Life of a College Tennis Player

[bmirish898]

Hey,
Just wanted to know how the life of a college tennis player is.
How rigorous is it? Practice time a week? Strength training and conditioning a week? How is D1 compared to D3?
Thanks

 

[Jonny S&V]

Hey,
Just wanted to know how the life of a college tennis player is.
How rigorous is it? Practice time a week? Strength training and conditioning a week? How is D1 compared to D3?
Thanks

Depends. If you're doing DII, like myself, life isn't much harder. During the warmer days, 2 hours of hitting and an hour of conditioning is what my team does. If you go DI, chances are it will be more. If you go DIII, it could be less.

 

[bmirish898]

Is that per day?

 

[Game-Set-MATCH!!!]

Hey,
Just wanted to know how the life of a college tennis player is.
How rigorous is it? Practice time a week? Strength training and conditioning a week? How is D1 compared to D3?
Thanks

D1 is a lot of tennis. You practice around 3-5 hrs a day in the afternoon after your morning classes. Depending on your climate and altitude it could be rough. D1 is not at all comparable to D3 besides they are both NCAA and college tennis teams. Hope this helps.

 

[Larrysümmers]

it all depends really. you could go to a DI school and do what jonny said, and you may go to a JR college and do what game set match said. it all depends on the program, really

 

[Game-Set-MATCH!!!]

What are some of the top junior colleges in the nation?

 

[Jonny S&V]

Is that per day?

Yes, some days more, some days less, but that's the typical day.

 

[j00dypoo]

I went to University of Georgia and often watched the men practice. They do a lot of hitting and drills and practiced for at least 3 hours each day. I never watched an entire session... but it didn't look easy.

 

[Fedace]

and Yes,,,,all those college girls just throwing themselves at you can be tough too.

 

[Fedace]

NCAA allows a max of 20 hrs per week (4 hrs max per day) and at least 1 day off during season. When I played D1 about 30yrs ago we went from 2pm to 6pm mon - fri pretty much from Aug thru end April unless we made the NCAA's . Talking to kids and coaches currently today top D3 and D2 will work as hard and as long as D1 - My daughter played D1 Tennis and they worked out 4 hrs per day and had off Mondays and practiced Saturdays-

Did you know that JP Mcenroe hardly ever went to practice when he played for Stanford....... LOL

 

[SoftTen]

I am very curious about a life as a tennis player. Did you all go for early training when you were at pre-schools? In your memory, how much time you did spend on a tennis court as a kid? What profession would you chose besides a career tennis? Thanks. Merry Xmas to all.

-S

 

[SoCal10s]

a competitive D1 school stays with the 20 hrs a week in team official practice or else they will get in trouble.. BUT... they do what is un-official practice and conditioning by themselves and with and/or without others on the team members .. so you're looking at usually 5-7 hours daily ... of tennis court time,weight room/gym/conditioning ect... they train as close to pros as you can get.. I would say this is true for those top tier D1 schools...

 

[goran_ace]

wake up at 7, go to class from 8am until 1pm (fit lunch somewhere in there), practice 2-5, eat dinner, watch tv/play video games or study for a few hours until someone suggests going out, go out until 2am, get latenight food and then go to bed, wake up, do it all over again.

girls aren't impressed by tennis players. if you aren't good looking or charming enough to get girls on your own merit then you're better off joining a fraternity. college tennis is not a lot of fun. you travel a lot. you're tired all the time. it's neither glamorous nor glorious. let's face it - college tennis is more like a job than anything else.

so why bother? you play because after having a successful run in juniors and distinguishing yourself as a player it's the next logical step. you play because you have been doing it your whole life and don't know what it's like not to train and compete. you play because you are ultra-competitive and driven and need that competitive outlet. you don't train because you think its fun. you train because you are obsessed with winning and absolutely hate to lose.

 

[goran_ace]

I am very curious about a life as a tennis player. Did you all go for early training when you were at pre-schools? In your memory, how much time you did spend on a tennis court as a kid? What profession would you chose besides a career tennis? Thanks. Merry Xmas to all.

-S

I started playing when I was 4. started competing in USTA tournaments when I was 10. was on the court probably 3-4 days a week from the age of 14 to 18. I actually welcomed the high school tennis season because practice and team dual matches were easier than what I was doing the rest of the year. I taught tennis in the summer in college and during grad school to make money on the side, but if you do well enough in school you will find that you can make a lot more money doing something else than teaching. so don't devote your entire life to it otherwise later in life you might think you missed out on being a normal kid. you might also find out later in life that you don't choose your career so much as your career chooses you.

NCAA commercial: there are over 400,000 college athletes. almost all of us will be going pro in something else other than sports.

 

[Dream_On]

What are some of the top junior colleges in the nation?

Rank School
1 Seminole State
2 Tyler JC
3 Georgia Perimeter
4 Laredo
5 Vincennes
6 Collin
7 ABAC
8 Seward County
9 Cowley County
10 Johnson County

 

[Game-Set-MATCH!!!]

Rank School
1 Seminole State
2 Tyler JC
3 Georgia Perimeter
4 Laredo
5 Vincennes
6 Collin
7 ABAC
8 Seward County
9 Cowley County
10 Johnson County

Thanks! I will have to check some of these out

 

[duusoo]

Thanks! I will have to check some of these out

Don't confuse the top 4 on this list with anything other the very top programs in D1. The players are here to play tennis, and they are good! They all have tremendous facilities, and the coaching is high level.

 

[SoftTen]

I started playing when I was 4. started competing in USTA tournaments when I was 10. was on the court probably 3-4 days a week from the age of 14 to 18. I actually welcomed the high school tennis season because practice and team dual matches were easier than what I was doing the rest of the year. I taught tennis in the summer in college and during grad school to make money on the side, but if you do well enough in school you will find that you can make a lot more money doing something else than teaching. so don't devote your entire life to it otherwise later in life you might think you missed out on being a normal kid. you might also find out later in life that you don't choose your career so much as your career chooses you.

NCAA commercial: there are over 400,000 college athletes. almost all of us will be going pro in something else other than sports.

Thanks for sharing. I am a female and consider new to this sport. I was told that pro doesn't make enough money for living. Is that true?

 

[Larrysümmers]

Thanks for sharing. I am a female and consider new to this sport. I was told that pro doesn't make enough money for living. Is that true?

that is true. unless you are top50 ish you really make didley squat.and if you are living life on the futures tour or challengers, that can be worse.

 

[SoftTen]

that is true. unless you are top50 ish you really make didley squat.and if you are living life on the futures tour or challengers, that can be worse.

In that case, I better stick with my chose then. Thanks. -S

 

[SoftTen]

Another question for you all,

Will you all consider training your kids to become tennis players after being pros? Yes or No? Why? Thanks.

-S

 

[Game-Set-MATCH!!!]

Don't confuse the top 4 on this list with anything other the very top programs in D1. The players are here to play tennis, and they are good! They all have tremendous facilities, and the coaching is high level.

I know. Thanks! Another thing is i have listened to college D1,D2 ,and D3 coaches and players tell me that most of the skill levels in the three Division and NAIA are all simialar to each other and the only difference is that the foregin kids are just getting the better D1 offers and get the oppertunity to play the higher lines.

 

[duusoo]

I know. Thanks! Another thing is i have listened to college D1,D2 ,and D3 coaches and players tell me that most of the skill levels in the three Division and NAIA are all simialar to each other and the only difference is that the foregin kids are just getting the better D1 offers and get the oppertunity to play the higher lines.

The people telling you that are just simply wrong. Probably each D1 school has 1 or 2 great players. The Big programs top 50, have 8-9 top players. Some conferences, Horizon, Summit, have just the 1 or 2 decent players. The top 4 junior colleges mentioned are in the 8-9 category. Tyler v. Detroit Mercy, no way! It isn't all the same. Gustavous in Minnesota v. Detroit Mercy, NO Way! Whoever is saying that just isn't living in reality.

 

[35ft6]

I played in D-3 and it was pretty fun. We played/practiced about 2 hours at a time, because we were in the northeast, it depended on availability of indoor courts, funding, and weather. Competition wasn't awesome, I would only play 4 or 5 really good (like 5.0 and above, up to somewhere between 5.5 and 6.0) players a year, the rest I would routine stress free with my boring game, be done in time to watch everybody else play their second sets.

It was awesome, perhaps because none of us were trying to go pro and we weren't playing for prestigious rankings or anything. We drank a lot, often with other teams, and sometimes with girls we met on away trips... ate a lot of bad food... told a lot of jokes... it was great.

 

[duusoo]

I played in D-3 and it was pretty fun. We played/practiced about 2 hours at a time, because we were in the northeast, it depended on availability of indoor courts, funding, and weather. Competition wasn't awesome, I would only play 4 or 5 really good (like 5.0 and above, up to somewhere between 5.5 and 6.0) players a year, the rest I would routine stress free with my boring game, be done in time to watch everybody else play their second sets.

It was awesome, perhaps because none of us were trying to go pro and we weren't playing for prestigious rankings or anything. We drank a lot, often with other teams, and sometimes with girls we met on away trips... ate a lot of bad food... told a lot of jokes... it was great.

Great. That is what I remember. Played D1 in the early 70s, Big 10. It's an experience, Spring trip, yes, some players at Michigan were turning pro, but for most of us, you described it well.

 

[SourStraws]

Im a stringer for a Varsity D1 school...

Practices include:

Mon-Fri: 230-530pm team practice
Individual hits as the coach sees fit
Conditioning with the team/ Individual work outs

S.S.