The following post is an excerpt from the Second Edition of The Tennis Parent’s Bible
Available through most online retailers!
PLANNING THE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
“We don’t improve quickly enough by chance, we improve by organized change.”
As you read this book, I recommend planning a tournament schedule broken down into quarters. When organizing the schedule, be sure to consider your child’s short and long term goals. Plan to evaluate your player’s progress throughout the year and adjust their schedule accordingly.
Long term and short term goals will dictate your child’s training and tournament schedule. If your child’s goal is to be ranked in the boys 10’s and possibly play high school tennis, their training and tournament schedule will be very different than a child that has a long term goal to play NCAA Division I Tennis. Goals may change along the developmental journey and a change in goals will require a change in training and scheduling.
Important Factors to Consider When Planning An Optimal Competitive Schedule Include:
Your Child‘s Age:
Check with your specific USTA section or country organization for age eligibility requirements. Be sure to also check the limits on the number of events a junior can participate in each age division. Customize your child’s stay in each division to maximize rankings and exposure to prospective college recruiters.
A general guideline to follow: if your child is winning approximately 25% of their matches, consider entering lower level and current level tournaments; if they are winning approximately 40 – 60% of their matches, remain at their current level; if they are winning approximately 75-90% of their matches, move up to the next division.
Your Child’s Tournament Level and Type:
When scheduling, plan on including lower level, current level and higher level events into the tournament schedule. Nothing breeds confidence like winning trophies. Playing up is not always in the best interest of the athlete. Be sure to also schedule doubles events. The game of doubles requires a different set of skills- both in tennis and personal skills.
Your Child’s Peer Pressure Dramas:
If your child plays terrific in practice sets but shows symptoms of extreme performance anxiety against their peers year in and year out, it may be wise to break the “psychological barrier” and choose to play in a different setting.
