college tennis development and recruiting process
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College Tennis Development and Recruiting Process. Ben Lee. What This Website Will Do. Educate junior tennis players grades 5-12 on how to develop their game and how to get recruited by a college tennis coach A handy website for parents as well - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
COLLEGE TENNIS DEVELOPMENT AND RECRUITING PROCESSBen Lee
WHAT THIS WEBSITE WILL DO Educate junior tennis players grades 5-12 on how to develop their game
and how to get recruited by a college tennis coach A handy website for parents as well Illustrates the step-by-step player development and recruiting process that
will give players the best chance to be recruited This site assumes the player is between intermediate to advanced level of
play Understands point construction and can hit a ball essentially where they want to
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF COLLEGE TENNIS?
NCAA Division I Most prestigious and competitive division, with heavily funded programs for scholarships Examples- University of Arizona, University of Southern California, Northwestern University, University of Florida,
Harvard University, University of Louisiana-Lafayette NCAA Division II
Usually smaller, less funded, and less competitive programs than Division I, with limited funding for scholarships Same regulations as Division I Examples- Azusa Pacific University, Barry University, Rollins College, University of Bridgeport, University of District
of Columbia NCAA Division III
Usually smaller, private institutions, that have little funding and are not allowed to give scholarships Examples- Middlebury College, Emory University, Connecticut College, Johns Hopkins University, Oberlin College
NJCAA Small, 2-year colleges, usually community colleges, athletic scholarships allowed
NAIA Smaller colleges, usually relatively unknown institutions with limited funding for scholarships
NCAA Governing body for collegiate athletes
Exception of NJCAA and NAIA Promotes amateurism in athletics Creates rules, regulations, and bylaws of collegiate athletics http://www.ncaa.org and http://www.ncaa.com
ITA Intercollegiate Tennis Association Governing body of collegiate tennis Regulates rankings and regulations for collegiate tennis in compliance with
NCAA rules and regulations http://itatennis.com/
USTA Governing body for tennis in the United States (not associated with NCAA
or ITA) Moderates tournaments and rankings for all levels of play (especially for
juniors) Has its own ranking system
Based on round by round results system, awarding points for every round reached in a tournament
Farther you go, more points you get More points you get, the higher your ranking is
http://www.usta.com/
TENNISRECRUITING.NET Alternate ranking website for junior tennis Specializes in collegiate recruiting Has its own ranking system
Based off of who you have beaten, and who they have beaten Build your own profile and see which collegiate coaches have seen your
profile (great tool for junior players) http://www.tennisrecruiting.net
TIPS GOING INTO RECRUITING PROCESS Tennis should be ENJOYABLE
Play because you love the sport, not for a scholarship, your parents want you to, etc. CHILL out, it is not life or death
Many students and parents take this too seriously- tennis is just a game College tennis is a JOB
Minimum 20 hours per week between conditioning and practice, even more with the more competitive divisions
Tennis will be your LIFE in college Have other interests or passions besides tennis and doing well in school, keeps your mind mentally
fresh Have FUN in college
It will be the best 4 years of your life- work hard, play hard Do well in SCHOOL
You will be a STUDENT-athlete, being a student comes first and foremost
THE STEP BY STEP DEVELOPMENT AND RECRUITING PROCESS- MIDDLE SCHOOL (GRADES 5-8) Keep tennis FUN
Goal should be develop players game while keeping the sport enjoyable Play other sports, don’t have tennis be the only sport you play
Avoid “burn out”- VERY common in tennis players Group clinics 2-4 times per week, along with 1 private lesson
No more than 1.5-2 hour clinic, and 1 hour private, never exceeding 7 hours per week Clinics should be with other players around same ability level
Check with local tennis clubs to see what clinics may be in your area 1-2 regional tournaments per month (no more than 15 per year)
If not 1-2 per month, less is more Take off a day of practice for every day played in tournament Tournaments are meant to develop strategic play while learning to play on your own This number will stay the same through graduation (unless noted otherwise) No national tournaments, unless player is significantly qualified
Use these trips to national tournaments as a family vacation, make an adventure of it National tournaments are difficult to qualify for, there should be no pressure to qualify for them for a long time
DEVELOPMENT AND RECRUITING PROCESS- HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN Choose one sport to focus on Begin to visit college campuses with parents that are driving distance from your home
Helps with recruiting process on your end- figure out what kind of school you would want to play for- big or small, Division I or III, warm or cold weather, etc.
Increase number of times played per week 3-5 group clinics per week, 1-2 private lessons, maximum of 9 hours per week Minimum of 1 hour per clinic or private, maximum of 2-2.5 hours Play no more than this in order to prevent burn out
1-2 regional tournaments per month If eligible for national tournaments, play them (no more than 3 per year) Still treat national tournaments as adventure, inclusion of family is key
Start lifting weights and conditioning Light weights, high repetition No more than 2 times per week
DEVELOPMENT AND RECRUITING PROCESS- HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE Continue college visits with parents
Visit between 3-4 schools in grade 10 Continue regimen from Grade 9 with minor increases
Possibly 1-2 hours more of a combination of tennis and training Increase number of important tournaments played
USTA has different levels of tournaments that vary from region to region Smaller tournaments can replace practice Importance of point construction, shot selection,
DEVELOPMENT AND RECRUITING PROCESS- HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR The point in time where winning starts to matter to college coaches
Important to play tournaments that have value because those are filled with other players of the same level or better as you
Begin to play less in a clinic and play individually Find other good players in your area and play with them, while having a coach watch and help you as well Eventually, you won’t get the most out of an hour of a clinic than you will have with one on one playing
Start to play more national tournaments If money becomes an issue, don’t worry- if you’re good, your game will speak for itself
Important to enjoy time off When not playing tennis, do something else- music, art, pick up basketball, anything to keep your mind off tennis and
to stay mentally fresh Start to contact coaches starting July 1 between Junior and Senior year
Broadcast yourself- email coaches and include name, ranking, description of your game, and possibly a video of yourself
For video, keep it simple- no special effects, sound effects, etc., just enough for coaches to see what you got Practice and train more
Minimum 10 hours a week of practicing, every other day weights and conditioning
DEVELOPMENT AND RECRUITING PROCESS- HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR Coaches are allowed to contact you starting July 1 before your Senior year
Have an open mind- some schools you would not at first be interested in, but may change your mind Official visits are allowed
Coaches host recruits on the campus of their school for no more than 48 hours, meant to give recruit a day or two in the life of a student-athlete at that school. Coaches pay for food, lodging, etc. for recruit
5 official visits to separate schools are allowed per recruit, however a recruit can go on an unlimited number of “unofficial” visits, where coaches don’t pay for recruit
Continue with practice schedule from Junior year Up until commitment
Create Clearing House account with NCAA This site deems if you will be eligible or not
Verbally commit and possibly sign National Letter of Intent with school NLI is the form in which you accept the scholarship granted to you by whichever university you are
going to play for. This does not apply to Division III schools or non-scholarship positions
DEVELOPMENT AND RECRUITING PROCESS-POST COMMITMENT Continue to keep practice regimen
Acceptable to take a few weeks off during the summer prior to going to school, but allocate enough time after your vacation to prepare for your first semester
Contact other coaches letting them know you are not going to their school Stay eligible for NCAA competition
Do not accept prize money from certain tournaments, do not accept monetary sponsorships from companies, etc.
Keep grades in school as high as possible Possible chance for more scholarship money through academics
Play tournaments when desired It is still important to play them in order to be prepared for the first semester of
college