Brad Baughman

[coaching32yrs]

Originally Posted by Number1Coach

I could tell you much about this player but I wont , you should hear what those that know him well say but this guy has the talent no doubt !

#1 I know 2 coaches who had top 10 players. It's critical to develop the right playing style. I doesn't look like you have counter puncher or grinder. The best you can hope for is massive serve, massive forehand player- like Querry or Blake. Blake had the big forehand at an early age. Good I think that you are keeping him away from the USTA where it is one style fits all. However the development needed on serve and forehand is a huge mountain at this point.

[woodrow1029]

nevermind...

[andfor]

Originally Posted by tball2day

Thank you coach32 and the dymanics aren't different. If it wasn't for you, Mike J and a couple others, one could go insane on this forum. Cal coach started this Napa thing, his guys get practice in his backyard, and other teams commit to it for the practice of it, to keep good favor, or trade home field advantage in scheduling, etc. This thing has been around just a few years, and I can tell you the college guys go "ugh" when they learn they are stuck playing it. Even for the teams located closer than Harvard - it's an obiligation, not something they want to do. Agree no one wants to lose, but mostly a lot don't want to play this event. College coaches will give their players parameters - can't hit "such and such a shot" or you have to do "x" twice before you can hit a winner, it is a practice match. So ya, sure they get frustrated playing especially when they can't always play their game. It's just a training session for them. And ya, the Harvard guys don't want to be there, nor do the other players.

Hog wash. It's not this way for "all" player and may be like this if at all for a few. No different than any other fall tourney. Period.

[NLBwell]

Originally Posted by mikej

and i'd give a big advantage to guys like peliwo, rubin, and kozlov that have demonstrated bigtime results consistently on the biggest stages of junior tennis...but to each his own...you could end up being right

Yes, guys like Peliwo have proven themselves. I was saying that in the large group of guys just below that, someone like DB might be looked at as having the potential to jump up to the top level at a later age.

[Soianka]

Originally Posted by woodrow1029

nevermind...

Too bad. You usually have some good insights

[tball2day]

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

[Freak4tennis]

Originally Posted by mikej

no problem, and i don't have all the answers either obviously, just my thoughts after having a fair amount of exposure to how a highly ranked D1 team runs during my time in college

if brian boland pops on here and tells me he's offering DB a scholarship, i'll promptly sit down and shut up

Season 4 Episode 20. The accident scene is about to go to the sky. Soon I predict a collision of epic proportions.

[andfor]

Originally Posted by tball2day

Just telling you what the players tell me dude. Not makin' it up. You used the word "all" I didn't. But ya, for most, it is not the way they want to spend that time. Sorry if someone's feelings are hurt that some don't like the party. How many players (not coaches, but players) do you know that attend(ed) this and have you talked to over the last 3 years? Ya, that's what I thought.

You said "the college guys go ugh". Since you wrote it, I guess that means however many you want, one, some, all. Take your pick. I don't have to talk with one player there to you you're full of it. So you know one college player that does not want to play or thinks he's above playing a top USTA junior at a college event. It's obvious to me that a bad attitude is a good excuse for a loss for you. Nice.
Ok you win.

[Number1Coach]

Originally Posted by tball2day

Just telling you what the players tell me dude. Not makin' it up. You used the word "all" I didn't. But ya, for most, it is not the way they want to spend that time. Sorry if someone's feelings are hurt that some don't like the party. How many players (not coaches, but players) do you know that attend(ed) this and have you talked to over the last 3 years? Ya, that's what I thought.

Well if this is what college player talk like show a complete lack of integrity , once again something you wouldn't want family associating with , people who lack integrity probably lack a work ethic one day turn into the 99% occupy movement !

[tball2day]

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

[arche3]

Originally Posted by Number1Coach

Well if this is what college player talk like show a complete lack of integrity , once again something you wouldn't want family associating with , people who lack integrity probably lack a work ethic one day turn into the 99% occupy movement !

Ummm dude.... I played d1 in socal. I played with Sampras as a junior. I went to a powerhouse tennis school. I had no aspirations to turn pro. Tennis was not my and most of my teams priority apart from the top guys with pro intentions.

Sorority girls and frat parties. You can bet those college kids did not want to play a junior . No matter how good he was. Fact is we had so many tennis practice sessions and matches any extra practice matches we tanked if we had to run too much and get too tired. We had school as well lol. We managed to try to play just enough to win practice matches but sometimes you lose to guys who you should beat. Not worth grinding it out for a practice match. Especially one with no bearing on your record. Or your spot on the team.

I'm sure your kid is awesome as he is ranked higher than I was as a kid. But then again I took Chang to 3 sets as a kid. And took a set off Pete once. But that does not mean I was pro material. I knew it. I won so infrequently against the top guys it was obvious. And when I did I knew they didn't try as hard. or lost interest.

[JLyon]

Originally Posted by tball2day

Now you are saying I am talking to/about one player (rather than "all" you accused me of before) and how the heck you tied it to a loss is nothing I can make sense of. Interesting how you take someone else's post and change it to fit what's in your angry little mind. The event is not one they really want to do. To be precise and simple for you, more than one but not all have told me this, and those players are across 4 different teams that attended this year. I will add this to what I was told last year and the year before that. Yes, some of us are out there communicating and involved. Not sitting in a land of unicorns and other make believe. Wow you are wound up dude. Thinking playing juniors is a desirable event for a college guy (compared to other things they do) shows how old and out of touch you are.

When there is a spot up for grabs in a pro tournament, I imagine these guys will get up for it.

[ClarkC]

I watched a lot of tennis this weekend at the UVa Ranked+1 fall tournament. One difference could be that this tournament will affect the updated ITA rankings when they come out in January, as there are no juniors present. This tournament might not be comparable to Napa Valley in that respect, but I believe that some of the observations below would apply to both tournaments.

I noticed a few things:

1. Top players were not always totally enthusiastic about playing, because it is just a fall tournament and not a dual match.

2. However, the top players still got it together to win against the players they should beat, because they did not want to lose. Really good players just do not want to lose matches they can win.

3. New players on good teams, where it is competitive to get a spot in the top six, are playing like this is the U.S. Open final. They want to impress the coach. UVa has five highly recruited freshmen this year, and probably no more than two of them can make the top six, so it is out of the question for one of them to not take a match seriously because "it is only a fall tournament." Teammates who are competing for starting slots are on adjacent courts winning their matches and impressing the coach.

My conclusion is that no one should draw any conclusions from how close a score is in a loss ("A guy from my school played a close match with that highly-ranked player!"), because quite often the better player blew off a game or two, even lost serve with a really bad game, but then got it together to win. His spot in the lineup does not depend on winning 6-2, 6-2 instead of 6-4, 6-4, so he does not care about that. But I also conclude that when that freshman from your school that you are trying to evaluate does not merely have a close loss against a good player, but actually beats him, then it means something.

[Tennishacker]

Results of pre season tournaments are used by coaches to set their line up for the regular season.

These college players are their representing their school, the team, coaching staff, and their scholarship.

No time to think if they want to be there or not, like ClarkC's observation no.2, these guys will do what it takes to win, cuz they just don't like to lose.

[onehandbh]

Originally Posted by arche3

I'm sure your kid is awesome as he is ranked higher than I was as a kid. But then again I took Chang to 3 sets as a kid. And took a set off Pete once. But that does not mean I was pro material.

Were these results in a age category tournament or just a practice
match? How old were Pete & Chang when these matches took place?
Some of my friends that were around them at that time told me Pete's
game was already pretty monstrous at 15.

[andfor]

Originally Posted by tball2day

Now you are saying I am talking to/about one player (rather than "all" you accused me of before) and how the heck you tied it to a loss is nothing I can make sense of. Interesting how you take someone else's post and change it to fit what's in your angry little mind. The event is not one they really want to do. To be precise and simple for you, more than one but not all have told me this, and those players are across 4 different teams that attended this year. I will add this to what I was told last year and the year before that. Yes, some of us are out there communicating and involved. Not sitting in a land of unicorns and other make believe. Wow you are wound up dude. Thinking playing juniors is a desirable event for a college guy (compared to other things they do) shows how old and out of touch you are.

I get it you're out there taking a poll. This is great. You're going around to fall college tennis tournaments asking these players their opinions? I look forward to you posting more about all these credible fantasys you're having. I already said you win. Hiding behind your keyboard whatever you say must be true.

[coaching32yrs]

As a parent of a college player I can tell you for a fact that the top players do not want to travel to certain away fall tournaments. They have been known to fake an injury so they don't have to go.

[andfor]

Originally Posted by coaching32yrs

As a parent of a college player I can tell you for a fact that the top players do not want to travel to certain away fall tournaments. They have been known to fake an injury so they don't have to go.

Yea. It's pretty evident there's top players sitting out with fake injuries. Athlete's Foot, Jock Itch and Dandruff are rampant.

[arche3]

Originally Posted by onehandbh

Were these results in a age category tournament or just a practice
match? How old were Pete & Chang when these matches took place?
Some of my friends that were around them at that time told me Pete's
game was already pretty monstrous at 15.

Practices. I grew up in the same town as Pete. Went to same club to play. He was 12-15 years old. I played and hit with him often as a young kid. I was a few years older. He actually played on our high school team before he went pro. I also played Tracy Austin when I was a kid. But she was 5 or 6 years older.

I played Chang and some other future pros in practices as well as matches in cali around then. I don't remember which ones. Chang I played him I think in Irvine. A real match but Chang was also younger by a few years.

I was a good player but not pro caliber. But as a 12 year old I could beat every adult I came across pretty much around town.

[Number1Coach]

Originally Posted by coaching32yrs

As a parent of a college player I can tell you for a fact that the top players do not want to travel to certain away fall tournaments. They have been known to fake an injury so they don't have to go.

Like I said No Integrity ! The want the free ride to the school yet will lie to get out of doing what the school ask them to do .