HS Tennis Team-Important to College Coaches?

[TennisTaxi]

I need a honest opinion...

To start off, my son will be recruited by a college due to his USTA ranking, not real high but good enough to be recruited.

He is trying to decide if he wants to play on this High School tennis team, if he does, he will play #1 and the league his HS plays in will be quite week, no other real competition. He played as a freshman and was a league finalist and made it to CIF, wasn't in "real" school as a sophomore, and is now a junior.

My question, how do college coaches look at playing on a high school team? I told my son, the fact that he plays, no matter the situation, shows he is a team player; something that I would think would be important to a college coach. Is this a correct assumption or does HS tennis not really matter.

Thanks in advance.

 

[eeytennis]

I need a honest opinion...

To start off, my son will be recruited by a college due to his USTA ranking, not real high but good enough to be recruited.

He is trying to decide if he wants to play on this High School tennis team, if he does, he will play #1 and the league his HS plays in will be quite week, no other real competition. He played as a freshman and was a league finalist and made it to CIF, wasn't in "real" school as a sophomore, and is now a junior.

My question, how do college coaches look at playing on a high school team? I told my son, the fact that he plays, no matter the situation, shows he is a team player; something that I would think would be important to a college coach. Is this a correct assumption or does HS tennis not really matter.

Thanks in advance.

Might as well play...it really can't hurt him and he will gain valuable experience of being on a team. I am not sure what your son's level is, and what schools he is looking at but coaches do sometimes look at some high school matches to try and gauge the level of the incoming recruit. However, this is only likely if the recruit lives in the state in which the school is located. Ultimately though, coaches look at the USTA records to see how good the player is and also determine this by watching the player play in tournaments and such.

Matt Kandath has played three years of high school tennis and he is one of the best players in the country. Although he faces little competition before the State tournament, he keeps playing which really says a lot about his character. He's a really nice kid and it shows, and I can't help but think that that is one reason why he was heavily recruited by some of the best tennis schools in the country.

 

[pro_staff]

I know for sure that playing on a high school team will help getting recruited for college tennis. My high school coach helped my friend get a scholarship for a Division 2 school. The college coach called my high school coach to ask him what kind of person he is and how well he works with his teammates.

 

[deddied]

I need a honest opinion...

To start off, my son will be recruited by a college due to his USTA ranking, not real high but good enough to be recruited.

He is trying to decide if he wants to play on this High School tennis team, if he does, he will play #1 and the league his HS plays in will be quite week, no other real competition. He played as a freshman and was a league finalist and made it to CIF, wasn't in "real" school as a sophomore, and is now a junior.

My question, how do college coaches look at playing on a high school team? I told my son, the fact that he plays, no matter the situation, shows he is a team player; something that I would think would be important to a college coach. Is this a correct assumption or does HS tennis not really matter.

Thanks in advance.

High school tennis counts:
Only if you beat really good players or
Go to states

 

[socaltennnis]

Yes, CIF-Southern section is the most competitive high school tennis there is. If he had good results in post league (so CIF team or individuals), then those results are important to report.

 

[socaltennnis]

btw, which school or what league, since not every socal school has a great season schedule

 

[SteveI]

I need a honest opinion...

To start off, my son will be recruited by a college due to his USTA ranking, not real high but good enough to be recruited.

He is trying to decide if he wants to play on this High School tennis team, if he does, he will play #1 and the league his HS plays in will be quite week, no other real competition. He played as a freshman and was a league finalist and made it to CIF, wasn't in "real" school as a sophomore, and is now a junior.

My question, how do college coaches look at playing on a high school team? I told my son, the fact that he plays, no matter the situation, shows he is a team player; something that I would think would be important to a college coach. Is this a correct assumption or does HS tennis not really matter.

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

I would say that it depends on what sort of HS competition the player faced and the quality of his/her HS coach. We have a female player in my school district (very small school) that has no competition on her own team and within her division. Her coach is also not qualified to teach her anything (outside of basic coaching) and is not really well respected in general. For her HS is not really worth her time and in many ways hurts her game. She did play HS tennis for 2 years (7th & 8th grade) and lost only at the state level.

On the other hand, in my area.. the best HS girls team, has 5 or 6 of the best players in the entire area. They play the best competition (they are a large school) and face each other in practice each day. They also have (of course) an excellent coach with high level playing/coaching experience. I would say it makes sense for those players.

I would think the college coaches would look at the level of their competition.. not their record so much

 

[saram]

Any college and coach is going to want to see that a player can both commit themselves to both athletics and academics. If a player has great grades and does not play--they can't evaluate that player as well as someone that plays.

Showing you can dedicate yourself to both and be successful will help volumes in terms of recruiting

Also, any high-school player that plays within a weak district will always shine once they play at the state level. They will look at the end result and how they did at the top level if they know that the local play was less than challenging.

Good luck to your son!

 

[jefferson]

Matt Kandath has played three years of high school tennis and he is one of the best players in the country. Although he faces little competition before the State tournament, he keeps playing which really says a lot about his character. He's a really nice kid and it shows, and I can't help but think that that is one reason why he was heavily recruited by some of the best tennis schools in the country.

I coach in NY and have seen Matt play at states, he is legit. That is why he is such a high level recruit. His character def helps though. He is a great example of how hs tennis can help you!
it doesnt hurt when you win the state tourney as soph and a junior! 2 time state champ is great for the resume!! Curious if he plays this year as a senior?

I think he might have committed to stanford! He's a stud.

 

[eeytennis]

I coach in NY and have seen Matt play at states, he is legit. That is why he is such a high level recruit. His character def helps though. He is a great example of how hs tennis can help you!
it doesnt hurt when you win the state tourney as soph and a junior! 2 time state champ is great for the resume!! Curious if he plays this year as a senior?

I think he might have committed to stanford! He's a stud.

He has committed to Stanford. What part of NY do you coach in?

 

[jefferson]

section 9. Middletown area.

 

[jefferson]

My number one went to states three times in singles. He now plays at Uconn

 

[tenniko]

Yes, CIF-Southern section is the most competitive high school tennis there is. If he had good results in post league (so CIF team or individuals), then those results are important to report.

CIF southern... good times, but bad memories of getting creamed...

back to OP, I'd say if it doesn't affect his USTA ranking (fatigues, schedules and whatnot), it wouldn't hurt to be in HS team even if the league is weak. Also, it could be a confidence booster :twisted:

 

[BorisBeckerFan]

If your son has no aspirations of becoming a pro I would suggest letting him play highschool tennis. It certainly won't hurt and like people here have already pointed out the recruting school will be able to talk to the coach and gain some insight on your son that his ranking or record alone may not reveal. However there are a lot solid players who do not bother with high school tennis and look to face the best competition they can because scholarships are being fought over by kids from all over the world not just Americans. I would definitely talk to the coaches at the schools he is being recruited by and get their feed back on what they think is best. They're obviusly interested in your son otherwise they wouldn't be recruiting him now, it's time to figure out how to get them to pay for as much as possible so you don't have to. I can't stress enough how important it is to talk to both the coach and anyone else involved in making decisions about scholarships at the school. You may be surprised at how willing the people making decisions are to talk to you. And their advice count's much more than anything I could tell you.

 

[innoVAShaun]

I've met a few kids that are state and nationally ranked and skipping high school tennis. Most fields are very weak so I wouldn't recommended unless any of his teammates are even close to his level.

For instance, there was this college bound tennis kid on the high school team where I went to play everyday. He didn't have a practice partner that could hang with him so a majority of the time I was hitting with him.

He also had a hard time carrying his partner in doubles. His partners even felt more pressure playing with him and seldom did well.