High school tennis is for everyone…almost!
Over 95% of high school age tennis players will benefit immensely from the team concept. Life long lessons and experiences will come from the comraderie and friendships developed. Learning to work as a team in an individual sport will have many benefits later in life.
I recently tracked down my high school coach from my first two years of high school tennis. I wanted to express how he had showed the passion and care for our team, even though he was a football coach at heart..........
He had been instrumental in molding me as a coach. As we were discussing this all with another of my team-mates last month, we realized it had been 49 years. Wow!
Some tennis coaches have true passion for the game and many others are forced into the role through conscription. .......
A warm body is needed to show up for practice, counsel parents, and drive the bus. There is no criticism intended here. I have the highest respect for the time and efforts of an often thankless job.
Remember the title word? Almost? There is a small group(I would estimate much less than 100) players in Nc that the time needed to devote to the practice s and travel of the team would be detrimental to their game development.............
I am aware of several high school coaches that have allowed high-level players to come to occasional practices and not all team matches. .............This allowed the development of the player and has also lead to a team winning individual and team championships. It seems a win/win for everyone.
Tommy Paul, currently 12 in the world at 26 years old, beat the NCAA champion when he was 18 years old. High school tennis would have been a great social experience but not for his game development.
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