Knowing When to Start Playing Competitively

A friend of mine who's new to tennis played in a tournament recently and it wasn't pretty. "I'm terrible! I'll never be any good," Bill grumbled, promising to trade his racquet for golf clubs.

Bill is a fantastic athlete who has excelled at many sports. However, he is not exactly embracing the idea that a natural athlete might need more than a couple of lessons to be good at something that appears so seemingly easy.

"I never needed lessons to learn a jump-shot in basketball," he said. "I even pole vaulted in college. Had to teach myself. And can you imagine someone taking football lessons? That's a laugh!"

What Bill said was somewhat valid. I myself never had a private volleyball lesson before I played on the high school team. I knew how to shoot a free-throw because my dad taught me how to do it on our driveway. I didn't train at a softball academy as players do today, but learned how to pitch and throw during practices. Yet, even without private lessons and multiple clinics, I don't remember a time when I took the field or court in other sports and didn't feel (mostly) prepared for the competition.

Times have changed. Players today have extreme grips that allow amazing power and control at a very young age. Juniors are trained in the proper way to set up for the ball, how to play on clay versus hard, how to intimidate opponents by showing up with a massive tennis bag full of stuff including at least 4 racquets-- minimum.

With all this excellence out there, waiting to beat up on you, how do you know when it's time to play competitively? If you are a parent of a junior player, just starting out, should you dare send your child out on the court knowing there's a possibility he or she might lose, big time? And in balance, possibly winning, big time?

How do you know when the time has come to put your game (and your ego) on the line? Are you ready to try the tournament scene....playing for actual trophies, with people watching? Are you ready?

You may be, if you have learned how to keep the ball in play, which is the most basic strategy in tennis: Don't beat yourself.

Tomaz Mencinger, who writes on tennismindgame.com, says "Your first goal when playing competitive tennis is to be consistent and not lose to tennis itself. Only when you are quite comfortable and consistent in not losing to yourself - or the tennis game - only then can you start playing against your opponent."

An article on Tennis.com focused on basic principles for success when starting to play competitively.

-Place performance above winning. Everybody wants to win, but, ironically, thinking about winning during a match makes it less likely to happen. Winning or losing is only decided after the final point, so concentrating on this in advance distracts you from what you want—performance in the present. Another problem with outcome-based thinking is that it raises anxiety, either when things don’t go well or when you’re close to victory and hoping not to let your lead slip. It’s wiser to keep your focus on the raw ingredients of performance that lead to long-term success and improvement, such as good footwork, relaxed play, strong ground strokes, and first-serve accuracy.

-Embrace competition. Learn how to have a positive fighting spirit. Learn to look forward to the joy and thrill of competition, and learn to love the chance to play in front of others. Find opponents who are near your ability level or slightly better and never walk away from a challenge. --source: John Murray, Tennis.com 1/2007

Here is what our local pros said in response to the question: When is the right time for a new player to start playing competitively?

Julie Kaczmarek, who holds multiple City, Sectional, Regional and National titles in both junior and adult singles and doubles: "Anyone (regardless of age) who can comfortably serve the ball into the service box and who has the ability to rally back and forth a few times, is ready for match play. There is nothing more frustrating than double-faulting games away and not being able to start a point. Obviously, the ability to keep score is also important."

Damian Sancilio, Director of Tennis at Courtside West who trains many of the area's top junior players, and former City Champion: "My opinion is that as soon as a player knows all the strokes and can keep score he/she should enter appropriate level tournaments--that's where the fun is."

Eddie Parker, Director of Tennis at Raintree, who trains top ranked juniors at the USTA Competitive Training Center. His son Kyle has played #1 for Mills Godwin for the past two years, and was 2006 Player of the Year as a Freshman. Daughter Nicole is also a top ranked junior who plays for Godwin. "If a player can get a serve in the court and hit a few balls over the net, they should be playing tennis tournaments. Playing tournaments is a way for players to see where their game is and most everyone likes to compete."

Rachel Gale, who holds multiple City Championship titles in Women's Singles, Women's Doubles and Mixed Doubles: "Whether you are an adult or a junior, you do not want to play in tournaments too soon or you may get discouraged. You have to be able to keep score and get your serve in consistently.

"The good thing about Richmond is there are tournaments all the time for junior players. The new Saturday series of tournaments for beginner players is a great time for juniors to start playing! Once they start, there are many levels they can strive for. I would refer players to their local pro, who can also help parents of junior players with this question if they are not sure what direction to go."

Scott Steinour, Director of Tennis at Salisbury Country Club, and the host of the McDonald’s Mid-Atlantic 2007 Clay Court Championships in July:
"If you jump beginning tennis players into competition too early it could hurt their progress in learning the proper strokes. Competition changes everyone's game.

"If a player's strokes don't have a strong enough foundation, everything falls back to: Get the ball in the court at any cost. This [mentality] will slow down stroke production.

"Some players need to jump into competition before they are ready in order to keep their interest. Other players can't handle losing and need to wait longer before entering tournaments to keep them enjoying the game (mostly young juniors).

Some will decide to jump in at the first opportunity, and it will prove to be a great experience. There is no stopping you! Terrific! We'll see you on the courts! (Please sign up on my team!)

But, for a few, the forehand that had seemed so reliable proved to be not so much so when it really counted.

Unlike my friend, Bill, will you persist through the loss(es)? Or will you decide that everyone else is too far ahead of you, and you will never catch up?

"Fortunately, in my experience, I have not known anyone to quit the sport after their first tournament," said Julie K.

"Getting the tennis bug is huge and once you have it, you never want to stop!" laughed Rachel.

"There are so many places for players who are new to tournaments. There's something for everyone at all levels," said Eddie. "Keep looking for the right level where you belong."

And keep in mind what Damian Sancillio had to say about his first competitive experience. "The first tournament I played was against Jimmy Cain when I was 9 years old and he beat me 6-0, 6-0 . He actually gave me a few tips and the whoopin' didn't stop me from continuing."