Dr. Larry Lauer

Larry Lauer, PhD is the director of mental performance for USTA Player Development (PD) and heads the mental performance team. Dr. Larry has worked with elite tennis players for over 20 years. He started with USTA PD in 2013 with men’s and women’s tennis and continues to support junior, transitional professional, and professional American players. During his time with PD, Dr. Larry has developed the foundation for mental training in American tennis, including the USTA’s Mental Performance Philosophy and curriculum as well as the Compete like a Champion mission. 

He has also created a network of external mental health and performance professionals that support PD players and coaches. Dr. Larry also stars with Coach Johnny Parkes on the Compete like a Champion podcast. Formerly, Dr. Larry was the Director of Coaching Education and Development in the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports (ISYS) a mental coach with the Michigan State University. At ISYS, Dr. Larry conducted research on tennis parents, coaching, coach education, aggression in hockey, and life skills development in youth. He was also involved in training Detroit police officers and coaches to mentor youth athletes for the Detroit Police Athletic League. 

Dr. Larry was also a mental coach with the Michigan State University Men’s Tennis team that made the 2013 NCAA Championships. Concurrently, he worked with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program where the team earned multiple gold medals at the World U18 Championships. A member of the United States Olympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry (2017-2020), Dr. Larry was named one of the 100 Most Influential Sport Educators in America by the Institute for International Sport for creating the Playing Tough and Clean Hockey Program. Dr. Larry earned his PhD in Exercise and Sport Science with a concentration in Sport Psychology from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

In his free time, Dr. Larry plays inline and ice hockey and coaches ice hockey and Little League Baseball.

Let's Connect!

larry.lauer@usta.com