Having been involved in college tennis for over half of my life, I have always come across players who have opted to skip this valuable step in their careers. They make the jump straight into the professional circuit, only to have reality slap them in the face, to have the rigorous and the lonely schedule of the pro-circuit take the fun away, and to face the prospect of several depressing losses early in their career, when they were told just a year ago "how successful they would be as a pro."
Sure, we can mention some rare names of those who have made it, such as Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick. However, there is no need to create an illusion with these examples: for every Roddick or Agassi, there are hundreds who suffer a moral and a financial letdown, not to mention a big hole in their ego.
Then why do we still see so many Americans take this road? The reasons for such a decision stem from a variety of factors. Sometimes they are great performers in the junior circuits, they become highly ranked, and as a result of this early success, everyone around them begins a tedious process of making the decisions for them, replacing their hopes and visions for the player with unrealistic future images of a top-10 ATP or WTA player, with financial success followed by glamour, five-star hotels, and plenty of TV appearances as the sideshow.
The parents, brainwashed by sponsors or coaches who are out for their interests, begin to believe what they hear, since what they hear happens to be exactly what they want to hear and believe. Short-term driven emotions or greedy instincts overwhelm the long-term drive and steady sounds of reason. The decision is made, the kid skips the constructive potential of a college tennis experience, and he steps from a schedule of tournaments composed of finals and trophies into a tough, demanding schedule in which losses outnumber wins. This sinking feeling sometimes lasts only a few months, the player is talented enough to pull himself/herself through the tough losses and begins to improve his results, gaining confidence every week. However, let this be clear: this optimistic outcome remains largely in the minority.
In most cases, here is what happens; couple of years later, the kid has suffered blows left and right, having lost many tournaments in the early rounds. He/she has lost confidence in his/her ability. Most of the individuals, who praised him/her couple of years earlier have either disappeared or moved on to other prospects (or should we say "victims?"). The only ones still standing by him/her are probably family who may have invested their savings into the unrealistic image portrayed by "interested parties" when the kid was winning tournaments as a junior. Hence, not having had a chance to mature, the kid is still a kid surrounded by people who are now bitter towards someone, in some cases that someone being the kid himself/herself.
Here is my advice: no matter how great you are in juniors, unless you become a top-100 player in the world before your senior year in high school, opt to play college tennis!
First of all, let's talk about the biggest value of college tennis, one that is unfortunately hardly stated explicitly to juniors and their parents. College tennis is a fantastic step between the juniors and the pros. The level of tennis is better than juniors, but not as good as the pros. Therefore, it provides a more realistic value of your talent as a player, and a more accurate idea of whether you can be successful in the pros. Most college coaches will tell you that a top-10 college player is better prepared to be successful in the pros, in terms of talent and mental toughness, than a junior top-10 player. In college, you play physically stronger players, more experienced players, and a variety of playing styles originating from players of various countries. And if college tennis, where arguments on line calls breakout more often than any other platform, does not make you mentally tough, nothing else will.
I have seen many top junior players come and go in college tennis, and not even break the top-20. That is a good sign that the player should stay in college and get a degree with the benefit of a scholarship, look back many years later and be thankful that as a top player, he/she did not get bullied into turning professional and lose the chance to play college tennis and receive a valuable scholarship for an education. Remember that once you turn pro, there is no going back. I do not have any data to back my position, but I would be willing to bet that more top-10 college players survive the professional tour than top-10 junior players.
Why not try college tennis for a year or two, and get a realistic opinion of your potential as a pro? You will be more mature, have the college experience, and still be able to progress your tennis career. Then make a healthy decision while you still have an option for an education or a professional tennis career.
Last, but not the least, college ranks happen to provide a great service for free that you would have to pay dearly as a professional: high-quality coaching. There are wonderful coaches in college tennis, many as qualified or more than those in the professional world. You can find many ex-professionals in college coaching, just as well as numerous ex-professional coaches. These coaches prefer to settle into an area to coach college tennis, not because they are not good enough to keep coaching at the highest level, but rather because they choose not to endure the grueling lifestyle of a traveling coach. As a college player, you get their services for free, the training equipment for free, the fitness instructors for free, and the facilities and equipment for free. It is not just academic education that you are getting, but also the athletic education of the highest quality possible.
Although I have pointed the discussion to American juniors, the same rules also apply to international players. In fact, foreign players seem to have discovered the value of college tennis very well, as one can find just as many foreign names in college rankings as American players. As mentioned earlier, this is precisely one of the factors that make college tennis so valuable.
Parents and players need to listen to the voice of reason and put long-term goals ahead of spontaneous decisions based on emotional needs or unrealistic dreams. The future of a 16-year-old player must not be based on hopes and dreams alone. This is not to say that you should be like Spock and act on logic and reason alone. But place your dreams and hopes where they belong; encouraging spectators of calculated reasoning of long-term goals.
Happy 2009, everyone!
December 30, 2008
Kyle Jahner:
I agree with the point. 100 percent. Let that be clear. But you skipped over a few key issues.
Honest question though, because I have NO idea. How many professional tennis players played in college? If perception is that the only way to go pro is to go right out of high school, any kid with a dream, talent, and a self-serving coach in his/her ear is going to bail on college. I know you said you don’t have stats, but some examples of college successes to be coupled with your high HS star failure rates would help the point a lot.
Also: Is there truth to the conventional thinking that the peak age in tennis is inherently 17-24? If so, college is a tough sell… I tend to wonder if it’s such a young sport BECAUSE players burn out early, kind of a self fulling prophesy.
But still, seems to be a young person’s game, so to make your point you have to address the idea that players fear they HAVE TO to be competing with pros before they turn 20 to ever make it big. Or 18. Otherwise your point comes down to wishful thinking because money+pro dreams will trump college every time.
December 30, 2008
Luke Broadbent:
Once again, I agree with pretty much everything you have said here Mert.
However, I know very little about NCAA playing eligibility but since someone can enrol at university at pretty much any time in their life, could a player not try out the pros and if they fail they join the college ranks a few years later?
Also, I really like this bit, “There are wonderful coaches in college tennis, many as qualified or more than those in the professional world.” I reckon that maybe, just maybe, you are bragging there Mert, haha.
Luke
December 30, 2008
Mert Ertunga:
Hi Kyle,
There are some college players who have done fine in professional tennis. James Blake and John Isner from the current group, John McEnroe from the 80’s and 90’s, Todd Martin from the 90’s, Mikael Pernfors from the 90’s all played one or more years of college tennis. They all had fairly long professional careers and they all admit that their college years helped them tremendously.
Of course, Sampras and Agassi for example jumped into the pros and did very well. But that was the point of my article. Thousands of people get tricked into believing they can do what these two guys did, and end up completely devastated, emotionally and financially.
Hi Luke,
No once you turn pro you can’t a year or two later return and play college tennis. You threw that option away when you deicdede to turn pro.
And I knew someone would say what you said about “bragging”, hahaha. Maybe this is why I waited I am no longer coaching to write that (I have quit coaching as of summer 2008). :)))
Thanks for the feedback and the questions guys..
Mert E.