Raising a tennis playing kid

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by BSPE84

LOL! If I were you, I'd quit while I'm ahead and save myself further embarrassment...

And anybody who says that winning the Socal Sectional Championships is "no big deal" is either a very achieved player, or more likely in your case - has no idea what real tennis is about .

First, you stated that a sectional is a Level 3, it is not....

It is a level 5, and only open to kids in that section....

( that is a very important distinction....).

Winning a sectional is no big deal... because you are not dealing with
ALL THE BEST KIDS IN THE COUNTRY WHO ARE AT A LEVEL 1.


Level 3 is open to all kids across the nation, but that being said, L3 are not that strong either. L3 are also pretty low on the totem pole of points.
My son has won a L3, and except for two other kids, it was a weak draw...


( Level 1 - Winter Nationals, Easter Bowl, Zoo....
that is where the best kids are and winning a L1 there is impressive and a wow and a big deal....,
and the points here are huge, and will propel you to the top of the USTA list.)
If my son ever won anything like this.... then yes, I would be on this board
and I would be bragging about my son like DB's dad brags about DB.

Once again, on this board, there is sarcasm, and expressions are written with rancor.
It is hard to share information when there is so much belittlement.

I offer just the facts about the distinctions between the levels,
and in I get nasty barbs in return.

I said this before, and I will repeat it, other boards treat everyone who has a different opinion with respect,
and if they disagree......... back up their debate with factual information so that it is a learning experience for all.

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by ChiefAce

2008

http://www.tennisinformation.com/tou.../draw-4-mf.asp

Winning the Nike Junior is a pretty nice win!

Thanks for the confirmation, I could only pull up the pictures.

[BMC9670]

Originally Posted by Number1Coach

Petes junior career was Ok at best. How did he do in the pro's since he never won a Grand Slam Jr. or Ed Hurr or Orange Bowl ? He must have had a laughable career.

Pete was one of the top juniors at age 12/13. By his own account, his coaches and his competitors, Pete was beating everyone early in his Junior career, even playing up. But, as we all know, he took a few years to change his backhand. He talks in his biography and in interviews about how hard to was to go from the top of the juniors and lose against guys he beat regularly (Agassi, Chang, etc). He sacrificed many junior wins for a long term change.

[BSPE84]

Originally Posted by tennis5

First, you stated that a sectional is a Level 3, it is not....

It is a level 5, and only open to kids in that section....

( that is a very important distinction....).

Winning a sectional is no big deal...

Our Sectional Championships is a national L3. Check your facts before you "fyi" nonsense.

[klu375]

Originally Posted by BSPE84

Our Sectional Championships is a national L3. Check your facts before you "fyi" nonsense.

Before you kill each other. Each section has 12 tournaments with National ranking points per year - 8 - L5, 3 - L4, 1 - L3. It seems this particular tournament was L3. But they are not all L3s or L5s.

[TennisCoachFLA]

Well despite what levels ay which he has actually won, BB has developed an excellent junior player. But he has not developed any professional players as of yet, nor has anyone else on this board.

So until one of us does, we should not say our method is better than anyone elses.

[mojojojo]

.................

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by mojojojo

I don't care to discuss who beat who or won what, but tennis5 is correct on all of the tournament descriptions. A sectional level tournament that awards national points may be called a Level 3, 4, or 5, but it is not on the same tier as a true National Level 3 (there aren't National Level 4 and 5s, just sectional) where registration is open to everyone in the country. It is not considered a "National." This is evidenced by the points received nationally, at one versus the other. A Level 3 National pays off many more points than a Sectional tournament that gives some national points called a Level 3.

Regardless of section, the level of play at a National Level 3 is completely different than a sectional event that offers national points. A player may win a sectional in any section, but may or may not be competitive in a National event. (This may not be as true with the new restructuring with Segments now as the competitive level of the Level 3 National has dropped.)

When a junior wins a National Level 1, 2 or 3, that has much more challenge, reward and prestige than any sectional tournament, in any section. If you say your player won a National, when it is in fact a sectional tournament, you will get some funny looks and they will assume you do not understand the system.

The only thing I disagree with tennis5's last post is that our player did win a Level 1 and I wouldn't want anything more than this mention on this forum. Players read this too, and much of the banter regarding individual juniors from a parent/coach or others, often times seem inappropriate. But free speech rules, just my opinion.

Thanks Mojojojo for jumping in with some factual information.

And in regards to your last paragraph, I do agree.

First, congrats to your child on a L1 win.

I did say my comment about bragging on the internet tongue in cheek,
as the probability of my son winning an L1 is as likely as our country having no deficit.

But, while you brought that up, it is a good opportunity to segue ( yes, I usually spell that segway) to another topic..

As I have said in the past, I am not a big fan of posting videos of your child on You Tube,
or sharing information about children on the internet.

I pulled the following off a blog from an article entitled:

Parents Responsibilities to their Children’s Privacy Online

We are parents who once took seriously the warnings to keep our personal details, even our real names, off the Internet…yet now we are a generation of parents who create YouTube channels on behalf of our small children, gladly sharing their real full names and locations, in the hopes of having their singing talents discovered.

I feel like some bloggers forget that their children are actual real live people who will one day grow up and desire privacy. People who will want to own the choice as to what is shared about them online, what they disclose.
Will my children, years from now, want this information on the Internet?

[10schick]

Originally Posted by Number1Coach

He is 15 years old and his dad is smart enough to get with the people who believe in making pros and hanging out with them.


http://youtu.be/0pO74CuBh_g

Hilarious. 28 seconds. That's all you could get out of Nick? You call that hanging out?

[klu375]

Originally Posted by mojojojo

I don't care to discuss who beat who or won what, but tennis5 is correct on all of the tournament descriptions. A sectional level tournament that awards national points may be called a Level 3, 4, or 5, but it is not on the same tier as a true National Level 3 (there aren't National Level 4 and 5s, just sectional) where registration is open to everyone in the country. It is not considered a "National." This is evidenced by the points received nationally, at one versus the other. A Level 3 National pays off many more points than a Sectional tournament that gives some national points called a Level 3.

Regardless of section, the level of play at a National Level 3 is completely different than a sectional event that offers national points. A player may win a sectional in any section, but may or may not be competitive in a National event. (This may not be as true with the new restructuring with Segments now as the competitive level of the Level 3 National has dropped.)

When a junior wins a National Level 1, 2 or 3, that has much more challenge, reward and prestige than any sectional tournament, in any section. If you say your player won a National, when it is in fact a sectional tournament, you will get some funny looks and they will assume you do not understand the system.

The only thing I disagree with tennis5's last post is that our player did win a Level 1 and I wouldn't want anything more than this mention on this forum. Players read this too, and much of the banter regarding individual juniors from a parent/coach or others, often times seem inappropriate. But free speech rules, just my opinion.

Statements in bold are not correct.

[BSPE84]

Originally Posted by mojojojo

I don't care to discuss who beat who or won what, but tennis5 is correct on all of the tournament descriptions. A sectional level tournament that awards national points may be called a Level 3, 4, or 5, but it is not on the same tier as a true National Level 3 (there aren't National Level 4 and 5s, just sectional) where registration is open to everyone in the country. It is not considered a "National." This is evidenced by the points received nationally, at one versus the other. A Level 3 National pays off many more points than a Sectional tournament that gives some national points called a Level 3.

MJ, I respect your opinion, but you are incorrect on this one. Socal Sectional Championships are L1 for sectional rankings and carries L3 national ranking points. The points awarded to the champion of a National L3 is currently 220 points (200 for 2012 as shown in table below).

http://assets.usta.com/assets/1/15/P...01_01_2012.pdf

Now look at the the national record of this year's winner below (Sectional Championships is in June). It clearly shows he got 220 points with all SigW bonus points, just like he would have had he won a regional level 3. BTW, if you look at his schedule closely, you will see that this kid travels the country to play almost exclusively ITF and national events. Obviously not "no big deal" to him and his family.

http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournamen...viVWe9vQ%3d%3d

And last FYI, the designated events in Socal do include tournaments offering national L4 and L5 points.

[justinmadison]

Originally Posted by mojojojo

. A sectional level tournament that awards national points may be called a Level 3, 4, or 5, but it is not on the same tier as a true National Level 3 (there aren't National Level 4 and 5s, just sectional) where registration is open to everyone in the country. It is not considered a "National." This is evidenced by the points received nationally, at one versus the other. A Level 3 National pays off many more points than a Sectional tournament that gives some national points called a Level 3..

From a factual standpoint you are clearly wrong. Each section has one sectional tournament per year that awards the same number of national points as a Level 3 national. This is a link to the SoCal tournament where it states this fact.

https://tennislink.usta.com/Tourname....aspx?T=103020

As far as the opinion part of your post let’s look at the top 8 seeds from the boys 16s draw of the SoCal Sectional

1. Garcia, Gregory 5 star junior (#46)

2. Hewko, Abraham 5 star junior (#43)

3. Dawson, Drew blue chip sophomore (#30)

4. Menichella, Stefan 5 star junior (#39)

5. Bellamy, Robbie 5 star junior (#41)

6. Smith, Logan blue chip freshman (#2)

7. Chiu, William 4 star junior ( #95)

8. Kim, Edward 4 star senior (#183)



National Level 3 tournament the same month

https://tennislink.usta.com/Tourname...t.aspx?T=94535

Top 8 seeds

1. Garay, Christian blue chip sophomore #20

2. Benton, Wood 5 star sophomore #45

3. Teague, Dallas 3 star junior #210

4. Evertsen, Parker 4 star junior #186

5. Showers, Will 5 star sophomore #34

6. Harris, Christian 4 star junior #104

7. Yates, Trey 5 star sophomore #61

8. Gotkowski, Trevor 3 star junior #212



Go ahead and make your case as to why the SoCal sectional tournament is easier than the National Level 3.

[tennis5]

Perhaps, this is why the USTA is standardizing all the sections with the new 2012 point tables?

[tennis5]

repeat message.

[tennis5]

repeat message.

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by justinmadison

From a factual standpoint you are clearly wrong. Each section has one sectional tournament per year that awards the same number of national points as a Level 3 national. This is a link to the SoCal tournament where it states this fact.

https://tennislink.usta.com/Tourname....aspx?T=103020

As far as the opinion part of your post let’s look at the top 8 seeds from the boys 16s draw of the SoCal Sectional

1. Garcia, Gregory 5 star junior (#46)

2. Hewko, Abraham 5 star junior (#43)

3. Dawson, Drew blue chip sophomore (#30)

4. Menichella, Stefan 5 star junior (#39)

5. Bellamy, Robbie 5 star junior (#41)

6. Smith, Logan blue chip freshman (#2)

7. Chiu, William 4 star junior ( #95)

8. Kim, Edward 4 star senior (#183)



National Level 3 tournament the same month

https://tennislink.usta.com/Tourname...t.aspx?T=94535

Top 8 seeds

1. Garay, Christian blue chip sophomore #20

2. Benton, Wood 5 star sophomore #45

3. Teague, Dallas 3 star junior #210

4. Evertsen, Parker 4 star junior #186

5. Showers, Will 5 star sophomore #34

6. Harris, Christian 4 star junior #104

7. Yates, Trey 5 star sophomore #61

8. Gotkowski, Trevor 3 star junior #212



Go ahead and make your case as to why the SoCal sectional tournament is easier than the National Level 3.

This national Level 3 that you picked out is the regional L3 from July 9th.
As has been discussed, at great length, on this board, that if you want junior to earn points aging up - this is one of the best options.
The July 9th L3 is so weak as they increased the number of sites for that tournament, and it is one that everyone plays up on.

In particular, of the L3 July 9th tournaments Boy 16's,
this one was one of the weaker ones.

We also spoke at great length, that the good thing about the 2012 changes is that every section would be under the same point system.
I had pointed out, in previous posts, that some juniors had higher national points (all from their sectionals) than other kids who played the nationals, and that each section did not seem to have the same point system.

I personally have exhausted this subject.

Good luck to DB in his sectional quest.

[mojojojo]

....................

[Number1Coach]

Originally Posted by tball2day

I stand corrected, only went back to 2009.

You can go to Ed Hurr website and see he won ITF double title against the Koreans in 08 with a kid from Australia.

[Number1Coach]

Originally Posted by 10schick

Hilarious. 28 seconds. That's all you could get out of Nick? You call that hanging out?

Should they have videotaped all 8 days they were there ? Should they have taped dinner the 3 nights at Nicks house ? Tottaaaallly Hilarious

heres 34 more seconds enjoy
http://youtu.be/0CQm-PYOLAc

your poor husband

[justinmadison]

Originally Posted by tennis5

First, you stated that a sectional is a Level 3, it is not....

It is a level 5, and only open to kids in that section....

( that is a very important distinction....).

Winning a sectional is no big deal... because you are not dealing with
ALL THE BEST KIDS IN THE COUNTRY WHO ARE AT A LEVEL 1.

Level 3 is open to all kids across the nation, but that being said, L3 are not that strong either. L3 are also pretty low on the totem pole of points.
….
I offer just the facts about the distinctions between the levels,
and in I get nasty barbs in return.

and if they disagree......... back up their debate with factual information so that it is a learning experience for all.

Originally Posted by tennis5

This national Level 3 that you picked out is the regional L3 from July 9th.

The July 9th L3 is so weak as they increased the number of sites for that tournament, and it is one that everyone plays up on.

I had pointed out, in previous posts, that some juniors had higher national points (all from their sectionals) than other kids who played the nationals, and that each section did not seem to have the same point system.

I personally have exhausted this subject.

You offer just the (wrong) facts but when presented with (correct and documented) factual information you decide you have exhausted the subject.

All sections have awarded the same number of national points for their sectional tournament. This has not changed. Each section has one tournament per year that awards national points as a L3 National. This has not changed. So far your facts have been wrong twice.

You make the claim that winning a SoCal Sectional is No Big Deal and that L3 national have entrants from all over the country and are obviously more difficult. Then when presented with the actual entries from a L3 National you say that the L3 tournaments are weak. Which is it?

Winning a SoCal sectional is a very big deal.