Natural Gut for juniors in 9-12 yr old range?

tacoben

Semi-Pro
My 9 year old daughter is a soon to be novice round robin player. She currently is playing with a Head Agassi Racquet which I bought from a local sporting goods store. I would like to eventually move her up to a Bobolat racquet but not until she is consistenly good, so for the mean time, I am looking into getting her racquet re-strung. In my day of old wood racquets, I only played with natural gut. I would like to get your opinions about natural gut strings for juniors in her age range....good idea or bad? Thanks in advance for your comments.
 

tacoben

Semi-Pro
My first instinct is not to react at the age but the racquet! Was this racquet pre-strung?

Yes, it was one of those pre-strung ones. It cost about $39, one piece thoat (not like those screwed in types). I had her coach look at it and he said the racquet is the same one you would find in the $80 range.
 

YULitle

Hall of Fame
I wouldn't re-string ANY pre-strung (in america) racquet, let alone with natural gut. Unless you are talking about the Adult sized performance model Head Radical that Agassi used...
 

YULitle

Hall of Fame
why?????????

They aren't typically meant to be restrung

The person who plays with it typically won't notice differences in string

If you are interested in the type of string or tension you should take the FAR BETTER approach and get an adult racquet

of course, all of this being IMO
 

miniRafa386

Hall of Fame
They aren't typically meant to be restrung

The person who plays with it typically won't notice differences in string

If you are interested in the type of string or tension you should take the FAR BETTER approach and get an adult racquet

of course, all of this being IMO

yes, i tried stringing my brother's (7 yrs) TI agassi walmart racquet at 35 lbs...broke in the machine.
 
They aren't typically meant to be restrung

The person who plays with it typically won't notice differences in string

If you are interested in the type of string or tension you should take the FAR BETTER approach and get an adult racquet

of course, all of this being IMO
The prince diablo turbo 25 for kids is so tough, it is made out of the same %100 graphite as any adult frame if not better, I did not see any difference in quality, paint etc..... when I held it I thought I was holding a mini adult OLD SCHOOL players frame, seriously :) this is not your average aluminum spong bob kiddi frame which I would not even bother with, you are right they normally came with lose strings anyway

However, the Prince came prestrung with a 15g prince tournament nylon at high tension. Even when I took a swing with it I noticed they were too stiff and tight for a little kids hands. (picture us hitting a bowling ball with a tennis racquet) So I restrung my sons frame with a soft string at low tension. Off course he did not care, but I care about his little arms getting hurt even if it might prevent him %1, I am willing to change them.

Back to OP, Not sure I would put NG if at all, there are plenty of Multis that are nice and soft
 
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Pleepers

Professional
My 9 year old daughter is a soon to be novice round robin player. She currently is playing with a Head Agassi Racquet which I bought from a local sporting goods store. I would like to eventually move her up to a Bobolat racquet but not until she is consistenly good, so for the mean time, I am looking into getting her racquet re-strung. In my day of old wood racquets, I only played with natural gut. I would like to get your opinions about natural gut strings for juniors in her age range....good idea or bad? Thanks in advance for your comments.

The only reason to take a $40 Kmart racquet into a pro shop to be string with gut is in the event that you want to be laughed at.


I already talked to his dad few times but for other things :)

Well, my dad can beat your dad up :p
 

watermantra

New User
In my opinion, restringing might give her a bit more control and consistency, while also giving her something "new" to play with. I remember at that age getting anything new...grips, shoes, etc...would up my excitement for a few days, and make me a bit more serious about my game. But I think Natural Gut is a bit too much. I remember being that age and doing all sorts of bad things to my rackets (like hitting wet balls, or rocks, or really whatever I could get my hands on) when I was bored. It would be a shame to ruin an expensive string job doing something kids are prone to doing! Also, I don't think she would notice any difference between a synthetic and natural gut at her level.

Plus, syn gut comes in all these cool colors that are more fun for kids than boring old tan Natural Gut! And, she presumably doesn't have any elbow, wrist, or shoulder problems that might necessitate NG. Go with a 17 Syn Gut.

So, give her a new, fun string job and she'll feel like a little pro! I also don't agree with the earlier blanket statement that advised you not to re-string any pre-strung racket. There are quite a few mid-level rackets that are pre-strung that are more than suitable for being restrung. Yes, some cheap rackets are made with the expectation that they will never need new strings (in fact, stringing them would usually cost more than a new racket in that class). But to say that across the board it isn't wise...that is just too simplistic of a statement.
 
That's different. Some racquets begin their lives as un-strung and then later are sold to retailers as pre-strungs. They are still quality racquets.
That is correct the chinese PT280 were once sold at big box for $49 pre-strung, that was the best prestrung frame at big box stores on the planet
 
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Tim W

Rookie
Anyone know a good racquet for a 4-5 year olds?

The cold hard fact is they don't need anything expensive. I wouldn't go over $50 on a racquet for someone that age, as they won't really benifit from having a super-duper racquet.
 

scotus

G.O.A.T.
The cold hard fact is they don't need anything expensive. I wouldn't go over $50 on a racquet for someone that age, as they won't really benifit from having a super-duper racquet.

I'm not looking for some hot performance, but I am looking for something that would be relatively safe for their little arms.
 

dancraig

Hall of Fame
Thanks. I did order a racquet from this page before.

Do you know whether a 4-5 year old should use a 21-23 in frame or should they just start out with a bit longer frame?

If you will look over the text for the different junior frames on that page, it seems that they recommend racquet length according to the height of the child.
 
Thanks. I did order a racquet from this page before.

Do you know whether a 4-5 year old should use a 21-23 in frame or should they just start out with a bit longer frame?
as dancraig said, depends on hight but I would also add ability. depends how much the kid can handle and not swing late. you got 9 year olds that swing a tennis racquet like a bat or a fly squatter

My 5 year old son could handle a 25 inch frame but he has been playing since 2, he started off with 19, then 21 then 23 now he is 25 and most likely will be staying for another year or so at least.

Jan silva who is only six can take full clean OHBH swings with a 26 inch frame, that is plain amazing, there is a 7 year old in our club with the same hight who can do the same.
 

YULitle

Hall of Fame
I can tell you one thing. If you take your child to a teaching pro for lessons with a racquet that is the correct length per their height, the pro will say to get a longer racquet (99.9999% of the time.)

I can't tell you how many times I've seen customers purchase the "proper" size just to have a teaching pro suggest a longer racquet, often jumping all the way to adult size.

So, the best advice I could give customers is to take a demo to the first lesson and get the pro's advice.
 

YULitle

Hall of Fame
USTA quick start program for kids is sizing down not up, they recommend smaller frames for kids not larger

I've sold racquets for many years, and have known quite a few pro's and it never failed that they always recommended racquets that I felt were too big. These are USPTA and PTR teaching professionals, of all levels. USTA has little to do with them. The parents listen to the pro's, not the USTA (or me for that matter :).)
 

predrag

Professional
I've sold racquets for many years, and have known quite a few pro's and it never failed that they always recommended racquets that I felt were too big. These are USPTA and PTR teaching professionals, of all levels. USTA has little to do with them. The parents listen to the pro's, not the USTA (or me for that matter :).)

Well, stringer and tennis pro by passion, I always recommended racquet as heavy as it can be that can be comfortably swung.

Especially for the kids, because kids learn to use the weight of the racquet in their advantage.
Have you guys tried those 21" bats?
Racquet needs mass to hit the ball.

Regards, Predrag
 

D N A

New User
My son started taking weekly tennis lessons at 4 yrs old with a Wilson Titanium US Open 21" for about a year (just bumping balls).

VITALITENNIS.jpg


After he grew a little taller and stronger, I moved up to a Head Agassi Titanium 23".

233316900.jpg


After about 6 months of weekly lessons, I felt the racquet was a little light in mass (for use with a regulation size tennis ball) so I decided to moved him up again to a Head Agassi Titanium 25".

41QFEAGK3oL._AA280_.jpg


Before he used the racquet in his tennis class, I also added lead tape to the head at 9:00 and 3:00 positions for added mass & stability.

He's now 6yrs old, with a pretty decent service motion & repetoire of strokes, and I just ordered him his first Wilson (K) Factor 25".

WK6ONE25-1.JPG


http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageRCWILSON-WK6ONE25.html


IMO, I feel the most important aspect of choosing a racquet for a youngster is to pick one according to the individual childs needs. Their age, heigth and skill s level should be the determining factors. You shouldn't just follow the advice of the teaching Pro. Here is a great place to start. Hope this helps.
 

YULitle

Hall of Fame
^^^ D N A: I agree that you shouldn't JUST listen to the pro. But, I feel that the pro has a better grasp on the child's development, and therefore racquet needs, than a piece of cardboard attached to the back of a child's racquet.
 
I've sold racquets for many years, and have known quite a few pro's and it never failed that they always recommended racquets that I felt were too big. These are USPTA and PTR teaching professionals, of all levels. USTA has little to do with them. The parents listen to the pro's, not the USTA (or me for that matter :).)
Yulite, I know what you mean, the reason I brought up USTA is because it was on this months tennis magazine that just came out yesterday and they have a big section on all of this.

Heck don't you think I want my son to play with a chopped PT630 prestige 600 or a chopped PS6.0 85, :) I thought about it but he can't swing it.:evil:

My sons coach who is a world class pro told me he was surprised that my son was swinging the Prince at such a young age and that he would have recommended something smaller had he been a little late.
 
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