By Briana Adamovsky
The popularity of high school tennis is consistently increasing, creating a more solid pool of talent and an influx of athletes who want to play at the collegiate level. There are more than 19,522 high school tennis programs in the United States. This means that more than 326,759 student-athletes are playing high school tennis, and this does not include the number of highly-ranked players who are playing tennis but do not participate in high school programs. According to the NCAA Sports Sponsorship and Participation Rates Report, only 8,534 student-athletes participated in collegiate tennis in 2006. With the new school year under way, it’s time to take the reigns on your own collegiate tennis future. Here is a check list of how to stay on top of your recruiting game.
1. Know Where You Stand
Most college coaches are not interested in a high school player's achievements in high school competition because there is no way to gauge the quality of opponents, and because of the fact that most top-ranked juniors do not play high school tennis. Even a conference title means little because of the lack of information a college coach has on any high school conference. Placing at the high school state tournament can have some bearing on a coach’s decision, but the key is to play in USTA-sanctioned tournaments as often as you can in order to build up your ranking.
Results in USTA-sanctioned tournaments and USTA rankings are objective, measurable results which coaches can and do use as measuring sticks. Keep track of all the USTA tournaments you participate in, as well as your finish. Work on improving your ranking and build up your tournament experience in order to make yourself more marketable to college coaches.
2. Evaluate Your Game Before Season
If you want to set realistic goals and make immediate improvements as a player, it’s important to evaluate your level of play before season. Check out the NCSA Tennis Recruiting Guidelines in the right-hand column on the tennis home page to understand for which collegiate level you may qualify. If you are a sophomore with goals of playing Division I tennis, you ideally want to match up to the Division I standards by your junior year, so set your goals accordingly.
Also, meet with your high school or personal coach before season and review your strengths and weaknesses as a player. Evaluate your mental toughness, in addition to your physical skill in order to access how strong you are as a player. Study the list of upcoming USTA tournaments at http://www.usta.com/tournament/default.sps and list the tournaments you will attend. Set specific goals for each tournament as it approaches.
3. Train in Match Play
Now is the time to focus on competing vs. an opponent in match play. Match play will allow you to apply the fundamentals and tactics you have learned to real-game situations. Players who play with a variety of strategies and tactics and practiced beforehand under match-play conditions will be much more successful than players who simply rely on their strokes to respond to opponents. Put yourself in critical game situations so that you will be mentally and physically prepared for high school and USTA tournaments.
To strengthen your recruiting potential, compete in singles matches, as well as doubles. Coaches like to see versatility in a player, and by match training in doubles as well as singles, you will have an edge over other recruits who are comfortable only playing doubles or only playing singles. Plus, doubles tennis is based on a lot of teamwork and communication. You can take away more as a player and also increase your recruiting ability by strengthening your play at the doubles level.
Setting the goal of playing collegiate tennis is the first step. Taking action in order to accomplish your goal is the next step. By following these three steps, you will enhance your recruiting potential and better prepare yourself to play tennis at the collegiate level. Let the match begin!
