What is a good age to start competitive tennis

S

SoCal10s

Hall of Fame
Growing up in So Calif., tennis here is very competitive. What is a good age to start a kid into open Jr. tournaments. In the past ,I have not push kids or parents to start Jr. tennis tournaments. Being around Jr. tournaments more, I am starting to re-think my opinion. I see a lot of kids who start competitive Jr. tennis at around 8 years old... and once they get going ,what is good amount of tournament to play a year.?
One boy I teach did not play any competitive tournaments until the 14s and under,but he's doing quite well .. Sometimes I feel that I did not push hard enough to get him into the tournament scene and that the experience he missed out is hurting him.. I see the other kids carry themselves on the court very professional like when it comes to line calls and how to handle those cheaters... whereas my students is a bit passive..
We try to play the local(California) Nat'l tournaments at all the super Nat'l(Easter Bowl,Fl clay court Del Rey,Kalamazoo,and Winter Nat'l in AZ) plus the required designated tournaments(4-6) ..so it's quite alot of very high level competition ... Is all this too much? plus he has to play in his high school tennis team including practices ...
This past season,he had a bit of a burn out... with high school tennis and the week end tennis tournaments that we do,it was too much..... with the high school tennis matches and high school league,and play-offs and individuals matches ,he was toast... I had him not touch the racket for a week and had him swim and run to stay fit...
He still has not recovered from it yet and at times his tennis just so bad losing to people he usually will beat easily ... and other times he flying high like the next superstar ..How do you handle the burnout?
 
SoCal10s said:
Growing up in So Calif., tennis here is very competitive. What is a good age to start a kid into open Jr. tournaments. In the past ,I have not push kids or parents to start Jr. tennis tournaments. Being around Jr. tournaments more, I am starting to re-think my opinion. I see a lot of kids who start competitive Jr. tennis at around 8 years old... and once they get going ,what is good amount of tournament to play a year.?
One boy I teach did not play any competitive tournaments until the 14s and under,but he's doing quite well .. Sometimes I feel that I did not push hard enough to get him into the tournament scene and that the experience he missed out is hurting him.. I see the other kids carry themselves on the court very professional like when it comes to line calls and how to handle those cheaters... whereas my students is a bit passive..
We try to play the local(California) Nat'l tournaments at all the super Nat'l(Easter Bowl,Fl clay court Del Rey,Kalamazoo,and Winter Nat'l in AZ) plus the required designated tournaments(4-6) ..so it's quite alot of very high level competition ... Is all this too much? plus he has to play in his high school tennis team including practices ...
This past season,he had a bit of a burn out... with high school tennis and the week end tennis tournaments that we do,it was too much..... with the high school tennis matches and high school league,and play-offs and individuals matches ,he was toast... I had him not touch the racket for a week and had him swim and run to stay fit...
He still has not recovered from it yet and at times his tennis just so bad losing to people he usually will beat easily ... and other times he flying high like the next superstar ..How do you handle the burnout?
Click to expand...

Tennis is unique in that there are so many facets to the game itself not withstanding the competition portion. 3 things to look at 1) Attitude toward practice and competion 2) Athleticism 3) Parents.

Understand that tennis is a single elimination sport this will create a lot of pressure on the part of the player and the parents (unless the parents competed in elimination events). The player and parents must be able to handle losing as long as he or she is performing at the top of their abilities.

The parents must not judge the child based on win / loss record but within the context of improvement in match play.

There is no such thing as too young or too old. Hope this helps.
 
well growin up in california I would say 8 bc i started competing at 8 and some places in california haveboys and girls 8 divisions just an idea
 
SoCal10s said:
Growing up in So Calif., tennis here is very competitive. What is a good age to start a kid into open Jr. tournaments. In the past ,I have not push kids or parents to start Jr. tennis tournaments. Being around Jr. tournaments more, I am starting to re-think my opinion. I see a lot of kids who start competitive Jr. tennis at around 8 years old... and once they get going ,what is good amount of tournament to play a year.?
One boy I teach did not play any competitive tournaments until the 14s and under,but he's doing quite well .. Sometimes I feel that I did not push hard enough to get him into the tournament scene and that the experience he missed out is hurting him.. I see the other kids carry themselves on the court very professional like when it comes to line calls and how to handle those cheaters... whereas my students is a bit passive..
We try to play the local(California) Nat'l tournaments at all the super Nat'l(Easter Bowl,Fl clay court Del Rey,Kalamazoo,and Winter Nat'l in AZ) plus the required designated tournaments(4-6) ..so it's quite alot of very high level competition ... Is all this too much? plus he has to play in his high school tennis team including practices ...
er times he flying high like the next superstar ..How do you handle the burnout?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I think there are no easy answers to these questions. Tennis is a VERY tough sport to make it in as you know I'm sure. I think you have to look at the kid, their size, potential for injury, mental stability etc.. Some kids are going to peak too soon if they start early while others do just fine and keep adding to their games as they go. I think they have to play some events though so they dont get overwhelmed at the big events. Some kids are great juniors - they are bigger than the other kids, they handle pressure well, while some kids need to develop more. They aren't on everyone's radar as juniors but they are quietly developing into awesome players. And lots of kids of course grow differently so they may dominate in the 12s but turn into midgets in the 16s and be big again in the 18s.

College tennis for example...I was not a great player so I did not have this problem myself but I knew some top level collegiate players who were played into the ground. As a result they would peak at the wrong time in the season and often be too beat up to have much of a pro career after college. Some dont even play tennis anymore. Our system is kind of messed up because we start looking at our juniors as products almost very early on its about results. Burnout becomes a real factor, as well as injuries and a lot of wasted money. Ask most players when they are 21, 22, 25 if they'd rather have the money spent on those junior tournaments now I think they would all tell you that they would!

I think somehow you have to find a schedule that gives the match play and some level of pressure and recognition, but not go crazy with it. Take some money and set it aside in a savings account - if the kid has real potential they can use it for futures and sats later on. Reduce the level of impact training too so they dont get so injured - all of the plyometric stuff should be done on soft surfaces, get the kids to run in pool versus pavement, pilates training, foam roller etc..
 
Moz said:
Good luck with the tennis.

You can't possibly communicate like that effectively. You want constructuve feedback, make the effort to communicate properly.
Click to expand...

No need for that tone. Some very intelligent people may not express themselves well when they write.

By the way, when you come on the board correcting people like a school teacher, at least spell your words correctly.

Constructuve???
 
If you wanna have any chance at going far in this sport, you basically need to come out of the womb with a raquet....

The 'Tiger Woods' approach may seem extreme, but most of the kids in my area that are dominant, all started tennis before the age of 8...
 
Moz said:
Good luck with the tennis.

You can't possibly communicate like that effectively. You want constructuve feedback, make the effort to communicate properly.
Click to expand...

I can communicate well enough to say that you are a freeking idiot SOB..
 
Moz said:
Good luck with the tennis.

You can't possibly communicate like that effectively. You want constructuve feedback, make the effort to communicate properly.
Click to expand...

Oh man that's ok,you're forgiving . Reading that you are 35+year old guy trying to make it as tennis pro and English to boot... well, enough said... picking on my writing,only a constipated Englishman would do that..
 
SoCal10s said:
Oh man that's ok,you're forgiving . Reading that you are 35+year old guy trying to make it as tennis pro and English to boot... well, enough said... picking on my writing,only a constipated Englishman would do that..
Click to expand...

do what i do spell wrong forget puctuation mess up every part of your writing on purpose and get a rise out of all the experts on this forum its fun..like any of these dimwits know anything... if they did they could present facts you know kids that have results not just theories based on others writings! and hide behind screen names and act all tough!
 
BradBaughman said:
do what i do spell wrong forget puctuation mess up every part of your writing on purpose and get a rise out of all the experts on this forum its fun..like any of these dimwits know anything... if they did they could present facts you know kids that have results not just theories based on others writings! and hide behind screen names and act all tough!
Click to expand...

hey Brad: If you are not too busy,stop by the Home depot center clay courts,I'll be there tomorrow 10-12 noon . sure like to meet you..
 
well looking at this from a different angle...a year ago - the top british juniors played a match against the french juniors and the french juniors destroyed them. The british juniors had played far more tournaments by 13/14 while the french hadn't played a single tournament till they were 15/16 but had developed an absolutly incredible consistency pattern and technical shot making ability. so i am assuming it depends on the player(s) in question...
 
TennisCoachFLA said:
No need for that tone. Some very intelligent people may not express themselves well when they write.

By the way, when you come on the board correcting people like a school teacher, at least spell your words correctly.

Constructuve???
Click to expand...

SoCal10s said:
I can communicate well enough to say that you are a freeking idiot SOB..
Click to expand...

Too many beers last night, totally uncalled for. Not an excuse, but please accept my apology.
 
SoCal10s said:
hey Brad: If you are not too busy,stop by the Home depot center clay courts,I'll be there tomorrow 10-12 noon . sure like to meet you..
Click to expand...

we were suppose to be there early about 8 am ill try to stick around or will return later to meet you ,, have a good hit ,,btw you talking Fri or Sat
 
The Wreck said:
If you wanna have any chance at going far in this sport, you basically need to come out of the womb with a raquet....

The 'Tiger Woods' approach may seem extreme, but most of the kids in my area that are dominant, all started tennis before the age of 8...
Click to expand...

i agree. The national level kids at my club all started at age 3 and are doing very well on the m i d w e s t/ national stage.
 
Aeropro master said:
i agree. The national level kids at my club all started at age 3 and are doing very well on the m i d w e s t/ national stage.
Click to expand...

Juniors and pros are 100000% different. Sure, starting young can get a kid some junior success. But the top pro players almost never started only tennis at age 3. In fact, all of them, except Agassi, played other sports, many times soccer and chose tennis later.

Sampras, Federer, Henin, Graf, Nadal and on and on all played other sports besides tennis until they were older. Nadal and Federer were forced to choose between tennis and soccer at 12 or so.

Even the Williams sisters had their tennis limited until 10. They did ballet, martial arts, with tennis a few times per week starting at age 6.

In fact, focusing on tennis very early limits the athletic base of a kid. Most top American junior tournaments are full of very mediocre athletes who hit the tennis ball well. But it translate into very little as they get older and the true broad based athletes pass them by.
 
I started in the 14's. I rose up to the top 200 in nation in 4 months. I think it really depends on the player. Their ability to out think their opponent. I guess 8 is a good age, because they'll learn over time how to win.
 
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