My kid's first tennis tournament

[TennisaGoGo]

Hi,

My son is playing his first tennis tournament on Friday (it's a USTA green ball one). He'll be 10 in January. I don't know if this is the right place for these questions, but just looking for some advice.

1. Do the players warm each other up like in pro tournaments.
2. If a serve hits the net and goes in, that's obviously a 'let' in pro tennis, but I heard some youth tournaments don't have let's. Just play the point. Is there a standard rule?
3. I know players make their own calls (which I think is crazy). What if either kid (including my own) makes an obvious bad call. These are 9 and 10 year olds and perhaps haven't perfected the art of sportsmanship. If it's my kid who makes the bad call, do I say something? In general how close are the parents to the court? It'd be fine with me if we were all in another room watching behind glass.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Kotter]

As a parent of an 11-year-old tennis player, my first piece advice would definitely don't say anything to either kid related to calls (or anything else). I think it's a great thing to discuss with your son before the match, but once he's on that court, you really should not be involved at all. If it is a USTA match, there will be an official roaming around and checking in on the kids periodically.

I have not heard of kids playing let balls in tournaments, but that may be a "house rule" at a club or two. As far as I know, this would not be the case in a tournament using USTA rules. I could be be uninformed on this, but I definitely have not seen it.

Generally the kids will warm each other up (the official will tell them how much time they have for this).

Best of luck to your son!!!!

 

[fuzz nation]

Good advice above.

I'm pretty sure that the service "lets" had to be thrown out in college tennis because too many players were calling them against opponents when they served an ace. I don't think this is the case with USTA competition.

I coach high school teams and the issue of line calls is tough. As a parent, I'm sure it's especially hard to resists chiming in when you see something go not quite right, but as a coach, I've learned to arm my kids with a little knowledge before they start their seasons.

First of all, make sure your wee slugger understands that he's in charge of his match. If something happens and he needs help with sorting it out, it's totally fine to pause and track down an official. If an opponent tells him something that doesn't seem right with a rule, etc., or if he just needs confirmation or clarification, it's okay check with the folks in charge.

Your son is going to miss a couple of calls through the course of his match and so is his opponent. Standing on the court near the spot where a ball bounces can sometimes be the worst place to properly judge exactly where a ball lands, but the players are in charge of their matches (when unofficiated) and need to do the best they can. It might help to explain this to your boy so that it's not a huge distraction. If he's only making an "out" call when he's sure the ball is out, that's the best that any of us can do.

If an opponent is cheating or otherwise a problem (taunting, etc.), I'd say it's fine for you to calmly bring it to the attention of those in charge so they can get a look. When parents directly confront players during matches, that's never good. As a coach, I always appreciate it when a parent runs something by me instead of chirping through the fence directly at a player, especially while I'm trying to watch six matches all at once.

Remind your son that the server needs to call the game score before each point so that it doesn't get confused. It's also best to call the score a second or two before tossing the ball instead of calling it as you toss the ball. That way, in case there's any confusion to sort out, it's easier to hit the pause button instead of saying "wait a minute" just as the server is swinging at the ball.

USTA rules typically call for a ten minute warm-up between opposing players before the start of the match. If the tournament is run rather efficiently, a person in charge (roving official) may track the clock and call out how much warm-up time is left for players on certain courts before starting play, but maybe not.

Keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[BMC9670]

Congrats on the start of this journey with your son! My son is 12 and daughter 10 and my advice at the beginning is to encourage and observe.

When they are just starting out, it can be an overwhelming experience for them, especially if they play an opponent who is more experienced. They will make mistakes. Let them make mistakes. Be positive and encouraging to both players. Observe and make notes. You won't be able to, nor should you, influence the match, but you can take your observations to the practice court for him to improve.

In my daughter's first tournament - also 10s green ball - she was lucky enough to have a court monitor. This was not an official, but someone to help with logistics - how long to warm up, keeping score, switching sides, etc. It was a big help. Maybe ask if this is available? At this stage, learning is key, results are secondary.

 

[BMC9670]

As to the calls. Again, they will make mistakes. A couple of bad calls in a match are mistakes. A bad call per game or more is cheating. Let your son know that any time he has a question or feels cheated, the official is his friend. As a parent, best not to get involved. That's tennis - they have to do it themselves.

 

[TCF]

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[BMC9670]

Wow! A rare appearance by TCF! Missed ya, man. Just not the same around here these days.

 

[TennisaGoGo]

Great advice so far. I'll love the 'calling out the score between every point' tip. I'll stay out of the line call stuff. I'll accept that bad calls happen. He's a baseball pitcher and bad calls happen there too, both for and against him. I'll tell him to call an official if he feels there's something intentional going on, but he has to be absolutely sure it was a bad call and it was intentional. Otherwise, just play and have fun on a Friday off from school.

 

[TCF]

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[Topspin Shot]

Very good advice on this thread. I'll add that sometimes the warmup can be five minutes, not ten. Make sure he knows how long he has. He should also be prepared for an opponent who will call lines fairly until a big point. If this happens, he should get an official immediately even if it is the first bad call.

 

[wannabe good]

You should have him play a practice match against a more experience player before Friday.

 

[Oz_Rocket]

The line call thing is tough with kids. On the one hand they have enough to deal with you don't want to get them worked up over nothing. But they need to be prepared to deal properly with bad calls.

My advice to my son is if you have a clear view of a shot that was called bad then by all means question it in a polite but firm manner. But if you hit a groundie that is very close to the back corner but you're still at the baseline then it's hard to question the other player with any conviction. Sure if a pattern develops and it happens 3+ times then say something.

And my golden rule is short of having to protect my child from physical or verbal abuse, there is no situation that will be improved by parents getting involved. Kids need the chance to learn how to deal with these things. You can always have a debrief later and offer some advice.

 

[julian]

USTA tournaments are different than high school

Good advice above.

I'm pretty sure that the service "lets" had to be thrown out in college tennis because too many players were calling them against opponents when they served an ace. I don't think this is the case with USTA competition.

I coach high school teams and the issue of line calls is tough. As a parent, I'm sure it's especially hard to resists chiming in when you see something go not quite right, but as a coach, I've learned to arm my kids with a little knowledge before they start their seasons.

First of all, make sure your wee slugger understands that he's in charge of his match. If something happens and he needs help with sorting it out, it's totally fine to pause and track down an official. If an opponent tells him something that doesn't seem right with a rule, etc., or if he just needs confirmation or clarification, it's okay check with the folks in charge.

Your son is going to miss a couple of calls through the course of his match and so is his opponent. Standing on the court near the spot where a ball bounces can sometimes be the worst place to properly judge exactly where a ball lands, but the players are in charge of their matches (when unofficiated) and need to do the best they can. It might help to explain this to your boy so that it's not a huge distraction. If he's only making an "out" call when he's sure the ball is out, that's the best that any of us can do.

If an opponent is cheating or otherwise a problem (taunting, etc.), I'd say it's fine for you to calmly bring it to the attention of those in charge so they can get a look. When parents directly confront players during matches, that's never good. As a coach, I always appreciate it when a parent runs something by me instead of chirping through the fence directly at a player, especially while I'm trying to watch six matches all at once.

Remind your son that the server needs to call the game score before each point so that it doesn't get confused. It's also best to call the score a second or two before tossing the ball instead of calling it as you toss the ball. That way, in case there's any confusion to sort out, it's easier to hit the pause button instead of saying "wait a minute" just as the server is swinging at the ball.

USTA rules typically call for a ten minute warm-up between opposing players before the start of the match. If the tournament is run rather efficiently, a person in charge (roving official) may track the clock and call out how much warm-up time is left for players on certain courts before starting play, but maybe not.

Keep us posted on how it goes!

USTA tournaments are different than high school.
A role of a parent DURING a match is extremely limited,practically zero.
Coaching is very limited as well with exception of "three set matches"
(when two first sets are 1-1)

 

[Supertegwyn]

Don't punch a fence in anger; it hurts.

 

[Topspin Shot]

Don't punch a fence in anger; it hurts.

I saw a kid do just that in a high school match. He was a very good player too, a four star recruit on TRN. He cut up his hand and went on to lose the match.

 

[Bendex]

Welcome to the jungle. Tread carefully until you learn the politics. It's extremely easy to make enemies in junior tennis. If you the parent audibly questions the other kid's line calling, you could be in for major (or long festering) drama.

Green ball tournaments aren't too bad, though. It's when ranking points are on the line that you see some truly disgusting behavior from some parents.

There will be officials and volunteers around to make sure the kids know what's going on.

 

[TennisaGoGo]

Thanks again for the advice. They posted the draw. The first match he plays against a kid who's only played one tournament before, so that should be a good start for a beginner. We can ask lots of questions. And I made sure that there's a consolation match if he loses, called FMLC or first match loser's consolation. If he wins, the next kid (who got a bye in the first round) looks really good - lots of tournaments, wins, and a long intimidating Russian name . So it'll mostly likely be a one or two-match event for us. That's fine with me as I have my car scheduled for maintenance on Saturday.

Thanks again for the advice. Will report back with how it went, but will keep checking this thread in case anyone has any other tips. Really, really helpful!

 

[Bendex]

Thanks again for the advice. They posted the draw. The first match he plays against a kid who's only played one tournament before, so that should be a good start for a beginner. We can ask lots of questions. And I made sure that there's a consolation match if he loses, called FMLC or first match loser's consolation. If he wins, the next kid (who got a bye in the first round) looks really good - lots of tournaments, wins, and a long intimidating Russian name . So it'll mostly likely be a one or two-match event for us. That's fine with me as I have my car scheduled for maintenance on Saturday.

Thanks again for the advice. Will report back with how it went, but will keep checking this thread in case anyone has any other tips. Really, really helpful!

Another tip would be to try and rally with him and have him do serving for about an hour before the tournament. I'll often take kids to a court beforehand to warm up, even if it means waking up very early. In knockout draws you can't afford to ease your way into the tournament. You're investing time and money in the tournament, he may as well be at his best. There could be tears if he can't find his serve in the first match.

 

[diamondie1]

Enjoy

My advice:

Go, have FUN.
Do your best.
It is a learning experience, this is just the start to a very LONG journey.

As parent support your kid. When he hits an outright winner clap, if the opponent hits a fabulous winner clap too.
This is supposed to be enjoyable, statistically, very few will become world class. (and green ball is far to early to tell)
As for line calls sometimes they get it wrong, the player needs to know, to call an official, even if its happening too often,You, as a parent can only watch and be calm.

Hopefully, you will meet some lovely kids and their parents on the journey.
You will also meet some idiots- who have the next Venus, Roger or Rafa. You can't miss them pacing up and down, yelling calls/advice or coaching in a foreign language. Avoid them!

Whatever happens, nobody goes to a tournament to lose. Praise his effort, his brilliant shots, great serve etc( whatever is applicable), his ability to keep calm and much later on, what he will need to do to improve.

 

[fuzz nation]

USTA tournaments are different than high school.
A role of a parent DURING a match is extremely limited,practically zero.
Coaching is very limited as well with exception of "three set matches"
(when two first sets are 1-1)

Different in what ways?

I agree that parents have no role in a match other than observing, cheering, etc., but high school matches and tournaments I attend typically adhere to the rules of the USTA.

 

[julian]

High school rules

Different in what ways?

I agree that parents have no role in a match other than observing, cheering, etc., but high school matches and tournaments I attend typically adhere to the rules of the USTA.

I do NOT think my answer below will be satisfactory but let me try anyway.
In MA rules are controlled/specified by miaa.
There is a handbook under miaa.net
In MA parents are not supposed to interact with players/children during a match.
Parents can talk to a coach-it is NOT disallowed at a high school.

Under USTA parents can talk to a coach but technically coach does not talk
to a tournament director.
Practically there is no "notion" of a coach except of a case I specified above
i.e. coaches "do NOT exist".

There are 3 entities : players,a tennis director AND/OR a POTENTIAL roving referee/monitor.
If a player has a complaint under USTA it goes to a tournament director or to an opposite player or to a monitor/roving referee.
So you have THREE channels of communication.

In the case of a high school a complaint goes to an opposite player or a player's coach.
So you have two channels of communication but in ONE case it is a different channel.

 

[TennisaGoGo]

Well, we just got back from the tournament and it wasn't a great day.

He lost both his first round match and his consolation. Lost his first round match 4-2, 4-0; and his consolation 4-3, 4-0. I don't think you can win 4-3, but it had been such a long day, when they came off and reported the score, I just wanted to get out of there.

The kids he played returned everything my son hit. My son has taken lessons for two months now, 2x a week. He's improved immensely He now has a decent forehand and good backhand. But he has no idea how to win a tennis point and neither do I.

He's a talented baseball pitcher and he knows what to do to get people out. Uppercuts, you throw high; righties - down and away. Taking a big lead, pick him off. Today he had no idea what to do except hit forehands and backhands over the net and wait, and I felt terrible about entering him.

In baseball, there are a lot of delusional parents who think their kid is better than he really is. I felt like that parent today. I've played tennis against my son recently and was very impressed. I really thought he'd win a few rounds. But I don't try to beat my son, I just hit with him and I think that hurt him today. And I think I was comparing him to how he was before the lessons, when he was pretty bad.

The points lasted forever. The balls were hit high and deep. It was the most boring tennis you'd ever see. He didn't get beat on many points, just was outlasted on all of them. I think that's why he got shutout in the second set of both matches. He seemed discouraged that he couldn't win these long points. He'll obviously have to get over that. These kids were beatable by better players and both lost in subsequent matches pretty soundly.

He didn't cry, but he was awfully quiet in the car which I expected. Knowing what I do about baseball, I didn't ask him about anything.

He needs to recognize when to try to end the point. He hit too many shots directly back to his opponent. I was hoping the opponent would hit the net or hit it out (not the proudest moment I've had) but they never did. They were athletic and got to it and hit it back, usually high and deep. And then my son hit it back high and deep and the points just went on and on. He'll need a coach's help with how to win these points since I don't know much about tennis.

The parents were ok - not great, but they never are. The calls were ok. A few missed ones, but he lost by enough that it wouldn't have mattered.

So thanks for the tips. I don't know if we'll do another one but I enjoyed today. I wish he could have won one of the matches, but the other kids played better and deserved it.

 

[Oz_Rocket]

Sorry to hear didn't go so well. Expectation management is tough with kids (and parents). You don't want to give them false hope, but you don't want them going in expecting to lose either. Also 2 months of lessons isn't a long time so he'll get better. Tennis is one of the most difficult sports for kids to master.

I remember my son's first tournament and he lost all his matches in a round robin after 6 months of lessons. He too came from another sport where he'd done fairly well. The biggest thing he took out of it was, even though he lost 7-1 to the kid who went on to win the whole thing, the kid said my son was the most determined opponent he played in the round robin. Not much but it was enough.

Does your son play against other kids where he is coached? Do they do practice rallies? Does the coach talk to them about basic point construction?

My son's coach used the green, amber, red approach. Green was a point ending shot, amber was a rally ball and red was a defensive shot. He'd get the kids to call out what colour shot they were about to hit during a rally. Stuck running deep to retrieve one from the corner "Red" and lob it back. One pops up in the centre of the court with your opponent off to the side "Green" and try to put it away.

Just don't give up as what you describe happens to a lot of kids. Two years later and my son is in the top 75 in the country for his age.

 

[fuzz nation]

I do NOT think my answer below will be satisfactory but let me try anyway.

On the contrary - plenty satisfactory, at least for me. Thanks!

 

[TennisaGoGo]

Thanks Oz Rocket. Your post is very helpful. I sandbagged a bit - he didn't first pick up a racket two months ago. He's played casually before, and went to a tennis camp for a week over the summer. But this fall is when he got more serious. The 2x weekly lessons are with a group of 10 kids. I love the colored ball system you describe and it's exactly the kind of thought process he needs to develop. Mostly the lessons are about the mechanics of the shot. I do the same with my baseball team - basic throwing and catching. I though his shot looked so good he'd do some damage in the tournament, but they just hit it back. Ugh. . .

Your son's improvement is very inspiring and I'll remember it.

There's another class where he takes lessons that focuses on tournaments and strategy, but you have to try out for it. I don't think he's ready. I think the biggest unforced error was entering him into the tournament (I'm sorry that was such a lame pun, but it's been a long day - four hour wait to lose a consolation match).

There aren't any green ball tournaments for a while around here, so it's back to tennis lessons until late December. Will lurk around here until then. Thanks again.

 

[thedunster]

Try and see it from another perspective whereby your son played 7days a week and started when he was five years old.

Imagine then rocking up to a tournament and being beaten by a kid, who's essentially a baseball player playing in his first ever tournament.

Your expectations were far too high.

Kids at tournaments are better than average. You need to be well above average to win at that level.

If he actually had well above average talent his coach would be offering him private lessons free of charge - rather than being coached in a group of ten.

You can be proud of your son for competing and managing to win 5 games over two matches.

It's a lot better than many of us did in our first tournaments.

 

[Topspin Shot]

Thanks Oz Rocket. Your post is very helpful. I sandbagged a bit - he didn't first pick up a racket two months ago. He's played casually before, and went to a tennis camp for a week over the summer. But this fall is when he got more serious. The 2x weekly lessons are with a group of 10 kids. I love the colored ball system you describe and it's exactly the kind of thought process he needs to develop. Mostly the lessons are about the mechanics of the shot. I do the same with my baseball team - basic throwing and catching. I though his shot looked so good he'd do some damage in the tournament, but they just hit it back. Ugh. . .

Your son's improvement is very inspiring and I'll remember it.

There's another class where he takes lessons that focuses on tournaments and strategy, but you have to try out for it. I don't think he's ready. I think the biggest unforced error was entering him into the tournament (I'm sorry that was such a lame pun, but it's been a long day - four hour wait to lose a consolation match).

There aren't any green ball tournaments for a while around here, so it's back to tennis lessons until late December. Will lurk around here until then. Thanks again.

Your son did very well. It's standard fare for anyone playing their first tournament, including kids who go on to play on scholarship at top D1 universities. If he loves playing tennis, encourage him to stick with it, go through the rite of passage of losing to more experienced players, and eventually, he'll be beating many of them.

 

[Bendex]

Tournament matches are a very different emotional experience. There are nerves and anxiety to deal with. He has likely never had a need for the kind of mental toughness that's required to win many long grueling points in a row. He just needs more tournament experience.

For him to be having long baseline rallies after a couple months is very impressive, so don't give up. Those other kids have likely been playing for years. By this time next year your son will probably double bagel the same kids without breaking a sweat.

If you want to train with him, start encouraging him to take the ball on the way up, so that he can start dealing with the high-loopy kids. (It will take a while to get good at that)

 

[TennisaGoGo]

Tournament matches are a very different emotional experience. There are nerves and anxiety to deal with. He has likely never had a need for the kind of mental toughness that's required to win many long grueling points in a row. He just needs more tournament experience.

For him to be having long baseline rallies after a couple months is very impressive, so don't give up. Those other kids have likely been playing for years. By this time next year your son will probably double bagel the same kids without breaking a sweat.

If you want to train with him, start encouraging him to take the ball on the way up, so that he can start dealing with the high-loopy kids. (It will take a while to get good at that)

Grueling is a good adjective. I don't know how you guys do it - both the players and the parents. There are 18 outs in a six inning game and if you go 0 for 3, there are 15 other outs you can console with over pizza after the game. This is a whole different animal.

When he was down 2-0 in the second set in both matches, he started losing every point, and it was excruciating. Any manager would have pulled him and put in a relief pitcher. But obviously tennis doesn't work that way, and you guys are probably getting sick of the baseball analogies anyway.

I love the taking the ball on the way up tip. I'm going to have to get a lot more into it myself if he wants to do any more tournaments. I hope he does because a well played tennis game is one of the greatest things to watch in sports.

 

[TCF]

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[ijgill]

If it makes you feel better I think at some point during the first match my son played in a tournament, I realized I was literally holding my breath lol He too used to play baseball and we are not tennis people. We are in FL and like TCF mentioned, extremely competitive market. I didn't enroll my son in a green dot until he had been playing in at a competitive club w/ private lessons for 18 months.

And yes, scoring points w/ a green dot ball is really tough. Many feel it encourages pushing. My son is still 10 and we quit playing green dots and are playing some 12s because of this issue. He's so young though and some of the boys are just huge compared to him that we are not playing as often as when he did 10s. Don't want him to get discouraged.

If he loves it my best advice is to find a really strong coach and go from there. Some one you can trust w/ a good reputation, works well w/ you and your son. It is a complex game and while I have learned a lot, I know I don't have the knowledge or skills to be helpful to my son when it comes to tennis. There's also nothing wrong w/ keeping him more recreational and doing team tennis either. If he plays consistently and does team etc... he would be able to compete on his high school team. The tournament circuit is just a whole different creature. Hang in there - I think he did better than you think

 

[Oz_Rocket]

. I though his shot looked so good he'd do some damage in the tournament, but they just hit it back. Ugh. . .

That is one of the things you'll notice about tennis. You can be watching kids warm up and see one of them hitting the ball so cleanly you'd think they'll barely break a sweat to win. Next thing they're losing 5-1.

My son had pretty average technique compared to his peers when he started winning matches at tournaments. But he learned to compensate by out thinking them.

He now has some lovely strokes after countless hours of drilling but to be honest I think he hasn't progressed anywhere near as much in the court smarts department. So he sometimes finds himself losing to pushers/retrievers because he thinks his now powerful groundies should be enough.

It's a journey alright and there will be plenty of ups and downs no matter what competitive path you find yourselves on.

 

[sundaypunch]

Welcome to USTA. Almost everyone has the same experience at their first tournament. If you have access to any lower level non-USTA tournaments locally it is sometimes a better way to introduce kids to tennis.

My kids started later than yours and both got their clock cleaned for a year. They will either lose interest or be motivated to work harder. It was a great experience for my kids and they each ended up winning tournaments at some point.

There is no substitute for match play. Hopefully your son will stick with it.