July 2008 -- In my first board message over eight years ago I told how my daughter Lauren began her competitive tennis career with junior team tennis.
Lauren had participated in team sports like soccer, as many youngsters do. So she much preferred that her early competitive tennis experiences come from participation on a junior tennis team (and particularly playing doubles), rather than competing in tournaments.
As she became more comfortable with competition, she did begin playing USTA tournaments. Lauren was a successful player at the highest level of Florida Designated tournaments, but each year she focused on her high school tennis team. She played four years on the top high school team in Central Florida. They qualified for state each year and her team finished No. 6 in the state her senior year.
As Lauren considered colleges, her priority was to choose the best fit for her academically. She was recruited as a tennis player by some smaller schools, but they were not a good fit for her academic goals.
She chose to attend the University of Virginia. She had been exposed to the USTA Tennis On Campus program, which had its national tournament in Daytona Beach, and I had done a promotion for HEAD/Penn at that event. At the time I remember her saying, "This could be something I could do." So as a freshman at UVA she tried out and was selected for her club team.
UVA's club program is possibly more structured than most. They have a coach, have regular practice, and play dual matches against other teams in their region. It has been a great transition for Lauren. I visited Lauren in the fall and played in a campuswide tournament organized by the UVA Tennis Club. It was great to see members of the tennis club, their parents, friends, and even a member of the girl's varsity team playing in this one-day event.
The club team players' passion for the sport was evident, and I was curious about the success and growth of this program nationwide. I contacted Glenn Arrington, USTA's national manager of collegiate tennis, to discuss the growth of the Tennis On Campus program. Glenn also is a 20-year certified member of USPTA.
According to Glenn, "There are over 320,000 high school varsity tennis players each year. Less than 10 percent (roughly 20,000) will have the talent and ability needed to compete on a varsity tennis team while attending college. The USTA Tennis On Campus program focuses on the other 90 percent, providing a 'retention' bridge between junior and adult tennis by helping to keep players engaged in organized tennis through their college years.
"Perfect for athletes who have chosen not to make the jump from high school to college varsity, Tennis On Campus offers coed team play and regional and national championship competition while helping students maintain active and healthy lifestyles through their college years," Glenn says. "The program has been wildly successful and is offered on over 450 college campuses and services over 30,000 students.
"Tennis On Campus is typically coordinated through the recreational sports department at a university in the form of coed intramural leagues or in a more structured environment such as a sport club where students will have the opportunity to develop important leadership skills through the organization and management of their team (an average club team has 70 participants, with some college club teams having over 250 students).
"Club tennis leaders are exposed to many of the same challenges we face as teaching pros," Glenn points out. "These include coordinating practice and travel schedules for multiple teams, risk management, marketing their club to prospective members, fundraising/revenue generation, budgeting, Web site development and community outreach.
"Many of these sport club leaders develop valuable tennis DNA while in college and the industry needs to pay close attention," Glenn says. "I wouldn't be surprised to see many of these young leaders getting inspired to become teaching pros and club managers in the not-too-distant future."
Glenn is right: Tennis on Campus provides an exciting opportunity to tens of thousands of passionate young players who might otherwise lose interest in tennis during their college years. Not only does it help grow the game, through club competition, but it also increases the number of new adult members at our facilities.
We tennis pros and coaches need to make our high school students aware of this program, and encourage them to seek out the coordinators at the college they will be attending. Then they can get playing - and stay in the game!
College-level club tennis keeps players in the game
Amina Doar, who had played Division III women's tennis, had a lot of good matches left in her after transferring to a major university where making the team was a world-class challenge.
Her then-boyfriend, Will Taylor, shared her passion for the game when they arrived at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. "We loved tennis and we loved competing," she said. "But WSU does not have a men's varsity team and the women's varsity team is hard to get on. A lot of great high school players want to go there, but they kind of drop tennis."
Doar and Taylor, who are now both USPTA Professionals, co-founded WSU Cougar Club Tennis. CCT, a coed sports club, was approved by the university's Sport Club Federation in November 2005. It falls under the umbrella of the USTA Tennis on Campus program.
The club's motto was and is: "We spread the love of tennis to Washington State University and the city of Pullman through fun, friendly competition, all the while making tennis affordable to everyone in our community."
Club members pay $35 for the entire school year and receive a free club shirt. "Some join because they get discounts on stringing," Doar said. "We string a lot of racquets to make money (and through memberships).
"We accept everybody from absolute beginners to former college players. We run the gamut from people who never played before to solid 5.0 players."
Cougar Club Tennis grew from 67 members its first year to 125 the second year, making it the largest sport club at WSU and one of the largest tennis clubs in the Pacific Northwest, Doar said. This past year membership fell to 87, but CCT is still the largest sport club on campus.
The club would practice three hours a night, three times a week, but practice is optional. Doar and Taylor usually did the coaching on the indoor courts. Practice attracted up to 60 players, although the average was 20 to 30.
In its third year the club achieved its founders' goal of qualifying for nationals (the USTA National Campus Championships presented by Tennis Warehouse). But they had to pass on the trip to North Carolina because the big tournament fell too close to finals at WSU.
Despite that disappointment, "We really made a splash at WSU - I'd say we did," Doar pointed out. "We've actually really changed the college experience for a lot of people. A lot have gotten so much better at tennis; it becomes a lifetime sport for them."
Doar, 24, recently left Washington State University, planning to finish her last few classes online and to graduate in May 2009 with an economics degree. She moved to Novato., Calif., to spend the summer with her grandmother. She is going to run the junior camp program at Meridian Rolling Hills Sports Club - "and see where I go from there."
"I want to stick with tennis," she said. "I would love to work for the USTA. I love designing programs, getting more people involved in them."
A number of former Tennis on Campus players have already become USPTA certified, noted Glenn Arrington, USPTA Professional and national manager of collegiate and corporate tennis for the United States Tennis Association.
"Many of these Tennis On Campus players have an interest in becoming involved in the industry as tennis teachers, club managers, sales representatives, etc.," Arrington said. "They're interested, they're passionate. We need an infusion of talented younger people within the tennis industry and this is where we're going to find it - on college campuses."
Arrington points to Amina Doar as a good example. "Amina has propagated her leadership skills and determination into a highly successful club because of her passion for and interest in the sport - not only on her campus, but through the things they've done for community outreach, even into the instructional side," he said.
As a team coordinator, Doar helped other clubs, such as the one at Central Washington University, get started. She made some good friends, both on her own team and through contact with other clubs in the Pacific Northwest League.
Even since leaving campus, "I've made myself available for questions from the team next year," Doar said. "I'm good friends with the new president."
Club tennis "has been a very rewarding experience," she assured. "It's what really prompted me to stick with tennis after school and to go get certified. I'm eternally grateful for the program; I really feel like I got kind of lucky."
