An Open Letter to USTA! Three Easy Things to Improve American Tennis
An open letter to David A. Haggerty, Chairman of the Board, CEO and President of USTA and other USTA executives.
Yesterday, I was returning to Miami from a week long business trip to Asia. Usually, one has plenty of time to talk to your neighboring passenger. This time I had no one near me, but, I imagined, I had next to me a USTA executive who asked me what I always want to be asked. What can you suggest we do to improve tennis and our level as a tennis country?
Trying to be quick and succinct I quickly said: just three things, hoping he/ she will remember them and actually do something about it!.
1. Increase match play.
2. Have designated tournaments where coaching is allowed.
3. Promote team tennis. Not only as a recreational but as competitive.
Match Play
The psychology involved in match play is so different than the one found in tournaments, and kids need depending on their level a lot of both. Just this evening as I try to register my son for a tournament, I actually wish I could register him for organized match play, and even though I live in Miami (98% of time great weather) it is NOWHERE to be found. In academies around the world and in US, a great part of the learning comes from match play. So, USTA executive? What are you going to do to make this happen? and truly understand that as a federation you drive the behavior of the parents and players? Why not drive them to have more match play, or in simpler terms increase the number of “hours of playing tennis, not in a tournament format.?”
Coaching in tournaments
As I am registering my son for a tournament, I also wish I could register him in a tournament where I could coach him, inside the court. He would then learn so much faster whatever he is trying to overcome or improve. Why? is this so foreign to us.? How is it that we deprive our kids of this simple solution for their improvement.? What is more important, why don’t we do it.? Absolutely everyone would benefit from it, and by the way in Spain these are common place.
As I ask this simple question, the USTA executive has a dumbfounded look and they I press again.
Why don’t we do this here? How hard can it be?
Team Tennis
Every psychologist worth his muster will tell you, if kids are to succeed, they need to be “part of something”. It does not matter how many hours a kid trains, who the coach is or where he plays. The key question is : Does the kid feel part of something bigger than himself in an individualized sport? The problem we face is that team tennis is not given the proper importance by the competitive coaches who FAIL, yes in capitals FAIL to understand how Team tennis is just as important as hitting a forehand for 6 hours a week. Why does the USTA not properly emphasize and refocus the great tool called Team tennis?
Thank you for listening USTA executive, I truly wish you heard what I just said.
( I can be reached at @palenquej).
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whats the difference between matchplay and tournament???
Thanks for posting this. Youngsters do have opportunity for this ‘team/part of something bigger than themselves’ in high school on tennis teams and then on into college.
We all have a need to belong and have opportunities to develop supportive, positive relationships too, as this builds individual character and promotes the individual athlete’s performance and advancement. Yes it is lacking. It can be fostered when a child identifies with his ‘home club’ although perhaps not so easy in academies. We can create these ‘competitive matches’ at the grassroots level where we parents agree to coach/teach inside the match… maybe as a kind of a league (and not USTA tournaments), and it could springboard. It would just take initiative by one. or with a small parent grouping, and then identify coaches/clubs to try your pilot program. Make a flyer, advertise locally, enlist a coach and start it where you are. I’d bring my child. She really would benefit from an option like this. Thanks for forward thinking.
The USTA could thrive with a PD leader that is both a visionary and an innovator right now and an OUTGOING PEOPLE PERSON too! Someone with a lot of time, who loved kids and people, AN EXTROVERT, instead of ‘corporate speak and do’ type. Until then. lets do it ourselves.
Coaching in tournaments? I thought we already have this… I see it all the time 🙂
I really like your ideas but you don’t need Dave Haggerty or Katrina Adams to execute your strategy. In my opinion, in the US we focus way too much on the hamster wheel and ways to fix it. Even with the appropriate leadership in place, change takes time that we don’t have.
Establish the mindset that you’re the PD leader and forget about the federation. Set up matches 2-3X per week and make it competitive (play for a slice of pizza or butts up). I’m in rural Florida so we had to get creative to find matches. When my kid was 7, he used to play a retired college professor from Carnegie-Mellon. They played for blood! Once a week, we used to drive my son 45 minutes to play a match against an older girl. The following week her parents would drive to us. Today, that little girl is playing tennis for the University of Florida. My point is, if your kid is into it, figure it out. Once a week, have the coach stand behind the baseline and coach. A good coach will be be ALL OVER this concept.
Team tennis? Love it. Kids love it. I’ve rambled on too long so I won’t expand on that topic any further.
Good luck!
George
for my kids I do that, matches with older people, younger people other clubs etc. But that is not enough the system has to provide you with the proper venues. As far as the coaching, I don’t mean coaching at breaks or tie breaks, i mean coaching while the match is going on. But if we want to improve the level overall , training the kids should not be a gargantuan effort by the parents, that is what the federations are for, specially the best funded one in the earth
I meant coaching while the match is going on too. It doesn’t have to be a USTA sanctioned match with ranking points at stake. It can be a neighborhood scrap. A match is a match is a match. Parents don’t have to make the gargantuan effort, however; if you look at history, you’ll see that parents played a major role in many of the greatest champions we’ve had. Richard Williams, Gloria Connors, Thomas Blake, Mike Agassi, etc…
Javier, well written, well put. And this suggestion or solution is for the mental, physical and financial health of future players, their families and coaches in all the countries.
Tennis administrators from every Federatiom should read your comments and give a good consideration.
Congratulations and good kuck.
Carlos
You have said some good things but I would respectfully like to disagree or at least put a caution on the on court coaching. IMO a big problem with USA junior tennis is that we have gone back to being a rich man’s game like we were in the 60’s. this eliminates too many good and hungry young athletes. The young player that cannot afford to travel a coach will be at a severe handicap to other players that can afford to travel a coach. The cards will be stacked against them, and they will quite and go to a sport with a level playing field. We need the hungry. IN our tennis prime so many of our great players came off the public courts. These are the kids we need if we are to rise again.
I think private matches or team matches are a good format for on court coaching and I think on court coaching is a great learning experience. but I would like to have it not affect rankings or tournament results.
thanks.