10 and Under=No Win for Players or TDs

At our last Southern Level 3 tournament of 2010, we saw 20 players (more girls than boys) compete in the 10 age division. This was before the changes took effect.

We recently went to a Level 4 tournament and saw 9 players in this age division (7 boys and 2 girls). The girls played one match (the finals) – first and last round in one match!

There were a few more 10 and under players in the tournament, but they weren’t playing in that age division. Instead, they were playing “up” in the 12 age division. Check out this conversation:

HTT: How was your match this morning?
PLAYER: I guess it was o.k. I won.
HTT: What was the score?
PLAYER: I won 0 and 0. But the kid I played was only 7.

How much fun was that for the 7 year old? Or for the 12 year old?
No real winners there…

Finally, we’re still trying to figure out how any player on the 60 foot court will be able to compete against the great 12 year old national players we saw this weekend.

The tournament director told us he had to spend money to paint the lines on the courts (and listen to lots of club members complaints)…and it turns out they had far fewer participants in the 10 and Under age division for that tournament compared to the previous year.

Where’s the winner?