league tennis

The tennis world is smack in the middle of “team season” as the women assembled national teams for Fed Cup last weekend and the men gather for Davis Cup this week.

In the amateur world of tennis, recreational players are in the process of assembling teams and planning for the upcoming United States Tennis Association (USTA) League Tennis season.

The most important element for any tennis team is assembling the right group of people to comprise of the team itself – whether you are U.S. Davis Cup captain Jim Courier, U.S. Fed Cup captain Mary Joe Fernandez or the captain of your local USTA League Tennis team. In the newly-released book “A Player’s Guide To USTA League Tennis” by 25-year USTA League Tennis veteran Tony Serksnis, ($14.99, New Chapter Press, available here:http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942257839/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=tennisgrancom-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0942257839&adid=1627AS7N937SDB5K6P5Z&&ref-refURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennisgrandstand.com%2F) an outline is presented to recreational tennis players on how to build a team. The exclusive book excerpt is found below in the chapter called “BUILDING THE TEAM)

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This is might be the most important chapter of this book. Many people get into a sport for the following reasons: Exercise, Camaraderie, Competition, Fun period.

FULFILLMENT TO EXPENSE RATIO

Tennis more than fulfills all of the above reasons to participate in a sport, plus it is very reasonably priced. Tennis certainly has one of the highest fulfillment-to expense ratio as compared to golf and other endeavors such as bowling, soccer, or flag football. Certain other sports, such as adventure racing, also enjoy very high fulfillment to the participant while not costing very much (except for travel).

Tennis expenses are minimal if played on public courts. Public courts are very available in all parts of the country as cities and schools find them fairly easy to maintain and a good use of public property. Some public tennis courts are very well used. A “queue system” is used to get on a court and usage is usually limited to one hour. Other public courts charge minimal fees to reserve a court or provide lighting.

Other than getting a court, tennis expenses minimally are:

• Tennis Racquet – This can vary from between $100 to $300 and may be good for 10 years. Stringing (string & labor) can be about $50 per season.

• Tennis Balls – A $2 can certainly lasts a few sets (one tennis outing).

• Tennis Shoes – These can run between $50 to $100 and last about a season

Tennis expenses go up as one’s “seriousness” or “competitiveness” increases to include:

• League or Tournament Fees – Joining the USTA is $40 per year.

– Joining a USTA team is about $20 per season

– Playing in a NTRP Tournament is about $35

• Lessons – Can vary all over the map from lessons given privately ($80/hour) to taking lessons as part of a group for a much reduced price.

• Hitting against a ball-machine can be on the order of $15/hour.

Generally, there are no incredible expenses for tennis clothing. The standard “uniform” is a tee-shirt and shorts and possibly a hat or sun visor. As with any endeavor, there are fashion statements to be made with tennis clothing for all sorts of prices.

Also, there is another large factor in the fulfillment to-expense ratio and that is the rather low time-expense that tennis has (relative to other competitive endeavors). If one looks at the “door-to-door” time of a match (match plus shower time), it typically takes one-and-one-half hours, with two hours being a more relaxed pace. No one leaves an hour of tennis without thoroughly being “exercised.” Calorie burning is on the same order as for jogging (at about 5 mph).

OK, we have talked about the exercise and expense aspects of the sport of tennis, now let’s return to the team-building aspects. This is where the camaraderie, competition and fun come into play. 

WHERE TO GET PLAYERS

Building a competitive USTA team involves some of the aspects of building a team in any professional sport. Let’s take a NFL franchise, for example. These teams are built by:

• Drafting players onto your team, and

• Getting players to leave other teams (to join your team), which can be construed as “free-agency” players or “hired guns.”

• A “minor league” development program that develops players that are a “feeder” system to the main team.

Some clubs or facilities field teams at various levels. It’s very possible that a 3.5 team at a club provides a natural developer of 4.0 caliber players that go on to join the 4.0 team.

• Trades – obviously, this is not a methodology for developing a USTA team.

A major difference (from an NFL franchise) is that there is basically no money involved in winning any matches (even at the Nationals). Therefore, what are the factors that will make players join this tennis team? For one thing, there is something that every captain should put-forth and that is the “Team’s Charter.” Teams are formed for various reasons which can be:

1. To win at all costs – every lineup consists of best available players

2. To have fun and meet people while playing tennis (winning is nice, but not essential). Some of these teams can state that all team members will play in an equal number of matches.

3. Some blend of the above two reasons. Captains may keep winning at the forefront of their lineup creation, but certainly look at appropriate matches to place engaged “second tier” talent from the roster.

4. Starting out as No. 1 (above), but drifting towards No. 2 (above) if playoffs aren’t imminent.

Teams normally are formed out of some sort of affiliation. It can be:

1. A tennis team is formed from club members that are affiliated from a municipal tennis club. This usually means that a team member must join that club, to be a member of that team.

2. A tennis team is formed within a private athletic club. This is similar to No. 1 (above) except that the dues are much higher. Thus, attracting team members is limited to those that can afford the (higher) club dues.

3. A tennis team can form out of players that “gravitate” or normally play out of a community park that has tennis courts. This team can, of course, go outside of “the neighborhood” to recruit. This would also include a team formed out of members in an apartment complex that has tennis courts.

4. A tennis team can form out of players that bond due to ethnicity. This is a slight variation on No. 3 (above), again without any restrictions on adding players.

5. A tennis team can form with the sole intention of creating a winning team. This can generate a “hired gun” makeup of a team with members coming from a large radius within a region. No affiliation is required at all for this team – it is assembled with players with proven records or proven ability.

Let’s return to the idea of “Building the Team.”

DECIDING ON TEAM CAPTAIN

The team starts with the decision of determining the captain (and, hopefully co-captain). The captain of a USTA team can be determined in a couple of major ways:

• A group of affiliated players put forth a candidate – this is a captain who is chosen by his peers, and the position can rotate amongst that group, or

• A person is the driving force behind the team, and assumes control.

The co-captain position can have a range of “influence” to the captain, all the way from having little to say (or, even not required), to being an equal partner to the captain. Some teams have evolved into having a captain for over-riding considerations, but are actually a “core of elders” that are polled by the captain for important decisions such as lineup determination.

The personality attributes of a captain, of course, have a large range. They are usually well-organized and good multi-taskers. If they have been nominated by their peers, they certainly express to others an ability to get things done. If the captain’s position is more one of “assuming the position,” then that type of captain has a strong personality where the team may be run more like a dictatorship than a democracy. Teams can, of course, be in existence before determining the captain, as this may be a team that has a nucleus of players that have played together for a number of years. This is a team that usually elevates one of the core members of the team to the captain’s position. So, this is a team that already has a solid foundation and is looking to a captain for leadership. 

Building a team does little good if the core players that you presently have become dissatisfied and end-up leaving the team. Players can leave the team for a number of reasons outside of your control:

• Moving from the area

• Getting large constraints on their time, such as family or work

• They join a new facility that has more to offer them

So, what are the things that are within a captain’s control that can keep players on this team? I believe the number one item to keep players interested in staying on this team is by creating a “sense of family” within the team. Here are some examples on this:

• Communication (different forms) really helps. Publishing practice schedules, match results and any “newsletters” keeps everyone connected. A team meeting at both the beginning of the year and at the end of the year fosters a sense of belonging to that particular organization.

• Even on teams that have a “win at all costs” charter, I think that the captain should not go over the top on this. If a singles player or doubles team comes up with a match loss, there should never be any degradation. The captain must instill a sense that the loss is fine if the players were as well-prepared as they could have been and there are things to be learned from the loss. At the end of the day, they may have just played a better person or team.

• Humor helps. Keep the tone of practices as light as possible.

• The captain of the team needs to study very carefully how often he himself is in the lineup. It would definitely be a source of resentment if the captain played an overly amount of matches unless his record warranted his inclusion in the match. I would caution that the captain should “error” on the side of not putting himself in the lineup on borderline cases. What might help with this situation would be to have the captain keep polling a small group of the team’s core players to get feedback on the lineup. Sometimes, it’s obvious to the “team core” that, indeed, the captain should be in the lineup.

• It should be clear to the team that even though it may be “win at all costs,” that the captain is indeed trying to get all (involved) players into matches. I believe it really helps the team’s camaraderie to get a player into the lineup that may be not quite as good as the top players. I believe that all members of the team are sensitive to the fact that hard work should be rewarded with a chance to make the lineup. If one keeps on limiting the lineup to a select few, the “second tier” of players will see that they have no chance to prove themselves. This may be very unfortunate in the long term as many of these players are on the way up in their tennis skills and are just, perhaps, a season away from being quite a top player.

If, after a match, you have the players who finished an early match sticking around and cheering for the teams still on the court, you have indeed created a team that is all pulling for each other. If these players stay and extend a handshake to the players now walking off the court (win or lose), this stays with those players for a long time.

I’m not sure how the above situation occurs, but I do know that it takes an investment of time and true caring from the captain. 

SETTING UP PRACTICES

Practices for teams have a variety of purposes and can vary in purpose as the season progress. It’s fairly obvious that a team practice both improves skills while providing a chance for the players to bond as teammates. It is probably a good idea to set up a regular (once-a- week) practice on a day suitable to the majority of the team. A poll of the team members before the beginning of the season is best. If your home matches are on Wednesday evenings, possibly a team practice on Monday or Tuesday evening may be good. Another possibility for the regular practice time is the weekend, perhaps early Saturday morning. Another factor on choosing a practice time is court availability. If courts cannot be reserved, it might be difficult to get a “public court” at a particular time (and, maybe the practice has closer to eight players, requiring two courts). I’ve seen teams handle this very well with a spreadsheet of some type that players log into and mark whether they are coming to practice (and, at  what time) or not. That way the players can see if there is interest enough for a group of four, or a group of eight.

Obviously, picking practice courts where there is a larger probability of getting a court (or two) is paramount to establishing a regular practice. As the season progresses, “special” practices can be, of course, established. For example, an upcoming match against another top team might warrant the set up of a practice with emphasis on playing players that will be (likely) in the lineup against that other team.

Teams have to be careful to use the practice on what matters most to the team. It’s possible that the team practice is used as a convenient time for teammates to play a “challenge match” against other teammates. This is fine, except that it doesn’t allow other teammates, who perhaps just want to work on their strokes, or possibly try out a different doubles partner, the opportunity to do so.

So, possible “types” of practices are:

1. Where there will be drills meant to sharpen particular skills – often this type of practice needs a “leader” to take the participants thru something like

overheads or volleys period.

2. Where it’s specifically known that players will mix it up with several partners for the dual purpose of trying out chemistry between different partners and to get players to know a bit about each other (establish camaraderie).

3. Where one or two challenge matches will be played that have already been established between the participants before the practice time.

4. Where players just meet and play some matches with the same partner (over the course of the practice), but this happens more or less in a more random way then No. 3 above.

It’s clear that the captain and co-captain have to establish with the team exactly what type of practice is going to be held. Also, it’s clear that some leader needs to take control during the practice to keep the players on track. So, even if the captain or co-captain is not at the practice, another player should take on a leadership role to quickly poll those present on what type of practice will be held.

Another main purpose of practice is for the captain to gather actual data on how well the players stack-up against each other, or what best chemistries are being formed for doubles. It’s very possible that a “random” pairing of two people during a practice leads to that pair being tried in a match lineup and possibly even establishing one of the best doubles pairings on the team. Again, this may happen with two players who don’t have necessarily the highest individual skill levels.

Team practices tend to be mostly doubles. However, if six players show up and you can get two courts, a singles match can occur. Even with that set of circumstances, it’s common to have the two singles players rotate back to play in with the other four players. Singles players on the team seem to find their own times and places to practice and challenge completely independent of team  practices. I think this is because singles players need an established time to play out three sets and it is generally easier to get just one other person for singles (than three  others for doubles).

As the season matures, and if the team gets close to making the playoffs, it’s clear that the practice takes on a more serious tone. There would be more pairings of established doubles players. There might even be the possibility of hiring a tennis teacher to run some drills for the team – I’ve seen this happen and it could be of great value. Obviously, there would be expenses and logistics to work out.