Southern Methodist University in Dallas is a Division I school and their 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 girls. Recently, an end-of-the-season match again Houston rival Rice University added extra excitement since, if SMU defeated the higher ranked Rice, they would be positioned better for the upcoming WAC (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 3-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. She and her opponent were basically alone, except for their parents trying to be supportive at a respectful distance 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 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 it 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 are all 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.
Chart One: Pathways to College Tennis
This overview is 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.
|
SMU Player |
Age started |
National junior ranking |
Active high school tennis player |
Age decided to play college tennis |
|
Jennifer Langer |
7 |
Yes, top 10 |
No |
12 |
|
Allison Leuszler |
8 |
Yes, top 60 |
Yes |
13 |
|
Lynsie Jones |
12 |
No |
No |
15 |
Chart Two: Breaking Tennis Down into 5 Aspects
I then asked our three college players how they would prioritize each of the following five criteria. It is very significant to note that natural “talent” or physical attributes like being tall was regarding as least important by the players, whereas a strong work ethic was at or near the top all of their lists.
|
Priorities |
Jennifer Langer |
Allison Leuszler |
Lynsie Jones |
|
Physical attributes |
5 |
5 |
5 |
|
Competitive spirit |
1 |
3 |
4 |
|
Work Ethic |
2 |
1 |
1 |
|
Stroke technique |
3 |
4 |
2 |
|
Attitude |
4 |
2 |
3 |
My daughter Kalindi is a competitive player in the 12-and-under age division in Texas. The interview finished with the three college players giving my daughter some sage advice.
Jennifer Langer told Kalindi to take 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 says, “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 to update the goals every one to three months.
Was there anything that the three SMU seniors completely agreed upon? Absolutely. They all agreed that college tennis has been much more fun than junior tennis for all of them. Now that’s something to look forward to!
Photo caption: Kalindi Dinoffer has her eyes set on playing for SMU as a freshman in 2011. Here she is wearing an SMU team tee shirt and sits in front of the main gates to this prestigious university.