As
many of you know, the junior team tennis leagues will be starting up
again this fall. The time has come to start forming teams! For those of
you who may not be familiar with team tennis, here is a brief overview:
Players
are split up into different age divisions (12 & Under, 14 & Under,
and 18 & under). In addition, the 14s and the 18s are split up into an
A level and a B level, with the A level being intended for higher
ranked tournament players within each age group. Players will be a part
of a team; for each match, teams will play 6 sets (boy's singles, girl's
singles, boy's doubles, girl's doubles, and 2 sets of mixed doubles).
The team with the most number of total games after each set wins the
match. Each team is typically comprised of at least 3 boys and 3 girls,
with a parent acting as a captain (at least 2 boys and 2 girls need to
be present at each match).
This format provides a great
opportunity to play matches, both singles and doubles, against a variety
of other players at your level, while at the same time having the
experience of playing tennis as part of a team. If you are interested in
playing, I'd recommend the following:
1.) Become a USTA member if you're not already. The league is run through the USTA, and therefore membership is mandatory. 2.)
Talk to your friends. If you know of other players that you'd like to
play with, that'd be great! They may recruit you for their team, or you
may want to start your own team. Remember, you'll need both boys and
girls on each team. 3.) Find a captain. As long as the players are
committed to playing in most of their team's matches, being a captain is
simple. They'll have to register the team ahead of time, make sure the
minimum number of players are available for each match, and record the
scores online after each match. 4.) If you need extra players, and
you've exhausted your search, talk to me and let me know what you're
looking for; I may know of other people you can ask. 5.) Once your team is set, contact Cindy Kandath, who is in charge of the league, at dkandat1@nycap.rr.com, or 365-5291; she'll get you started with everything you need to know.
The
season will start in early November, so you'll need to sign up with
Cindy ASAP so the scheduling for the league can get done. The season
will go through the spring, with teams having matches either Saturday
late afternoons or Sunday afternoons at the local tennis clubs.
Obviously I would strongly recommend that you all participate in this
program. It is a lot of fun, and immensely helpful to your game. I hope
to see you all out on the courts soon!
