instagram for new videos and other valuable content.

As always, a big thank you to Morgan Stone, aka STØNE, for our 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 on Facebook, Twitter, and 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 your favorite podcast app. If you haven’t already, be sure to become a Member of ParentingAces by clicking here. And check out our logo’d merch in our online shop (Premium Members received FREE SHIPPING every day!).

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