September 2008 -- I recently went to the Bank of the West tournament in Stanford, Calif., to watch the professional women play. The day was great with a variety of interesting matches and high-quality tennis. The next day I was back at work and talking with our members about the event when I realized something important: I didn't see one American player over the long day of matches. I have been going to professional tennis tournaments for a long time and can't remember a day in the early part of an event played in the United States that I didn't see an American compete.
Serena Williams did play in the tournament and made the semifinals, but she wasn't scheduled that day. The interesting part was looking over to the practice courts and seeing no American women out there. There were balls being hit and coaches talking to their players, but not in the English language. Conversations from a wide variety of non-English speaking countries filled the air on the Stanford University campus that day.
All of us have heard the concerns about the future of our leading men and women on the pro tour. That day at Stanford has motivated me to help get our better American players back on top. I know most USPTA Professionals are very busy with the responsibilities of their jobs and, typically, advanced junior player development isn't high on the list or even a part of their job description. Now is the time, however, for us to become more interested and involved in how to get our players back to elite status. A lot of our pros are content in their job environment and do not want to work the long, hard hours and take the travel time to help develop the elite junior. It's time for us as pros to make the commitment in all areas, including becoming better educated in player development. Teaching professionals need a road path for success in helping players jump to the next level. I'd like to point out some resources to help develop great juniors.
No. 1: The USTA has an excellent course administered by its USA Tennis Coaching Education Department that allows you to complete the USA High Performance Coaching Program. This same program also gives you a USPTA Specialist Degree in Competitive Player Development. You do need a Professional 1 rating to be eligible to take the course. Hopefully, the USTA High Performance Department and our USPTA Player Development Advisory Council can work together to help offer other avenues for our pros to use.
We have a fantastic USPTA Player Development Advisory Council made up of Nick Bollettieri, Rick Macci, Paul Roetert, Zina Garrison, Emilio Sanchez, Tim Heckler, David T. Porter, Ed.D., Jim Loehr, Ed.D., and Jack Groppel, Ph.D. - all of whom advance the USPTA Player Development Program. Hopefully, these high-profile coaches get the opportunity to help American tennis get back to the top.
No. 2: The USPTA provides a tremendous lineup of educational venues throughout the year. The World Conference this year in La Quinta, held from September 15-20, offered a wide variety of seminars and specialty courses with some of the best player development coaches in the country. Divisional and regional conferences will also have some presentations on the elite player.
No. 3: The USPTA also introduces and explains the numerous components of its layered Player Development Program in a series of special inserts that appear in
ADDvantage magazine. This program has loads of great information from our top player development professionals. Every insert lists additional resources that are available from USPTA's extensive educational DVD library. These resources are great educational tools for you to use.
No. 4: The USPTA Pro Shop (usprotennisshop.com) has tons of educational resources on player development. There is the World Conference series of DVDs by the best speakers from the past few national conventions. It is an amazing set of educational DVDs. There are also the World Conference audio recordings from all of the conference seminars from 2005-07 to choose from as well as other top professional seminars that USPTA has recorded over the years. Also, there are the 2005 USPTA Competitive Player Development Conference Series DVDs and all the different "On Court with USPTA" shows on the Tennis Channel. The USPTA Pro Shop also offers a wide variety of excellent books concerning player development. This should be the first site you check when looking to add to your tennis educational library.
No. 5: John Yandell's TennisPlayer.net is a fantastic USPTA member benefit and educational source to utilize. The site has a great section on player development with some of the leading figures in the country providing insight. There are other sections and articles that make this site one to occupy you for days.
In closing, we are all very busy yet passionate about the game of tennis. The game is played at a very high level worldwide with an abundance of new talent coming in from around the globe. A key fact is that there are probably more certified tennis professionals in this country than any other country in the world. Please, let's not have our pro events staged in this great country by foreign players and coaches without proportional representation from the United States. Now is the time to use the vast expertise of thousands of USPTA pros to keep American players at the top.
