Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Tennis is in the News


Have you noticed all the recent buzz about tennis??? For a sport that's mostly niche and one that normally flies under the radar, tennis is in the news --- in a BIG way! Isn't that G-R-E-A-T???

NO - It's not great...and here's why: because our sport is in the news for all the WRONG REASONS.

As you must know, we spend much of our lives in the trenches at junior tennis tournaments and we've watched as some big changes have taken effect over the past 2 years. First we saw the mandatory change to QuickStart (or 10&U or ROG or whatever name is in vogue these days), then we saw the reduction of national open draws to only the top 32, now we're seeing the reduction of sectional draws (and the introduction of waterfalls - whatever that means), we're seeing big changes with the point system, and it seems there's no end in sight because we're hearing about still more changes coming...

We've watched the junior tennis community react to all these change: first with uncertainty, then confusion and general unhappiness, and now anger. If the folks in charge of this are hearing even a FRACTION of the bitching we're hearing EVERY SINGLE DAY, they are getting an earful...but is anybody listening? Hmmm.

As far as I can tell, the USTA is juggling multiple priorities: growing the game of tennis; developing an American tennis champion; arranging schedules to minimize missed school days. I'm certainly not defending them, but it must be difficult to accomplish any or all of these (and many, many more that I'm sure I haven't even considered).

Of course the reason we're watching this is because HIGH-TECH TENNIS is a video company that focuses EXCLUSIVELY on tennis. We have no kids of our own but we have thousands of tennis kids and I hope you know that we truly do care about junior tennis. The very last thing we want to do is generate any controversy whatsoever so we've tried to stay positive (if junior tennis wins, we all win, after all) but we've watched with great dismay as we realize the way the changes affect us. Dealing with the constantly moving target AND don't forget the ballistic parents who assault our integrity with accusations of illegal or immoral activity on our part when we record their kid playing tennis in a public place (WHICH IS PERFECTLY LEGAL IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) is basically destroying our business. We are seriously looking at morphing into HIGH-TECH SPORTS VIDEO and moving on to other sports (even though tennis is our first love) but business is business and the future really doesn't look that bright, judging from some pretty nasty writing on the junior tennis wall. But the future of HIGH-TECH TENNIS is not the point of this observation... 

The point is this: I spend an incredible amount of time on this topic (o.k., sometimes it keeps me up at night) but I know that most of our customers do not. So I thought it might be helpful to link to some of the most recent tennis news so you can be somewhat aware of all the STUFF that's happening to our sport. I wish it were a prettier picture...but hope this doesn't happen to you:

"Imagine you are driving on the highway at the legal speed limit of 65, and while your foot is on the gas pedal, they change the speed limit. And you get screwed." (Taken from a post on a tennis forum).

In closing, please remember that tennis is a GAME, not rocket science, and junior players are CHILDREN, not mini-professionals. Junior tennis is a journey, not a destination...YOU MIGHT AS WELL ENJOY IT!!! Thank you for your support!

Wayne Bryan Letter to the USTA

Is Tennis Getting Too Soft? Wall Street Journal

Optimism, but Mixed Results, at the Vanguard New York Times

U.S. Tennis Struggles With Generational Divide USA Today

Where Did Talent Go? U.S. Tennis' 'Lost Generation' USA Today

Academy Looks to Bolster Future of American Tennis USA Today

Blogs and Forums

Talk Tennis at Tennis Warehouse

Observations from the Trenches

Parenting Aces

U.S. Tennis Parents

Labels:

Sunday, January 8, 2012

YOU TELL ME: Got Ideas for the New Year?

 WHEW!!!
Since this was our 4th consecutive Kentucky in December, it seems a tradition has been born:) and now that we've had time to catch our breath, it's time to digest what just happened. For one thing, the back-to-back tournaments (formerly known as the Winter Southern Closed + New Year's Classic) will forevermore be referred to as
THE KENTUCKY MARATHON!!!
We celebrated a quiet Christmas (the very best kind) and left early the next morning for our 26th TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR...coincidentally the longest trip on our schedule - 7+ hours to Louisville - and we arrived just in time to set up and greet excited players as they checked in. SO FAR, SO GOOD - lots of "Happy Holidays!" - "Was Santa good to you?" - and like that.
The Christmas spirit in full force...You knew that wouldn't last.

And it certainly didn't. The tournament director got an earful DURING CHECK-IN from an angry mother who was very upset about scheduling issues that she felt gave her daughter's opponent an unfair advantage..mind you, she was referring to a potential match-up that MIGHT have occurred three days later (and of course it didn't even happen). What the...oh geeez! Then the tournament kicked off and things went downhill pretty fast...An all-time low was when a furious father yelled at Danny for a full HOUR!!! He was angry because his son was not playing well and he insisted that he needed to protect his privacy rights...blah blah blah. He argued with the tournament director, threatened to call the USTA (go ahead), and told Danny he appreciated our video service (really? this from a former customer, believe it or not) but he insisted we needed permission from BOTH parents before we recorded any match. Since he clearly had no intention of purchasing the video (and he already knew his son's opponent was not going to buy it - he'd approached them too, unbelievably), he DEMANDED that the camera come down...and he finally got his way. We have certainly researched this topic many, many times and we are NOT doing anything wrong...but just try convincing ballistic parents of that. 

I was in tears - Danny wasn't crying of course but you better believe he was very upset. It was about much more than the $55...The man was essentially questioning our integrity and implying we were doing something illegal or immoral. WOULD YOU BE SERIOUS, MAN - nothing could be further from the truth!!! I can't tell you how hurtful and disheartening it was to be repeatedly insulted in that way. Of course this man wasn't the first and unfortunately he won't be the last.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT THIS?!
YOU TELL ME!

Next, a father approached us to ask if we'd object to him recording his son's match (what were we supposed to say?!? Can you bring your own steak to Ruth Chris steakhouse and sit in their booths and use their silverware while you eat?!?) and we watched as a parade of parents strolled by with video cameras (to hang their cameras beside ours, though they were not permitted to do so) - one father even went so far as to angrily shove me out of his way as he went to hang his camera (which he was not permitted to do)...

I understand it's a free country (hey, I'm all for freedom) but....well, when you factor in 7 straight 16+ hour days for 2 people covering 4 separate sites and recording 250 matches (while selling 50% of them), well, it's easy to see why we're reconsidering what the @#@#% we're doing and why.

So as we begin our SEVENTH YEAR of this crazy business, we're asking for YOUR help.
Just pretend you could tell us what to do.
You can't, of course:) but if you could, what would YOU do???
You would think that we wouldn't have to deal with this CRAP anymore---but you'd be wrong.
:(

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Please keep in mind that we get virtually NO support from the coaches, NO support from the tennis association, NO support from academies, NO support from anyone.

I can't imagine giving up (and I'd hate it if the 99% who love what we do lose out to the 1% who make our lives miserable) but in spite of our best efforts, there may just be a reason nobody else is doing this...and unfortunately, TENNIS may just be the only sport on earth that isn't ready for technology.
Oh, yes, of course the best players with the best bank accounts are ready and they're already doing this and more...but the average tennis player?

YOU TELL ME!

Labels: