Q&A: How tennis players can reach peak performance

As someone who played a lot of different sports and who's worked with many different athletes, do you think playing a variety of sports can help improve your tennis game, and if so, in what ways?

I'm a big proponent of playing multiple sports because what I think it does is it keeps your body in shape. It allows different parts of your body to rest. A lot of what we're seeing in young athletes is what we call overuse injuries. These overuse injuries simply come from doing the same repetitive movements and motions again, and again and again. We see a lot of shoulder injuries or elbow injuries with tennis players simply because of the repetitive motions.

Well, imagine if a young tennis athlete goes and plays a different sport. They'll have some kind of rest from that repitition for their shoulder, for their elbow, based on the different sport that they play. I think it improves your quick-twitch muscles. It can improve your durability. It can enhance your ability to, I guess I'll say, 'last.' I think that a lot of young athletes burn out quickly, and giving themselves a break and playing other sports, it helps them to continue to play the sport that they love longer, simply because I think they develop a true passion for it rather than a burnout from it. I'm a big fan of of playing multiple sports and I think young tennis players can definitely benefit from expanding themselves athletically.

Being a team physician, you talk to a lot of different athletes. What are your top three pieces of advice you give your athletes to help them achieve their peak performance?

I think one that just jumps right off the table to me is taking care of your body. So many people are taught that if you are in pain or hurting, to, as we say, 'suck it up' and play through it, right? Are there times in big moments when you have to maybe block out a little discomfort to get through? Sure. For the most part, though, I think that is wrong. I think we have to pay attention to our bodies because when our bodies are hurting, it's the body's way of telling us, 'Hey, slow down, fix something. Let's heal. Let's take time,' and a lot of young athletes nowadays are taught to go, go, go, go, go without paying attention to the fact that their body's telling them to slow down, so it can heal and they can be at their best.

That's probably one of the first things I tell all my young athletes. 'Hey, if you are hurting, come talk to me as your team doctor or talk to your athletic trainer, talk to your coach, let somebody know,' because if you're injured, you may only be able to play 75 percent. And guess what? If you are playing for yourself or team or whatever it is, you're hurting yourself and your team. It can also hurt if you're young and you want to get recruited to play at another level. When people come to see you play, they see you playing at a certain level and they think that this is your 100 percent, when in reality, you're playing at your 75 percent. You're being graded against or judged against these other people who are vying for the same scholarship or the same thing as you are, but they're out there at their 100 percent. It's so important to take the time and let your body heal so that you can be at your optimum level.

The other thing you have to practice to is what you put it in your body. I think we have to be very cognizant of saying, 'Hey, make sure that we fuel ourselves correctly.' You can splurge and enjoy yourself because you should, you deserve it. You work hard. But you do have to make sure that you are putting proper things in your body that will allow you to perform at your optimum level. 

Besides nutrition, what other things can players do off the court to help improve their ability and their peak performance?

Something I've learned now, in my later years as a former athlete, is that getting rest is so super important to the body. That's your time for your body to recharge, to heal, to rest and recover. There are so many good studies out there that show that the body really does heal and recover so much with proper, adequate rest. With proper, adequate rest, you can be mentally as sharp as you need to be. Your body can react and respond the way that it needs to.

The mind is next one that I go to. Your mental health is so important with this game. You're out there by yourself when you're in tennis. When you play a big team sport, you can really rely on others around you; when it's just you and me, everybody is looking just at you. Tennis is not like football, where it's a purely physical and there's a mental part to it. Tennis is a mental game in a lot of different ways. You've got to be able to anticipate what your opponent is going to do. You've got to be able to think about what what your next shot is going to be before you get to your shot. You have to be sharp in order to really succeed in this game. I think that you've got to take care of yourself mentally. We've seen a lot of a lot of younger professional athletes that have really shown the importance of mental health and how important it is to take care of yourself so that you can play the sport that you love at a high level.

For a fun last question: you brought up balancing good nutrition with rewarding yourself. What's your go-to cheat meal after a long week of attending team practices and seeing patients?

I have three quick ones! Being born and raised in Southern California, I love Mexican food, so tacos for me are always just ... I just love tacos. Pizza, too; there's this place down in L.A. that I see on Instagram every single day and eventually I'm going to get down there because it looks so good. But my favorite is Creole food. My family is from Louisiana, and Cajun Creole food to me is something that I could eat every single day from catfish, gator, gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish, red beans and rice, I love it.

In addition to his current role for Division I California Baptist, Henry is the team physician for USA Water Polo, three local high schools and the director of sports medicine at the Riverside Medical Clinic. He's also the master's program director for athletic training at CBU. Off campus, Henry is the assistant director for Tour for Diversity in Medicine, an organization that works to educate, inspire and cultivate the future generations of minority physicians, dentists and pharmacists, and is a member of the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics, among others.