ParentingAces
Posts tagged USTA rankings
A National Schedule & Ranking System That Makes Sense
153 months ago
There have been several comments on this blog asking what parents, players, and coaches want to see in terms of a junior competition structure – USTA has asked all of us to email them at LetUsKnow@usta.com to share our thoughts. Some people who are way smarter than I am have come up with one proposal that just may work. This proposal addresses the travel and cost issue, the “earned advancement” issue, the missed school issue, and the rankings issue, among other things. Please take some time to read through it and share your thoughts in the Comments below.
The key points to this proposal are as follows:
- No changes to the existing Level 1s.
- Every section (except Hawaii and Caribbean) hosts a Level 2 and at least one Level 3 during the More >
New National Seeding Rules
253 months ago
A couple of days ago, I saw a post on my Facebook newsfeed from USTA’s Junior Competition folks announcing seeding changes for National tournaments. Apparently, I’m one of only a few people who saw the post or knew anything about it. When I posted the link to the changes on the ParentingAces Facebook page, which also feeds to my Twitter, I got very little feedback from anyone . . . that is, until the seedings came out for this weekend’s Regional Segment tournaments!
Apparently, the biggest change to the seeding criteria has to do with using a separate Singles Seeding List – which does not include any doubles ranking points – to seed the singles draws. For the doubles draws, there is now a separate National Individual Doubles Seeding More >
Quick Guide to the USTA Website
31 year ago
Even the Higher-Ups at USTA will admit that their website is difficult to navigate. Well, really, that’s an understatement. USTA has gone to great lengths to put some very helpful information on their site – the problem is that the average visitor can’t find it! So, in the name of identify-problem-create-solution, below is a list of links to some of the information I’ve found to be useful in navigating the world of Junior Tennis. You might want to print out this list and keep it handy then add to it as you discover more sub-pages. If you have found any other useful articles at USTA.com, please add them in the Comments section below.
USTA Section Pages: www.usta.comClick on the Find Your Section box in the top right corner of the More >
Forever Friends
31 year ago
My dad is the one 4th from the left. His opponent/friend from yesterday is on the far left.
This week, I’m visiting my parents in Shreveport, Louisiana, where I grew up. Yesterday, I had the chance to go watch my 74-year-old dad play tennis against his long-time friend and rival in what has become a once- or twice-weekly ritual. These two guys have been competitors since childhood. They have also been friends since childhood. They played against each other in the juniors and with each other in college. Yes, the level of tennis has changed over the years. Neither one moves too well these days. Neither one has the piercing groundstrokes that once defined their games. And neither one has lost the desire to win when facing the other More >
Are Junior Rankings Truly An Indicator of Future Success?
81 year ago
Rafael Nadal
I read a very interesting post this morning on ZooTennis.com showing the top 10 men and women currently playing on the pro tour with their highest junior ITF rankings. Here is an excerpt from the article:
Now it would be interesting to see a study on how many Top 10 ATP/WTA players over the past 15 years were never top 10 in the juniors. I’ve done a tiny bit of that research on the current ATP/WTA Top 10s and here’s the numbers, with the player’s highest ITF singles ranking in parentheses.
1. Novak Djokovic (24) 2. Rafael Nadal (145) 3. Roger Federer (1) 4. Andy Murray (2) 5. David Ferrer (-) 6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2) 7. Tomas Berdych (6) 8. Mardy Fish (14) 9. Janko Tipsarevic (1) 10. John Isner (93)
1. Victoria Azarenka More >
Why Tennis?
61 year ago
In recent years, there’s been a lot of talk about the demise of American tennis. We haven’t had a Major champion on the men’s side since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003. Of course, we’ve seen Venus and Serena Williams win several Majors since then, but Wimbledon 2010 was Serena’s last Major title, and neither she nor Venus has won one since.
USTA is doing its darndest to find the Next Great American Tennis Champion. In fact, Patrick McEnroe’s mission, plain and simple, as the General Manager of USTA Player Development is to ensure more Americans are in the second week of the US Open. That’s it. That’s his job. And, he says, the best way for him to accomplish that mission is to get more kids playing tennis so there’s a wider More >
What Are College Coaches Really Looking For?
51 year ago
My son has dreamed of playing college tennis since he was 9 years old. That’s the summer he first went to tennis camp at the University of Georgia. That’s the summer he got to be on the court with not only the head coach and assistant coach but, more importantly for him at that age, the guys who actually played on the team! He came home from that first 5-day experience with a new-found commitment to tennis and a goal that has stuck with him ever since.
So, as any dedicated Tennis Parent would do, I started educating myself about college tennis and what it takes to get one of a very few coveted positions on the team. I read articles. I spoke to parents who had already been-there-done-that. I googled NCAA and read up on the rules. More >
What Is Sportsmanship?
21 year ago
Parents and coaches, please watch this short clip from Dr. Jim Loehr on the importance of sportsmanship.
Dr. Loehr is a world-renowned performance psychologist, CEO of the Human Performance Institute, and author of 15 books including his most recent, The Power of Story.
Jim Loehr’s contention is that managing energy, not time, is the key to sustained high performance. At the core of Dr. Loehr’s training system is the understanding that the stories we tell ourselves represent the single most powerful tool we have for managing energy and achieving any important mission in life. The right stories mobilize us to make tough values-based choices that lead to expanded growth and the wrong stories disengage us.
Dr. Loehr possesses a masters and 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 >