Raising a tennis playing kid

[Flat Top]

Hello. My first post.

I have a 12 yo son who learned tennis from his school teacher last year, now in love with the game and getting pretty good. I was never a tennis player although played a little as a kid. Never got addicted to it, was not even watching tennis on TV. Now we are glued to Tennis Channel daily, watched FYB videos and bought a ball machine. Enrolled him in group classes. Told him that school is number one, tennis is for fun. He says it is the other way around, haha.

How much tennis would you have a kid who wants to do it all the time have? When do parents know that it is worth entering them to academies? For every kid who went that route, how many should have just stayed in school? A kid can always argue that how would we know how good he could be if we did not give him the full support that pros got when they were kids. Thank you.

[Soianka]

I don't think you should limit how much he plays so long as it doesn't affect his school work.

If he loves tennis and wants to play, then by all means let him play.

If you can afford a good academy or good coach, then definitely do that.

[BaboFan]

I'd say academies aren't the best thing but finding a good private coach, sigining him up for usta tournaments, and finding good players or friends to hit with frequently is the best way. As long as he can keep up the straight As its good. But I've found with my son that you can take away tennis as a punishment and they'll be devastated.

[Flat Top]

Thank you for the replies. Any ideas how many kids are in tennis as their career path and how many actually make it (make money in competition)?

[BaboFan]

Starting at 12 he can get really good as in pro coach and go far in open tournaments (BC I did) but pro and winning the opens are very hard

[BMC9670]

Originally Posted by Flat Top

Thank you for the replies. Any ideas how many kids are in tennis as their career path and how many actually make it (make money in competition)?

I think many kids (and their parents), maybe millions, dream of making money as a competing professional players in tennis, but the reality of the sport is very, very do. Many make their living as teaching professionals, but making a living as a player is extremely hard as only the very top echelon actually make good money.

[SoCal10s]

if you're lucky and do everything right .. high hopes would be that he gets a nice tennis scholarship at a good d1 school.. after that it's up to him...

[Tennishacker]

Originally Posted by BMC9670

I think many kids (and their parents), maybe millions, dream of making money as a competing professional players in tennis, but the reality of the sport is very, very do. Many make their living as teaching professionals, but making a living as a player is extremely hard as only the very top echelon actually make good money.

It would be safe to say that less than 1% of junior tennis players go onto making money as a pro.

[Bendex]

Originally Posted by Flat Top

Thank you for the replies. Any ideas how many kids are in tennis as their career path and how many actually make it (make money in competition)?

There are probably 60 male players in the world making a good living out of competition. But there are many thousands making a living from coaching, administration, etc. If it's what he loves, what better gift could you give him?

If he is a super athlete with amazing skill, you should be up at 6am every morning running drills with him (many drills on Youtube), and then again in the evenings. If you can afford 20 hours per week with a professional coach (and you really couldn't be bothered changing your whole lifestyle), do that instead. Or you could find someone like me who loves to coach pro-bono.

If he just loves it but has no great potential, a couple times per week is fine, with regular competition on weekends.

I know many straight A seniors who are very good local juniors. Dedication to tennis really promotes work ethic.

[andfor]

Starting late may be a blessing. I'd shoot for playing college tennis. Many kids who start the game between 4-8 years old and are superstars in the 10's, 12's and even 14's lose interest and fall off in the 16's and 18's.

[hacker]

My son is almost 12 and has been playing USTA tournaments for a few years. Plays 5 times a week. He wants to drop other sports to concentrate on just tennis. I'd prefer he stick with a couple sports, but school is still number one. He's a good tennis player, but there are some REALLY good young players at these tournaments. I'd see where your sons skill level is in tournaments before thinking about academies. As others have suggested get him in a Jr program with a good Pro Coach.

[andfor]

There's a lot of good books out there to help coaches and parents with their athletes. Here's just one of many. http://www.humankinetics.com/product...g-3rd-edition1

[TennisCoachFLA]

The answer to how many actually make money in tennis? The estimated average costs to be a professional tennis player has been calculated at $140,000/year.

http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/U...0Pro%20FAQ.pdf

So look through the ATP money list and how many make $140,000 plus enough on top of that to make a living? 75 or so?

So about 75 guys make good livings at tennis would be an educated guess. How many are on the career path to tennis at any given time is impossible to answer though.

Remember lots of guys can 'go pro' and enter low level tournaments that offer purses. But earning $600 in a low level deal a few times per year is not making a living at tennis.

[BMC9670]

Originally Posted by TennisCoachFLA

The answer to how many actually make money in tennis? The estimated average costs to be a professional tennis player has been calculated at $140,000/year.

http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/U...0Pro%20FAQ.pdf

So look through the ATP money list and how many make $140,000 plus enough on top of that to make a living? 75 or so?

So about 75 guys make good livings at tennis would be an educated guess. How many are on the career path to tennis at any given time is impossible to answer though.

Remember lots of guys can 'go pro' and enter low level tournaments that offer purses. But earning $600 in a low level deal a few times per year is not making a living at tennis.

And the cost to get said players to that level over the course of their junior career? I think you had estimated that at one time as well.

[treeman10]

[----------------

[BMC9670]

Originally Posted by treeman10

From age 5-20, about $400k - I have seen this in a couple articles and can personally say that seems about right. Ouch. Of course, some find ways around that, but a lot do in fact put that into it. Tennis should be done for fun and passion, not investment.

This article compares education v. tennis.....there's some interesting things in this link re junior tennis. Some are pretty accurate, although they are low on cost per year to be pro in this article (shown over and over again to be $140k as TCF knows) but they are always relevant issues/discussions.

http://ustennisparents.wordpress.com/

I agree. Too many parents making tennis a "job" for their kids at very young ages. We've also been through the tennis scholarship vs paying for college as well, and tennis is still more expensive to get to that level. Tennis is a great sport, but one very few people make a good living playing.

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by BMC9670

I agree. Too many parents making tennis a "job" for their kids at very young ages. We've also been through the tennis scholarship vs paying for college as well, and tennis is still more expensive to get to that level. Tennis is a great sport, but one very few people make a good living playing.

Jerry Maguire: Rod, think about back when you were a little kid...
It wasn't about the money, was it? Was it?

[Questionably]
Jerry Maguire: Was it?

[gully]

I remember reading an article about a girl who recently turned pro and was long the #1 recruit in the nation. She professed excitement that at midyear of her first professional year, her agent had informed her that she had reached the "break-even" point and had recouped her expenses to that date. (She was ranked mid-300s at that point.)

Keep in mind, this is America's best junior player. Of the thousands who play competitively, she is (arguably) the best. Her family has probably already spent tens of (a hundred? two?) thousands on her game. She can barely recoup her expenses for the year. If she reaches the top 100 or top 50 of the WTA (no sure thing!), and stays there for a few years, she may actually make money at this sport -- or not.

[ga tennis]

Al Parker(GEORGIA) won over 25 gold balls,but was never ranked top 250 in the world??Winning nationals doesnt equal success on the pro tour.

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

Al Parker(GEORGIA) won over 25 gold balls,but was never ranked top 250 in the world??Winning nationals doesnt equal success on the pro tour.

It would be interesting to know the reverse.

Has any player, U.S., ever become a successful pro without winning a national?