Performance enhancement and injury prevention will be among the topics Dr. David Szymanski, associate professor of kinesiology at Louisiana Tech University, will discuss during a series of presentations to the National Strength and Conditioning Association’s (NSCA) Japan National Conference in Tokyo, Japan. Szymanski, who was recently elected to a second term on the NSCA’s Board of Directors, will present the series of hands-on lectures December 5-8, at National Olympics Memorial Youth Center in Tokyo. He is also scheduled to speak at a roundtable discussion session with some of Japan’s top baseball coaches and strength and conditioning coaches. “As a Board of Directors member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and a Louisiana Tech professor in the Department of Kinesiology, I am very excited about having the opportunity to present my research and practical experience training baseball players for the last 25 years to those in another country where baseball is also their national past time,” said Szymanski. “This will be my first time travelling to Japan and if I can help the professors, students, and coaches in attendance understand the ‘how and why’ about training youth baseball players and using over and underweighted implements in their training programs, I am confident they will leave the presentations with something new and be excited about using the knowledge they have gained in their personal teaching or coaching environment.” Multiple audiences will hear Szymanski speak on “Physical Training for Youth Baseball Players for Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement,” which will focus on prevention strategies, rotator cuff training programs, scapula exercises, periodized resistance training, torso training, explosive training, structural anatomy and common injuries and issues. Attendees will also hear a presentation titled, “Contributing Factors for Increased Bat Swing Velocity and Resistance Training to Develop Increased Bat Velocity” that will include discussion on acute effect of over and underweighted implements on bat velocity (BV), chronic effect of resistance training on BV and resistance training to develop increased BV. “I hope that during the sessions with the attendees and coaches, I will have the opportunity to ask numerous questions about their philosophies and training approaches so I can bring this to Louisiana Tech kinesiology students via class discussion,” Szymanski said. “I hope this trip also gets some of the Japanese students excited about being a graduate student at Louisiana Tech in our sports performance academic track. Furthermore, if I develop relationships with some researchers from the Japanese universities, I hope to discuss possible collaboration with them on future research. “Finally, I am hoping to find out whether Japan will be successful in bringing baseball back to the Summer Olympics in 2020. If so, it is a goal of mine to develop an Olympic Training Center for USA baseball at Louisiana Tech.” Szymanski holds the Eva Cunningham Endowed Professorship in Education in Louisiana Tech’s College of Education and specializes in exercise physiology. He earned his Ph.D. in exercise physiology from Auburn University in 2004 and his research interests include baseball/softball bat swing and batted-ball velocity, baseball and throwing velocity, sports performance, and body composition.   Szymanski is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction as well as a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach Emeritus for having been a strength and conditioning coach for over 20 years. He is also an NSCA Fellow – an honor reserved for professionals whose frequent and sustained contributions to the profession have promoted the goals and activities of the NSCA.