High Performance Junior Tennis is a FAMILY Commitment
We ask the kids to commit to do whatever it takes, but we never ask the parents to do the same. After all, their commitment involves significantly more than just financial support. If they sign up to be parents of a high performance junior tennis player, they’re accepting a second or third job. (1-parenting. 2-career. 3-parent of hp junior tennis player).
The jobs essential duties are:
Year round work with no paid vacation
Being available to work 5-7 days a week
No pay. Actually, you’re paying for the role yourself.
Working 20-30 weekends a year
Most holidays are spent at tournaments
Driving the child around the city for practice and fitness
Tournament registration
Assistant coach
The assistant coach duty is not what you think. It does not mean a parent will be coaching tennis (though many interpret it that way). Instead, it involves continuously supporting their child emotionally in a positive way. And more importantly, pushing them when they want to take a day or tournament off, or even quit when they actually have to keep pushing forward.
It’s the parents who have the final say on if they’ll play or not. They’re the ones that are going to have to drag the kid out of the house and onto the court, just like they would if it was to go to school. If the coach thinks they should play, but the parent thinks the child needs a break, there’s nothing the coach nor the player can do. The parents will keep them in the house.
So the parents have to be willing to be the tough guy, the bad cop, the mean parents that at times their child will hate them for. But their tennis coach, and every other coach and parent that knows what it takes to get to the top will be right there to support them. They’ll be there to remind them that when their child is older, they’ll thank them.
To top this all off, parents have to be okay with their child starting homework close to 9pm every weeknight. And that’s a tough one because we all want kids to get as much as sleep as possible. Unfortunately, there’s no way around it if the child goes to regular schooling. High performance junior tennis players have practice 5 days a week right after school. They get home around 7-8pm. Shower and eat dinner quickly. By that point it’s close to 9pm and it’s time to start homework. There’s no other way. The best kids in the country that go to regular schooling do it that way so you have to too.
And for those who say that homeschooling is the only way to do a good job in school, have a great training environment, and make it to division 1…..I beg to differ.
It’s definitely the easiest route, but it’s not the only route.
I was top 10 in the country when I finished middle school and on my way to a division 1 collegiate program. So were many of my friends that went to regular school. We just had an incredible support system that pushed us on the court, and in the classroom. Our parents pushed us through the tiredness and made sure we got the best grades we could. So it can be done. The player and the family have to be willing to work harder than any normal person would.
So to all the families that have a child that is interested in having a shot at division 1 tennis, or even the pros, don’t just ask them to make the commitment. Ask yourself if you’re up for the challenge as well.