Larry Lauer
Larry Lauer, Ph.D., is the director of coaching education and development in the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports (ISYS) at Michigan State University. He heads a performance-enhancement consulting company, Championship Performance Consulting. Lauer received a Ph.D. in exercise and sport science, specializing in sport psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2005. Lauer has consulted with USTA Player Development for years, including as a researcher of mental-skills training and its use by junior tennis coaches, and the role of parents in the development of junior tennis players. He also has been a presenter to junior tennis parents, coaches, and players. Lauer has worked with USA Tennis to develop junior parent education presentations on getting started as a junior tennis parent and developing a child’s talent. In addition, he has been doing mental-toughness skills and drills presentations in tennis for coaches and athletes. As a sport psychology consultant, he has provided performance enhancement to tennis players from juniors to collegiate to professional. Lauer has also worked with many other sports, including ice hockey, baseball, and soccer. An AASP-certified consultant and listed in the United States Olympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry 2008-2012, Lauer was named one of the 100 Most Influential Sport Educators in America by the Institute for International Sport. He is married to Amy Lauer, an optometrist in Okemos, Michigan, and they have two children, Alaina and Larry, who love to watch tennis with their father (and soon they will play tennis with him as well, but with no pressure to do so from dad).
