CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- During the 2016-17 Harvard men's tennis season, internationally renowned tennis performance expert Lorenzo Beltrame will work with the team. Beltrame has served as the Director of Athletic Performance Coaching at the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute in Orlando since 1996. He has worked with dozens of ATP and WTA professionals during his career, including Jim Courier and Pete Sampras. He was named Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) Professional of the Year in 2016. Lorenzo is also the father of Harvard men's tennis captain Sebastian Beltrame.

"It is an honor to have Lorenzo Beltrame working with our players on how to better preform under pressure," said associate head coach Andrew Rueb.  "Tennis is an extremely demanding sport - it takes all of your resources both emotionally and physically to compete at the top levels of college and beyond. Lorenzo's high performance training program educates our players on how to navigate the high seas of competitive sports."  

Beltrame will meet periodically with the Harvard men's tennis team throughout the season and will be available as a resource for each individual player. He has described examples of determination and courage to the team among other lessons in his first meetings with the team this fall.

"We especially like that he uses a character driven approach that helps align your personal growth with your tennis journey," Rueb said. "I've always known that tennis has been an amazing opportunity to learn more about myself, how to be a good teammate, and leader.  But to see Lorenzo make it the cornerstone of his curriculum in such a clear and compelling fashion is very exciting. I believe we've already seeing better results both on and off the courts from our time with Lorenzo. But there is more hard work to be done on a daily basis to bring about the change we are seeking!"