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What I've noticed about these green ball matches is there's a lack of topspin on the shots. Because of the low compression and light weight of the ball, the kids can whack it and it will stay in the court, whereas a regulation ball would go long with the same stroke. The importance of topspin is...

Hard to believe 12U must play green. That's not the case here in Socal. What we do have is 14 year old novices playing regulation while ranked 10 year olds play green on the adjacent court. What I have noticed is that the 8U division has gone away here. There's no place for these kids to play...

The way out of this mess is to base the colored balls on the skill of the player, not the age of the player. I know lots of kids age 6-10 who can beat lots of kids 12-14 years old, yet the younger ones are forced to play with dead balls and the older ones would play with regulation. Reality...

Patience, patience, and more patience I just force myself to be ultra-patient when playing these types of players. You need to make them work and pay the price for their style of play. First, tell yourself that every point will be very long so you're mentally ready. Don't give him what he...

Don't forget about the Little Mo events. He can play his age group and use the real ball.

They broke the rules How old is your son and what section is he playing in? It is very likely that he is supposed to be limited to 2 singles matches per day. As you may have noticed, the health and well-being of the tournament participants is not very high on the directors' list. It will...

I agree with your statements, but I do wonder what the players themselves would prefer as far as the general atmosphere at tournaments. I find the general air of solemnity at these events is unnecessary, and contributes to the tension of players and parents.

I can tell you that here in SoCal we are seeing bloated draws in the 12s becasue of the younger kids staying away from the 10s and the dead ball. One of my girls played in the 12s this weekend and was scheduled for a 7pm match! We are also seeing highly-skilled kids, ages 7-10, staying out of...

I'm thinking your backswing on the forehand should start out higher so you can drop it down and then come through the ball. It looks like you're taking the racquet back down below the ball level, which to me makes the backswing too short. Try more of a loop swing to allow the dropping of the...

I have found that it's the parents who sit on their hands and don't make an effort to socialize with the other parents that ultimately blow up. The intensity in the air is too thick at some of the events, and I think that parents and kids need to treat it like fun. I do this by clapping for both...

Topspin optional I've watched quite a few green ball matches recently in the 10U division. The one thing that caught my eye was that there is no imperative that the kids hit with topspin. Time and time again I would see a kid bash the ball and my mind immediately said that one's going out, but...

Ah, the equipment. I see far too many kids using 27 inch racquets before they can handle them. At a tournament, I saw a 7 year old using a full size Pure Drive. I, at age 50, find the racquet too heavy as compared to my Wilson Hyper Hammer 5.3. My 11yo daughter struggled with a 27 inch Aero Pro...

There are already rules in place for when a kid has to move up to the next level. For instance, in satellite play, once you accumulate 600 points you must move up to the next age group.

That's a great observation. Older players would benefit greatly from these lower compression balls. They couldn't even come up with a name they could stick with. It really makes you wonder just how much thought was put into formulating the policy in the first place. It reminds of that old...

You got it Yes. I would implement the lower compression balls at lower skill levels across the age groups. That way, when a player's skills increase, they can work their way up to the regulation ball regardless of their age. For example, here in SoCal we have 3 basic tournament...

The fatal flaw The fatal flaw in this program is that it's age-based rather than skill-based. It makes the assertion that all 10U players, from novice through open, cannot handle the regulation ball, while all 11 year olds can. Crazy. What you now have is very skilled 10U open players who...

I'm thinking about a summer program for my 11 year old daughter. I know there is a Nike tennis camp that runs here in SoCal for a week of instruction. Does anybody have any experience with these camps?

It's mental, mental, mental. Here you are desperately searching for solutions and little did you know it's laying on the shelf down at Walgreens. Whatever works just works. My daughter won her final 6-1, 6-3 last night. In the 3rd and 4th rounds on the weekend, she beat players that had...

Thanks seminole, but I still don't see a list of acceptable and unacceptable behaviors that the parents can see before they go to the facility. I'm concerned with rules regarding applauding well-played points, talking to the child through the fence, scolding them for tantrums during the...

I have completed my first full year of going to junior tennis tournaments here in SoCal. While there are many positive aspects to this, I have been surprised at the rather intense atmosphere at some of these events, highlighted by parents snapping at each other, tournament officials, and even...

Thanks for the post. My daughter appears to be cured using the most unlikely medicine. Just a week and a half ago I was out at the court hitting with her and the usual errors were still in her game. She was getting very frustrated and nothing seemed to work. Along comes my wife--who knows...

Thanks for the advice. She's a tough one to figure out. Last Friday she didn't want to go to her weekly ladder, but we got her to go. She didn't have great results, but she wanted to stay well past the time the ladder ends! Go figure. The problem with her game is she isn't taking what she...

"It’s equally important to note that the ability to “flat-out nail the ball” doesn’t exactly translate into a bright future as a player. We’ve all seen examples of that time and again. Indeed, by playing with properly-sized equipment and a softer ball that allows for longer rallies, we will be...

Thanks tkid. Here's another twist. Let's say you're getting frustrated with your game to the point where you don't want to attend your workout session with your coach and you don't want to play in your weekly informal ladder. Would you prefer that your parents let you stay away or should they...

I agree. My question is more on the lines of expectations. I know that lots of parents spend freely on private lessons, academies, tournaments, hotel rooms, etc. for their tennis-playing juniors, amounting to thousands of dollars per year. I'm wondering what the typical goals are for these...

Can you tell me what is meant by "2 star," "4 star," etc.?

I have 3 girls playing, ages 11, 11, and 13. After all the time and expenses involved in playing serious tennis, I sometimes ponder what the end game is for all this. After all, you can play just for fun and that's OK with 2 of my kids, but one of my kids takes it much more seriously. When I...

I have found that after a couple of tough tournament losses late last year, my 11yo daughter has been on a slide. She is getting very frustrated when she makes an error, and she's playing very tentatively, which, of course, leads to more errors. We have decided to stay away from the...

I've learned it's all about the mental constitution of the child. My 11yo daughter had won 2 10U satellites last summer. We then decided to move her into open level competition where she had less success. Then there was a 10U open tourney that she thought would be too easy after she looked at...

It isn't golf and it sure ain't church. I find that when I clap, some of the other parents feel comfortable enough to start clapping. When they see that I clap for their kid's well-played points, they start clapping when my kid does the same. The tension goes away; everyone wins. Best of all...