help in getting into league/club

[silversx]

i'm a self rated 3.0 and i mostly play with my wife.. we are trying to have a baby and i'm wondering who i'm going to play with when she's preganant..

maybe this is not even the right sub forum but i've been interested in recreational league and club but have no idea how to get into it if you will..

locally here in socal there's a tennis club that offer lessons, junior camps and also USTA so cal league but no other information.. it says to email for info which i probably will do ..

i guess my anxiety is for someone who's only been batting balls with the wife and playing casual matches how do you even start this process of joining leagues and teams and clubs.. how does it normally work? the unknown is quite intimidating

 

[Flyingpanda]

i'm a self rated 3.0 and i mostly play with my wife.. we are trying to have a baby and i'm wondering who i'm going to play with when she's preganant..

maybe this is not even the right sub forum but i've been interested in recreational league and club but have no idea how to get into it if you will..

locally here in socal there's a tennis club that offer lessons, junior camps and also USTA so cal league but no other information.. it says to email for info which i probably will do ..

i guess my anxiety is for someone who's only been batting balls with the wife and playing casual matches how do you even start this process of joining leagues and teams and clubs.. how does it normally work? the unknown is quite intimidating

I just did this, so I can help. Basically to join a team, you need to first sign up for USTA and then use the self-rate guide to rate yourself. Answer no to all the questions, it'll probably give you a rating of 2.5. Then just bump it up to 3.0. Once you have your 3.0 rating, go to the league you want to join. There should be a list of teams. Click on the team you want to join (just pick nearby team that doesn't seem like it has a super crowded roster). There should be contact information for the team captain. Email the team captain and ask to join. I asked to join two teams and both of the captains told me to sign up without even meeting or talking with me. Once you sign up for the team, then you pay for the league. That's it! Good luck!

 

[eelhc]

There are USTA sections where the teams play out of private clubs and one must be a member of a club to play on a USTA team. Not sure what the arrangement is SoCal is though. I would start with contacting the local league coordinator to get the prerequisites. The coordinator may be able to put you in contact with a captain in need of a player.

http://www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/USTA-League/coordinators_by_state/

 

[J_R_B]

i'm a self rated 3.0 and i mostly play with my wife.. we are trying to have a baby and i'm wondering who i'm going to play with when she's preganant..

maybe this is not even the right sub forum but i've been interested in recreational league and club but have no idea how to get into it if you will..

locally here in socal there's a tennis club that offer lessons, junior camps and also USTA so cal league but no other information.. it says to email for info which i probably will do ..

i guess my anxiety is for someone who's only been batting balls with the wife and playing casual matches how do you even start this process of joining leagues and teams and clubs.. how does it normally work? the unknown is quite intimidating

As a (relative) beginner, you're best bet is to get into some kind of beginner league. In SoCal, there has to be plenty of leagues around at your level. Find where one is, pay for 30 mins with a pro to determine what level you should enter, and you're good to go.

 

[silversx]

thanks guys very helpful

 

[Alchemy-Z]

look for local tennis clinics ...most clubs even private ones typically do a "adult start" "tennis 101" type clinic for even non-members....go play make some friends say you are looking for teams...

often tennis facilities have facebook pages as well that you can "like" and you will see people posting stuff about pick up round robins etc..

 

[awjack]

Our club is always having promotion beginner classes that are a great way to ease into it and meet some nice people. Some of those people are in the same boat.

You don't have to be a member to do these typically. They want to get you in the door!

 

[gmatheis]

Joining a local club that has USTA teams is probably the best way to get into league tennis.

Talk to the pro, go to the club's socials , be outgoing ... strike up conversations with people and let them know you want to join a team.

Once you know enough people you don't need the club but the hard part is meeting those people to begin with.

 

[Jim A]

Are there large public facilities where you play that have teams, run clinics etc. They can be a good place to start. You need to talk and network. I am bringing someone to a team drop in this weekend because he is a nice guy, good player and asked about teams. Be prepared for quite a few "No's" if you are blindly reaching out to people and not on a team from a club. Thankkfully, I met a captain from a public team when I first started who took me on to a good team. Even last year after taking a few years off I got brushed off quite a few times from people I knew. Be persistent and don't forget to win against those who said they were full....when they were not

 

[SGM1980]

There are USTA sections where the teams play out of private clubs and one must be a member of a club to play on a USTA team. Not sure what the arrangement is SoCal is though. I would start with contacting the local league coordinator to get the prerequisites. The coordinator may be able to put you in contact with a captain in need of a player.

http://www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/USTA-League/coordinators_by_state/

This. Our local league coordinator sent out an email at the beginning of the season with names on it of people who had contacted her to find placement on teams. We didn't need anyone, but if we did I would have contacted people on that list.

 

[eelhc]

There are USTA sections where the teams play out of private clubs and one must be a member of a club to play on a USTA team. Not sure what the arrangement is SoCal is though. I would start with contacting the local league coordinator to get the prerequisites. The coordinator may be able to put you in contact with a captain in need of a player.

http://www.usta.com/Adult-Tennis/USTA-League/coordinators_by_state/

This. Our local league coordinator sent out an email at the beginning of the season with names on it of people who had contacted her to find placement on teams. We didn't need anyone, but if we did I would have contacted people on that list.

The reason I suggested this route is that some captains may not appreciate joe blow contacting them to land a spot on the team. Politics are alive and well even at the 3.0 level. Be careful with joining a team.. . some guys will just add you so they have someone to play the far away matches at inconvenient times.

 

[Alchemy-Z]

I know here at the public courts the local pro's typically captain the teams for the lower levels 2.5/3.0 so the guys that run the clinics create the teams made up of their students and you don't have to really deal with the politics of joining teams.....till you get bumped to 3.5 at which point you have probably started to make a name for yourself and have a record for the captains to look at and not just giving a spot out to a complete unknown

 

[Turbo-87]

I wouldn't bother thinking about USTA just yet. When I started playing three years ago, I just went to the only club in the area and asked about club league play. They had one going on Sunday so they gave me a few free sessions to see how I liked it. They were short players and were using subs so it was easy to plug me in. It was really fun and the people were welcoming so I joined the club, joined the Sunday league and the rest is history. I didn't start USTA for a year after that. Don't worry about USTA at all just yet. Get a taste for the game in the friendly but competitive world of club league and then decide if the uptight world of USTA is for you. Just my opinion!

 

[Bionic slice]

you also can find flexleagues like ultimatetennis.com or leaguetennis.com
Many public tennis centers have local leagues were you can join and make friends. I would contact the pro shot to find out if they have a local team. Don't be discouraged if you get asked to try out. Most captains are looking for new players or part time players to help with the schedule.

 

[silversx]

are the 'pros' you guys mention here the staff of the tennis club?

I see on my local club's site there's a bunch of 'staff professionals' that teach classes etc.

 

[user92626]

What's your email? Silver

I'd like to email you as the info can be lengthy. That's all.
Or u can email me at my username at yahoo

 

[gmatheis]

are the 'pros' you guys mention here the staff of the tennis club?

I see on my local club's site there's a bunch of 'staff professionals' that teach classes etc.

Yes those are the pro's.

 

[CurrenFan]

Have you checked with your local municipality's community center to see if they feature any tennis leagues in their recreational program offerings? That's what I did and it's probably more in line with what you are looking for at this point in your tennis career. Typically it will be more relaxed and informal, you'll play pickup matches switching partners every set or two, and it will let you get used to some degree of competition without the intensity of a more formal, regimented team-oriented league. Once you get a bit better and more competitive, you can then seek out an USTA league. It may also be cheaper, too, which is a not-unimportant consideration for anyone about to have a child (you'd be amazed how much of your budget gets dominated by that latest addition to your family); my local municipal recreational league costs me under $30 for a 12 or maybe even 14 week season and includes a fresh can of balls every session.

 

[giantschwinn]

SoCal USTA cost to play is outrageous. First you have to join USTA which is $42. Then, you have to pay $25 to join a team. Then, if you play on a reserved city park, it's another $30-35 for court fees. Then, on top of that, another $10-20 if your league requires providing refreshments for the matches.

There are 10 meets per season and each meet requires 8 players. If you are on a 16 player team, you will only get to play 4-5 matches a season. That's $20 per match you have to pay to join an USTA league. To me, it's not worth it.

 

[SGM1980]

Yowsers. Different regions are very different. Apart from joining USTA (which I would consider a given) we just pay $21 for the season. No court fees, not refreshments... Nothing else.

 

[Heck]

Try Meetup.com. I found a few groups in my area and can arrange matches outside the meet ups once you get to know players.

 

[Orange]

Be persistent and don't forget to win against those who said they were full....when they were not

As a captain, my team is full when I have all the players I want or need on my team, which might or might not be when the official maximum is met. My local USTA league has team minimums and maximums, but it is up to the captain to determine, within those limits, when her team is full.

The maximum is 15 for a league in which we play three lines of doubles. If I have any more than 12 players on my team, some will play less than half the time. If we have only six matches, some players will get only two. My team is full at 12.

By telling a player that my team is full (because I have all the players I need), I am protecting the match time of the players who have committed to the team while allowing the new player to find a team where she is needed and can get enough playing time herself.