Will this look bad to a College Tennis coach?

[Cappy94]

I've been emailing the tennis coach of the University I am attending and he offered to come watch one of my matches...however there are a few things wrong with this.

1) I was planning on quitting my HS tennis team next week. This sounds confusing but allow me to explain. My tennis team is fun, because it is with my friends but honestly in terms of actual Tennis, it is completely counter productive. The coach knows very little of the game of tennis, we never do drills, and everyone except for me and a few other people are there to mess around and have fun. So I decided recently I was going to take up a job so I could get enough money for a coach and I would train on my own or with my friend. I feel as if I would become exponentially better by training on my own and getting lessons then playing king of the court and around the world all day or playing matches with other schools.
2) I am not at college level yet...which is precisely my reasoning for number one. I'm not a completely incompetent tennis player don't get me wrong, however the college players at the college I am going to seem to be 4.5-6.0 players.I seem to only be a 4.0 to a 4.5 at the moment.


So should I stay on the team? Should I tell the college coach my reasoning for quitting or will it look bad? What is your opinion?

[TopDawg]

I'm a little confused - are you in high school or college? Is this coach the coach of the college you plan on attending or somewhere you hope to go?

[PowerPlay]

From what I know of college tennis, 4.5 would be the absolute minimum you would need to be to even stand a chance of playing a line on a college squad. Not to discourage you, and perhaps you are already at this level. All the college players and former college players I know are 5.0 and higher...mostly 5.5s.

[Cappy94]

Originally Posted by TopDawg

I'm a little confused - are you in high school or college? Is this coach the coach of the college you plan on attending or somewhere you hope to go?

Sorry. I'm in High School and the coach I was emailing was the Tennis coach of the College I am attending next year.

[Misterbill]

My little slice of experience says to move on and be candid with the college coach. My experience is that the vast majority of high school coaches resemble yours...........and that college coaches know this.

I am 100% sure that someone else can come up with a personal experience contradicting this. So adding up the pro and con anecdotes on a message board won't necessarily help you.

Just hope I've given you a little confidence if you decide to pursue your plan and that you don't look back.

[TopDawg]

If the coach can make it to a match in the next week or two you might as well stay put so he can see you in action. Afterwards ask him what he thought of your game. If he thinks you have talent and are headed in the right direction then tell him about your plan to quit the team so you can work to hire a coach to get to the higher level that's required in college. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with someone doing what it takes to improve themself.

Now if he can't make it anytime soon then cut the cord from the HS team and start the process of improving your game.

The only benefit of playing on the HS team is that it does give you that platform to showcase yourself but you can do that by playing in tournaments and getting a few Ws.

Just my opinion

[ATP100]

Originally Posted by PowerPlay

From what I know of college tennis, 4.5 would be the absolute minimum you would need to be to even stand a chance of playing a line on a college squad. Not to discourage you, and perhaps you are already at this level. All the college players and former college players I know are 5.0 and higher...mostly 5.5s.

This is not even close.

[floridatennisdude]

Originally Posted by Cappy94

I've been emailing the tennis coach of the University I am attending and he offered to come watch one of my matches...however there are a few things wrong with this.

1) I was planning on quitting my HS tennis team next week. This sounds confusing but allow me to explain. My tennis team is fun, because it is with my friends but honestly in terms of actual Tennis, it is completely counter productive. The coach knows very little of the game of tennis, we never do drills, and everyone except for me and a few other people are there to mess around and have fun. So I decided recently I was going to take up a job so I could get enough money for a coach and I would train on my own or with my friend. I feel as if I would become exponentially better by training on my own and getting lessons then playing king of the court and around the world all day or playing matches with other schools.
2) I am not at college level yet...which is precisely my reasoning for number one. I'm not a completely incompetent tennis player don't get me wrong, however the college players at the college I am going to seem to be 4.5-6.0 players.I seem to only be a 4.0 to a 4.5 at the moment.


So should I stay on the team? Should I tell the college coach my reasoning for quitting or will it look bad? What is your opinion?

I'd suggest picking up the phone and calling the college coach. Or even visit face to face. You need to discuss this with the college coach so you don't look like a quitter.

Quit emailing and/or texting. It will come across much better in your spoken words. However, even if the college coach agrees with your path, you better work your butt off and improve. You are basically telling the coach that you know what you are doing and you can do it on your own. It would look real bad if you don't get better.

And do understand that you will probably lose a friend or two from the HS team. If you are the top player and quit, there will be some that resent you.

[Gatorluver]

I think it depends on the level on the college you are attending next year. Many top program coaches could careless about high school tennis. I agree a candid conversation with the college coach will go along way in determining your next step.

[goran_ace]

There's no excuse for quitting. It's not just about the tennis. You are a part of a team. As a senior and the best player on the team you are also a leader. What kind of message do you think that sends to a coach you want to impress? It tells me that you aren't a team player. It tells me you aren't interested in helping your teammates get better. It tells me you won't be a leader. It tells me you might quit on your next team. It tells me you are not ready.

Top coaches don't care a lot about high school tennis because the kids they are looking at have extensive tournament experience and rankings to back it up, they have tennisrecruiting stars. A self-rate NTRP doesn't mean anything. If you're not playing tournaments, high school tennis is all you've got to be evaluated on.

Why do you have to quit right now? Why can't you play out the rest of the season and then start working with a new coach after the season? The high school season isn't very long. Tough it out. Have fun with your friends before you go your separate ways for college.

[josofo]

if your number 1 or 2 on the hs team i would tough it out because you probably play decently tough opposition (sometimes its tough to get good hitting partners and good matches) . if you post what college you want to go to, i bet someone could guess how good you need to be to be on the team.

[Cappy94]

Brooklyn College

[Cappy94]

Originally Posted by goran_ace

There's no excuse for quitting. It's not just about the tennis. You are a part of a team. As a senior and the best player on the team you are also a leader. What kind of message do you think that sends to a coach you want to impress? It tells me that you aren't a team player. It tells me you aren't interested in helping your teammates get better. It tells me you won't be a leader. It tells me you might quit on your next team. It tells me you are not ready.

Top coaches don't care a lot about high school tennis because the kids they are looking at have extensive tournament experience and rankings to back it up, they have tennisrecruiting stars. A self-rate NTRP doesn't mean anything. If you're not playing tournaments, high school tennis is all you've got to be evaluated on.

Why do you have to quit right now? Why can't you play out the rest of the season and then start working with a new coach after the season? The high school season isn't very long. Tough it out. Have fun with your friends before you go your separate ways for college.

I'm not a leader. My HS coach chose captains based on who he likes, not skill or tennis knowledge level.
I am interested in helping my team mates, but they aren't interested in getting helped. If you read my post you would see that everyone there (Except for 2 people who I practice with) are there to only have fun and mess around. If I left, it wouldn't affect them at all, because they don't care about getting better, just laughing.
I wouldn't quit my next team because in College Tennis people are there because they actually want to get better at tennis. Not peg people with tennis balls or play king of the court.

I would be a team player if my tennis team was actually a TEAM.

[josofo]

to answer your question if your good enough to be on the team he would take you. i dont think he would care about your hs team.

as for brooklyn college, id say most of the starting spots are playing -4.0 to 4.5 tennis. (they seem to be a losing division 3 team, after looking at their site)

[tennisjon]

I coach at Drew University in Madison, NJ. We just played Hunter College yesterday, which is in the same conference and beat them 7-2 without their top 2 players and the scores weren't close. We beat Hunter yesterday 8-1. Judging by this and the players on Hunter, Brooklyn College would be mostly 3.0-3.5 players, maybe 4.0. Hunter College and Baruch College have #1 and 2 players that are 5.0-5.5 level. Baruch, this year, has 1-5 singles that are at least 4.5 level. We played Baruch in a tournament in the fall and matched up favorably against them as well, although their players are probably better than us. This is where coaching helps.

[gully]

Originally Posted by josofo

to answer your question if your good enough to be on the team he would take you. i dont think he would care about your hs team.

Perhaps, but I bet the future college coach would indeed care about the player's BEHAVIOR on and COMMITMENT to his current team. Agreed completely with goran_ace above. OP went out for the sport, committed to his team. OP knew what the team was like. To bag the season now (what, is there another month?) is weak, especially if the only reason is getting-a-job-to-make-money-to-hire-a-coach.

Instead, OP will have to find ways to make practice sessions more productive (suggesting drills, lining up some better quality practice opponents) or practice on his own additionally outside scheduled time.

My kid did all these things rather than quit. So did lots of others in similar situations. It takes effort, planning, dedication, and commitment. Not quitting. (If OP didn't want to play on the team, in my opinion, he shouldn't have gone out.)

[tball2day]

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

[josofo]

Originally Posted by gully

Perhaps, but I bet the future college coach would indeed care about the player's BEHAVIOR on and COMMITMENT to his current team. Agreed completely with goran_ace above. OP went out for the sport, committed to his team. OP knew what the team was like. To bag the season now (what, is there another month?) is weak, especially if the only reason is getting-a-job-to-make-money-to-hire-a-coach.

Instead, OP will have to find ways to make practice sessions more productive (suggesting drills, lining up some better quality practice opponents) or practice on his own additionally outside scheduled time.

My kid did all these things rather than quit. So did lots of others in similar situations. It takes effort, planning, dedication, and commitment. Not quitting. (If OP didn't want to play on the team, in my opinion, he shouldn't have gone out.)

my original thought was he could pull of hitting with the people he wants to hit with and not doing the coaches unproductive stuff as well.

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by Cappy94

I'm not a leader. My HS coach chose captains based on who he likes, not skill or tennis knowledge level.
I am interested in helping my team mates, but they aren't interested in getting helped. If you read my post you would see that everyone there (Except for 2 people who I practice with) are there to only have fun and mess around. If I left, it wouldn't affect them at all, because they don't care about getting better, just laughing.
I wouldn't quit my next team because in College Tennis people are there because they actually want to get better at tennis. Not peg people with tennis balls or play king of the court.

I would be a team player if my tennis team was actually a TEAM.

Cappy,

You are going to get a lot of different answers here,
so pick through this post albeit with an open mind.

If it was a high ranked division 1 team, the coach wouldn't care if you decided not to play high school tennis.

However, your scenario is a Div 3 school and you ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HS SEASON.

You made a commitment to your high school team when you signed on.
( and probably took someone's spot who really wanted to be on the team).

I think it will look terrible if you quit mid season.

The college coach might be thinking:
1) Will you quit college tennis if things don't go your way?
What if you get spot number 6, will you quit over that?

2) Why is it a surprise to you that your coach is not knowledgeable?
That your teammates are a low level?
To a coach, it might show that you did not do your homework.

It would have been better not to play at all. But, now you are in the middle of it.

And Captain of the tennis team often is not who is the best player,
but who is a good leader, and a good teammate.

So, my advice is make the best of it. Work on your shots. Come to the net.
Quitting a team shows no character.
I would rather see a player work around adversity, then complain and quit in mid season because his teammates are not good players.

Good luck.

[Orange]

Summary:
Q. Will quitting a high school tennis team mid-season look bad to a college coach?

A. Yes.

Your response: But my team isn't really a team and I really want to quit!

My response: It sounds like you are not looking for advice, but for excuses to do what you want to do. You've received a lot of good advice from those who are encouraging you to keep your commitments. Please keep in mind the timing involved; after your high school season is over, you will have all summer to get a job and train with a coach. The damage you could do to your reputation by quitting mid-season far outweighs the amount of money you could earn and amount of training you could receive after school at the end of your senior year!