mandates ruined a good thing

[ga tennis]

It would have been so nice to see our top 10s get to compete against each other this year.Our top 10 year olds are way too good for quickststart.Every top 10 year old in Georgia is playin up in the 12s.The problem with that is all level 4and5s are green dot?The level 3 tournaments are 16 draw so it makes it really difficult for a second year 10 to get in the draw.I know people are gonna say she should have played 10 and under tournaments to get her ranking up but at this point she is WAY too advanced for that.Im just still ****ed off!

[TennisMaverick]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

It would have been so nice to see our top 10s get to compete against each other this year.Our top 10 year olds are way too good for quickststart.Every top 10 year old in Georgia is playin up in the 12s.The problem with that is all level 4and5s are green dot?The level 3 tournaments are 16 draw so it makes it really difficult for a second year 10 to get in the draw.I know people are gonna say she should have played 10 and under tournaments to get her ranking up but at this point she is WAY too advanced for that.Im just still ****ed off!

The whole thing is convoluted, but let's not forget that BITD, it was only 18 and under, and 15 and under. If you were younger, you knew that you would lose, unless you were great, but then, everyone developed their games. No one worried about protecting their rankings. When I was playing, my coach would swear that things were better for tennis development and kids psychological health, and I could not argue since I grew-up with 12s-18s.

[seminoleG]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

It would have been so nice to see our top 10s get to compete against each other this year.Our top 10 year olds are way too good for quickststart.Every top 10 year old in Georgia is playin up in the 12s.The problem with that is all level 4and5s are green dot?The level 3 tournaments are 16 draw so it makes it really difficult for a second year 10 to get in the draw.I know people are gonna say she should have played 10 and under tournaments to get her ranking up but at this point she is WAY too advanced for that.Im just still ****ed off!

I'm not as ****ed as I was, I have calmed down a lot. Time heals all. My Daughter played in the SoFla Regional G12s and hit very well. She was the youngest in the Draw (9). I was told that by a USTA Florida person she should be able to compete in a year. I saw her hit more Drop Shots/Slice backhands and swinging volleys than a good number of seeded girls. A little stronger, more mature and she'll be there.

Based on what I saw I do fell better that what the USTA Florida folks told me may be more right thatn I first suspected. BUT I would have liked to have continued in the 10s.

[Pro_Tour_630]

it is funny,,,, we are complaining and know that tournaments too early for young kids will affect their strokes and bring about bad habits yet we still want them to get into tournaments early so they can bring home the trophy and be #1.

Have you played in a green dot U12 tournament?

what are the top 10 year olds doing? do like them

[ga tennis]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

it is funny,,,, we are complaining and know that tournaments too early for young kids will affect their strokes and bring about bad habits yet we still want them to get into tournaments early so they can bring home the trophy and be #1.

Have you played in a green dot U12 tournament?

what are the top 10 year olds doing? do like them

I didnt put her in but a couple of tournaments last year.Now her and her coach want her to play tournaments.He wants to see her compete this year.She is gonna play level 3 and up 12s and level 4 in the 14s.She played one green dot tournament and won it.That proved NOTHING because none of the good kids play green dot.Our top 10s are playin the 12s I just wished they could have played each other in the 10s.

[LMK5]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

I didnt put her in but a couple of tournaments last year.Now her and her coach want her to play tournaments.He wants to see her compete this year.She is gonna play level 3 and up 12s and level 4 in the 14s.She played one green dot tournament and won it.That proved NOTHING because none of the good kids play green dot.Our top 10s are playin the 12s I just wished they could have played each other in the 10s.

Playing up to escape the green ball may be halted soon. Here's a story: My daughter had won a novice tournament early in 2011, so she got an invitation to play in a "novice master" event on 1/28/2012. The application clearly stated what age groups were available and what the birthday cutoffs were for eligibility.

My 10 year old, who will be 11 on 2/2/12, checked off the box for the 12s. She didn't want to play in the 10s because she has never played with the green ball and was also now playing satellite tournaments. After I sent in the registration form, I got an email from the SCTA saying they put her in the 10s. No explanation. When I emailed back that I wanted her in the 12s, the reply was that they wanted her to play in her "natural age division" or she couldn't enter. When I followed up with a phone call the representative wouldn't budge. She felt it was her right to change the rules of the event as she wished.

The fact that this rule wasn't on the application didn't matter to the SCTA representative. It didn't matter that my daughter would be playing up and no one would be harmed. It didn't matter that a 10 year old would be disappointed. It didn't matter that the tournament would get one less participant and one less entry fee. It only mattered that enough kids were artificially forced to play in a division that they didn't want to play in.

That's the residue of rigid mandates. If they don't get enough green ball entries, they will force you to play in your "natural age division" so they can later quote great participation statistics for the quickstart program.

[Pro_Tour_630]

this is all foreign to me. In NE things are different, any 8 9 10 year old can play 12 if they wish

[seminoleG]

Originally Posted by LMK5

Playing up to escape the green ball may be halted soon. Here's a story: My daughter had won a novice tournament early in 2011, so she got an invitation to play in a "novice master" event on 1/28/2012. The application clearly stated what age groups were available and what the birthday cutoffs were for eligibility.

That's the residue of rigid mandates. If they don't get enough green ball entries, they will force you to play in your "natural age division" so they can later quote great participation statistics for the quickstart program.

USTA rules for Novice/Rookie is they must play their natural age group until they achieve a certain number of points. Now that they have no Points for 10s don't know how they enforce that.

[seminoleG]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

it is funny,,,, we are complaining and know that tournaments too early for young kids will affect their strokes and bring about bad habits yet we still want them to get into tournaments early so they can bring home the trophy and be #1.

Have you played in a green dot U12 tournament?

what are the top 10 year olds doing? do like them

I think the conversation is not about Trophies and #1, its more about these kids have VERY VERY GOOD strokes. So not much can be improved with Green Ball mandated events. Training and competing with Yellowball is were they should be. The kids that should be on Green Ball/10U aren't ready for this level of competition. I can say I would take my 9yo and feel pretty confident with her playing a kid (girl or boy) that has trained on Green Ball for a while she would take them apart.

Our Top 20 Girls 10s and the Top 25 or so Boy 10s have been playing 12s for ~ 6 Months. Several 14s

https://tennislink.usta.com/TOURNAME...5&Division=G9#

[Pro_Tour_630]

Originally Posted by seminoleG

I think the conversation is not about Trophies and #1, its more about these kids have VERY VERY GOOD strokes. So not much can be improved with Green Ball mandated events. Training and competing with Yellowball is were they should be. The kids that should be on Green Ball/10U aren't ready for this level of competition. I can say I would take my 9yo and feel pretty confident with her playing a kid (girl or boy) that has trained on Green Ball for a while she would take them apart.

Our Top 20 Girls 10s and the Top 25 or so Boy 10s have been playing 12s for ~ 6 Months. Several 14s

https://tennislink.usta.com/TOURNAME...5&Division=G9#

it is simple if a 10 year old kid is not good enough to get into level 3 tournaments then kid needs more work, green or whatever

here in NE you can still play low level 7 yellow at U12, and you do not need points to get in, anyone can play. Maybe GA needs this type of formate I would say

Originally Posted by ga tennis

I didnt put her in but a couple of tournaments last year.Now her and her coach want her to play tournaments.He wants to see her compete this year.She is gonna play level 3 and up 12s and level 4 in the 14s.She played one green dot tournament and won it.That proved NOTHING because none of the good kids play green dot.Our top 10s are playin the 12s I just wished they could have played each other in the 10s.

again what are her peers doings you should be doing, if they are playing in the 12 with whatever you should be as well and can play them under any name. it proves that she is playing with kids of her ability and age, call it whatever with whatever. if you can not bear the green then wait out another year, nothing wrong with that, TCf does not believe in girls competing until U12, she would still have two more years to play in the U12, even if you wait it out another year. it seems someone is in a hurry to get her competing.

[gplracer]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

it is simple if a 10 year old kid is not good enough to get into level 3 tournaments then kid needs more work, green or whatever

here in NE you can still play low level 7 yellow at U12, and you do not need points to get in, anyone can play. Maybe GA needs this type of formate I would say

Sure you can in GA. The bottom two levels are 4 and 5. Anyone can get in those. Of course with the new rules you will be playing green ball or green dot ball. My son can get in the 12s southern level 3 tournaments because of his ranking in the 10s. The southern section has decided that southern level 3's will be two draws of 16 and play will be on Saturday and Sunday only. This is so kids miss less school. 28 of the players come from the highest rankings in the 12s who apply. The last 4 come from the highest ranked players in the 10s who are in the top 40 in the south. Honestly the green ball is good for my son now. He is 9. We try to play orange, green, and yellow. They all have a purpose.

[gplracer]

Some of the top 10 and under kids are playing in the 10s in GA. There are only 3 who are in the top 10 in the boys who are not aging up in the next 6 months. Most of those are playing mostly 12s now.

[ga tennis]

Originally Posted by gplracer

Some of the top 10 and under kids are playing in the 10s in GA. There are only 3 who are in the top 10 in the boys who are not aging up in the next 6 months. Most of those are playing mostly 12s now.

NONE of the top 10 and under girls in GA are playing the 10s.If you think any of the girls playing in the 10 and under division are top 10s you are so wrong!

[Pro_Tour_630]

there are other things in life other than the top 10 players in U10, there are hundreds and thousands of other U10 players who like the idea and are playing U10's it is not the end of the world. The inbetween generation of 9-10 year olds that are advance most of them are complaining ( I am one of them and I am not complaining). The elite 10 year olds are already play top U12 tournaments with no problem. By next year the complaints would die down, I hope since these Jr;s will be good enough to handle U12 regulation players.

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

there are other things in life other than the top 10 players in U10, there are hundreds and thousands of other U10 players who like the idea and are playing U10's it is not the end of the world. The inbetween generation of 9-10 year olds that are advance most of them are complaining ( I am one of them and I am not complaining). The elite 10 year olds are already play top U12 tournaments with no problem. By next year the complaints would die down, I hope since these Jr;s will be good enough to handle U12 regulation players.

That is the same advice they probably gave parents when the USTA dissolved all competition for the 12's a few years back.

Boy, that was such a wise move for them to dissolve all competition.

I mean did the kids really need to play?

[LMK5]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

there are other things in life other than the top 10 players in U10, there are hundreds and thousands of other U10 players who like the idea and are playing U10's it is not the end of the world. The inbetween generation of 9-10 year olds that are advance most of them are complaining ( I am one of them and I am not complaining). The elite 10 year olds are already play top U12 tournaments with no problem. By next year the complaints would die down, I hope since these Jr;s will be good enough to handle U12 regulation players.

If a policy is termed "not the end of the world," it probably isn't a good plan.

Pretending that all 10 year olds need to play with the green ball and no 11 year old does is nuts, but maybe that's the only way they could force the change?

Modifying the policy to allow green ball for lesser skilled players of all ages, while allowing better players to continue on their yellowball path is what's sorely needed.

Stay tuned.

[ga tennis]

Originally Posted by LMK5

If a policy is termed "not the end of the world," it probably isn't a good plan.

Pretending that all 10 year olds need to play with the green ball and no 11 year old does is nuts, but maybe that's the only way they could force the change?

Modifying the policy to allow green ball for lesser skilled players of all ages, while allowing better players to continue on their yellowball path is what's sorely needed.

Stay tuned.

Its sad how they did the 10s.And when clueless people say play up in the 12s there is the problem.In GA level 4 and 5 12s tournaments are green ball.The good kids dont need green ball!!!!Next problem is trying to get into level 3 tournaments when they only let 16 in the draw.My daughter is in a bad situation thanks to mandates.

[seminoleG]

Originally Posted by LMK5

If a policy is termed "not the end of the world," it probably isn't a good plan.

Pretending that all 10 year olds need to play with the green ball and no 11 year old does is nuts, but maybe that's the only way they could force the change?Modifying the policy to allow green ball for lesser skilled players of all ages, while allowing better players to continue on their yellowball path is what's sorely needed.

Stay tuned.

Florida has 11U Green Ball

The Draws have been HORRIBLE. Very little turnout. Now that could be because it cost ~$50 and is not a RR.

[Pro_Tour_630]

Originally Posted by LMK5

Modifying the policy to allow green ball for lesser skilled players of all ages, while allowing better players to continue on their yellowball path is what's sorely needed.

that is what we have in NE section, yet again NE comes out as a trail blazer, we were in 2011, and now 2012

[gplracer]

Originally Posted by ga tennis

NONE of the top 10 and under girls in GA are playing the 10s.If you think any of the girls playing in the 10 and under division are top 10s you are so wrong!

I am not as well informed about the girls. I can only speak for the boys.