Are "USTA" Junior Competitive Coaches Part of the Problem?

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thepastord

New User
There has been a lot of talk about how the "New USTA" ranking/tournament changes are affecting the state and quality of Junior Tennis. Over the past three years I have noticed that some of the problem is associated with the USTA - High Performance Coaches. I had an experience with one of their coaches, where the coach was practically gloating about the changes to come... She was already trying to take advantage of the changes with her own students in regards to draw, points, etc. I have to say, this seemed very shady to me. Even with her gloating, I think it still has amounted to a disastrous outcome within her own program. Parents and students came to find out that they were going to be spending a lot of time and money chasing their tails. The new changes were only going to benefit a few people. If you were astute enough to figure it out, and questioned the policies they were putting in place. Many started requiring mandatory amounts of days in attendance at very inflated prices, I might say..... This wasn't due to the actual training schedule, even though, they would claim it was the reason. I found it was strictly a NUMBERS game, for their own profit. Even their head pros were on the losing end of the game. They would restrict their pros from doing private lessons, while they continued to do so! Many times, leaving other courts with too many students. Seems to me, if you don't have adequate numbers of pros, the person running the show, should cease their own private lessons, and be coaching the overall groups that are paying, rather than short changing them.

If you question these types of antics, the rear their ugly "Ego Head". Many want your opinion squashed. They don't want the other parents to figure out what is really going on. The problem is, they can get away with it. They have the perceived clout of being a top affiliation with the USTA Competitive group, but they still run their own programs. A lot of what they are doing is just shady, money making scams............ In my area the truth has been coming out, slowly, but surely. I think the USTA Competitive Council needs to do a better job monitoring these coaches, that they are backing as "High Performance"......... What kind of programs are they really selling? I'll tell you, it's called "Bait and Switch". Many, not all, are nothing but filled with ego, claiming all kinds of things and delivering squat. imho
 
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There is a lot of this going on in the USTA right now. There is a player in Boca right now that has no business being there but is there because the coach at his club and the head of Boca are old pals. His record before and since he has been there is less that stellar to say the least. The USTA is like any other big business, it isn't how good you are at your position it's who you know.
 
TennisFan2Day said:
There is a lot of this going on in the USTA right now. There is a player in Boca right now that has no business being there but is there because the coach at his club and the head of Boca are old pals. His record before and since he has been there is less that stellar to say the least. The USTA is like any other big business, it isn't how good you are at your position it's who you know.
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Very vague post. When you say he's in Boca, what do you mean? Where?
 
TennisCoachFLA said:
The fist post is also too encrypted for me to follow. The OP sounds like he may have some interesting insight but for some reason I am not grasping his points.
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I don't really understand the first post either... Talks about USTA coaches "requiring attendance at inflated prices"... Huh? I think he may be referring to coaches who call themselves High Performance coaches, and not Player Development out of Boca. It's the only way I can make heads or tails out if that post.
 
TennisNola said:
I don't really understand the first post either... Talks about USTA coaches "requiring attendance at inflated prices"... Huh? I think he may be referring to coaches who call themselves High Performance coaches, and not Player Development out of Boca. It's the only way I can make heads or tails out if that post.
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There are other facilities in Florida, who are run by coaches who are part of the big-wig committees...... I'm trying to be graceful here guys, I don't want to name names of specific coaches! Exactly what I described has happened, eye witness myself the entire set up. Think Florida, and I think you may be able to figure it out.

My point is, if it happens at one, is it happening at more? Who is monitoring the programs at the other places that are tied into "High Performance Player Development"?
 
thepastord said:
There are other facilities in Florida, who are run by coaches who are part of the big-wig committees...... I'm trying to be graceful here guys, I don't want to name names of specific coaches! Exactly what I described has happened, eye witness myself the entire set up. Think Florida, and I think you may be able to figure it out.

My point is, if it happens at one, is it happening at more? Who is monitoring the programs at the other places that are tied into "High Performance Player Development"?
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There are probably coaches on "big wig" committees all over the country. But unless you name names, your post makes no sense. USTA has only one high performance facility in Florida and it's in Boca Raton.
 
chalkflewup said:
There are probably coaches on "big wig" committees all over the country. But unless you name names, your post makes no sense. USTA has only one high performance facility in Florida and it's in Boca Raton.
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Maybe they are doing a "Word Play". There is a facility in the Tampa Bay are, and the director touts "herself" and her "facility" as part of the USTA Player Development Group. So is she or isn't she? Who oversees it?
 
chalkflewup said:
Not a chance in Hades.
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Is a chance in Hades, I was a first hand witness to it. Heard it right from the horses mouth, and yes, this coach is also a member of the Junior Committee.

See that is the problem.... This kind of stuff is going on, and even extremely knowledgeable people with years of tennis experience are failing to see the gimmicks. I don't want to name names here, but I hope others will take notice that this stuff is going on. I want parents to be educated. If they learn about these gaps in the road, they can make better decisions for the family, in regards to time, money, and real world application.

Parents need to know what reality junior tennis amounts to. I encourage parents, ask questions. Not only of the coaches, but other parents. Parents of older kids who are off to college. There is a lot of misleading pie in the sky stuff out there. Be smart, don't get sucked into the story. Stay realistic above all.:)

Also, I have no problem with TRN~~~ I believe they offer a great service for players, parents and coaches. Dallas is top notch!:)
 
TennisCoachFLA said:
Say no more.....I know all about that deal!
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Like I said, I don't like to be a name thrower, but being exposed to this for almost two years was all I could take, and I am a very hands off parent. But the amount of money she was charging, and what she was delivering was absolutely horrendous. You can't call yourself "USTA High Performance Player Development" with one of your so called junior top performance group leaders, who is USTA certified, but amounts to a ladies league player. Delightful person, but qualified to be a "USTA High Performance Player Development Coach"? I don't think so....... 5 to 7 players on court? Again, I don't think so....

Then to top it off, pay $800 - $900 per month, not including your private lessons.......... Then when you start questioning stuff, they want to squash you and become vindictive......... (Many left our group, and went down south with Macci)

I'm not sure if this same scenario is still going on, I haven't heard anything to say it has changed any. Matter of fact, Many of the parents I run into, tell me how accurate I was, and they wished they would have realized what was going on.

Again,:( my intent isn't to bash a program, but sitting back and watching people get sucked dry, and being strongly mislead weighs on my conscience.

At least now, someone on here, knows what I'm talking about.:twisted:
 
tball2day said:
Wow this is very hard to follow if not on the inside of this. I wonder though, why would you not just call out an academy that seems to be doing these things that I can't understand but don't sound good?

If I thought xyz academy sucked and I witnessed inappropriate things, I would name it. Aren't you just perpetuating the injustice by talking in this secret code? The only one that knows what you are saying is TCF cause he knows about it already. That's not going to help change things if no one else knows what to do/avoid/whatever. Even if you don't name it, all I can gather is they charge too much and say they are the direct link to Boca. Doesn't everyone do this or is there more to it?
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Agree completely. The last thing I want to see is the money of hard-working, dedicated parents being literally drained to scam artists who barely know any tennis (assuming that this is what you guys are talking about - I'm having a hard time decrypting some of these posts). It hurts the truly good coaches, and it hurts the sport.

Unfortunately, unless people are willing to speak up and name names, these people continue to scam the next batch of naive parents who still haven't awoken to the scam yet.
 
Good points the last 2 posts. I would advise that if anyone tells you they have an 'in' for USTA high performance entry that you simply ask us on this forum. Someone can PM you and give you more information.
 
TennisCoachFLA said:
Good points the last 2 posts. I would advise that if anyone tells you they have an 'in' for USTA high performance entry that you simply ask us on this forum. Someone can PM you and give you more information.
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Exactly!


My daughter is a senior, so she only has about four more months, and like I said, we figured it out, and worked around it. However, when all of this became brutally apparent to us, my daughter still had to practice, play, compete, even though we eliminated most of the downsides... You have to remember, it is a very sensitive subject. Some coaches, not all. PLEASE hear that... Some will become very vindictive if you start calling them out on this kind of stuff. People with deeper questions should seek the PM tool. As parents of tennis players, we do have to be able to function in our cities. I try to advise people when the opportunity reveals itself, but beyond that there isn't that much more I can do. I have found most people figure out this stuff. Hopefully sooner, rather than later. Just be aware!
 
thepastord said:
pay $800 - $900 per month, not including your private lessons........
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You are not seriously complaining about paying that amount per month where Eastern parents are paying that per week, not including transportation to only 4-5 days of TTP, where each hour is charged for 3-4 players at an average of $220-$300 per court, and each session is 90-120 minutes, are you?
 
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