Open Court Practices
Open court practices happen various times throughout the year, usually there is a summer session, fall session and a winter session. These practices are for anyone who is interested in playing tennis!
Tennis Team
The team is typically made up of 18 players. The team consists of 7 varsity players, 7 junior varsity players and the rest alternate players. Players are selected by a combination of tennis skill, grade level, and adherence to team values . In other words, if you are a 9th grader, you don't have to be as good as a 10th or 11th grader to make the team. This allows for player growth and for a consistent team from year to year. This means on average there are 4-5 spots per grade level. Just because you have made the team in the past does not guarantee you a spot on the team. I wish there was room for more people on the team! Open court practices (in the offseason) are always open to all.
To make the tennis team as a junior / senior you need to demonstrate the following Tennis Skills:
(freshman and sophomores, have different standards but should work on mastering this list ASAP)
Serve
You need to know all the mechanical steps and terminology of the serve.
Must hit with true continental grip
Demonstrate 1/2 swing 3/4 swing and full swing serves (see video on website).
Demonstrate 1st serve with pace and consistency (greater than 60%).
Show ability to hit: flat serve, slice serve, and kick serve (kick serve is mandatory for boys team and encouraged for the girls team).
Using proper technique. Show the ability to place the ball to wide, body, or backhand.
2nd serve must be demonstrated to be "not a dink" - (boys team: Preferably slice or kick.) Must be consistent and with good form.
This is something that can be practiced alone with some tennis balls!
Ground Strokes
STOKE THE BALL not just hit/dink the ball!
You must be able to stroke the ball and sustain a rally!
Forehand Topspin – ready position, full stroke and follow through
Backhand Topspin - ready position, full stroke and follow through
You should be able to show this in a short court to long court warm up with consistency and accuracy.
Slice
You must be able to slice the ball!
Forehand Slice - ready position, full stroke and follow through
Backhand Slice - ready position, full stroke and follow through
Show you can do this from the baseline and as approach shots
Volley
Proper ready position, footwork, and grip!
Forehand and backhand technique
Ability to angle ball
Ability to volley from various distances around the court.
Overhead - Show ability to overhead balls
· Out of the air and off the bounce
· Moving forward
· Moving backwards
Footwork
· Footwork applies to all the above. Remember footwork first then form.
https://www.cyprustennis.org/tennis-concepts
Register My Athlete
All players on the team need to set up a "Register My Athlete" profile (also known as RMA's) for the tennis season. If you have done this before then you need to login with the same username and password as before. If you have never done this you need to go to https://www.registermyathlete.com/login/ and click "create account". Setting up the account should be fairly straight forward from there. You should be able to meet all the requirements within a few minutes except the physical examination.
Sports Physical Exam
To complete your RMA and be eligible for you first match you will need to get a sports physical exam. This can be done two different ways:
Physical Exam at school: Each sports season the school sets up a doctor to come to the school and conduct the physicals exams. These exams do not require insurance and are paid for around $20 cash. Before the exam paperwork needs to be filled out and signed by parents and students and brought to the examination session. These papers are passed out in practice or you can print a copy here: https://www.uhsaa.org/forms/forma.pdf
Doctor of your choice: You can choose your own doctor to complete a physical exam. Before your appointment, fill out physical form (https://www.uhsaa.org/forms/forma.pdf) and you and your parent sign it. After the exam, the paperwork then needs to be digitized and uploaded to "register my athlete" or turned into the athletic directors at our school.
What are challenge matches?
Challenge matches are matches played between teammates to help determine varsity, junior varsity, and alternate positions. Challenge matches may be initiated by a coach or requested by a player. Challenge match format may change based off time and court availability. Challenge matches help determine positions, but final lineup decisions are made by the coach.
Who can I challenge?
a player can request a challenge match for a position no more then one spot higher then their current position.
How often can I challenge?
Challenge matches are granted by coaches according to court availability. Players should try to minimize challenge requests due to lack of court availability. Challenge requests are either accepted or denied by the coach.
How to get started
Any local sporting good store can get you started. Any racquet is better then no racquet. Remember professional tennis players could beat us easily with a cheap $20 racquet.
Best Budget Racquet.
My recommendation for a good racquet for a low price would be a racquet from Big 5 Sporting Goods. They typically carry good racquets in the 40-70 dollar range.
Advanced / Professional Racquets.
If you are looking for a more advanced / professional racquet of course the cost will go up, and it goes up fast! A great online option for these racquets is Tennis Warehouse. You can see exactly what the pros are using. Latest models start around $200. If you want to buy local The Net Set is a good option.
Grip Size? There are explanations and buying guides around the internet. A general recommendation is 4 3/8 grip size. Most professional male tennis players use this size.
Type of Strings? It all depends on your skill level: See this guide to strings to learn more about the different types
Restring Racquet?
There are multiple places to get your racquet restrung. My recommendation is "The Net Set"
Tennis / Court shoes - Tennis shoes can be tricky to find due to everything being called tennis shoes even if they are not designed for tennis courts. Court shoes can be another search term to use if you are looking. Similar to buying racquets, Big 5 would be your best budget option followed by more expensive professional options at tennis warehouse (online) and the net set (local)
Overgrips - I would recommend always having and over grip on to protect you original grip, I would recommend changing these once a week. Buying a 12 pack would be a great idea for the tennis season!
Tennis Bag - Any backpack will do, use this bag to store a racquet, water bottle, snacks, overgrips, and few balls. Dedicated tennis bags have their advantages, but any bag is better then no bag.
Hopper and Balls - Having you own balls means you can practice whenever you want, even if you are alone. Just like in basketball you can shoot hoops to improve you shot. You should buy your own tennis balls to practice on your own. A ball hopper is simply a convenient way to store and pick up balls.
There are two main organizations to turn to play competitive tennis in the off season. They are USTA (United States Tennis Association) Junior Events and UTR (Universal Tennis Ranking)
USTA Junior: USTA Junior holds events hold camps, tournaments and leagues. See their website for current offerings.
UTR: Sign up for junior tournaments and leagues. These are often played at the Salt Lake Tennis and Health Club . See their website for current offerings.
How can I get better?
Individual Practice - Practice, Practice, Practice - Play year round! Play competitively in the off season (see above)!
Watch the professionals play - become a fan, learn who the best players are, watch them play see what they do, learn the history of one of the most popular sports throughout the world!
YouTube lessons - Study the game, learn from professional players and coaches for free on YouTube. Their are dozens of high quality tennis coaching / tips YouTube channels. See the Tennis Concepts Page for some examples!
Private Tennis Lessons - 1 on 1 attention from a coach could be worth it.
Generally No. You should travel with the team on the bus. For special circumstances, players may take private vehicles if it has been approved by coach and parent / guardian.
After Coach approval the following fill out the appropriate form below