The Woodlands and Spring Top Junior Players

So you have a dream of playing D1 college tennis on scholarship and maybe going pro! Congratulations you have a goal.  So what’s holding you back? Is it your work ethic, attitude, training habits, or maybe you’re technique or fitness? Or possibly not enough money or support. Maybe a lack of good coaching or maybe you don’t know what to focus on first. Or possibly a combination of all these factors need to be addressed. 

So many areas that need improvement. How do you prioritize your training? In tennis, there are so many things that limit your progression. It’s important to identify the one thing that will give you the biggest improvement. By focusing on that one thing will help you position yourself to make the big jump. 

If you want to play big time D1 college tennis on scholarship guys UTR needs to be 12+ and girls 10+. If your UTR is not near this level you should make other plans and skip the idea of playing pro altogether. You’re NOT good enough. Here are a few areas to consider when trying to reach the highest levels of the game that may be helpful. 

Work ethic- develop one because without this your toast.

Attitude- a great attitude will help you persevere through the hard times and could be the difference maker when college coaches make their decisions.

Training habits- Good training habits are hard to come by and bad habits are easy. One step you can take to improve your training is stop spending so much time on your phone and start putting in the work. 

Technique- is King! If you can’t hit the balls straight you will be running a lot! Get with a good coach to help improve your technique.

Fitness- every component of fitness is important. If you’re missing anything here you will struggle. Spend time on the track and in the gym to reach the highest levels of play. 

Open mind set- willing to learn/grow is paramount. A fixed mindset is death to a tennis players.

Patience & Perseverance- without these two virtues you don’t have a chance. Spend some time improving in these areas. 

Best of luck to you in your training! Stay focused, working hard and have a plan always. This will improve your chances of being successful playing collegiate tennis at a high level. 

(Ken Olivier, MA, MSA, USPTA Elite Pro was ranked #1 in the nation 4-times, was a five time all-American, held a world ranking in singles and doubles and beat players top 200 in the world in pro tennis. He teaches and coaches at The Spring Woodlands Tennis Academy).