We have a rising ninth grader who is just under a 9 UTR. At the eleventh hour, it was suggested that we "reclass" and are wondering what the pros and cons might be.
He's mature and fully prepared academically to enter high school but for tennis purposes, we're wondering if this is a good call. My biggest concern is he's already one of the older kids in his grade and would turn 19 in October of his senior year and then be unable to compete in USTA junior events.
Does that matter? When do college coaches review players? E.g. if he can't play USTA in his senior year of high school, do they check UTR tournaments, ITFs, etc?
Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
How long has your son been playing tennis? Is he small for his age? Do you live in an area with a variety of tennis playing opportunities outside USTA juniors?
There was a local player who also had an October bday who repeated 8th grade-ended up playing line 6 for a top 16 D1 team. I dont know if he could have gotten there without the extra year. In retrospect, I wish we had considered this option for my son. Going into 8th grade, he was a 3 star and we werent even thinking about college tennis. Our goal was for him to make the varsity HS tennis team as a freshman which was very hard to do. However, my son improved his tennis to 4 star as a still scrawny 5'5 115 lb freshman. However between his junior year and summer after his senior year he grew to 6'2 and 170lbs. Unfortunately scholarship decisions are often made between May of junior year and Sept of senior year. Between when he accepted a midmajor offer in Sept of his sr year and August before his freshman year his USTA ranking jumped from 150 to 50 and his UTR jumped to 13 (equiv to 12.5ish on today's algorithm) If he had had another year in HS, he probably would have had better P5 offers; he had some interest entering sr year but very low $$ offers. Now he had a great experience playing MMs and still got to play some P5s each year so we have no regrets but you should definitely explore the option
Now your son is a 9. With all the growth and improvement in tennis my son made from end of freshman year to spring of senior year, his UTR went up 2.75-less than 1 UTR a year. With optimal training and competition, maybe your son could reach a 12 by start of his senior year if he repeats a grade. He probably could get a great package of academic and athletic scholarship at a D1 MM, I dont think he could make it to P5 level unless it was one of the mid to lower Big 10s-one of the P5s ranked outside the ITA top 40.
Skipping a year of USTA is not a big deal. It is actually better prep for college to start playing some adult events at 16-18yo-local prize $, UTR college circuits, etc. Once a player gets to college, he/she could be playing opponents 4-6 years older-might as well play some tourneys in HS that include high level juniors, collegians, post grads, etc. My son also started hitting with some international college players who were local when he was 15.
Colleges can make verbal offers junior year. Most of the scholarship $ going to US juniors is allocated by early fall of sr year. Now coaches may hold back some $$ for transfers or international students who commit later. If your son gets to 11-12 UTR level when he turns 19 while still in HS, he could get in Future Qualis as an alternate. There are also round robin UTR PTT Tour tourneys geared towards 12.5+ but sometimes have players in the 11.5+ range. Those tourneys only cost $40, and if you get in and play all your matches, you earn at least $400 up to $3000. Some top juniors have started playing them instead of USTA nationals and Jr ITFs. Outside of Kzoo hardcourts, my son hated playing USTA events-the draws were too large at the top events. He much preferred the UTR and adults events from 17 on. He played the minimum USTA events he could and still qualify for Kzoo.
if you go this route, I would recommend homeschooling for the one year. It might be socially awkward for him to return to 8th grade. Then when he goes to 9th grade, he can take higher level English or Math-possibly some dual enrollment classes or be better prepared for APs. Find a top ranked online homeschool program-dont just choose a state program. You will only be paying for it for a year. Also does your high school offer a hybrid schedule. In our state, students can take 4 classes on campus and leave at lunch with 2 courses online. Son and many of his HS tennis teammates did that
If your son doesnt want to repeat 8th grade, he could take a gap 6 months and still keep 4 years of college eligibility. He could train hard and play more adult events like Future Qualis and prize $ to be ready for college. However, that would only work if he was an extrovert. There are so many freshmen orientation events that help students make new friends, it could be hard for an introvert to make friends outside team coming in January. That said, D1 athletics consumes 30+ hours/wk even at MMs so the only people athletes tend to meet are other athletes, students on their hall, and in their classes. Since athletes register early, they tend to be in gen ed classes with other athletes or choose to do group projects with other athletes.
