% of top 100 UTR American college tennis players
January 31, 2016

NCAA DI Men 40%
NCAA DII Men 13%
NCAA DIII Men 90%

What is the operating budgets of college tennis programs? Show me the money!

Texas A&M $2,594,162.00
Virginia $2,341,743.00
William & Mary $1,072,076.00
Old Dominion $1,031,497.00
Norfolk State $523,886.00
Hampton $436,407.00
Chowan $302,303.00
George Mason $249,729.00
Christopher Newport $198,259.00
Virginia Wesleyan $100,847.00

The following information is to offer guidelines to on court tennis coaching for the coaching staff, designated coaches and team members. During a team match the team should use the maximum of coaches allowed unless there is a justified reason not too. If a team is utilizing the maximum amount of coaches allowed, the team members not playing should take an active role in supporting-coaching players that are on the court competing. These players can offer valuable information to the coach when he is not present and comes to that particular court. Knowing the score at all times during a match is a must.

Here are some of the types of college coaching:

AVOID DISTRACTING COACHING: Sometimes a coach needs to go on the court just to keep himself away from distractions and from talking to other people and doing other stuff, not related to the match. If the team is in control of the match then the coach may justify talking with a significant booster or a good recruit.

REAL ON COURT COACHING: The coach goes on court to provide tactical information, game plan, and mechanics. Providing the right tactical information can relate to emotional coaching; many coaches have various charting techniques that require on court coaching.

EMOTIONAL ON COURT COACHING: The coach is there to provide and assist the appropriate emotions. This can provide confidence; the coach can also assist with tempo and relaxation.

PROVOKING THE OTHER COACH COACHING: The coach tries to get the other coach involved in the match, knowing that if that happens, the opponent’s level of play may suffer because the other coach is a burden to the situation.

LOWERING THE OPPONENT’S LEVEL COACHING: Sometimes a coach may go on another court, because their presence in previous battles may bring demons of the past in the opponents mind.

LEAVING THE COURT PISSED COACHING: The coach may leave the court pissed sometimes and it may have a positive effect on the player. This might happen when the player is not performing at his level and the coach, knowing that, wants to make him think and realize that he can and is expected to perform better.

DELEGATE COACHING: It would be done by a superior coach. From head coach to assistant coach, going down the hierarchy, until the members of the team get involved in each others matches.

ADJACENT COURT COACHING: Taking an active role in a court that is away from the one the coach is on. Coaching the other court from distance can provide confidence to the player they are coaching from a distance. If the coach was on the player’s court the player could feel pressure or patronized.

LEAVING THE COURT FOR OTHER REASONS COACHING: The player does not stand a chance to win or you may have to go to some other courts because you would be more useful.

GOING WHERE THE MONEY IS COACHING: A coach can go and coach on a court where he feels a player has a greater chance of winning, because he knows the opponent and he knows that he can coach his player to victory against the opponent.

OTHER KIND OF ON COURT COACHING: There are various other reasons to provide on court coaching and they include: having a player that has to develop a certain style of play for future competitive matches. Of course, if a player’s parent drove all night to see a match, you might just want to stay on the court just to make a good impression or just avoid talking to them 🙂

WHAT IS YOUR SAT?

Not so good answer: “I do not take standardized test well”; “I am taking it again”; “It was the day after my prom”; “I am not sure”: These kinds of answers may communicate the recruit is an excuse maker.

Good answer: “950 or whatever the actual score is”: Answering the question with the exact score communicates a sense of confidence along with not dwelling on this subject if the SAT is lower than needed to get admitted to the school.

WHAT IS YOUR GPA?

Not so good answer: “I would have had a 3.2 if my Chemistry teacher liked me”; “I went to a tough private school”.

Good answer: Very similar to the SAT question, the coach is just looking for the answer and the projection of confidence would reflect well on the recruit.

WHAT OTHER SCHOOLS ARE RECRUITING YOU OR WHAT SCHOOLS ARE YOU INTERESTED IN?

Not so good answer: “None”; “I am just getting started”

Good answer: If a recruit actually has a list then communicating it by saying “I am being recruited by University X, Y, and Z and I am planning on visiting these schools in the near future”. If the recruit does not have a list of schools the answer may be “Currently I am interested in small private liberal arts schools on the East Coast”. More insightful answers is helpful for the recruit to create a market for themselves. A more competitive recruiting process can be helpful for the recruit’s scholarship opportunities, financial aid opportunities, along with help with admissions if needed.

WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF PLAY?

Not so good answer: “I played #2 on my high school team”; “I was ranked #24 in my USTA section”; “I was ranked #24 in the 14 and under division of my country”. None of these answers really determine the recruit’s level of play. They just determine where a person was ranked in a certain category and most junior ranking systems have some holes in them.

Good answer: “I believe I can play in the top six in your program because I have wins over player X,Y, and Z who have wins over some of your top 6 players”; “My Universal Tennis Rating is a 10 and your tennis teams Universal Tennis Rating ranges from 8-10”. Actually direct and indirect results are very helpful in determining a recruit’s level of play. In addition, the Universal Tennis Rating at www.universaltennis.com has the level of play of ATP, WTA, USA Colleges, and recruits from around the world.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT OUR TENNIS PROGRAM?

Not so good answer: “Not much, can you tell me more?”.

Good answer: “You have been coaching at this university for 10 years and you are alumni. The program competes in conference X and your program has been in the top 3 for the last 4 years. You rivalries are University X, Y, and Z. Etc…Etc…” In today’s world this kind of information is all over the internet and knowing this information demonstrates the recruit’s sincere interest in the university along showing how serious the recruit is about their choice in schools.

How did the 1999 Nationally ranked 14 and under boys do when they played college tennis? The number 10 boy in the country was a kid named John Isner. He has done pretty well. For complete comparsion click on the attached file: http://cummingsathletics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/2007-ITA-national-ranking-usta-boys-14-college-comparison.pdf

Just dug up an article that I had written in 1999 about international tennis recruiting for an high school student who needs the information for his senior speech.  Click here for the International Tennis Recruiting Article.

What is the information a college tennis coach is really looking for during the recruiting process? Is it a recruit’s tennis
ranking? A list of articles from the recruit’s local newspaper? Recommendations from the recruit’s coaches?

As a collegiate tennis coach evaluates their recruits they are probably trying to figure out the following:

• What is the player’s level of play? The Universal Tennis Rating System has become a popular tool in determining a player’s level of play. Go to www.universaltennis.com for more information.
• What will be the players winning percentage in college?
• What will be the players winning percentage against targeted competition? This may be conference matches, rivalries, or
  ranked competition.
• Will the recruit be maintenance free academically? Usually not a problem when it comes to tennis players; however, it does become an issue from time to time.
• Does the recruit have high maintenance parents? Pretty much means the coach has to communicate with the parents more
  than the player.

5 MARKETING TIPS FOR COLLEGIATE TENNIS RECRUITS

1. Players should make an effort to communicate with the coach as opposed to their parents. Coaches are not stimulated on hearing from the parents on how great their child is. If the player is great then parents should not have to communicate it. Remember the coach is recruiting the player and not the parent. Actually not 100% true because if the parent is extremely
affluent then they may be recruiting the parents through the player because programs need donors 🙂

2. Recruits should seek to understand the team’s level of play before communicated their tennis level of play. It is very beneficial for the player to have an understanding of the programs goals and to see if the player’s goals would fit in.

3. It is very good to create a market of multiple schools to see the recruit’s value. The market value may be demonstrated in
scholarship, academic, roster spot, or various other kinds of opportunities.

4. When communicating with coaches via e-mail or letters make an effort to personalize the communications. Examples would be to start off with…. “Congrats on starting the season off 4-0”…. “Good win against school X”…… Understand collegiate coaches receive a significant amount of e-mails and written communications. Recruits should personalize their communication to stand out.

5. Calling the collegiate tennis coach may be better than e-mails. Many consider face to face communications the best, followed by phone calls, with e-mails being last. When calling the coach it may be best to not leave a voice mail because if the recruit may feel like they are bugging the coach if they would call back after leaving a message. It is common practice among professional sales people to avoid leaving voice mail and to keep calling until they get the person on the phone.