I came back to tennis after about a 20 year hiatus in 2006. I got re-started at a club here in the Pacific Northwest, played a couple of tournaments and then was picked up for a couple of USTA teams. It's been a blast and I am really happy to be playing again. But I have some questions for the rest of you. I'd really like to hear about how other clubs and groups put together their USTA teams. There is a LOT of talent at the club I play at. But, as a group, we consistently manage to screw up opportunities to get to sectionals and/or opportunities to get to nationals. I personally believe that has as much to do with the way teams form at my club as anything it does with anything else. Teams form here without any input from our pros and their formed more along social lines than along any other type of system. So how about it? What do you do at your club, and does it seem to be working in terms of producing quality teams?
At our Pacific Northwest club, the vast majority of teams are built around social lines rather than to form the most competitive team.
I find that teams that are formed from a single club or mostly from one club tend to be social teams. Not that they are not trying to win, but the group knows each other and hangs out together. Teams that are formed to win take anybody from anywhere as long as they are the top of their level and actively search out people who can self rate too low.
USTA Teams... The successful teams, if their goal is to advance to Sectionals/Natls, their 'coach' is a savvy recruiter that 'cherrypicks' "Ringers" from anywhere and everywhere he/she can get them.
Most clubs around here do not do as well as the cherry picked all star teams. But one club does often have a team in the mix. They divide up their teams by amount of time you are willing to put in. Their "A" team is made up of players that play something like 3 challenge matches/practices with others on their team plus 2 team clinics per week, in addition to USTA matches or matches played with people not on their team. They run the "A" team on a strict ladder system, with a doubles ladder separate from the singles ladder. You pick your partner before you sign up if you are playing doubles. Order is determined before the season starts. If you or your partner are not available for a match the next doubles team down on the ladder plays, you don't get re-partnered. As long as you are winning your USTA matches, you hold your place. One USTA match loss or match you are unavailable for and you are put on the challenge block. If this sounds like too much, you play on one of the less serious teams. Occasionally the "B" team might beat the "A" team, but it is very, very occasionally.
I think it is pretty common for club teams to be a little weaker overall than the non-vlub variety. Around here, private clubs are more or less limited to team selection from the membership ranks of the club. The public court teams are free to recruit from the entire local league boundary. We have a 7.5 Comob this year in the local league that is referred to by everyone as the "Dream Team" with the best players from the local recruited to build this team. And they did VERY well, losing only one set the entire season until the last match, which they lost becasue they didn't need it. This could never have happened at a private club.
Thanks all, I appreciate the info. CAK- the format you're talking about sounds like something that might work very well at the club I play for, thank you for taking the time to describe it.
