Wanllo ~!ff~,lege Tenn outhern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, is a Division I school and its women's tennis team competes well with the top 50 schools in the country. It is also only minutes from my house, and having a tennis-crazed pre-teen daughter means we get out regularly to cheer on the local college team. Recently, an end-of-the-season match against Houston rival Rice University added extra excitement. If SMU defeated the higher ranked Rice, it would be positioned better for the upcoming Western Area Conference NCAA team tournament in Hawaii. Yes, SMU edged out Rice, capitalizing on the momentum from an early lead in team points from winning the doubles. But, SMU defeating Rice was not the highlight of our day. The day was particularly special because of the enthusiasm, support and cheering from the coaches, friends and teammates for the players. This stood in stark contrast to my tennis experience from the previous weekend, when my daughter Kalindi played in a Texas Zonal 12-and-under tournament. It was her first at a new level, and she ended up with a valiant but grueling three-hour loss in the semis, 7-5 in the third set. Compared to the SMU girls, my daughter had no allowable coaching, no teammates to cheer her on. Instead, she and her opponent were basically alone, except for their parents trying to be supportive-at a respectful distance, of course, so the tournament officials couldn't accuse them of being overbearing tennis parents. While I am not criticizing junior tennis in this country, I do want to advocate college tennis and share some pointers for the junior players who want to get there. And, thanks to Billie Jean King and NCAA Title IX rules, college tennis for
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Kalindi Dinoffer has her eyes set on playing tennis for SMU as a freshman in 2011. Wearing a SMU tegm T-shirt, she sits in front of the main gates to this prestigious universitY.
young women, in particular, opens up a world of opportunity for junior girls. In fact, there are many women's college tennis coaches in the United States who have available tennis scholarship spots that they cannot even fill. To get my college story straight, I interviewed three members of the SMU team who were raised on a diet of good old USTA junior tennis. Jennifer Langer (Louisville, Kentucky), Allison Leuszler (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), and Lynsie Jones (Plano, Texas) are all graduating
seniors and have been mainstay starters for SMU-and all have been awarded tennis scholarships. I found it particularly interesting that, while they all came to SMU through fairly different junior pathways, they all ended up at a similar level in college. The follOWingbox indicates that, while it is somewhat important how a young junior competes in the 12-and-under or 14-and-under age divisions; in the big picture, it may have little to do with how they will develop as they mature into adults.
advantage of every opportunity to play and improve and to always look at the big picture. Allison Leuszler emphasized that, while hard work is essential, you've got to have a ton of fun at the same time. She said, "Make sure to enjoy the journey, even during the down times." Lynsie Jones stressed the importance of setting short- and mid-range goals to stay motivated, and advised Kalindi to update the goals everyone to three months. Was there anything that the three SMU seniors completely agreed on? Absolutely. They all agreed that college tennis has been much more fun than junior tennis. Now that's something to look forward to! f2J
Five Criteria for College Tennis Players Name: Jennifer Langer Age Started: 7 National Junior Ranking: Yes, Top 10 Active High School Tennis Player: No Age Decided to Play College Tennis: 12 Name: Allison Leuszler Age Started: 8 National Junior Ranking: Yes, Top 60 Active High School Tennis Player: Yes Age Decided to Play College Tennis: 13 Name: Lynsie Jones Age Started: 12 National Junior Ranking: No Active High School Tennis Player: No Age Decided to Play College Tennis: 15 I asked the three college players how rhey would prioritize (1-5, with 1 being the most important) Five criteria for succeeding in college tennis. It is significant o note that natural talent or physical attributes like being tall were regarded as least important by the players, whereas a
(In Order of Importance) Jennifer Langer: 1) Competitive Spirit, 2) Work Ethic 3) Stroke Technique, 4) Attitude 5) Physical Attributes Allison Leuszler: 1) Work Ethic, 2) Attitude 3) Competitive Spirit, 4) Stroke Technique, 5) Physical Attributes Lynsie Jones: 1) Work Ethic, 2) Stroke Technique 3) Attitude, 4) Competitive Spirit 5) Physical Attributes
strong work ethic was at or near the top all of their lists. The interview finished with the three college players giving my daughter, a competitive player in the 12-and-under age division in Texas, some sage advice. Jennifer Langer told Kalindi to take
Joe Dinoffer is a Master Professional in both the PTR and USPTA, a distinction awarded to only a handful in the tennis industry. He has published numerous books and videotapes and is a frequent speaker at tennis conferences around the world. For more information, visit www.oncourtoffcourt.com.
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