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This summer,
Kyle made it to the quarterfinals of the SunTrust State Hardcourt
Championships at Raintree, losing to fourth seed Dominic Inglot in
three sets. His dad and mom were there, but hardly hovering,
as they had other duties to attend to. "He's my biggest
supporter," said Kyle, about his dad. "I like having
him around [during tournaments]. He knows what I need to do,
and he keeps me pumped up."
Eddie Parker
feels strongly that others should be the coach to his kids. "I
coach them, sure, but I think it's more important to be a
father. That's my biggest role." Pros from
Raintree as well as other tennis clubs often work-out some of the
area's top ranked juniors on the Raintree courts. Kyle and
Nicole benefit from constantly being around their advice and
training.
Raintree is
one of several USTA Certified Training Centers (CTCs) for top ranked
junior players. The CTC program offers selected juniors an
opportunity to train with other players in a program run by
certified instructors. Its purpose is to develop young players
who will eventually become part of National Tournament teams within
the various USTA Sections.
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A group of CTC program
participants: from left back row: Eddie
Parker, Katie Blow (helping out), Jayanth Shekhar, Brett
Moorhead, Tyler Carey and from left, front row:
Karen Pak, Nicole Parker and Christine Abbott |
Currently
there are approximately 20 Richmond area juniors ages 14 and under
in the CTC program, with a few alternates. The juniors meet on
Saturday and Sunday for several hours once or twice monthly during
the indoor season. The program is sponsored by the USTA and
partially subsidized by the RTA. The youngest players in the
program, Abbie Pahz and Karen Pak, are ten years old. Nicole,
at age 14, is one of the oldest.
Eddie Parker
doesn't believe that burn-out is a problem, even for those who start
early. His son Kyle started playing when he was two.
"He would hit the ball against the wall on the back porch, over
and over." Nicole took it up a little later. She
was six.
Kyle and
Nicole love tennis more than ever, even after years of play.
Part of that may be because they play other sports in addition to
tennis. Kyle is a shooting guard on the Godwin JV Basketball
team. Nicole is a center mid-fielder on Godwin's JV Field
Hockey squad. Both are also on the swim team in the summer at
Raintree.
"Sports--
like basketball -- keep kids in better shape physically. It
helps develop footwork, and also gives players a chance to take a
mental (and physical) break from tennis. They develop a
different set of friends," said Eddie. "It clears
their head, and they look forward to being back on the tennis court,
with a fresh perspective."
"Burn-out
occurs when kids aren't enjoying playing anymore," said
Parker. "We work hard to be competitive, but we focus on
having a good time as well."
It's Parker's
opinion that parents who push their kids too hard face the strongest
possibility of having their kids burn-out early. And he thinks
that the parents who personally work with their kids (as opposed to
letting others do it) are at greatest risk of having kids put up a
racquet too soon. "Parents have a harder time keeping
things in perspective," said Parker.
Although it
won't be long until Kyle is off playing tennis in college, and
Nicole close behind, Eddie and Stacy still have years of tennis
watching/supporting ahead of them. Daughter Kensington, age four, is
in the 'Dinkers" program at Raintree.
As far as
Kyle's plans for tennis beyond high school, he thinks Pepperdine in
Malibu, California, sounds interesting, but Stacey isn't so
sure. "Mom is just not letting him go that far
away," she laughs.
Nicole has her
sight focused on Virginia Tech. "She is an honor roll
student, extremely well rounded, highly organized and an incredible
help," said Mom, who is more agreeable to the proximity of
Nicole's choice.
But for the
near future, there's a lot more success stories still to be written
while the Parker kids are all at home.
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