Brad Gilbert's Three Reasons Why Pros Should be Allowed to Play College Tennis
The June issue of Tennis magazine has the regular Brad Gilbert column, and this month he advocates for pros being able to play college tennis. There's no link to this story, and I'm not allowed to type out the whole thing due to copyright protection restrictions, but here are his three points.
1) Gives you a plan B
excerpt: There's such a rush in this country for top juniors to turn pro....for some it works out, but many struggle to make a dent and languish in the rankings. It would be great if those players, after a few years knocking around the pros, had the opportunity to take a tennis scholarship...
2) Adds to the level of play
excerpt: I'm a big fan of college tennis and I played it myself. But players today don't feel the competition is strong enough. If they were allowed to participate after trying the pro game for a few years, the depth of college ball would greatly improve...
3) Gets the NCAA out of the Stone Age
excerpt: It's just my opinion, but I think the idea of being an amateur is ridiculous...
If you have an opportunity to read the entire column, please do. But I have a feeling that those of you who believe Kalamazoo should be limited to amateursprobably aren't going to agree with Gilbert on this one. And it's an interesting contrast to what Michael Center of the University of Texas said in the story I linked to yesterday, specifically about foreign players.
Of the international influx, Center said, "I don't think it's bad for the game at all. It creates diversity. What I've been opposed to is the international player who has been on the tour who doesn't fit your student/athlete profile.
"They're 21, been ranked 400 in the world and transfer in as a sophomore. They're two years older and have a significant advantage physically, mentally and emotionally."
Gilbert doesn't even mention this current rift in college tennis, and it sounds like he is only talking about American players, but then his whole argument in No. 2 is weakened. I'm just getting a feeling that he hasn't really thought this through or talked to anyone who actually is familiar with college tennis as it exists today.
1 comments:
I'm sympathetic to Brad's take on this (the NCAA is in the stone ages on most issues) but you're right. Brad's not in touch with the reality of college tennis today. Those scholarships that Brad thinks former pros should be able to accept are disappearing fast on the men's side. More old, foreign, former pros joining teams would probably speed the demise of college tennis in the United States, at least the intercollegiate variety that Brad played and is thinking of now.
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