Inside Junior Tennis Podcast; Foreign Players in NCAA Tennis Story in San Franciso Chronicle
Under the title Foreign flavor in NCAA tennis is too rich for some Tom Fitzgerald of the San Francisco Chronicle revists this topic from the perspective of coaches of the major tennis schools in the Bay Area. Most of you know my views on this (if you don't, this post, which contains a link to my Racquet Sports Industry viewpoint, will explain it.), and I know many of you don't agree with it, but I'm always eager to hear other perspectives. (There is an error in this story. It is Megan Falcon, not Megan Frank who is now a sophomore at LSU and ranked second in the country).
In this week's Inside Junior Tennis podcast, Kevin McClure and I go through the 16 seeds in the men's and women's individual event and discover that while there are only six U.S. men, there are 12 U.S. women in that elite group. We didn't quite know what to make of that.
Speaking of college tennis players, it was quite a weekend for them. Bobby Reynolds (Vanderbilt) beat Robert Kendrick (Washington and Pepperdine) in the Naples challenger, and Pierrick Ysern (University of San Diego) defeated Vladimir Obradovic (University of Florida) in the Vero Beach Futures. Ryler DeHeart (University of Illinois) and Chris Lam (UCLA) won the doubles in Vero. The TC Palm has done a great job covering the Vero Beach tournament. This is their story about Obradovic, which also includes the nitty gritty on just how much (or little) the prize money is at a $10,000 event. Check their archives for other coverage of the tournament. (Free registration required.)
7 comments:
Collette,
I read the article 'Foreign flavor in NCAA tennis is too rich for some' and was a little bit puzzled. Pardon my ignorance, but why would Cal Berkeley, have any trouble attracting the best American players?
I've heard nothing but good things about the coaching and, tennis aside, it's Berkeley, one of the most famous non-Ivy universities (along with Ann Arbour Michigan, MIT and Kent State - well above Stanford for an international audience) in the United States. Why wouldn't that put it at the top of the list for most US juniors?
(I realise that they've got Kallim Stewart and just signed Bozhidar Katsarov)
What I don't understand is why Stanford is able to recruit the top Americans and be the most dominant womens team ever and Cal is "forced" to go foreign. Jan Brogan said, "Schools like Cal have no choice if they want to compete at the highest level, she said. "My job is to consistently produce a team that's going to compete for the (national) title,'' she said. "If I only recruited Californians, we'd never be any good. We'd be No. 50 maybe. If I only recruited Americans, which I've tried, we'd never be in the top 16." Is Stanford that much more appealing to American recruits, maybe, I dont know. My question: Has Jan Brogan ever tried to recruit only Americans and produce them into top college players. Craig Tiley did it with Illinois, his pupil Bruce Berque is doing it at Michigan, and Ohio State is doing it now with 1 foreigner on their roster.
I am for foreigners in college tennis. They make it much more competitive and we all know foreigners on your college team can be great student-athletes and great teammates. It seems like many college coaches just rule out Americans that aren't in the top 5 in the country, as if they cannot be produced into top college players.
If we could have american juniors hit with the college players that would help further develop our players. This would be great but even if the NCAA allowed it, how many foreigners will donate hours of time hitting with our juniors on a regular bacis?
Lets not forget the most itf juniors in the top 100 are from America, followed by Australia and Craig Tiley. The U.S. has the best juniors out of any country, the problem is that college coaches are choosing between Americans and the rest of the world. All the players across the world that didnt make it as a pro look towards U.S. colleges. It only makes sense that Americans will be outnumbered, dont put it all on U.S. player development.
So it seems like I have little problems with the system, besides the age rules. The main problem I have is some coaches attitudes toward American players and their development.
By the way , Cal also signed Serbini , anothe Weil Academy product . Maybe , he's a package with Katsarov.
I am curious , does the foreigners, take the SAT or ACT to get in to this prestigious schools , since it is one of the requirements especially UC systems and Stanford ? My understanding is you have to be academically elegible, before the school can sign you.
If the foreigners can easilly get in to this mentioned school, then it is not fair for the American players . Why is this happening ?
Question: What's the logic behind not letting college teams play against high school players?
I compare US colleges bringing in foreign players to win titles no different than what the old Soviet Union did with their Olympic teams before professionals were allowed to play, which is why it was so uplifting when the US hockey team of amateurs beat the Soviet team in Lake Placid.
There are many reasons why US colleges should not give scholarships to foreigners. Here are just a few...
1. it is impossible to determine if these international tennis players take $. Our kids are under strict guidelines and lose thier eligibility while foreign kids do the minimium school, most take money and are not penelized for their quasi-professional status. Our kids are not even allowed to hit w/ local college teams.
2. Bottom line- US tax dollars support all these schools and it is not the role of US taxpayers to bankroll average student/scholars from other countries at the expense of our own kids. the reason I say average is that many of the international players are not great students.
3. I was dismayed how even the top academic schools drop the academic standards considerably for international players. Princeton mens top recruit 2 years ago was from the Yugoslavia or one of those countries, took 7 years to get through high school and was 420 on the ATP (right he didn't take money). Rice men's team also has a former international ATP player (or should I say an international pro who did make it so whay not take a US kids scholarship at a top school). If you look at the Harvard women's team the reason they have clinch the Ivy Title each year is that they stack their top lines with foreign players. Harvard's # 1 is a home schooled Canadian w/ a WTA ranking. This year the Hrvard women's team fell apart because 4 of the recuits quit.
4. It is nice to win a national title but college tennis suppose to be a ticket for international players to get a US education at the expense of US players.
no wonder US tennis is having a hard time recruiting top athletes. Even the USTA choses to spend $ on foreign players than develop its own. there are countless top US junoirs who dont receive a penny of support fro the USTA while they send 14 year old Sean Berman around w/ a private coach and pay for him family to get thier green card. As for Berman;'s tennis, he lost in the first round of Les Petits, is short for his age, has short parents and no weapons. The kids is a god player but why would the UTSA be backing him when the ignore better players who are AMERICAN. From US junior tennis to US college tennis, US kids get a backseat.
My understanding is that the foreigners do take the SAT or ACT, but it is in a different format, (as in English as a second language) and it is an easier test.
From our experience in recruiting, verbals, signing and admission...signing does not get you in, nor does it mean that you are academically eligible. Remember that some kids verbal in the junior year and sign early in their senior year...when they still have along way to go to graduate. It would be up to the coach and in the schools best interest to be fully apprised of the athletes academic standing and progress.
The signing just gets you to the dance so to speak...you have to meet all the qualifications, the admissions process after that is quite brutal.
I am dissapointed to read, this whole issue about top schools opting for foreign players than US players. It is not fair , to say the least , especially for players and parents who have sacrifice too much , by going to school and playing tournament after tournament, just to realised later on, that you have to stay in line along with the rest of the US players and pray that a college coach might change their mind .
How is this justified ?
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