Article on Playing High School Tennis
Enjoy this interesting article from Paul Torricelli.
Making A Case For High School Tennis
Why Junior Tennis Players Should Play For Their School
Each season, we hear of junior tennis players choosing to forgo playing for their high school team. With the news comes the annual debate over the merits of playing for your school team versus the benefits of pursuing training and competition elsewhere. With little exception, those who choose not to play for their schools are highly ranked and likely the better, if not the best, player at their school.
There are a number of reasons, usually valid, for the decision. Most common is a conflict between the high school tournament schedule and significant USTA events. This is particularly the case in the spring, with the summer circuit looming and the prospect of competing in front of college coaches. Those who aspire to play in college want to do whatever they can to improve their stock as recruits.
In some cases, the high school team may not be particularly strong and lacking in quality practice partners. There is also the perception that the coaching may not be of a standard necessary to maintain adequate player development. (I think a great many high school coaches are underestimated and not given due credit). Of course, the situation will vary in degree from player to player and school to school. However, I would like to make a case for choosing to play high school tennis. This case is based on factors that are often overlooked by those unaware of the real merits of team play in our sport and what college coaches are really looking for.
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Last summer, Pepperdine Head Coach Adam Steinberg addressed parents attending a recruiting showcase on his campus in Malibu, CA. One parent asked Coach Steinberg what were his goals each day at team practice. Without hesitation, he replied that
“Every minute of every practice is devoted to only one thing……TEAM.” This was coming from a coach of one of the nation’s most prestigious college programs. A coach whose team had gone undefeated and captured the NCAA Men’s Team Championship in 2006. He could have said that they devoted certain days to doubles, others to singles or conditioning. Perhaps some days might focus on individuals or be primarily drills. Others set aside for practice sets or even challenge matches. But instead, he summed it up in one word: TEAM.
If you ever see the Waves play or attend one of their practices, you would better understand his answer.
We assume that most high school players would like to play college tennis at some level.
For those, rankings and results are paramount and one of the most important ways to attract the attention of college recruiters. No argument there. But if that is the goal, then it makes sense to consider more than just wins and losses. We need to examine what playing at the next level really entails and the other factors that most concern college coaches. Believe me, they are looking past the ranking lists and quality wins. Coaches are reading between the lines for the right “fit” for their TEAM (there’s that word again!).
College coaches and their programs vary in many respects, as do their practice routines. But you would be hard pressed to find a coach who does not prioritize the team concept and incorporate it into practice. Juniors rarely get a real team experience in tennis prior to entering college. Team formats are occasional and short in duration by comparison.
In college, coaches are constantly working and evaluating how to build, shape and manage the team concept on a daily basis.
With this in mind, what are coaches looking for as they scout prospects and do their research? Of course they all seek to sign blue chip players, highly ranked and heavily recruited. Impact players who make their team better from the moment they arrive. Juniors with histories of winning. They also love to find the “sleepers”, those late bloomers overlooked by others who will thrive in college and excel beyond expectations. College tennis is loaded with players who weren’t hot prospects, but were slowly developing and would reach their peak after high school. These particular players tend to be the ones who embrace the team concept from the outset.
But of equal importance is what coaches seek to avoid. As good as the blue-chippers, impact players, consistent winners and sleepers may sound, none of the descriptions guarantee that they will be good team members. Nor do they explain what coaches want to stay away from. Recruits who arrive at college without prior team experience have to learn what it’s all about. Those who haven’t been through the highs and lows, nuances and concessions that come with working with others toward a common goal, often struggle when they have to adapt in college. And coaches do not have the luxury of holding hands with their players until they “get it”. College athletics is a results-oriented endeavor. Coaches need you to arrive on campus, buy into the team’s mission, and get to work. Otherwise, the young college player who is being counted on becomes a distraction and, in many more cases than you might expect, a project.
There is an accountability innate in the team experience that cannot be duplicated. You don’t just arrive on campus as a freshman and say, okay, now I’m a team player. As a college coach, I would nearly always ask parents and recruits about the team concept. I never heard one reply that they weren’t sure or that no, it wasn’t important. In fact, they usually enthusiastically answered that they loved being on a team. It was their favorite part of playing tennis. While I have no doubt that they were sincere, I am convinced that all but a few had any real understanding.
College tennis is perhaps the most fun experience a player can have. Todd Martin once told me that despite the glamour and glory of Davis Cup, his days in college tennis were a true team experience. As with any sport, college tennis teams thrive on team chemistry and every coach has his share of horror stories of individuals who ruined that experience for others. Coaches will tell you that the worst part of their job is dealing with a player who turned out to be a cancer and distracted the others. It’s more common than you might imagine.
Of course, choosing not to play in high school doe not mean a recruit will be a problem. But it does create a question for the coach about his priorities and view of the world. Team play enters into every facet of our lives. I have often said that the issue is not what the high school team has to offer the player. It is what the player has to offer the team. In other words, IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU! The willingness to make a contribution and be a part of something is what matters. If a player chooses not to represent his school and play with his friends, he had better have a very good reason. College tennis players compete best when they are close with their teammates. Nobody wants to let their friends down, especially when they are battling on the court nest to you.
Those who influence players not to play in high school, while well-intended, should take this perspective into account. Typically, they are not college coaches themselves and have never been in the position to see the day-to-day, year-to-year importance. They are certainly terrific teachers, often outstanding players, and frequently former college players. But they haven’t walked in a college coaches shoes. They haven’t seen the problems that may result and they haven’t had there careers depend on the character and commitment of young college athletes. Once you sign a college athlete, they are yours for 4 years. You inherit the work done by the parents, teachers and junior coaches for the previous 17 or 18 years. And then you are expected to get results. And it is remarkable how difficult it is for a college recruiter to find out what to expect.
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What about the issue of player development? For the sake of argument, let’s say that during the high school season, some aspects of a player’s game may suffer. The daily competition may not be of the same caliber and the matches may present less of a challenge. Their game may level off, or worse case, regress. My answer to that is how bad can it really get? Is their long-term development going to be really impaired? I doubt it.
Plus, there is no reason they can’t continue to work with their personal coach during the high school season. And during the brief time spent on the team, they will gain an experience that cannot be duplicated elsewhere.
For example, consider the following scenario. You are boy playing number one singles for your high school team. It’s early Spring and you have a mid-week match against an average team. Your teammates struggle and the dual comes down to your match. Last man on the court. All your friends and coaches watching. Noisy fans, parents and class-mates. You are ranked, he is not. You should win easily. But the weather stinks, you stayed up late to study and your girlfriend isn’t talking to you. Worst of all, the other guy is playing like a man possessed. He wants to take you down in front of everyone and, more importantly, come through for his team. He wants to celebrate on the bus ride home. He wants to walk through the halls the next day and hear everyone congratulate him. You are struggling and getting nervous. You have to find a way to gut it out, despite the fact that the tennis isn’t of a high standard and not your game. In other words, you have to compete.
THIS IS WHAT COLLEGE TENNIS IS ALL ABOUT. Where else you be able to practice this situation in order to prepare yourself for the next level?
If you consider the team concept as another, fundamental part of your game, then you begin to look at it in a new light. A dedicated junior devotes time to his groundstrokes, serve, transition game and returns. His personal coach instills tactics and concepts to help him play a variety of opponents. They address the mental and emotional side of the game.
Body language and conditioning get attention now that was unheard of at one time. But where do you learn to be a good team member? Read a book on the subject? Listen to your parents and coach? Each are certainly important and valuable. But tennis is an intuitive game that needs layer after layer of experience to master. Trial and error, win and lose. The ONLY way to learn about TEAM is playing for one.
As you map out your tennis schedule for the year, why not devote a few weeks to being a team member? Considering the importance for playing in college and the valuable lessons involved, it becomes a critical part of your periodization plan. Also, why not eliminate the question of your commitment and unselfishness from a college recruiter’s mind.
Who are the crucial players factored in to this decision? They are the parents, personal coach, high school coach and the player themselves. They all must communicate and determine what is best for the long term. Communication may be tricky and require the active participation of all. A joint meeting may be of great value, particularly if all parties don’t normally cross paths.
The high school coach must be willing to allow the player to continue the relationship with his junior coach during the season. This coach is the one responsible for getting him or her to their current level. Nobody knows better what buttons to push. Missing a practice once a week, even skipping a tournament that doesn’t hurt the team is small price to pay to have your best player once the state tournament roles around. This is just a reality of our sport. It is different than most others and the high school coach who understands and can work this out has everyone’s best interest in mind. If too rigid and uncompromising, everyone may lose.
The personal coach, on the other hand, needs to let loose on the reins for a few weeks. Understanding the case we’ve made here for team play, they can permit their player to have an experience that they cannot provide. It is an unselfish attribute that I admire and shows true appreciation for what’s best. He won’t lose his player by doing so and should be able to continue working with him at times that don’t present a conflict. This coach also has tremendous influence in the decision and his guidance is paramount.
As for the parents, they need to do what they do best. Love their child, guide them and help them consider what factors and values are involved in the decision. Good practice for what lies ahead, too. Compared to the pressure of the upcoming college recruiting process, this decision is a picnic!
Finally, the player needs to consider what they have to offer the team versus what is best for them. Are they afraid to play lower in the line-up than they did the year before? Is there a concern that the incoming freshmen may be better and bump them? College teams bring in prize recruits every year, so get used to it. Why not take on the role of team leader and show the way to the younger players? Leadership, like the team concept itself, must be learned on the job. Of course, it’s easier to walk the halls and tell everyone you are playing national events and getting ready for the next level.
Whatever that is?
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Recruiting Tips from a College Tennis Coach .
