Wanllo~!ff~,legeTennSouthern Methodist University in

Dallas, Texas, is a Division Ischool and its women's tennisteam competes well with the top

50 schools in the country. It is also onlyminutes from my house, and having atennis-crazed pre-teen daughter meanswe get out regularly to cheer on the localcollege team. Recently, an end-of-the-sea-son match against Houston rival RiceUniversity added extra excitement. IfSMU defeated the higher ranked Rice, itwould be positioned better for theupcoming Western Area ConferenceNCAA team tournament in Hawaii.

Yes, SMU edged out Rice, capitalizingon the momentum from an early lead inteam points from winning the doubles.But, SMU defeating Rice was not thehighlight of our day. The day was partic-ularly special because of the enthusiasm,support and cheering from the coaches,friends and teammates for the players.

This stood in stark contrast to my ten-nis experience from the previous week-end, when my daughter Kalindi played ina Texas Zonal 12-and-under tournament.It was her first at a new level, and sheended up with a valiant but gruelingthree-hour loss in the semis, 7-5 in thethird set. Compared to the SMU girls, mydaughter had no allowable coaching, noteammates to cheer her on. Instead, sheand her opponent were basically alone,except for their parents trying to be sup-portive-at a respectful distance, ofcourse, so the tournament officials could-n't accuse them of being overbearing ten-nis parents.

While I am not criticizing junior ten-nis in this country, I do want to advocatecollege tennis and share some pointersfor the junior players who want to getthere. And, thanks to Billie Jean King andNCAA Title IX rules, college tennis for

Kalindi Dinoffer has her eyesset on playing tennis for SMU as a freshman in 2011.Wearing a SMU tegm T-shirt, she sits in front of the main gates to this prestigious universitY.

young women, in particular, opens up aworld of opportunity for junior girls. Infact, there are many women's college ten-nis coaches in the United States who haveavailable tennis scholarship spots thatthey cannot even fill.

To get my college story straight, I inter-viewed three members of the SMU teamwho were raised on a diet of good oldUSTA junior tennis. Jennifer Langer(Louisville, Kentucky), Allison Leuszler(Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), and LynsieJones (Plano, Texas) are all graduating

seniors and have been mainstay startersfor SMU-and all have been awarded ten-nis scholarships. I found it particularlyinteresting that, while they all came toSMU through fairly different junior path-ways, they all ended up at a similar levelin college.

The follOWingbox indicates that, whileit is somewhat important how a youngjunior competes in the 12-and-under or14-and-under age divisions; in the big pic-ture, it may have little to do with how theywill develop as they mature into adults.

Name: Jennifer LangerAge Started: 7National Junior Ranking: Yes, Top 10Active High School Tennis Player: NoAge Decided to Play College Tennis: 12

Name: Allison LeuszlerAge Started: 8National Junior Ranking: Yes, Top 60Active High School Tennis Player: YesAge Decided to Play College Tennis: 13

Name: Lynsie JonesAge Started: 12National Junior Ranking: NoActive High School Tennis Player: NoAge Decided to Play College Tennis: 15

I asked the three college players howrhey would prioritize (1-5, with 1 beingthe most important) Five criteria for suc-ceeding in college tennis. It is significanto note that natural talent or physical

attributes like being tall were regarded asleast important by the players, whereas a

Five Criteria for CollegeTennis Players(In Order of Importance)

Jennifer Langer:1) Competitive Spirit, 2) Work Ethic3) Stroke Technique, 4) Attitude5) Physical Attributes

Allison Leuszler:1) Work Ethic, 2) Attitude3) Competitive Spirit, 4) StrokeTechnique, 5) Physical Attributes

Lynsie Jones:1) Work Ethic, 2) Stroke Technique3) Attitude, 4) Competitive Spirit5) Physical Attributes

advantage of every opportunity to playand improve and to always look at thebig picture.

Allison Leuszler emphasized that,while hard work is essential, you've got tohave a ton of fun at the same time. Shesaid, "Make sure to enjoy the journey,even during the down times."

Lynsie Jones stressed the importanceof setting short- and mid-range goals tostay motivated, and advised Kalindi toupdate the goals everyone to threemonths.

Was there anything that the threeSMU seniors completely agreed on?Absolutely. They all agreed that collegetennis has been much more fun than jun-ior tennis. Now that's something to lookforward to! f2J

strong work ethic was at or near the topall of their lists.

The interview finished with the threecollege players giving my daughter, acompetitive player in the 12-and-underage division in Texas, some sage advice.

Jennifer Langer told Kalindi to take

Joe Dinoffer is a Master Professional in boththe PTR and USPTA, a distinction awarded toonly a handful in the tennis industry. He haspublished numerous books and videotapes andis a frequent speaker at tennis conferencesaround the world. For more information, visitwww.oncourtoffcourt.com.

'-------'Vie Braden Tennis College at Green Valley Spa Ranked #3 Tennis Camp ,

in the Country by TennisResoTlsOnline.eolll

Tennis College Package Includes:3 c1ay/3 night getaway al aluxUl i{lU~re~urt includingdaily brc.lkfastP",..ionalb'c! ,m couninstruct ion and video:maly,is'"Vlne & cheese receptionwith inl'ormatil'c lecture byVie BradenOlTicial ~tudel1l llandbook,\'tcleo. and T-shtrl

2005 Resort LocatiOlLS (7' Schedule:TIle Homestead - Glen A r],01; MlAug 19-21 • Aug. 22-24 • AUK 26-28

Green Valley s/,a (>" Rcsor' - St. Ge(lr~e, UTSept. 23-25 & 26-28 • Oct. 21-23 & 24-26

stm' Island Resort c~Club - Kissimmee, FLOctober 7-9 The ViflBraden

Te~T~negeFor more information or to make reservations:

1800 CALL VIC (225-5842) or visit www.vicbraden.com