The Coach

I broke my neck and my ankle jumping out of airplanes, and I rebuilt myself in my fifties. That is the whole reason this program exists.

I know what it is to be told that the version of you that moved well is behind you. I also know that in most cases it is not true, and that the people saying it are usually treating age as the diagnosis instead of looking for the actual restriction.

Twenty six years in uniform

I served 26 years in the Army. I started as a Combat Engineer, then served as a Special Forces Communications Sergeant, and later as a Special Forces Detachment Commander leading an Operational Detachment Alpha in combat and in peacetime. Preparation in that world is not a lifestyle choice. It is the difference between coming home and not.

Seven and a half years building operators

I spent seven and a half years as head strength and conditioning coach for the United States Air Force Special Warfare Human Performance Squadron, working across the Combat Control, Pararescue, Tactical Air Control Party, and Special Reconnaissance pipelines. Those are among the most physically demanding training pipelines in the United States military. My work was keeping people durable through them, and putting them back together when something gave out.

The method

I hold certifications in Functional Range Conditioning, Kinstretch, and Functional Range Assessment through Dr. Andreo Spina and Functional Anatomy Seminars, and I am a Level 3 Fascial Stretch Therapist. I have a Brazilian jiu jitsu background, and I use the Bailey Method for footwork.

What those tools have in common is that they treat the joint as the starting point. You cannot express strength through a range you do not own, and you cannot own a range you have never trained under load. For a tennis player past 40, that is almost always where the real problem is hiding.

Why tennis, and why over 40

Because it is the population that gets the worst advice. Adult competitive players are handed junior programming with less volume, or they are handed general fitness and told to be grateful. Neither one addresses the shoulder, the hip, the spine, or the recovery window that actually governs whether you are still competing at 60.

I am in San Antonio. The coaching is remote, and the standard is the same one I held when the stakes were considerably higher than a match.