How to manage player development

[chineras]

I am working on a sustainable development plan. I am a top 100 boys 14 and would like to receive a collage scholarship to play D1 tennis when I graduate high school. I am feeling a little burned out and I think my schedule may not allow me enough time to recover mentally. Does anyone know how the big academies work their plans? I am interested in opinions on.

How much to train each day? Both on court and off court.
How many days a week to train?
How many weeks a year? Do you have any longer breaks? If so how long and what off court activities should you do?

How many tournaments should you play each year? If you play all four L1s, four L2s, four L3, and your sectional tournaments needed to qualify (at least 6) you are looking at 18. How can you be ready for all of them if you have any breaks?

I want to be as good as I can be but make it for four more years.

 

[VrafaV]

I know at like bolletieris they play 6-7 hrs a day

 

[Touch of Grey]

Okay, first things first... Focus on education. Being a great tennis player will definitely help get you into a great college. But unless you are planning on becoming a professional tennis player (I sure hope not) or a teaching pro then you need to get a good education.

Now to your questions.

So I would say take 1 to 2 days off a week. So if you were to play on a non-tournament weekend take something like. Tuesday, and Friday off. One day to focus on school work if you have a lot on a certain day regularly then take that day, and then Friday's because of the social aspect of life. And on a tournament weekend take a day like Wednesday off. A day in the middle of the week so you can still be ready but are fresh. If it's a two weekend tournament then take Monday off. And maybe a Thursday off.

Each day I would say train 1.5-2.5 hours a day on court, if possible. And then workout/cross-train for 1 hour 3-4 times a week.

As for long breaks, I've never been a fan. If your family takes a vacation then that is the obvious perfect time to take a break, but other then that rain gives me the best amount of time off during the winter. Summer though, I take a about 4 days off maybe once or twice.

The weekends that you aren't playing a tournament I would say play about 4-5 hours if you want to and train for an hour- 1.5 hours.

As for tournaments, since the USTA is only taking your top 6 national tournaments this year there would be no need to play any more then 14-16 (my opinion). The section tournaments still get you national points. So if you play all 4 L1's 6 section tournaments, 2-3 L2's-L3's seems like the perfect amount to me.

Hope I helped, if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

[Game-Set-MATCH!!!]

I am at Franco's Tennis Academy and I do school from 7:40 until 2:20 and then tennis 2:30 until 6:00 then fitness tuesday, thursday and saturday. Tennis is 6 days a week monday through sat. school is mon - thursday or fri

 

[Game-Set-MATCH!!!]

I know at like bolletieris they play 6-7 hrs a day

Bollettieris is stupid because if your not top 100 ITF they could care less about you.. or if you have 8,000 dollars and u still dont get 1 on 1 with nick. But you do get a good bit of attention if your top 100 or so in the nation .....

 

[ahuimanu]

Focus on education!

Hey young man,

Second this recommendation: focus on your education before tennis.

Just a few thoughts from an older guy who has been involved in this great game for almost 40 yrs (yikes!)

Cannot tell you how many great players I know (junior/college/pro) who didn't "finish" their educations and are now "paying" for it. Injuries, burnout, the "unexpected" (I got into a major car accident while in college which left me a mess for a few years) all can and do happen.

Your education will open more doors than your tennis resume alone (have friends who were ranked in the top 200 ATP but can't get a decent job on their own=no college degree

Regarding skill development and training, tennis requires high repetition to develop instinctive skills necessary for success so at your age you probably need to hit the ball every day (my thought) at least for a few minutes to maintain timing (15-20 minutes against the backboard).

Along with skill development, work on becoming a "better athlete". I was extremely fortunate to have been involved with a great junior tennis training program patterned after the Harry Hopman Australian physical regime.

Today you need to be self motivated, however, there are a ton of programs such as the P90 X for strength and injury prevention, jump rope and short/long distance running to build stamina. The other option is to get into an academy or junior development program in your area. There is no substitute for live practice play to improve on your weaknesses and develop new strengths.

Competitive tennis is very time consuming but also work in other interests such as music (guitar, keyboard etc), art, basketball (complimentary sport), charitable giving, baseball, surfing, snowboarding, kite flying, girls and other areas to make "you" more interesting."

The quality of your question tells me you are bright, intelligent and will make the right decisions...hope this helps...all the best !

Okay, first things first... Focus on education. Being a great tennis player will definitely help get you into a great college. But unless you are planning on becoming a professional tennis player (I sure hope not) or a teaching pro then you need to get a good education.

Now to your questions.

So I would say take 1 to 2 days off a week. So if you were to play on a non-tournament weekend take something like. Tuesday, and Friday off. One day to focus on school work if you have a lot on a certain day regularly then take that day, and then Friday's because of the social aspect of life. And on a tournament weekend take a day like Wednesday off. A day in the middle of the week so you can still be ready but are fresh. If it's a two weekend tournament then take Monday off. And maybe a Thursday off.

Each day I would say train 1.5-2.5 hours a day on court, if possible. And then workout/cross-train for 1 hour 3-4 times a week.

As for long breaks, I've never been a fan. If your family takes a vacation then that is the obvious perfect time to take a break, but other then that rain gives me the best amount of time off during the winter. Summer though, I take a about 4 days off maybe once or twice.

The weekends that you aren't playing a tournament I would say play about 4-5 hours if you want to and train for an hour- 1.5 hours.

As for tournaments, since the USTA is only taking your top 6 national tournaments this year there would be no need to play any more then 14-16 (my opinion). The section tournaments still get you national points. So if you play all 4 L1's 6 section tournaments, 2-3 L2's-L3's seems like the perfect amount to me.

Hope I helped, if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

 

[TennisCoachFLA]

Why do us "old guys" always lecture? The kid's post clearly states he is trying to get better at tennis for one specific goal....a Division 1 scholarship when he graduates high school. He knows he also needs good grades.

At no point does he mention going pro or allowing tennis to get in the way of his education. In fact he wants to make sure he takes enough time off as to not burn out. He simply asked for ideas on a training schedule so he could accomplish his goal, play good enough tennis to get a college scholarship.

Tennis is just as important as his classes for his goals. I assume he does not want to end up with $250,000 in student loans for a degree that pays him $40,000/year. He wants to go for it, a top scholarship at a nice school where he can use tennis to network and come out the other side with his education paid for.

And to reach that goal he will have to sacrifice many of those things listed in the last post. In fact those are things non tennis playing kids need to make themselves more interesting to college admissions. Tennis coaches in college could care less if he plays the guitar or surfs. They want to see how he does in big junior tennis tournaments and if he has solid grades....because their jobs depend on them winning.

 

[ahuimanu]

Respectfully, no lecture, only sharing "lessons learned" and perhaps a bit of wisdom from someone who has traveled down life's path.

As one who has also sat on admissions committees (graduate school) I can tell you its the well rounded individual, someone who has "something to add" to the student population that get's the committee's attention (and offer of acceptance).

I've actually had both athletic and academic scholarships and it believe it was my "other" skills that set me apart from the competition (I asked the admissions people). The scholarships allowed me to completed my under and graduate school education without a mountain load of debt and prepared me for a career of my choice.

Does the Tennis coach or admissions committee members also play guitar or surf? Wonder if that makes a difference in getting in to that school...(you never know what strikes a chord... no pun intended)

Signed: former teacher and guidance counselor...

Why do us "old guys" always lecture? The kid's post clearly states he is trying to get better at tennis for one specific goal....a Division 1 scholarship when he graduates high school. He knows he also needs good grades.

At no point does he mention going pro or allowing tennis to get in the way of his education. In fact he wants to make sure he takes enough time off as to not burn out. He simply asked for ideas on a training schedule so he could accomplish his goal, play good enough tennis to get a college scholarship.

Tennis is just as important as his classes for his goals. I assume he does not want to end up with $250,000 in student loans for a degree that pays him $40,000/year. He wants to go for it, a top scholarship at a nice school where he can use tennis to network and come out the other side with his education paid for.

And to reach that goal he will have to sacrifice many of those things listed in the last post. In fact those are things non tennis playing kids need to make themselves more interesting to college admissions. Tennis coaches in college could care less if he plays the guitar or surfs. They want to see how he does in big junior tennis tournaments and if he has solid grades....because their jobs depend on them winning.

 

[chineras]

My dad has talked with me a lot about the importance of education. My parents have made it clear my grades come first. If I have a test or am behind on my classwork I cut back on practice.

My dream is to play in a junior grand slam. After that I would like to use tennis to get into a great collage and be able to play on the team. Sometimes I day dream about playing on the pro tour but after looking at how few people make it I understand it is longer than a long shot.

I use to play tennis because I loved it. As I have gotten better and the competition has gotten stronger I have worked more and more to stay competitive at the top level. Sometime in the last three or four months it has turned into a job. I miss hanging out with friends and just laying around. The hardest part is driving almost every weekend for a tournament. I want to achieve my goal but need to understand if it is even possible to balance tennis, with my goals, and having a life of any kind. I am struggling to find the resolve to give up everything but classwork and tennis in order to achieve the dream.


My old schedule:

Playing 3 to 3 ½ hours a day of tennis for 4 days a week, two of the hours with my coach and 1.5 is a practice match. One hour of fitness/agility 4 days a week. Three out of four weekends a month are tournaments. The weekend I don’t play a tournament I play 3 practice matches.

I take one week off completely each 3 months.


My new? Schedule:

Playing 2 hours with my coach for 5 days a week. Two 1.5 hour practice matches each week. One hour of fitness/agility 4 days a week. One weekend a month for tournaments. The other three weekends I will play one practice match on Saturday and take Sunday off completely.

I am cutting out a bunch of tournament matches and 2 practice matches each week. I am adding one extra 2 hour session with my coach.

All of my 2 hour hitting sessions with my coach are from 6 am to 8 am.

I hope the new schedule will allow me to progress at the rate I want. I am also worried about my level of fitness dropping. I think I will try it out and see. I will sure be nice to have Sundays and several afternoons a week to hang out and relax.

 

[Tar Heel Tennis]

RULE #1 FOR GETTING INTO COLLEGE:

Learn how to spell 'college'.

 

[Number1Coach]

RULE #1 FOR GETTING INTO COLLEGE:

Learn how to spell 'college'.

He asked a question you do spell check. Now tri an anwser the kuestion.

 

[warmsurfing]

I am at Franco's Tennis Academy and I do school from 7:40 until 2:20 and then tennis 2:30 until 6:00 then fitness tuesday, thursday and saturday. Tennis is 6 days a week monday through sat. school is mon - thursday or fri

Hello,
I want to know if the Tennis Academy provides schooling also?