Jeff Szekely's Statement on Clay Court Resignation

Many of you have asked me for information about the resignation of Boys 18s & 16s National Clay Court Tournament Director Jeff Szekely. I received his permission to pass along this statement:

First and foremost, I would like to thank everyone who either called or sent an e-mail and expressed their concern, kind thoughts and appreciation. I did not expect such an outpouring, in either the volume of responses or the words of affection. It surely humbled me.

In reply to your e-mail request, Colette, as to why I am retiring from the USTA Clays, the following is a copy of an e-mail that I sent last week to friends associated with junior and collegiate tennis:

In a message dated 1/11/07 6:37:18 AM, jeff@ustaclay.com writes:


Dear Friends, fellow Tournament Directors and lovers of junior and
collegiate tennis,

After careful consideration and much reflection, I have tendered my
resignation to the USTA as the tournament director of the USTA National
Boys' 18 & 16 Clay Court Championships as of January 3, 2007.

It was a joyous 10 years, and Shelley and I met some terrific people
(starting with the recipients of this e-mail).

It was great fun, hard work and much more rewarding than Shelley and I ever expected.

At this time in my life, I would like to spend more time with Shelley in
Naples, Fl and New England where we will have homes and scale down my financial consulting practice in Maryland. There are also some health issues that I need to address.

I would especially like to thank the Wreges (Julie, Doug, Dallas and
Shannon), Rollie Shea, Dede Allen, Manuela and Jeff Davies for their many years of help with the Clays. I could never have done it without their support.

I wish everyone a great time on and off the court.

Take care-Jeff

Jeffrey W. Szekely
Tournament Director
USTA National Boys' 18 & 16 Clay Courts
1401 Rockville Pike, Suite 560
Rockville, MD 20852
Telephone: 301-309-2022
Facsimile: 301-309-2271
jeff@ustaclay.com
www.ustaclay.com

I always believed I was a "PLAYERS" Tournament Director meaning the PLAYERS came first even before parents, junior coaches, college coaches and the media . The four areas that I wanted to address in being a tournament director for the players were: (1) combining the Boys' 18 & 16 into one event, (2) the ATP wild cards ( for B-16 and B-18) to a $1,000,000 ATP Legg Mason event (which would bring the best players) (3) and the best players would then bring in the top college coaches, last year in excess of 140 college coaches came to see the best players (4) and have a certified umpire on each court, to level the playing field. I believed all the above would really benefit the players in their junior career.

Finally, the decision as to who will be the new Tournament Director and where it will be held will be totally up to the USTA and the Youth Competition and Training Comm. (YCTC). I know it will not be held at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md.

In conclusion, it was a very difficult decision for me and my family, but one that was necessary for me to make at this time.

I am sure the new home of the Clays and the new tournament director will be terrific.

TAGS: tennis, junior tennis, USTA Clay Courts, Jeff Szekely