See Me When You Are Ready for the Real Collegiate Tennis Experience

One predominant trait I see in the world of USTA Junior Tennis is that an overwhelming percentage of juniors are looking to experience collegiate tennis after their junior and high school tennis career is complete. What I also see is coaches, junior academies and parents who pretend to know what the collegiate tennis experience is and what coaches are really looking for. Tennis skill, rankings and wins and losses of course … well, not really.

At the end of the day, here is what I look for in a collegiate athlete. Are you going to represent our program with dignity and class and graduate? Case closed … end of story! Do I want a person who has had good results in USTA tournaments? Of course. Do I want a person who can play a high level of tennis and has the opportunity to win and help the team to victory? Yes I do. Is the young person coachable, has good strokes, has the will to win and is committed to working hard on the court and is willing to work hard during off-season training? You bet.

Now here is truth and in the most frank way I can deliver this message … When I sit down at the end of the season with my athletic director and examine the successes and failures of our tennis program, here is what we are held accountable to and what is expected of a head coach of a collegiate team. What is the average Grade Point Average (GPA) of the team? Do we represent the school and the state well by doing things like community service and fundraising? Did we grow our players incrementally in terms of maturity? One of the last things on the list is how was the won/loss record? If you watched one on my practices that normally last two to three hours a day during the season, you would think differently. We work hard to improve our tennis game by working on all elements of the sport, as well as focusing on individual areas of improvement for each player.

So what happens when we are not on the courts or doing our off the court workouts? This coach is making sure that we are doing all the right things in terms of studying and attending workshops as it relates to student/athlete leadership. We are doing some fundraising and community service. We are encouraging our students to have a balanced lifestyle and a good social life. We have team study halls and are acutely focused on getting a high team GPA. We often have team off-season gatherings to maintain a sense of team unity.

I have written this before, but will remind you again … the last New Yorker who won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open was a guy by the name of John McEnroe and that was 30 years ago. We should also probably talk about the failures of American tennis on the international scene in recent years. However, that is a conversation for another day. My job is to help players prepare for life beyond the classroom and tennis court. Parents and players who aspire to play collegiate tennis, don't lose perspective as to why you are in college. You are there to get an education! Being a student/athlete collegiate tennis player will resonate with you forever and pay dividends well beyond your time as a collegiate athlete.

You may have seen me at some USTA Tournaments throughout the New York Metro area, as well as upstate New York. You may have seen me at a showcase or a high school tournament looking for talent. You may have seen me speak at the Second Annual New York Tennis Expo as a panelist and your initial thoughts are you probably thought I was just looking at your tennis game. Well, I will let you in on a secret … I am looking at how you behave during the match. I am looking at how you treat your parents and/or coaches when you are finished with the match. Did you treat your opponent with respect? How did you handle yourself after a loss? I have potential student/athletes come to the school and spend some time with our current rostered players and get to know the parents. I will make it crystal clear what we want from our student/athletes: Effort and commitment both in the classroom and to the sport of tennis. You will be asked to bond with and support your teammates, because unlike USTA and high school tennis, you spend a great deal of time with your teammates. Collegiate tennis is a team sport.

I am lurking at the tennis tournaments where you compete, and am watching you, scrutinizing your every move. Listen to me clearly, your character counts disproportionately more than your tennis skill itself.

The world beyond college will judge you on your character, your work experiences and how you performed in the classroom. Tennis will be the last thing you will be judged on. That is the reality of it all. Get every priority in order before you communicate with a college coach. The chance of life success will increase drastically when you commit to the traits I describe in this article.