At Your Service: Keeping Kids Healthy & Safe

USTA Missouri Valley is At Your Service and is committed to ensuring junior players enjoy their time on the court - and do so safely!  With that in mind, the below resources will help do just that. Have fun out on the courts as the weather warms - and stay safe out there!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 2.6 million children from birth to 19 years-old are treated in the emergency department every year for sports and recreational-related injuries.  Fortunately, there are things parents can do so their child does not become a statistic. For more information from the CDC on sports safety click here.

Play Healthy KC Podcast

Episode 1: Performace Anxiety in Sport

We've all been a bit nervous before a tennis match. Anxiety and worry have the chance to derail peak performance for young competitive athletes.

Performance anxiety can get worse over time, eventually creating a variety of negative physical and mental issues for the athlete. Sports mental therapist Becky Wiseman, LSCSW,  from Children's Mercy's Sports Medicine Center looks more closely into performance anxiety and provides coping mechanisms for athletes, parents and coaches.  

Find the podcast here. 

Episode 2:  Heat Illness in Sport

Extremely high temperatures put athletes at an increased risk for heat illness. If you know the steps for prevention, it can help keep your athlete safe. Dr. Jay Roberson discusses in the podcast how heat illness is completely preventable, and that knowing and acting on the steps is important.

Find the podcast here. 

Tips to Help You Stay Safe on the Court

USTA Missouri Valley is proud to partner with Children's Mercy.  Ron Wollenhaupt is also a trainer with Children's Mercy Sports Medicine Center, as well as Leavenworth High School in Kansas, and has been covering USTA events since 2015. In the summer of 2019, when Children’s Mercy and the USTA Missouri Valley partnered to cover USTA events, he stepped into a larger role and is a prominent face at tournaments around the area. 

Read his tips for staying safe on the court here. 

For the “Love” of Tennis: Harvey Brings First-Hand Experience to Care for Tennis Players

Kansas City area youth who play tennis have a health care advocate in Brian Harvey, DO, Children’s Mercy Sports Medicine Center Physician. That’s because Dr. Harvey not only loves the sport, he’s played it, and played it competitively at the high school and collegiate levels. 

Read the article here.

Q & A with Bill Ingemi

USTA Missouri writer Josh Sellmeyer spoke with Bill Ingemi — longtime Springfield Lasers head athletic trainer — to get some tips and advice for youth players heading into the busy spring and summer months of tennis in conjunction with April's National Youth Sports Safety Month. 

Ingemi has served as the Lasers’ athletic trainer all 25 seasons the World Team Tennis (WTT) franchise has competed in Springfield. Additionally, Ingemi is the health & wellness coordinator for the Springfield Parks Department. He has been with the parks department for nearly 20 years and has worked as a licensed and certified athletic trainer for 36 years.

Read the article here.

USTA Missouri Valley is At Your Service

We have several resources to help you navigate tennis in 2021:

Tournament Help - At Your Service

With a new year came tournament changes. Tournament Help - At Your Service dives into those changes, as well as directs you to USTA Online Help Center for more information on creating and editing your profile, how to declare residency and more. 

We also have a myriad of other tips to improve your game AND stay healthy: https://www.usta.com/en/home/improve.html