Guidance Part 3

Post Junior Tennis Opportunities  

Tennis in The US College System

By Brad Properjohn 

The US college system can be both a solid training/testing ground for young players eager to give the ATP/WTA  tour a run as well as an inexpensive place to build the all important safety net (aka education) should they not “make it” on the tour. 

The US college system is responsible for a ton of players who have made a successful pro career and some say; it is also responsible for ruining some.  The trick is to use the system to get what you want out of it.  As many young people don’t really know what they want from Uni (or life for that matter) apart from fun, the best solution is to get as much as you can out of everything.  At least this kind of thinking will put you in good stead for the future, as it is the first thing you need to know to survive at ATP/WTA level anyway. 

Apart from a few notable exceptions like Chang, Aggassi and Roddick, most players are simply not physically strong enough to come straight out of juniors and be competitive in the pro ranks.  These days physical fitness and body management make up a large piece of the pie.  I remember Conners saying tennis is 90% mental and I would not dispute that, but if you can’t run because of blisters then it’s 100% physical. 

University is a perfect environment to build yourself up physically.  University’s are full of experts on fitness and training methods and most tennis programs and indeed the USA itself are as competitive minded as hyenas picking over a carcass, so there is no shortage of evenly matched warriors to duel with on court and in the gym.  See the authors old spring playing schedule below.

Several prominent Australians players have either gone through or had stints in the collegiate system.  Peter Doohan, Brod Dyke and John Fitzgerald from the 80s and more recently Luke Smith who won the NCAA’s.

 John Fitzgerald the current Davis Cup Captain for Australia spent one season in the States and used the time to hone his skills, “bulk up” and built himself a huge frame on which to launch his Pro career, and as it turned out with loads of success.  Perhaps he had a predisposition to develop that type of body but there was no doubt he had hit the iron pretty hard.  This gave him a leg up into the Pro’s in as far as, strength and fitness was never going to be a stumbling block. 

Due in part to the geographical isolation from the rest of the tennis world, Australians in particular seem to bloom quite late.  However stimulated by the many challenges University offers, the “growing up” process seems to accelerate both on and off court. 

The late teens are difficult years in any case, finding an identity and refining your game style can be nerve racking.  However, under the umbrella of a tennis coach for guidance, a tennis team for support in the relative “safety” of a University campus and with increased freedom and responsibility of being away from home, University turns out to be a great place to mature and to find yourself. 

Lessons on how to take proper care of yourself in terms of sports fitness, injury management and rehabilitation are offered and in most cases with credited hours going to your desired Degree.  You can study what you want but some degrees are not accepted in other countries so care should be taken when selecting potential Universities and subjects in general.  

It is not always cheaper studying in the US even if the price of tuition and lodging are taken care of.  The price of living can be much higher than what you’re used to coupled with the high possibility of an unfavourable exchange rate, just living in the States can be an expensive exercise.  Any extra activities, entertainment, site seeing tours and tournaments (privately organised) are normally not in the tennis budget and can mount up significantly.   

Below is what can happen when you have five guys (with no money) who want to go to Florida to play the Orange bowl and have only one car and that car’s a pickup.  We had to take turns warming up in the cabin from Tennessee to Florida, cold trip. These days you would have to be a little more responsible to survive in the States but it’s worth it and the memories will last a lifetime and so will your degree.   

 

You can minimise your expenses by getting part time coaching or perhaps a summer job coaching in one of the many clubs that pock mark the major cities, most running some kind of kids program during the breaks.  It is illegal to work on a student visa but a lot of leniency is given to international sports people. 

All in all, the idea of getting an education whilst pursuing your “realistic” tennis dreams is a good one. There are pitfalls as in all things but if you shop around a bit and speak to players who have been through the US system you can start to build a character profile of the tennis programs offered.