Only 4 More Days for Real 10U Open Level Tennis

[Pro_Tour_630]

Originally Posted by seminoleG

You make my point. The Shoe doesn't fit for all the REGIONS so why force a system wide change.

In Georgia they had a Qualie for a spot into their Regional (32 Draw) Great Idea. Other region saves a spot for winners of other top local tourney's.

Green Ball for U11 may work lots of places but from the Consumer support I see in the participation it is Failing in Florida.

Now in the NE certain areas have Tournaments less often, and down here you can drive 45min to 2-3 Tourneys every weekend. So the Consumers in SoFla have a choice and maybe they don't in the NE. Given the schedule of tournaments I see in Tennislink the bigger draw for Green may be a result of just fewer events.

that is the point they want less tournaments (TCF) , with bigger draw, it is more fun and you meet more people,

you just started U11 green and you are calling it a failure give it one year at least.

This is what the rest of the world is doing

http://beta.itftennis.com/about/news...mpetition.aspx

[seminoleG]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

that is the point they want less tournaments (TCF) , with bigger draw, it is more fun and you meet more people,

you just started U11 green and you are calling it a failure give it one year at least.

This is what the rest of the world is doing

http://beta.itftennis.com/about/news...mpetition.aspx

Message boards are just a bad way to get a point across. We are in agreement mostly. Wife grew up in Europe and we got kids from UK that train with us so we know Green Ball. My daughter will spend 6 weeks this summer and will play mostly Green.

My issue is how the USTA rolled it out in Florida. Not until the Parents got wind of the whole 10 and Under did they consider another option. Then at the Florida State 10s Closed they give us a letter talking about Green Ball with no information on Who, What When , and Where?

They post the updated Tennislink Schedule in Mid Dec (very late) with Something called U11 Green Ball, and charge $45 for SINGLE ELIMINATION.

Why isn't it Round Robin then I would enter every one. Maybe I should email, the USTA Florida Folks. Here is the Information from the Tournament's page. A level 6 Green Ball? Go figure.


Starting in 2012 there will be 11 and under age division for players making the transition from the orange ball 60 foot court to the yellow ball 78 foot court. The 11 and under tournaments use the 78 foot court and the 25% less pressure green dot ball. We are very excited to offer this to the players that want to play on the full court, but may not be ready for the yellow ball.

USTA Florida "Super Series" Tournament is a Level 6 Florida tournament. More details

[gplracer]

Interesting the USTA told GA no 11 and under green ball division.....

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

we already have U12 green ball where strongest are matched against strongest and weakest against weakest.



Nolan paige, frenkel ( orange bowl winner), Lord, are all blue chips and are from recreational region

come up to NE and pay $30 per hour just for the court and in freezing weather and drive more than an hour to find competition, and compare that to the population in CA, GA, FL with free court time all year round with great competition at every corner, you folks should be doing a whole lot better compared to the rest of the world

Court time is even more expensive in the NE, and hard to book.

Why? Limited courts and the adults want to play too.

Oh, and last year, one of the bubbles collapsed from all the snow.

An hour drive to a tournament?

Most times that is 3 hours, and you have to stay over.

Gosh, the southern states really should blow the Northern states out of the water.

[Pro_Tour_630]

Originally Posted by tennis5

Court time is even more expensive in the NE, and hard to book.

Why? Limited courts and the adults want to play too.

Oh, and last year, one of the bubbles collapsed from all the snow.

An hour drive to a tournament?

Most times that is 3 hours, and you have to stay over.

Gosh, the southern states really should blow the Northern states out of the water.

I was being conservative, did not want to scare everyone what it is really like in NE. In NYC indoor courts are over $100 an hour.

Bubble heck we had a whole roof collapse because of the snow. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93lf2rxFl7U

A top NE 10 year old player went down to FL (rick macci, everts etc..) and saw many of the U10 competition and said they were about the same in terms of level only there were more players down there.

[seminoleG]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

A top NE 10 year old player went down to FL (rick macci, everts etc..) and saw many of the U10 competition and said they were about the same in terms of level only there were more players down there.

Having played several events at Macci this is not true. Most of the 10s play 12s. The 10s draw hasn't had Top 10s in ~5 months. So they are probably looking @ 7,8s The Little girl that won the 10s just turned 8.

http://tennislink.usta.com/TOURNAMEN....aspx?T=100296

I'm not throwing stones at the NE. I Grew up in Flushing and played Baseball for the warm months. Yes we had players drafted just like SoFla who could play year round.

So as you struggle with court cost and weather, we struggle with sunny days and kids wanting to do everything else but play sometime. BTW the courts are not free but cost on where near $100 BUT most you need a permit and a certified Pro. So overall the Cost is clos to 2/3rds yours.

Remember USTA National caved to USTA Florida and they Created the
Only U11 Green Ball system. Not U12 they did it for U11 for a specific reason.

I can only speculate, but sadly it is not selling. I would guess that U11 in most other regions would do very well and as they 10U program runs more will play it down here also.

[TennisCoachFLA]

ProTour630, you are correct about the cold weather and indoor tennis up north. But believe it or not we have an equally big problem down here....many kids and parents stay inside 6 months a year because of the heat and humidity.

We make sure to keep our house warm and not go crazy with the air conditioning, so we are acclimated to the temperature. But you go into any store, business, many people's house in the hot months and it is freezing! They go from AC in the car to the buildings and then feel hot outside most of the year.

It is a huge issue with the kids. So many start griping about the heat and humidity minutes into a practice. We get a lot less done down here with the majority of the kids than you would think. Luckily we have more players so the ones willing to tough it out in the heat emerge and we still have a good number of nice players.

The top of the rankings are well represented with colder weather kids like Brooke Austin from Indy. My guess is she was able to train indoors when needed.

The surprise is a wealthy kid with indoor facilities might train more than a hot weather kid when you look at an entire year of training. But a less affluent kid would have a huge advantage down here if he/she was willing to tough it out in the heat.

[Pro_Tour_630]

Originally Posted by seminoleG

Having played several events at Macci this is not true. Most of the 10s play 12s. The 10s draw hasn't had Top 10s in ~5 months. So they are probably looking @ 7,8s The Little girl that won the 10s just turned 8.

http://tennislink.usta.com/TOURNAMEN....aspx?T=100296

I'm not throwing stones at the NE. I Grew up in Flushing and played Baseball for the warm months. Yes we had players drafted just like SoFla who could play year round.

So as you struggle with court cost and weather, we struggle with sunny days and kids wanting to do everything else but play sometime. BTW the courts are not free but cost on where near $100 BUT most you need a permit and a certified Pro. So overall the Cost is clos to 2/3rds yours.

Remember USTA National caved to USTA Florida and they Created the
Only U11 Green Ball system. Not U12 they did it for U11 for a specific reason.

I can only speculate, but sadly it is not selling. I would guess that U11 in most other regions would do very well and as they 10U program runs more will play it down here also.

I am just going by second hand info. Same here, the top players in the 10's are playing 12 and on and on........... but on occasion they play U10.

The tournament you linked he (9.5) played in that one as well so he had first hand knowledge and was there with the boys. So the boys U10 was it high level or low level in general? It was yellow regulation, the last U10 regulation tournament in FL in the most prestige academy in FL, who is against colored balls had a mediocre level?!?!

As for weather, the humidity toughens and weeds out the players, it is better for you to get them ready for tournaments.

When we lived in Southern Cali, the weather was great and there were lights on courts for free in public parks.

[Pro_Tour_630]

Originally Posted by TennisCoachFLA

ProTour630, you are correct about the cold weather and indoor tennis up north. But believe it or not we have an equally big problem down here....many kids and parents stay inside 6 months a year because of the heat and humidity.

We make sure to keep our house warm and not go crazy with the air conditioning, so we are acclimated to the temperature. But you go into any store, business, many people's house in the hot months and it is freezing! They go from AC in the car to the buildings and then feel hot outside most of the year.

It is a huge issue with the kids. So many start griping about the heat and humidity minutes into a practice. We get a lot less done down here with the majority of the kids than you would think. Luckily we have more players so the ones willing to tough it out in the heat emerge and we still have a good number of nice players.

The top of the rankings are well represented with colder weather kids like Brooke Austin from Indy. My guess is she was able to train indoors when needed.

The surprise is a wealthy kid with indoor facilities might train more than a hot weather kid when you look at an entire year of training. But a less affluent kid would have a huge advantage down here if he/she was willing to tough it out in the heat.

Have not lived in FL but I have lived in SOCAL and the heat and humidity was not an issue, how are the Socal juniors level compared to GA/FL? In Socal, We had free courts all year round with free lights on many parks that was back in the 80's not sure how it is now.

The wealthy kids in NE are not hungry and most are not athletic, so it is a problem.

You are correct you have more players and the tough ones toughen it out in the heat.

But then again we have top players from the ski mountains of Serbia and Russia, go figure..........

[chalkflewup]

I didn't realize there was a correlation between athleticism and where one lives.

[Pro_Tour_630]

Originally Posted by chalkflewup

I didn't realize there was a correlation between athleticism and where one lives.

just an example, the wealthy kids in one very affluent town has a very high obesity level, while the next door town in the inner city their HS kids are winning nationals in football/basketball etc...... makes you wonder? why?

[seminoleG]

Originally Posted by chalkflewup

I didn't realize there was a correlation between athleticism and where one lives.

Athleticism:
1. Athleticism is the quality of being coordinated and physically strong while also having stamina and coordination. (noun)
2. Of or befitting athletics or athletes.
3. Characterized by or involving physical activity or exertion; active: an athletic lifestyle; an athletic child.
4. Physically strong and well-developed; muscular: an actor with an athletic build. See Synonyms at muscular.

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

Have not lived in FL but I have lived in SOCAL and the heat and humidity was not an issue, how are the Socal juniors level compared to GA/FL? In Socal, We had free courts all year round with free lights on many parks that was back in the 80's not sure how it is now.

The wealthy kids in NE are not hungry and most are not athletic, so it is a problem.

You are correct you have more players and the tough ones toughen it out in the heat.

But then again we have top players from the ski mountains of Serbia and Russia, go figure..........

Disagree, politely of course, the NE kids are hungry, but for the IVIE's.
Most kids I know are studying all weekend.

Interesting, TCF, about the weather.

The hottest place this summer was Little Rock.
The first day, I threw up and I wasn't even playing.
120 on the court.

Meanwhile, after that, Florida, for Clay courts, was cool.

My issue with Florida on some parts of the coast, Naples this summer,
and Coral Gables this winter, are the no - see - ums ( small tiny mosquitoes)
that give me about a hundred bites that swell into quarters.

I would rather have 6 feet of snow and collapsed tennis bubbles than deal with those bugs.

[TennisCoachFLA]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

just an example, the wealthy kids in one very affluent town has a very high obesity level, while the next door town in the inner city their HS kids are winning nationals in football/basketball etc...... makes you wonder? why?

Imagine this dynamic. A kid from an affluent family, goes from air conditioned house to air conditioned private school, to air conditioned mall. Mom drops him off to tennis practice in July in their air conditioned Escalade.

And I then try to get him to hustle around in the heat and humidity for an hour! I have about a dozen of those types, man does every upper income mom have to get the Escalade? Its like a cliche down here, now Land Rovers are becoming the new mom vehicle though. Escalades are so 2 years ago!

[tennis5]

Originally Posted by TennisCoachFLA

Imagine this dynamic. A kid from an affluent family, goes from air conditioned house to air conditioned private school, to air conditioned mall. Mom drops him off to tennis practice in July in their air conditioned Escalade.

And I then try to get him to hustle around in the heat and humidity for an hour!

Too funny.

[TennisCoachFLA]

Originally Posted by tennis5

Too funny.

Ha, I edited that post. I forgot to mention the Escalades are slowly being replaced by Land Rovers. It is comical....every upscale mom down here used to have a white diamond colored Escalade. Now they are being replaced by Land Rovers.

Its like a memo goes out and they all make the switch.

[Pro_Tour_630]

Originally Posted by TennisCoachFLA

Ha, I edited that post. I forgot to mention the Escalades are slowly being replaced by Land Rovers. It is comical....every upscale mom down here used to have a white diamond colored Escalade. Now they are being replaced by Land Rovers.

Its like a memo goes out and they all make the switch.

all our mom's ( soccer moms etc..) have vans, $45K vans.......NE'ers are more practical

[Pro_Tour_630]

another more than 15 players playing U12 green ball, notice almost all of them were previous U10 green ball players, so they are basically playing each other only now it is called U12

http://tennislink.usta.com/TOURNAMEN....aspx?T=109836

anyway what I noticed from over one year on green was if the ball was not pressurized in a can, it is flat and the kids resort to slicing forhands and drop shots to win. They are not constructing points from the baseline, but trying to deaden the bounce. Sure they are developing FH slices/drops but they are not improving the baseline groundstrokes. This is not going to get you ready for the U12 using regulation. If the green dot ball is used which is pressurized, then there might be a little hope since the ball bounces higher/faster.

anyway, just want to say so long green ball it has been a great experience , overall if we had to do it again, we would not go green past 9 year olds that are advance.

[Pro_Tour_630]

more than 30 players playing orange on 60, the orange ball is alive and kicking in NE

http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournamen....aspx?T=116950

http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournamen....aspx?T=120597

[seminoleG]

Originally Posted by Pro_Tour_630

more than 30 players playing orange on 60, the orange ball is alive and kicking in NE

http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournamen....aspx?T=116950

http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournamen....aspx?T=120597

Good, last weekend a usually big weekend for Tournaments (first of year) turnout for our 10U, 11U Green Ball is just horrible. Several events no Boys or No Girls and most had single digit entrants.

In SoFla this is POOR. I don't have to speculate as I talked to many parents at many events this year, and they are just not buying it.

Biggest issue is not the Parents the Coaches aren't teaching it, and the clubs are being forced to add these formats to get the tournaments. The USTA in florida is mailing me stuff every week it seems. Figure they would search their Database and figure any parents that were members last year probably ain't gonna want the 10U mailouts.