ar.com And Andy’s Trainer Doug Spreen

If you have watched a tennis tournament in the last couple of years, you have seen players cramp, twist, and dive their way into a barrage of injuries. In that case, you have probably seen Doug Spreen, a former ATP tour trainer, run onto court with a bottomless bag of goodies similar to that of Santa’s– and the players are just as happy to see him as children are to see St. Nick at the local mall.

For nine years, Spreen has traveled the world, visiting over 30 countries on six different continents, tending to the ailing bodies of professional tennis players on the ATP circuit. Along with working on the Tour, he also served as the trainer for the US Olympic tennis teams in Atlanta and Sydney.

It sounds like a dream job, but it is not all fun and games. In fact, it can be frightening and exhausting at times. The most serious injury Spreen has encountered occurred at a Philadelphia tournament in 1998. The player lost his footing and fell, dislocating his ankle and breaking his tibia and fibula (the two main bones in the leg) in the process. “It was a tough injury,” Spreen says. “He was operated on the next day and had two discs and four screws put in.” Needless to say, the player was forced to retire from the match.

Not only do you have to be composed at times like this, but you must also remain resilient, keeping up with the players day in and day out. “[At tournaments], we were there an hour before play started until the last match was done to make sure those guys didn’t need anything. When you are taking care of 100 guys, there is always a steady stream of players coming in and out.”

You know you are doing something well when John McEnroe proclaims on national television that you deserve a raise. It was at the 2003 US Open when Doug recalls that “during a two or three day stretch of the tournament, it was like every time we turned around, we were needed on court for a player.” Spreen clocked some mileage on his shoes scrambling to look after players who had finished matches and treating those on court with injuries. It is all in day’s work for Doug. “When you are at the US Open, you can easily put in 14 hour days. Grand Slams are just one of those times.”

Speaking from his Cincinnati home, the 34-year-old Ohio native reminisces about his nine-year history with the ATP as if it were years ago. In all actuality, Doug officially resigned from the ATP on January 1, 2004 to begin working with Andy Roddick as his personal trainer, advising him on “nutrition, hydration, strength and endurance training,” and injury treatment and prevention.

This is Spreen’s first week on the road with Roddick, having recently completed his duties as assistant girl’s basketball coach at his alma mater, Mariemont High School, where he was active in sports as a student as well. He played on the school’s tennis and basketball teams and served as the student trainer for the football team. A career in sports medicine only seemed natural.

After graduating from Mariemont, Doug crossed the border to attend Indiana University, where he earned a degree in athletic training/sports medicine.

Out of college, Spreen secured a position with the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, serving as assistant trainer, a position he held until 1994, when the major league baseball strike caused his career to take a turn in a different direction. In 1995, Doug was hired by the ATP, and the rest, as they say, is history.

There you have it: the official “How to” of becoming an athletic trainer. You cannot get better than Doug.

It is no surprise then, that he was recruited by Team Roddick, joining a Dream Team of support staff, headed by coach Brad Gilbert and agent Ken Meyerson of sports giant, SFX, which represents Roddick and now manages both his on-court and off-court commitments, since Roddick parted ways with the William Morris Agency, which was to direct his off-court opportunities. The goal of course is to create a network of experts who can help Andy enjoy a long and successful career.

Doug was approached in the fall of 2003 after the US Open to become Andy’s personal trainer. Before hitting the courts, Doug wanted to improve Andy’s strength and fitness even more, especially in the arms and abdominal area. So it literally became crunch time for Andy who has shown improvement along with showing off his new six-pack. Spreen’s first official assignment began at Australian Open in January, when he worked exclusively with Andy. Spreen will be with him 90-95% of the time at tourneys. “[The schedule] depends on if Andy stays healthy or decides to take a couple of weeks off. It really depends on his schedule.”

So what has changed most for Spreen? “I think the big change is that I am no longer responsible for 100 players. I can pay more attention to detail. You may tell some player to do this and that, but here you make sure Andy does it. You pay more attention to him to hopefully prevent injury.”

What happens if Andy gets injured during a match? The ATP trainers are in command. “I can only sit on my hands. After the match, I’ll talk to the trainer and consult with him.”

Spreen is not only looking out for Roddick on the tennis court, but also enjoys continuing the camaraderie he shared with him on the Tour. “We get along well on and off court. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed. We make sure we get done what needs to get done. When we need to be serious, we will be, but you have to realize that these guys spend 24-7 on the tennis court, so it is important to be laid back and relaxed. We try to remain low key off-court because when Andy is playing, it is already stressful. My goal is to help Andy have a lot more good years ahead of him.”

So with their assistant coach gone, will the Mariemont girl’s basketball team miss Doug? “When a local television station heard that I was working with Andy and that I coach a girl’s basketball team, they came down to interview me. They asked them [the team] ‘Do you think it’s neat what Doug does or do you have more respect for him given that he has worked with professional athletes?’” The unmistakable response was “We just think it’s cool that he works with Andy Roddick because Andy is hot.”

There is nothing like a little appreciation.