Look guys, I keep reading posts from people who either 1) don't have national junior competitors in their family.... or 2) are drinking Uncle Pat's kool-aid.
USTA says that a big change for next year is that Kids & parents won't have to spend as much money or do as much traveling to compete in the proposed L2, L3 & new L4 regional tournaments....& the USTA also says that they like cute puppies. Everyone chimes in that "hey....not traveling as much & not spending money is a good thing. And i like cute puppies too".
Full disclosure....Personally, I LIKE the new "Region" my kid will be in. (grouped with SoCal, SW & NoCal) Great competition, some cool places to visit (i like AZ, the OC & SF....& disneyland & cute puppies) & I've got family out there. But don't feed me that crappola that they're saving me money.
In 2011, my kid went to 3 L3s, 3 L2s & 2 L1s & 1 Zonal. We left the state 3 times. (twice on a plane) Could have done more but chose not to. We drove to tournaments located in 1) Texas Section 2) SW Section 3) MoValley Section 4) Southern Section. (all under 9 hour drives). We also flew to SoCal & Omaha once each.
With the NEW format, 2/3rds of the L2s & L3s (& the new regional L4s) will be located in cities/sections that I'll have to fly to. & my "Region" is a cakewalk compared to the poor shmoes living in Portland, Columbus Ohio, Denver, Vegas, Chicago etc. I hope those parents have frequent flyer miles in the bank so their little 4 & 5 stars can "follow the USTA pathway" that's been laid out for them. :twisted:
Again, I LIKE my kid's new region. But don't tell me it'll be cheaper.
& my biggest personal gripe....is that the one L1 that a normal family can enjoy: The kids are off from school & I don't have to take 6 days off from work & I (& everyone else west of the Mississippi) can DRIVE to it...... was the Winternational & they've decided to eliminate it altogether. (Plus it would have been the ONLY Supernational held between August & July (an 11 mos. window!!) had they kept it in the rotation.
There's lots of reasons the USTA has decided to do what they've done......but don't don't give me a load of cr*p about less travel or being "family friendly" or school friendly. (& don't give me that red herring argument about "point chasers".....there were NO point chasers in any 14s, 16s or 18s last year & no "point chasing opptys" in L2s or L1s in the 12s either. (& who really gives a rat if a 12 y/o girl from Chicago or an 11 y/o boy from Atlanta "chases" a point in 12s.....they'll be exposed in 14s anyway....if not sooner).
If you comment about "reducing travel" or "no more point chasers" as being two good reasons for the changes, then IMO, you're exposing yourself as not being knowledgable or informed about the reality of National Junior Tennis in 2011 & 2012.
hound <-----still reading up on the changes.....those L4 Regionals sound like good tournaments for 1rst year age ups to possibly try to get into & to compete in.....but you'll have to SPEND MONEY & TRAVEL to them.
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USTA says that a big change for next year is that Kids & parents won't have to spend as much money or do as much traveling to compete in the proposed L2, L3 & new L4 regional tournaments....& the USTA also says that they like cute puppies. Everyone chimes in that "hey....not traveling as much & not spending money is a good thing. And i like cute puppies too".
Full disclosure....Personally, I LIKE the new "Region" my kid will be in. (grouped with SoCal, SW & NoCal) Great competition, some cool places to visit (i like AZ, the OC & SF....& disneyland & cute puppies) & I've got family out there. But don't feed me that crappola that they're saving me money.
In 2011, my kid went to 3 L3s, 3 L2s & 2 L1s & 1 Zonal. We left the state 3 times. (twice on a plane) Could have done more but chose not to. We drove to tournaments located in 1) Texas Section 2) SW Section 3) MoValley Section 4) Southern Section. (all under 9 hour drives). We also flew to SoCal & Omaha once each.
With the NEW format, 2/3rds of the L2s & L3s (& the new regional L4s) will be located in cities/sections that I'll have to fly to. & my "Region" is a cakewalk compared to the poor shmoes living in Portland, Columbus Ohio, Denver, Vegas, Chicago etc. I hope those parents have frequent flyer miles in the bank so their little 4 & 5 stars can "follow the USTA pathway" that's been laid out for them. :twisted:
Again, I LIKE my kid's new region. But don't tell me it'll be cheaper.
& my biggest personal gripe....is that the one L1 that a normal family can enjoy: The kids are off from school & I don't have to take 6 days off from work & I (& everyone else west of the Mississippi) can DRIVE to it...... was the Winternational & they've decided to eliminate it altogether. (Plus it would have been the ONLY Supernational held between August & July (an 11 mos. window!!) had they kept it in the rotation.
There's lots of reasons the USTA has decided to do what they've done......but don't don't give me a load of cr*p about less travel or being "family friendly" or school friendly. (& don't give me that red herring argument about "point chasers".....there were NO point chasers in any 14s, 16s or 18s last year & no "point chasing opptys" in L2s or L1s in the 12s either. (& who really gives a rat if a 12 y/o girl from Chicago or an 11 y/o boy from Atlanta "chases" a point in 12s.....they'll be exposed in 14s anyway....if not sooner).
If you comment about "reducing travel" or "no more point chasers" as being two good reasons for the changes, then IMO, you're exposing yourself as not being knowledgable or informed about the reality of National Junior Tennis in 2011 & 2012.
hound <-----still reading up on the changes.....those L4 Regionals sound like good tournaments for 1rst year age ups to possibly try to get into & to compete in.....but you'll have to SPEND MONEY & TRAVEL to them.
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