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