Speakers
This is a tentative list. Please check back for updates.
Paul Allam
Originally from Scotland, USPTA Pro Paul Allam has been coaching tennis for the past 25 years in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and the United States. In addition to being a Specialist in Competitive Player Development, Paul is also a certified coach with Tennis Coaches Australia and the Lawn Tennis Association in the United Kingdom. Allam has worked with many world-class coaches and players over the past two decades including Stan Smith, Dick Gould, Judy Murray, Tracy Austin, Dennis Ralston, Rick Leach, Scott Davis, Jared Palmer and Ross Case. He has presented on-court seminars at both local and national level for USPTA, USTA and Tennis Coaches Australia.
Following the completion of his undergraduate studies in Physical Education at Reading University in England, Allam traveled to Cairo, Egypt, where he coached high school tennis teams at the Cairo American College for five years. In 1993 he attended the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he continued to coach both at the university and in local clubs, and obtained his graduate degree in exercise and sports science.
After coaching for a season at Sea Pines Racquet Club in Hilton Head, S.C., Allam served as director of tennis at Seven Lakes Country Club in North Carolina and later at Chatswood Tennis Club in Sydney, Australia. Most recently, Allam was the director of tennis at Pacific Athletic Club in Redwood City, Calif.
Kirk Anderson
Kirk Anderson is the USTA's director of Coach Education and Development. His department provides services and resources to coaches and tennis leaders throughout the country involved with recruiting new players and retaining them in local programs. The department has conducted on-court training workshops for more than 69,000 coaches since 2000.
Anderson, a USPTA Master Professional, has a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a master’s degree in exercise science from Western Michigan University. He is a graduate of the USTA High Performance Coach program and is certified by the International Youth Conditioning Association as a Youth Fitness Specialist.
Anderson has served on the ITF Tennis Participation Task Force since 2000. In 2003, he received the International Tennis Hall of Fame Educational Merit Award, and was named Person of the Year by Racquet Sports Industry magazine in 2006. He is a popular speaker and presenter at international, national, regional and local workshops and is best known for his innovative and energetic style with large groups. He is a member of the HEAD Penn National Advisory Staff and the adidas Tennis Advisory Staff. His appearance is courtesy of USTA.
Lisa Dodson
Lisa Dodson is a 17-year USPTA Pro 1 living and working in the Northern California Division. Dodson is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she played varsity tennis and basketball for the Tarheels. She has had a 35-plus year career in the tennis industry including: former WTA world ranking in singles and doubles; tennis director and club management at facilities in New York, Connecticut, Florida and California; coach to WTA Tour players; college and high school coach; USTA Player Development coach 10 and under and elite; USTA Women’s Challenger Tournament Director; and 18 and under girls sectional coach.
Formerly from New York, Dodson is now owner of Tennis Concepts LLC, developer of The Total Serve. She has taken her vast knowledge of tennis and sport to invent this teaching tool for the tennis serve, overhead and groundstrokes. Dodson is currently presenting it to clubs and facilities nationally and promoting it worldwide.
Todd Ellenbecker
Todd Ellenbecker is a physical therapist and clinic director of Physiotherapy Associates Scottsdale Sports Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is the director of sports medicine for the ATP World Tour. He received his degree in physical therapy from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and a master's degree in exercise physiology from Arizona State University. He completed his Doctor of Physical Therapy from MGH – Institute of Health Professions. In addition, he is certified as a sports clinical specialist, and orthopaedic clinical specialist by the American Physical Therapy Association. He is a certified strength and conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and was awarded their Sports Medicine Professional of the Year in 2003. He is a certified USPTA tennis-teaching professional, and is chairman of the USTA National Sport Science Committee. In 2008 he was the recipient of the Samuel Hardy Educational Merit Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Ellenbecker served as the chairman of the APTA's Shoulder Special Interest Group from 1996 to 2002. He has conducted research and lectured internationally on shoulder and elbow rehabilitation, as well as isokinetic exercise application and musculoskeletal adaptations in elite level tennis players and overhead athletes.
Allen Fox
Allen Fox, Ph.D., earned a bachelor's degree in physics and a Ph.D. in psychology from UCLA, where he won the NCAA singles and doubles titles and was named UCLA Athlete of the Year and All University of California Athlete of the Year. With the same competitive zeal that propelled him to the No. 4 ranking in the United States, to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon and a three-time member of the U.S. Davis Cup Team, he coached and built the Pepperdine University tennis team into a national power, mentoring, among others, renowned coach, Brad Gilbert. Fox's Pepperdine teams were ranked among the nation's Top 5 for 10 consecutive years and reached two NCAA team finals.
Fox wrote the tennis best sellers, "If I'm the Better Player, Why Can't I Win?," "Think to Win," and most recently, "Tennis: Winning the Mental Match." He is an editor of and contributor to Tennis magazine, writes for various websites, and is well-known for his "1-Minute Clinics" on the Tennis Channel. He also lectures around the world on tennis psychology at conferences as well as tennis clubs nationwide. In addition, Fox consults on the mental issues of tennis with players of all levels, from recreational players to pros and is the mental fitness director at the Weil Tennis Academy in Ojai, Calif.
Feisal Hassan
Feisal Hassan, a USPTA Master Professional, is the general manager and tennis director at the Midlothian Tennis Club in Midlothian, Va. He is also a member of the HEAD Penn Racquet Sports National Advisory Board and National Speaker's Bureau and holds USPTA specialist degrees in Competitive Player Development, Facility Management and Little Tennis. He is a USTA Recreational Coach and QuickStart trainer, a member of the National Cardio Tennis Speakers Team and co-chairs the USPTA National Education and College Curriculum committees. Hassan was also the director of coaches' education and Junior Davis Cup team coach for Tennis Zimbabwe.
Hassan was one of Tennis Industry magazine's prestigious "40 Under 40" for being one of the top 40 people under 40 years old who have had and will continue to have a strong influence in the sport.
Hassan writes and conducts seminars, workshops and clinics for international, national and sectional organizations and events. In 2011, he was named USPTA's Alex Gordon Professional of the Year. He was also named to the USPTA Mid-Atlantic Hall of Fame inaugural class of 2012.
Rod Heckelman
Rod Heckelman's career started in 1966, the summer after his junior year in high school
when he began his five-year role as a teacher at John Gardiner's Tennis Ranch in Carmel
Valley, Calif. Later he opened as the resident pro for Gardiner's Tennis Ranch on Camelback
in Scottsdale, Ariz. At 20, he was one of the youngest head pros at what some considered one of the top tennis resorts in the world. In 1976 he returned to California, where he took over as head pro/tennis director at the Mt. Tam Racquet Club in Larkspur. He took on the title and responsibilities of general manager in 1982.
Heckelman is a published author and his facilities manual is available digitally through the Tennis Industry Association for managers and clubs to use as a model for operating their businesses. More recently, he created a "Business Handbook for Tennis Pros," that is also being produced by TIA. In 2010 he was named Manager of the Year by the USPTA Northern California Division and won the USPTA Manager of the Year Award. Heckelman is a frequent presenter at industry events throughout the country, lecturing to fellow pros about management skills and helping them transition into management.
Dr. Neeru Jayanthi
Dr. Neeru Jayanthi is the director of Loyola's new Tennis Medicine program, geared to treating tennis-related injuries in all levels of players. He is also the medical director of primary care sports medicine (non-surgical and medical sports medicine) for the Loyola University Health System and team physician of Loyola University Chicago athletics.
Jayanthi regularly manages and does research on sports-related injuries and illnesses in elite-level and recreational athletes. He has been a volunteer ATP physician for more than 10 years; vice president and chair of education for the International Society for Tennis Medicine and Science (STMS); and a USPTA-certified teaching professional. He is a speaker at many conferences and has spoken at USPTA divisional conferences as well as at USTA national conferences, regional training centers and international tennis medicine conferences. He has designed injury prevention and conditioning programs for competitive and elite junior programs at several tennis clubs. Jayanthi has recently appeared on WGN-TV news "Medical Watch," ABC news, CBS national radio, XM radio and other outlets for recent research findings on junior tennis players and elite young athletes.
Julian Johnson
Julian Johnson is a USPTA Professional currently teaching at George Washington Tennis Center. He has written numerous articles, including "A Whirlwind Event" about his grandfather Dr. Johnson who is the International Tennis Hall of Fame coach of Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe. He is also the filmmaker of an upcoming release called "On a Heavenly Track." Johnson is a previous presenter at USTA Multicultural Workshops in Alameda, Calif., and West Palm Beach, Fla. He was also an Interracial Dialogue Facilitator for "Oregon Uniting/Uniting to Understand Racism."
Pete Kelly
Pete Kelly is one of the Palm Springs' top tennis professionals who's been actively involved in the tennis community for many years. As a player, he competed on the professional tour in the United States and Europe. When Kelly began teaching, his reputation as an instructor quickly spread. He has written an informative and instructional book titled "Tennis for Lefties and everyone else." Kelly also produced and starred in a pilot for an instructional tennis video called "New Age Tennis, That’ll Work!" He is the owner of Total Tennis International: Have racquet will travel.
Kelly still competes in senior competitions and has been ranked No. 3 nationally in singles by the USPTA, and No. 1 in doubles by the USTA in Men's 45s. He has won several major titles including the 2001 USTA Men's 45s National Hard Court Championships in doubles. He was a 2009 doubles semifinalist at the 55s USTA National Grass court Championships.
Mark Kovacs, Ph.D.
Mark Kovacs is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association, a certified health/fitness instructor through the American College of Sports Medicine, a United States Track and Field Level II sprints coach and a USPTA-certified tennis coach. He recently created the International Tennis Performance Association.
He was an All-American and NCAA doubles champion at Auburn University. After playing professionally, he pursued his graduate work performing tennis-specific research and has a graduate degree in Exercise Science from Auburn University and a Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from The University of Alabama.
Kovacs has published and presented tennis specific research in numerous top scientific journals and at national and international conferences. He is also an author of the tennis conditioning text "Tennis Training: Enhancing On-Court Performance" and is currently an associate editor of the "Strength and Conditioning Journal." Kovacs was an Assistant Professor of Exercise Science and Wellness at Jacksonville State University.
Ryan Krane
Ryan Krane is a certified Corrective Exercise Specialist who specializes in helping tennis players reduce injuries. His passion in life is to help chronic pain sufferers address and eliminate recurring body aches through expert-designed flexibility, posture, and strength training. He has developed The Krane Training Method ™, designed after years of working with clients tormented by various pains.
Krane applies many years of experience in fitness and health, and guides clients on their paths to achieve ultimate health. He started off as a certified tennis coach, strength and conditioning coach, sports nutritionist, and personal trainer, and has progressed to focus on corrective exercise in order to remedy chronic ailments such as back pain, shoulder pain, and other common body aches.
Michele Krause
Michele Krause is the global Cardio Tennis manager for the TIA and she oversees the Cardio Tennis program both in the United States and abroad. Her responsibilities include all the day-to-day operations: administration, programming, curriculum, event planning, training and marketing. She is also responsible for the 40 tennis professionals on the National Cardio Tennis Speakers Team who assist her with training, educating and consumer events. Krause also serves as the coordinator for those countries that are in the process of establishing, launching or continuing to develop Cardio Tennis.
She speaks at many industry conventions, meetings and events to provide ongoing education on the Cardio Tennis program. She also trains coaches on how to deliver the product through national and international workshops. Cardio Tennis was featured on NBC’s the Biggest Loser under her guidance with Anna Kournakova.
Krause is a USPTA tennis professional who managed tennis facilities throughout the United States for more than 16 years. Her appearance is courtesy of the TIA.
Rick Macci
USPTA Master Professional Rick Macci is a member of the USPTA Florida Division Hall of Fame and the hall of fame in his hometown of Greenville, Ohio, for tennis and basketball. He has been the Florida Division's pro of the year six times and was the 2005 winner of the Alex Gordon USPTA Professional of the Year award.
Macci is an instructional editor for Tennis magazine and is one of the most in-demand clinicians and speakers in the world. He is also a featured instructor on the award-winning television show, "On Court with USPTA," which appears on the Tennis Channel.
Macci has been the personal coach of five players who have been No. 1 in the world – Venus and Serena Williams, Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati and Maria Sharapova. He currently teaches more than 50 hours a week , working with players age 4 to touring pros. He serves on the USPTA Player Development Committee and works with the USTA Player Development Program.
Macci recently created a teaching methodology with sports science pioneer Dr. Brian Gordon, and Macci's academy offers cutting-edge 3D analysis of stroke mechanics with an actual MRI of players' strokes.
Jim McLennan
Jim McLennan is the tennis director at the Fremont Hills Country Club in Los Altos Hills, Calif., the editor of TennisONE.com and publisher of Essentialtennisinstruction.com. He is a past president of the USPTA Northern California Division, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC Berkeley, and earned a master's degree in sport psychology from the University of West Florida.
He has been a seminarian at international tennis teacher events, including the ITF Tennis Science and Technology conference, the USPTA World Conference, the USTA National Teachers Conference, and the STMS conference.
McLennan developed and patented a miniature electromechanical swing trainer for his master's thesis study of "The Effects of Biomechanical Feedback on the Tennis Serve," and co-authored footwork research with Stanford University biomechanical engineering.
Stan Oley
Stan Oley is a member of the USPTA and USTA, and serves on the Ferris State University Advisory Board. Oley has been the USPTA Florida Division District 15 President for the past four years. During his 27 years as a teaching professional, he has been the head tennis professional at the International Tennis Center in Key Biscayne, Fla., (home of the Sony Eriksson Championships) and also the director of tennis at Orange Lake Country Club in Orlando, Fla.
Oley has been working and teaching with ball machines for the past 21 years and is a sought after speaker. He has also published drills and articles for Tennis Week, USPTA's ADDvantage magazine and other industry publications. He has been featured on the Tennis Channel's "One Minute Clinics" and "On Court with USPTA." Oley also has three full-length instructional DVDs featuring ball machines, including drills, training the serve return, and using proper technique in the different zones of the court. His DVD "Rip Your Returns Like the Pros" won an Award of Distinction. His appearance is courtesy of Stan Oley's Tennis Equipment Sales and Service.
Hans Römer
Hans Römer, born and raised in the Netherlands, has been coaching for more than 25 years. He started his coaching career after obtaining a bachelor’s degree in physical education from the prestigious CIOS Sport College. In addition to being a USPTA Master Professional, he also successfully completed the High Performance Program of the KNLTB (Royal Dutch Tennis Association).
Römer is the owner of the Monterey Bay Racquet Club, the official site of the 2012 USPTA World Conference. He serves the USPTA Northern California board of directors as vice president after having served the New England and California divisions. He also joined the USTA Northern California Coaches Commission, after successfully coaching the BG14’s to a first NorCal Gold Medal ever at the USTA “Zonals” in Colorado Springs in 2011.
Since January 2012 Hans has been a radio show host on KRXA540AM, hosting “talk10s with hans” on the Monterey Peninsula. Being a member of the USTWA, his articles have appeared in many international tennis publications. Römer has embraced a variety of social media to successfully promote his club and different programs.
Jeff Salzenstein
Jeff Salzenstein is the founder and president of Jeff Salzenstein Tennis, an organization focused on helping tennis players improve their games through online tennis instruction in the areas of technique, footwork, nutrition, injury prevention, motivation and athletic development. He is a USPTA Professional 1, Specialist in Competitive Player Development and a Certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.
A member of the Colorado Tennis Hall of Fame, Salzenstein set the standard for tennis in Colorado with an unsurpassed record as a player at the amateur and professional levels. As he regularly competed against the best players in the world, he became a serious student of the game and an accomplished world-class competitor.
Salzenstein turned professional in 1996 after graduating from Stanford University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics. In 1997, Salzenstein was named Rookie of the Year by Tennis Week magazine. He has wins over Mardy Fish, David Nalbandian, Greg Rusedski, and Fernando Verdasco. In 2004, despite having two major surgeries, Salzenstein broke into the top 100 in the world for the first time and was the first American to accomplish this feat after his 30th birthday. He concluded his playing career in 2007 and became a high-performance tennis coach in Denver, Colo.
Salzenstein's website, www.JeffSalzensteinTennis.com, shares cutting-edge tennis tips and lessons to help players improve their games.
Paula Scheb
Paula Scheb is the director of tennis at the Bonita Bay Club, which is a 2,400-acre, gated community with 18 courts, five golf courses, 11,000 square-foot fitness center and spa with 4,000 members. Paula has been at the Bonita Bay Club for 17 years. She is a USPTA Master Professional and former Florida Professional of the Year. She has been very involved with the Florida Division, having previously served as president and head tester for the division.
Scheb graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in business marketing. She played college tennis for the No. 2 nationally ranked Lady Gators and was a doubles All-American while attending the UF.
Scheb has also been a regular contributor to Tennis magazine, including a special edition periodical titled "Tips from the Masters," which was promoted at the U.S. Open.
Her expertise is in club programming and management, having worked for 16 years for one of the leading developers in the state. Scheb currently hosts one of the largest tennis-only fundraisers in the country, with the biggest contingent of former touring professionals in attendance, raising more than $195,000 for children with cancer. Scheb's appearance is courtesy of HEAD Penn Racquet Sports.