ParentingAces
Archive for March, 2013
Radical Ideas for Improving Tennis Participation in the UK
01 month ago
The article below originally appeared at Squidoo.com. Although it was written to address issues in the UK with its Lawn Tennis Association, I think most of us in the US will see so many similarities to what our USTA is going through right now. Please take the time to read the comments below the article, too – very insightful!
Radical Ideas for Improving Tennis Participation in the UK
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The Tournament that Almost Was
11 month ago
Finally, after months of being on alternate lists and finding out last minute whether or not he was going to play that weekend, my son got direct entry into one of our Southern Level 3 tournaments AND was seeded! He had a pretty good draw and figured he had a very good chance of getting to the Semis if not winning the whole thing. He had been playing well in practice over the past couple of weeks and went into the weekend feeling very confident in his game.
So, early Friday evening, we packed up the car and headed to South Carolina, an easy 2-hour drive from our house. The weather forecast was bleak, but we kept hoping the Weather.com folks would be wrong (hey, that’s not a reach, right?!?) and that the 2-day tournament would finish More >
College Tennis Due Diligence
02 months ago
Men’s Collegiate Development Report (Click on the report name to open the Excel spreadsheet)
One of my son’s over-reaching tennis goals is to play at a Division 1 school where he can continue to develop his game. He realizes that he is a stereotypical “late-bloomer” and that he’ll probably keep growing for at least the first couple of years of college, and he wants to play for a coach who can help him keep growing tennis-wise, too. So, Type A Tennis Parent that I am, I have been doing some research into programs and coaches, both those that are realistic schools for him and those that would be considered “reach” schools, to see what I could learn about player development at the collegiate level. Luckily for me, I came across the More >
The New Kid
02 months ago
in Parenting
It’s been a very long time since I’ve been the New Kid on a tennis team.
For those of you who don’t live in the Atlanta area, you may not be familiar with ALTA, the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association, the largest tennis league in the country. For those of you who do live here (or have lived here in recent years), you understand the importance of ALTA and how your team may or may not define you as a player (yes, I’m exaggerating a bit here, but . . .).
Anyway, this season, I have decided to try my hand on a new team. For the past several years, I’ve played on the ladies A team in my neighborhood. We have a great group of players, and it’s really the one social thing I do with my neighbors. I’ve made several close friends as a result – More >
Approved Changes Still Need Board Okay
82 months ago
The following is the official announcement I received just a few minutes ago from LetUsKnow.com. Given that I’m going on the air in less than 15 minutes, I haven’t had a chance to read through everything yet. I welcome your comments below.
We are writing to let you know that the U.S. Tennis Association has taken another positive step toward approving some significant changes to the previously approved 2014 national junior competition structure during the Association’s Annual Meeting this weekend in Weston, Fla.
In recent months, the proposed changes to the national junior competition structure have been socialized extensively. This includes at the USTA National and Sectional levels as well as during nine Listening Sessions held More >
Miami Meeting Update
12 months ago
This just in from Bill Mountford:
The JC&S Committee had the first of two scheduled meetings earlier today and then an open forum in the afternoon. There will be another meeting tomorrow morning. The USTA will issue a release after the annual meeting concludes on Monday.
Share this:I’m Back . . .
122 months ago
I’m not sure anyone even noticed, but I’ve been out of town all week on a Girls Trip with my daughters. My middle daughter and I were visiting her big sister in Los Angeles. Yes, the Indian Wells tournament was in full swing. No, we did not attend. Sometimes hiking and shopping and Disneyland trump tennis. Sometimes.
Anyway, I have been following all the comments posted on my article about our options regarding the 2014 calendar. Wow! A lot of emotion coming through. Obviously, I have many passionate readers here who fall on both sides of the 2014 changes. That’s a good thing. And unexpected. At least, I don’t think USTA had any inkling that all this passion would emerge a year ago when it announced the changes.
There’s another More >
2014: What Are Our Options?
842 months ago
There seems to be some (a lot!) confusion about USTA’s governance procedure as it relates to the 2014 changes. After reading through the USTA by-laws in their entirety, I can tell you that I’m not any closer to understanding the intricacies of how this terribly complicated organization operates. I have asked some people who have been involved with USTA for way longer than I have to please explain to me what our options are moving forward. Here’s what they have told me.
At next week’s meeting (see my email exchange with Lew Brewer for more info), the Sections will discuss then vote on whether to approve the Proposed Changes to the already-approved 2014 Junior Competition Calendar.
- If approved, the Board will vote on the Proposed Changes More >
Quota Comparison Between 2012 & 2014
282 months ago
The link below is to an Excel spreadsheet comparing Boys 18 entries by section between the actual 2012 Winter Nationals tournament and what the numbers will look like if the proposed 2014 changes are approved. The numbers for SoCal and NorCal may be off by one or two as there was some confusion as to which of the two sections certain players were from. Please take some time to read and understand the differences and feel free to comment below.
2012 Winter National Boys 18 Compared to Proposed New Quotas
Share this:Amended 2014 Changes – Just A Proposal At This Point
352 months ago
Please refer to my post from earlier today to understand how the process will work going forward. In the meantime, here’s the 28-page document outlining the changes to the 2014 Junior Competition Schedule as well as the shorter 5-page summary version along with the new proposed national schedule. I haven’t taken the time yet to analyze it fully but I plan to do so over the next couple of days. If any of you would like to offer your opinion, the Comments box below is open!
Changes to 2014 Jr Comp Structure
Summary of 2014 National Jr Comp Structure
2014 Proposed National Schedule By Month
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