How to play college tennis?!?!?

[Andy Zarzuela]

Hi, I'm a senior in high school. I've played singles throughout my 4 years of high school. I am a 4.5-5.0. Is that good enough to play college tennis at a division 2 school? If so, how can I persue that???

[loubapache]

I teach at Ferris State Univ here in MI. FSU plays D-II tennis. See their program at

http://www.ferris.edu/htmls/sports/tennis/mtennis/

I think their No 1 and No2 players are at 6.0 and the rest of the players are between 4.5 and 5.5. I would say 5.0 is good enough to play on that team.

[Power Game]

I play college tennis (no clue what my rating is though. But you should have a good chance. Keep in mind that college tennis is really competitive, so you will need to work hard

[gmlasam]

I play college tennis (no clue what my rating is though. But you should have a good chance. Keep in mind that college tennis is really competitive, so you will need to work hardWhat college and your rank in your team?

[tamdoankc]

has anyone here played on scholarship and actually graduated with a worthwhile degree? i played for my University (Div1) and had to drop tennis because it was almost impossible for me juggling training and matches with studying and going to class. Though I was in med school. Realized most of my teammates were taking pushover classes ("basket weaving courses").

[tykrum]

If you are a 4.5-5.0, you could play very high at most D2 schools. You could possibly play at some lesser D1 schools also, and likely get on their roster. I would recommend getting your name out there if you are interested.

[chuckd]

A good friend of mine played singles (#2 or 3, I think) for a D1 school- and she graduated cum laude in Bio.

Tamdoankc, by the time you're in med school, isn't your eligibility used up? .... Since you would be considered post-bac.... Just wondering....

[jpsigchi]

If you want to get your name out and if you want to let college coaches know who you are try this. Send in a video tape of yourself hitting some balls, serving, hitting volleys, etc. Myself and alot of my buddies did this when we were applying for schools and it worked out well.

[tamdoankc]

chuckd-good question. i was part of a 6 year advanced program. so i headed straight into med school after highschool. you have to take courses year round with out a summer break. you get dropped from the program if your performance drops just a hair. med school took presidence over tennis.

[Cobra Tennis]

I am a college player and can help you out a bit. A Video tape is a good idea and the best thing I can recommend is talk to the coach es at some universities and set up a hitting time because NCAA allows 1 "try-out" for the team and from there he will let you know how you stand. I believe the next signing period is Nov 12th for college tennis (it was last year) so get on the ball!

[tennis-n-sc]

Most of the college coaches I know recruit on almost an exclusively juniors state and national ranking. In the Southern Conference, you could not make the roster of some of the teams with your rating ( how do you have between a 4.5 and 5.0? I thought ratings were one number.) or be the number one player on some team rosters, all in the same conference. There is such a wide range of talent it is unbelieveable. Go hit with some college players and see how you do. You might also play in some open divisions of local tournaments and see how you fare. There are often recently graduated college players in these tournments. Good luck.

[Power Game]

I play college tennis (no clue what my rating is though. But you should have a good chance. Keep in mind that college tennis is really competitive, so you will need to work hardWhat college and your rank in your team?

D-2, rank 5 out of 6, my team is second in our conference

[callitout]

I win my local club league and play about 4.5 level, but dont pretend to be any real player. I got to hit with Univ of michigan players a couple of times and boy even though they are an average D1 tennis program these guys will smoke any 4.5-5.0 so badly you wouldnt believe it. Maybe D2 or D3 is realistic but if youre not close to a 6.0 you have very little chance of playing D1.

[loubapache]

Agree with callitout.

I talked with the coach at Ferris State (D-II) when I was playing tonight at the facility. He said among the 9 players, 2 are at 6.0, 3 are at 5.5, 3 are at 5.0, and 1 is at 4.5.

The two 6.0 players play professional satellite tournaments in the summer. One was among the top five players in Austria and another played some junior Davis cup or somesuch.

So they are very good.

[ChiefAce]

Agree with callitout.

I talked with the coach at Ferris State (D-II) when I was playing tonight at the facility. He said among the 9 players, 2 are at 6.0, 3 are at 5.5, 3 are at 5.0, and 1 is at 4.5.

The two 6.0 players play professional satellite tournaments in the summer. One was among the top five players in Austria and another played some junior Davis cup or somesuch.

So they are very good.


Ferris State is a very good D-2 school, but if you have any hopes of playing at a D2 school you should be at least a 5.0 level player. You can also play at some small D-1 schools in the #5 or 6 singles spot if you are a solid 5.0.

[kaviar]

I'm in australia and im hoping to go to college in January or August. Most of the coaches asked for a resume, of your results, rankings, wins over ranked opponents etc. After they see your resume, if they are interested, they will want to see a video. I was told from a top div 1 coach to do about 20 minutes of your strokes (f-hand, b-hand, volleys, serves), then play about 30 minutes, or a set of tennis. Thats the main thing the coaches want to see, how you handle in a pressure situation. They also want to see the opponent you are playing, so your not playing some crappy walkover.

If i were you, i'd send emails to all the div 1 and div 2 schools now. Don't bother with the top 25 div 1 schools, unless you have an atp ranking or a high national ranking. Most of the coaches just delete the emails before reading them, because they get so many. I don't know if you would be able to go in January because you may be too late. I guess you could if you have already done the SAT Test, and if you apply to the clearinghouse ASAP. I'd be aiming for the June Intake. Send out as many emails as possible, and keep your options open.

Also make sure that if you are going, that you go next year if you want to play division 1. The NCAA has a rule where you only have 12 months from your graduation date to enter a div 1 college. I've been out of school for almost 2 years, so i had to decline some good div 1 offers. I'll be hopefully going to a div 2 college, which is still good.

Ferris State looks good, although i heard it gets a bit chilly there. They have an awesome professional tennis management degree, i've been in contact with the coach there, and he's a pretty good bloke.

Hope this information helps,

Regards,

Kaviar

[Nastase]

Do you want to simply play college tennis or do you need the scholarship money? Some DI and DII programs have money, some dont...especially with title 9 reducing mens sports in terms of money and number of programs. Also, lots of DII and NAIA schools have better rosters/players than alot of DI schools. So I suggest you not get hung up on DI, DII, NAIA etc...pick the best school for you in terms of the total package otherwise your gonna regret it...look at academics first cause you arent gonna make any money playing tennis later, then look at all te other stuff like tennis, location, and importantly spend some time with the tennis coach. Youre gonna spend alot of time with this guy in a van travelling to matches so you better like him and agree with him philospohically. Understand the schools commitment to the tennis program! Will it be cut? What other sports are they considering adding? If the want to add womens programs it comes at the expense of a mens team... Defintely do the video include you hitting, practicing, include an interview of yourself and get a current coach, opponent, minister, teacher to say a few nice words about you..it helps with credibility, provides references and helps set you apart from the other videos. Tell the coach in the cover letter what the video includes so he is keen to look at it...who would refuse to look at an entertaining video, its like reality TV or something. Good luck in picking the right school for you. BTW a 4.5 player would have had a hard time making my DII roster.

[loubapache]

kaviar:

Yes, it is a a bit chilly here in Big Rapids, MI (Ferris State). We have a long winter from Novevember to March. It has excellent indoor facilities (6 courts). There is usually a large temperature difference between the low and high on any day. Summer is very nice. The night low is around 60 and day high around around 80.

Yes, the Ferris coach is very nice. He used to own and run a junior academy in the south.

The Professional Tennis Management program is one of the best in the world. It is run by a master teaching pro who used to be the USPTA president and I think he sits on the board of USPTA. All the students are pretty good tennis players and that is a requirement. They enter the program with a minimum skill of 4.0 and usually graduate above 5.0. They take some business classes, play a lot of tennis, and graduate to be coaches, teaching pros, and facility or pro shop managers.

[kevhen]

A guy I play against was #3 on his Div 2 team and he is only 3.5 level in my opinion these days but most D3 guys I have played again are at least 4.0 and usually 4.5 or 5.0. His buddy plays #1 on that D2 team and he is just 4.5 level. If you are 4.5-5.0 you should do fine. How did you get your 4.5 rating?