deltacore1
New User
What is the hardest, most competitive section in the United States? (Florida, Southern, East... etc.)
PNW is up there. boys 12 and 14 #1's in nation r from washington.
florida,southern,southern cal
One player does not a strong section make.
One player does not a strong section make.
Probably northern
Probably northern
16 zonals is wrapping up in Texas and 2 TX teams will be playing for the championship. The order of the first 5 finishers is 3 Texas teams, 1 of the Eastern teams, the 4th Tx team. Texas and Eastern sent 4 teams, Pacific Northwest 2 and Northern 2.
Of note was the how dominating the TX teams were in doubles.
I would agree with Florida and the California sections being 1, 2, 3 but would put Texas after that.
I have heard from college coaches that they also list the sections in that order.
And 1/2 the TX girls were 13 and only 3 of the boys were in the top 20 of the section. This is my point exactly about depth.
Ok Yoda....
The hosting state at Zonals should have the inside track.
They should.....but not the case in both years my kid played. (local section got killed)
But Zonals doesn't draw all the best players so it's not an accurate indicator of what section is the best.
Maybe not the best couple of kids....but many of the 5-25 play which (as the other poster mentioned) & since (say) 15 of the best 18 boys or girls are playing, then the results of these matches would indicate the depth.....or lack of depth of the various sections.
The reason Zonals doesn't draw just about everyone include:
1. Time commitment. Agree. It's another week long commitment in the summer.
2. Expense (hotel, travel, food). Agree.
3. No impact on rankings. In my observation....Not accurate. My kid earned the same number of points at Zonals that he did in winning the L3 Regional tournament.
(maybe if you're top 10 in the nation, 300 points wouldn't help a kids record, but line 1 or line 2 kids who win all or most of their singles matches earn serious national points).
4. Too close to hard courts. Very much agree. In fact it's a couple of days after the CLAYS & exactly one week prior to the hard courts. Few kids are able to do all three of these events. I wish they'd move one to late June.
Id say flordia and so cal are toughest... then eastern norcal southern southwest texas ... then intermountain pacific northwest middle states new eng...I hear hawaii and missouri valley blow..
Comments below:
Agree completely. Just got home from 14 Zonals in Cary. Great experience for the kids including lots of good matches including one to three three set matches everyday. Leaving in four days for Hard Courts and didn't do Clay Courts because of the time commitment and added cost - as a working parent couldn't take three weeks off in a span of six weeks. The team atmosphere was wonderful for the kids - to see the boys pulling for the girls and the girls pulling for the boys was great but wish it was at a different time of year - the tournament calendar is so full from the end of June through early August - moving the Zonals to third week in August and moving Hard Courts up a week would be my suggestion.
How is Eastern so good if the players can not play all year, due to the weather conditions?
Point of the story is that there are clearly parts of the country where the parents/coaches teach and encourage poor sportsmanship as a part of the game.
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Point of the story is that there are clearly parts of the country where the parents/coaches teach and encourage poor sportsmanship as a part of the game.
Charles Barkley is not a role model and it's not the job of the USTA to raise kids.
No, but the USTA has a responsibility to promote fair play for all it's participants. That's one of the primary things a sports governing body is supposed to do.
The hosting state at Zonals should have the inside track. But Zonals doesn't draw all the best players so it's not an accurate indicator of what section is the best. The reason Zonals doesn't draw include:
1. Time commitment.
2. Expense (hotel, travel, food).
3. No impact on rankings.
4. Too close to hard courts.
No, but the USTA has a responsibility to promote fair play for all it's participants. That's one of the primary things a sports governing body is supposed to do.
LOL, and I'm sure your player was an angel in that whole mess right, Mom?
If there is a problem, file a grievance. Encourage other parents to do the same. Put the hooks on notice. I have done it with positive support from our section.
I don't think putting an official on every court is the answer. And, I don't think it's a problem of that magnitude. If there is a problem, file a grievance. Encourage other parents to do the same. Put the hooks on notice. I have done it with positive support from our section.
I don't think it's the area of the country, I think it was one or two of the top players or leaders on the team being enabled by a coach and parents that read Brad Gilbert's little book about Winning Ugly that fosters the idea, "if you're not cheating, you're not trying" mentality.
Also, moving zonals to end of August would never work, many schools start mid August.
parents that read Brad Gilbert's little book about Winning Ugly that fosters the idea, "if you're not cheating, you're not trying" mentality.
I've read Gilbert's "little book" multiple times. Pray tell where in his book it encourages cheating?