ParentingAces
Posts tagged southern level 3
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 >
Growth & Development
46 months ago
My son is at an interesting place in terms of his tennis development. As I’ve mentioned, he’s now playing up in the 18s even though he could still play another year in the 16s. But, because of his July birthday, and because of his goal to play at Kalamazoo (which is the first week of August) next summer, he had to start working on his 18s ranking a year early. That means he is often 2 years younger than his opponent, 2 years behind developmentally-speaking, 2 years behind growth-wise, and 2 years behind in the maturation process.
His goal during tournaments is still to win matches, of course, because he needs to get his 18s ranking to a place where he has a chance of getting into the National Hardcourts. And, to that end, we look for More >
Southern Level 3s: One Parent’s Take on the New Format
187 months ago
We are more than 6 months into the new format for our Southern Level 3 tournaments, and, given that the Southern Section is often a testing-ground for policies that are later rolled out nationwide – and after spending yet another weekend at one of these events – I thought I would share my thoughts and experiences in hopes of generating some constructive dialog between us parents and USTA.
A quick recap on how the format changed in 2012 . . . the tournaments now have two 16-player draws for each age group with the brackets arranged by “waterfall” – for an explanation of exactly what that means, click here. These tournaments must be played and completed on Saturday and Sunday with the goal of reducing missed school days. Players are More >
Another Week on the Alternate List
21 year ago
Another week, another local Southern Level 3 tourney, another alternate list. But, this time there’s a possible out – DOUBLES!
Even though my son registered for both the B16 and B18 singles for this weekend’s tournament, and even though he’s on the alternate list for both, he still has an opportunity – we hope! – to play doubles. This tournament is one of a handful that is offering both singles and doubles to the kids, and, even if you don’t get into the singles draw, there’s a very good chance that you could get into the doubles.
There’s a hierarchy for being chosen to play in the doubles draw, though, as follows:
1. Teams with both players entered in the singles
2. Teams with one player entered in singles and one alternate
3. Teams More >