Goal Setting For Young Players

It's that time of year - everyone is scrambling to come up with some New Year's Resolutions that won't bore the socks of themselves. Studies show that more than 90% of resolutions fail. But we can always be part of the 10%! Let's take the basic principle and apply it to your young player's tennis future.

For beginners:

• Understand the scoring structure for your age group. Red Ball players use 1st to 7; Orange Ball and older typically use the traditional 15-30-40-game scoring.
• Be able to keep track of the score during the game, regardless of who is serving.
• Understand what the serve is (starts the point), how to do it (bounce, underhand or overhand) and where it's supposed to land (cross court service box).
• Remember to call the score if you are serving. Always say your own score first.
• Know all the parts of the court like you know your name: baseline, service line, service boxes, deuce and ad sides, alleys, the T, the back court, No Man's Land.
• Look for opportunities to play an actual match. Clinics are great for learning skills, but as the saying goes, practicing tennis without ever playing a match is like studying for a test you never take. Look for free or inexpensive Play Days in your area. Too easy? Try Jr. Team Tennis or a Rising Stars one day tournament.

Beyond Beginners:

• Serve with continental grip.
• Serve consistently at least 7 out of 10 in.
• Commit to advancing your skills to the next level of the tennis skill pyramid.
• Commit to advancing to the next level ball. For example, if you are an orange ball player now, focus on getting to green ball level.
• Learn how to use Tennislink to find tournaments or other events in your area.
• Learn how to use TennisLink to track your state ranking and that of your opponents.
• Learn the local rules for playing for your local high school team. In my area, 7th graders and older are eligible to try out, and many of our teams are No-Cut.

Everyone:

• Attend more matches as a fan, such as
• local high school team's matches. You might see some familiar faces, and they will be delighted to have the fan support.
• an entry level pro tournament such as an ITF or a USTA Pro Circuit event. They happen all over the country just about all year long. They are free or inexpensive to attend.
• a local college team match. There is some amazing tennis being played at that level, and often the matches are free or very inexpensive to attend.
• If you are lucky enough to live near a larger event such as the US Open, Family Circle Cup, Indian Wells, Davis Cup, Fed Cup, etc., try to attend. Go early in the event before elimination whittles down the playing field.

Hope this got your tennis wheels spinning. What are some of your tennis resolutions?

College Tennis $$ - Do The Math

If you have a child in a 10 and Under Tennis program, chances are you have wondered if a college tennis scholarship may be in their future to help you get a return on your tennis investment. I did a little digging and here's what I found.

According to a recent presentation about the USTA's Tennis On Campus program, there are about 300,000 kids who play on their high school tennis team nationwide. The presenter estimated about 15,000 of them actually make it on to a college team somewhere.

After doing a little research, I think the number is a little higher than 15,000.  Around 1700 Division I, II and III schools have tennis teams (men and womens' combined).  NAIA and junior colleges add another 400 teams. Let's say there's an average of 10 players per team. That gets us up to 21,000 players. You can see this number will vary depending on how many players are on a team. They can get by with a minimum of 6 (three doubles courts, six singles courts per match).

But let's assume the presenter knows way more about this than I do and the number is 15,000. Whoa! That is a sobering number right there. That means only 5% of high school players actually make it onto a college team. Probably fewer than that because many elite tennis players don't play on their high school teams - they spend their time in lessons and on the tournament circuit.

Let's say your child is one of the lucky 5%. What are the chances they will earn a scholarship? Scholarships vary depending on division (4.5 per team for the men and either 8 or 6 for the women). So of approximately 15,000 (or 21,000) college players, DI, DII, NAIA and some junior colleges offer about 8200 scholarships to all of those students (At schools where athletic scholarships are not offered, academic scholarships may be available to student athletes).  At best that is just over half. At worst, around 40%.

At the beginning of this post we had an nice healthy number to work with: 300,000 kids nationwide playing on high school teams. Here we are now with only 8200 of them getting some money to play in college. Looking at it that way is kind of depressing - less than 3% of high school players will end up getting any money to play tennis in college. But I hope you will consider the bigger picture.

• There are 300,000 kids playing high school tennis and probably room for more. Many schools participate in USTA's No Cut program.
• If they don't make the college team, the Tennis On Campus program is very robust with 35,000 players nationwide at over 500 schools. 
• Tennis, unlike many other high school sports, is 'the sport of a lifetime'. It is a gift that will continue to give from age 5 to 85.
• These numbers are no less encouraging in other sports. About 2% of high school athletes get a sports scholarship to an NCAA school, regardless of sport. Percentage of high school athletes making it onto an NCAA college team, regardless of scholarship:
• Football: 6%
• Baseball: 6% 
• Basketball: 3%
• Soccer: 5%

So the tennis numbers are about average. Besides, wouldn't you rather go with the non-concussion option??

The University of South CarolinaTennis On Campus team

Seriously, folks - if you are trying to plan your child's tennis future, be aware of the numbers and of your child's ability and willingness to work. If the high school team is their goal, under 10 is the perfect age to get started. If the college team is their goal, be prepared to work and play harder and better than 95% of all the other kids out there.