College tennis utr

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Deleted member 797141

Guest
How good should my utr be at the start of freshman year if I want to play college tennis?

for example what should a freshman utr be if they have hopes of playing college tennis at each level d1 d2 and d3?

Thanks
 

LOBALOT

Legend
Hi Braden: I feel for you but you need to set your objectives on short term goals.

You talked about playing but are you playing tournaments as many of the kids on this path are well on moving through the tournament circuit?

If not I would climb the mountain. You need to play "locals" and do well and learn to compete with kids week in and week out. Let's start there and then let us know how you are progressing. Is that OK?

Like it or not that is what coaches are looking at which are results. Who you played and who you beat.

Good luck!
 

esgee48

G.O.A.T.
To have a realistic chance, by the time you finish HS, you need a UTR in the upper 8’s to mid 9’s. That’s NTRP 4.5-5.0. Only way you’ll get there is play lot of better players and beat them or lose narrowly. College levels will be approximately UTR 10-11 to have a chance at varsity level. Elite players will be even higher at certain institutions.
 

LOBALOT

Legend
Braden, I am sorry. I forgot who you were. Man there are some great tennis opportunities your way.

Western Racquet Club is the bomb and there are so many great tournament kids that have come from there. I hope you are hitting there. Do your dad and mom know you are out here? You should probably check with them.
 

jcgatennismom

Hall of Fame
To have a realistic chance, by the time you finish HS, you need a UTR in the upper 8’s to mid 9’s. That’s NTRP 4.5-5.0. Only way you’ll get there is play lot of better players and beat them or lose narrowly. College levels will be approximately UTR 10-11 to have a chance at varsity level. Elite players will be even higher at certain institutions.
Agreed minimum 10-11 (really 10.5+) for midmajors with the better MM teams having 3-4 guys in 12+. Minimum for P5 with a .500 win record-probably 12.5 in Big12/SEC for a chance to play 6, 12+ at other P5s. Do know of some high 11s, low 12s at P5s who have played 6 for a few matches but they seldom win...If you are in state, you may get a walk on position .5 UTR lower than above ranges.
 
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Deleted member 797141

Guest
I am also one of the youngest in my grade as hs starts 2 days after my bd... parents should have started me later
 

andfor

Legend
I am also one of the youngest in my grade as hs starts 2 days after my bd... parents should have started me later
Don't let your age or size deter you. Work hard, look for areas of improvement daily, even if it's just one. Improvement can be in any area. Such as, did your movement improve, mental strength, emotional control, technique, footwork, speed, game plan execution, etc. Any area relative to mental, physical, stroke technique, strategy, tactical etc. Putting in the right kind of hard work every day, you can pass some of the bigger players down the road. Although court time is of primary importance, you can make gains even with workouts at home. Jump rope, push ups core work, squats, running with an adult in the neighborhood, etc. If you are in better shape than most of your opponents, that will be a huge factor in your favor.

There's lots of good books and video out there, seek it out, get recommendations from your coach. Hopefully you can get a lot of match play and have access to some good coaching. And always keep your primary focus on your grades.

You are young to be on here. As LOBALOT asked, make sure your parents are okay with you being on here. While there are a number of well meaning folks here, this is the internet, be careful. All the best!
 

AlecG

Semi-Pro
To have a realistic chance, by the time you finish HS, you need a UTR in the upper 8’s to mid 9’s. That’s NTRP 4.5-5.0. Only way you’ll get there is play lot of better players and beat them or lose narrowly. College levels will be approximately UTR 10-11 to have a chance at varsity level. Elite players will be even higher at certain institutions.

It isn't true that you need to beat or lose narrowly to better players. That's one way to do it, but your UTR also increases if you win more games than an opponent at the same UTR as yourself, or beat a player who has lower UTR than you by a larger than expected margin.

However, UTR is based on the last 12 months, so none of the results in the next couple of years will directly effect his UTR when he's entering college, so at this stage it's all about improving as fast as possible without injuring himself.
 
Now that i have my daughter playing tournaments, i notice that utr is way off at ranking some u12 and u14 and seams like WTN is more accurate , just saying that maybe you have a better UTR ! I feel that tennisrecruting.net does a better job at showing if you improve than UTR and we start going to tournaments where i see 5 stars players or blue chips in the draw, being lower ranked you will definitely play with better players and see exactly where you stand . To go from 5 to 10+ utr is hard but not impossible, but you have to plan your tournaments with that goal in mind! I see parents driving to Alabama from Florida because is a weaker section and can get more points and complain that their kids utr is low. Train and plan your tournaments with the goal to compete with the best kids in your class year, don’t chase points, chase matches against better players!
 

AlecG

Semi-Pro
Now that i have my daughter playing tournaments, i notice that utr is way off at ranking some u12 and u14 and seams like WTN is more accurate , just saying that maybe you have a better UTR ! I feel that tennisrecruting.net does a better job at showing if you improve than UTR and we start going to tournaments where i see 5 stars players or blue chips in the draw, being lower ranked you will definitely play with better players and see exactly where you stand . To go from 5 to 10+ utr is hard but not impossible, but you have to plan your tournaments with that goal in mind! I see parents driving to Alabama from Florida because is a weaker section and can get more points and complain that their kids utr is low. Train and plan your tournaments with the goal to compete with the best kids in your class year, don’t chase points, chase matches against better players!

You're right that at his age he should be focused on development, but if you play players who are much better than you that's not necessarily ideal either. Some kids will improve more when they're losing. Some will improve more when they're winning. I'd say on average the improvement will be fastest if they are at the same ability level, so that they are both motivated to play their best & adapt to that level of pressure, rather than give up or win without a good performance.
 

andfor

Legend
You're right that at his age he should be focused on development, but if you play players who are much better than you that's not necessarily ideal either. Some kids will improve more when they're losing. Some will improve more when they're winning. I'd say on average the improvement will be fastest if they are at the same ability level, so that they are both motivated to play their best & adapt to that level of pressure, rather than give up or win without a good performance.
Good points. I've often heard the ideal mix of competition for developing juniors is play 33% players you can't beat, play 33% players you are equal with, play 33% of players you can beat every time. Don't mess with me about the left over 1% LOL. I realize this mix may be a challenge to match perfectly.
 

Sureshot

Hall of Fame
Good points. I've often heard the ideal mix of competition for developing juniors is play 33% players you can't beat, play 33% players you are equal with, play 33% of players you can beat every time. Don't mess with me about the left over 1% LOL. I realize this mix may be a challenge to match perfectly.
Lol you could have said a third, a third, a third and there would be no room for the “1 percenters”. Kidding aside I have also heard people in the game say that you have to spread your play across levels
 
With 5 utr at 14 years old, hard to find 66% player weaker or your level……kids in my area are 5 utr at 10…..girls around 11 years old going 12. Maybe if he plays only utr tournaments and skips USTA.
 

nyta2

Legend
How good should my utr be at the start of freshman year if I want to play college tennis?

for example what should a freshman utr be if they have hopes of playing college tennis at each level d1 d2 and d3?

Thanks
also this: https://cdn.universaltennis.com/public/media/UTR_Player_Range.pdf
 

andfor

Legend
also this: https://cdn.universaltennis.com/public/media/UTR_Player_Range.pdf
Hard to say. Respectfully, don't get wrapped around the ratings and rankings axel. Avoid focusing and looking at them as much as possible. Work on playing as many matches and tournament as you can and your parents can support. Focus on improving some aspect of your game on court, off court, at the gym and at the house every day. Get with a good coach and your parents to develop a comprehensive improvement focused training plan. And be sure to prioritize school first and get good grades.
 

nyta2

Legend
Hard to say. Respectfully, don't get wrapped around the ratings and rankings axel. Avoid focusing and looking at them as much as possible. Work on playing as many matches and tournament as you can and your parents can support. Focus on improving some aspect of your game on court, off court, at the gym and at the house every day. Get with a good coach and your parents to develop a comprehensive improvement focused training plan. And be sure to prioritize school first and get good grades.
+1000. all true.
...that said, it is good to peek at utr every few tournaments/matches, like on a 3-6mo interval, to see how one is progressing...
 
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