Many high ranked, young tennis scholarship hopefuls across the nation are in a quandry because their dream scholarship is being given to a foreigner. They are faced with very few full rides being offered to them due to the fact that "the foreigners" are taking their "rightful" places on their dream teams.
I am very sorry for these boys and girls in America who feel that it is owed to them, because let's face it, they paid their money, traveled the big red, white and blue, to play all the events the USTA said to play in order to get their big ticket school scholarship, and they just won't get it; it will be given to a foreigner.
So what is the big reason why our US boys and girls cannot get the big cushy scholarships? Former satellite circuit playing, team tennis playing, ITF world juniors playing foreigners are gobbling up all of the spots at the big schools and the small schools for that matter. Contrast these efforts with the meager US attempts at bettering their level of tennis by playing the lowly National US Junior tournaments and local sectional tournaments. Big deal!
Now it does not take a genius to understand why a coach would prefer the more tennis experienced, foreign player. They are the superior players and certainly the best man or woman for the job due to their vast experience at playing this game! The foreigners work hard on gaining their tennis experience with one intention: to play pro. If they do not make it by the time they are 19 or 20, they come to the US and at least cash in on something for their efforts. Why should any human being on this earth be punished for their efforts and especially if their efforts are indeed superior to ours (US).
Contrast this with the lowly American attempts at achieving perfection in tennis. They stay in the US and compete against other lowly Americans. Europe is now the place to gain notoriety in tennis. The pro circuit will always be the desired tournament choice of foreigners. The US tennis scholarship is their consolation prize!
Americans go around in a fog and delusion of thinking simply playing US that this will prepare them for WHAT! Not only are there no true players in America, but they all think they are entitled to their scholarship spots and that the foreigners should just go home. Now that's a dumb solution. Our current level of tennis in America is so low now compared to the rest of the world, that if you remove the foreigners from our tournaments and schools, we will be left with a social level of tennis suitable for the club player. Whoopee do!
The next problem is that the typical American kid thinks that going over to Europe to play some satellite events will cost them their scholarship and amateur NCAA status. They also think that it is too expensive to play over there. From the age of 14 on, a player could be playing Satellite Qualies, ITF World Juniors, as well as sanctioned tournaments in various countries, as well as team tennis. Just don't take the money in prize money events and don't compete on a German Team Tennis team where the players are being paid.
If you are concerned about money, get a job. If you are concerned about missing school ( you should play in two, 6-week blocks of time in Europe during the school year and a full summer schedule should do the trick), you should have a talk with the principal and if he will not allow you to stay officially enrolled in the school as long as you can prove competence in the subjects you are missing, you might want to switch to home schooling or take your coursework from the internet. You also may want to involve an attorney.
Another idea would be for the American boy or girl to begin college studies later on when they are 20 or 21. Upon the completion of high school they could play on the tour for a couple of years. Who knows maybe they would decide that they would rather play pro tennis than go to school. If you would like to simply forget the scholarship and just begin college at age 20 or 21, you will probably be so skilled in tennis with most likely some ATP or WTA ranking that this would land you a $60/hour job teaching at a local club close to your university. This should pay for your education, I do believe.
Young players, before the age of 18 and college competition are allowed to teach private lessons or group lessons. You only need to find a court that is legal on which to teach. Taking a job part time anywhere should never be beneath you in order to pay your expenses on the tour. Everybody needs to earn their own way. All the money spent on coaches, camps, academies should be transferred to youth hostels, $600 round-trips to Frankfurt, $300/month train passes, $20 entry fees to tournaments in Europe and the rest of the world. You should still play US, but focus on defeating foreigners in a foreign land and gaining ATP Tour or WTA Tour world ranking points as well as some participation in ITF World Junior events.
For further information on how to compete in Europe, please direct all questions, comments, to the editor of this magazine, Janice Combs . If you are angry, I am sorry. It is simply the truth about American tennis and a wake up call for our players and the fate of our tennis in this country. You can either get on with the cure or simply quit. There is no turning back. It is what it is.
