ParentingAces
Posts tagged junior career
USTA 2014 Jr Comp Update, Part 2
28 months ago
ZooTennis.com posted the following email sent from the outgoing and incoming USTA presidents to Tim Russell and others involved in the Junior Competition Committee and Player Development – it confirms my wariness (click here for the link to the full email):
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18 months ago
Yesterday afternoon, I received a link from the folks at TennisRecruiting.net to the following article on their website:
This week, a group of people concerned with junior tennis – Steve Bellamy, Robert Sasseville and Kevin Kempin – were able to spend several hours speaking with USTA leadership (i.e., Dave Haggerty, Gordon Smith, Kurt Kamperman) about the planned upcoming changes to USTA Junior Competition. That group is pleased to say that there was a very open and candid exchange of ideas.
The group shared many, if not all, of its concerns about the proposed new competitive structure, and the USTA definitely listened. The group also got a better understanding of the USTA’s long-term objectives for making these changes. Long story short, More >
Back to Work
18 months ago
in Parenting
This week, I did something I hadn’t done for 14 years – I went to work for a boss other than myself.
When it was getting close to the time for my son to get his driver’s license, I had one of those AHA! moments and realized I was going to need something else to do with my afternoons once my chauffeuring skills were no longer needed. While I was very content with my schedule of teaching fitness classes, playing tennis, Facebooking, Tweeting, blogging, and hosting my radio show, I knew my mental health was going to suffer if I didn’t find a reason to get out of my house for at least a few hours each week. So, I started telling everyone I knew that I was looking for part-time work.
Part-time, for me, meant (1) I couldn’t work Mondays or More >
High(er) Anxiety
08 months ago
in Parenting
A friend recently posted an article on Facebook about our local public high school, the one my son attends and from which my daughters graduated. The article is about 5 years old – and a bit lengthy – but many of the student observations and quotes are still very applicable today. And, re-reading it now that my son is in his sophomore year is really making me think about the path he is on and the path I am on with him as he gets further into his high school career and closer the end of his Junior Tennis Journey.
If you want to take the time to read the article, I promise it will make you think, or re-think, about how you interact with your child(ren). And, if it doesn’t, it should. We are raising our children in an era of very high More >
College Players Soar at US Open
58 months ago
With all the proposed changes NCAA is trying to make, you would think there was a problem with US college tennis. This first week of the US Open is proving otherwise.
We have seen some incredible wins by our young guns in Flushing. Stanford’s Mallory Burdette took out Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland in her first round match in straight sets then did similar work against Lucie Hradecka (you may recognize this name as one of the silver medal doubles winners at last month’s London Olympics) of the Czech Republic in Round 2.
On the men’s side, USC’s Steve Johnson (NCAA Singles Champion in 2011 and 2012) beat former University of Illinois player Rajeev Ram in the first round then partnered with Jack Sock to oust the top seeds in the Men’s More >
USTA Follow-Up
179 months ago
The rules have changed all right, and it’s not just for the 10-and-under crowd. I recently reported on the Q&A sessions that USTA hosted at various national hardcourt championships earlier this month. As promised in that piece, I reached out to Tim Russell, Patrick McEnroe, Lew Brewer, and others to get a better understanding of what USTA is trying to accomplish with its changes to the 2014 Junior Competition schedule. I emailed them the link to my article along with some specific follow-up questions. While Patrick did reply that he would call me to discuss my questions, I haven’t yet heard from him. However, I did have multiple lengthy phone conversations with both Tim Russell and Lew Brewer – a big thank you to both gentlemen for More >
We’re in Good Hands!
39 months ago
Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it. – George Orwell
Last week was quite a whirlwind in the tennis world. I spent an inordinate amount of time scrolling through Facebook posts and Twitter tweets trying to keep up with all the conversations involving the NCAA changes to college tennis and the USTA changes to junior tennis. One very positive thing that came out of all this craziness was the creation of a new Facebook group that just may be the unifying force we need.
Started by two young men – Bob Van Overbeek (University of Florida) and Evan King (University of Michigan), both top D1 college players – this group grew from 0 to 8000+ members More >
To Sum It All Up . . .
39 months ago
It’s been a crazy week in the world of junior tennis! In case you’re feeling as overwhelmed as I am, I thought I’d summarize what’s going on and my recommended action items.
- USTA has adopted changes to its Junior Competition calendar that will become effective in 2014. If you haven’t yet seen it, the new 2014 tournament calendar is here. Some interested parties who feel that the changes should, at the very least, be delayed for further study, have created an online petition and are seeking signatures. If you would like to view and/or sign this petition, click here.
- NCAA has passed new rules affecting its year-end Championships effective September 1, 2012, for the Spring 2013 tournament. The rules are purported to be in the interest More >
USTA Steps Up
09 months ago
I received the following from USTA this morning:
USTA Statement on Proposed NCAA Changes to Collegiate Tennis
The USTA is aware of the proposed format changes being made by the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee to the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships. Working with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), the USTA is preparing a joint opposition letter to these changes. The letter will be distributed to the committee in advance of its Monday, August 20th meeting.
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